Before there was Ezio, there was Altair.
After recently beating Asssassin’s Creed 2 and thoroughly enjoying the experience, I decided to go back and play the game where it all began. For those of you that still don’t know the story: Desmond is a modern day bartender who is kidnapped by researchers that use his DNA by a machine called an Animus to unlock the memories of Desmond’s ancestors, in particular Altair. The researchers are using those memories to locate a missing relic, though their goals are unclear.
What sets the Assassin’s Creed series apart from most games is there were so few stealth games that relied on killing with strategy and precision as opposed to direct confrontation. A few games that come to mind that fit the bill are Tenchu, a successful Ninja stealth title, Hitman, which features a bald clone who can done inumerable disguises in modern times, Splinter Cell, Metal Gear, and Thief, all of which are great games that force the gamer to exert mental energy. Assassin’s Creed gives you numerous tools to accomplish your assassinations, like eavesdropping, pickpocketing, stealth weapons, and the ability to help citizens in trouble who reward you with information. Altair doesn’t storm into Damascus knives blazing, the less attention he draws by blending into the crowd the better.
Hints of history woven into the plot give the game a much more realistic feel, with places like Jerusalum and Dasmascus, and historical figures like Saladin make you appreciate your high school history class a little bit more. One of my two favorite aspects of the game is the detail of the areas; Riding into a city is like taking a step back in time to what you would expect that time period would be like, where merchants are yelling from their stalls, beggars are pleading to strangers for coins, and scholars are wandering the streets with lowered heads.
My second favorite aspect is how Altair can free run and climb throughout the city. The controls and movements of the assassin are smooth and intuitive, making the escape from guards almost a little too easy. Eagle spots allow Altair to climb to the top and synchronize, giving him a clearer picture of the area and special points within it.
If you haven’t played Assassin’s Creed, I highly suggest you do, especially before you play the second one. The series tells an in-depth and convoluted storyat the same time as being an extremely fun and exciting game to play.
Pick up Assassin’s Creed on EBGgames today along with the sequel Assassin’s Creed 2
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