So, what does one get when they mix parkour, Quantum Leap,
the Knights Templar, the Matrix, and a Doomsday prophecy together? I don’t
know, but Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise sounds like the closest fit. I
feel like this has been a long time coming. I consider myself to be a fan of
the franchise or at least a casual fan. I haven’t read any of the tie-in comics
nor have I played any of the other non-PS3/PS4 games out there. I did see that
2016 movie, unfortunately, and that will be talked about here soon. I do need
to answer one question first: what is Assassin’s Creed?
At its core, Assassin’s Creed is about the centuries-long
battle between the Assassins and the Knights Templar. The Templars created a
machine called the Animus that allows its user to experience the life of an
ancestor. In the first game’s case, it’s Desmond Miles. He gets captured by the
Templars so they can find something called the Apple of Eden. While you have
the modern storyline, you also get a lot more in the past with the Assassin
you’re playing. I could get more into detail, but I don’t want to chase you
off. This franchise gets pretty confusing.
The concept for Assassin’s Creed came from a few of places.
The first is Alamut, a novel from Slovenia. It’s basically about an order of
assassins and its leader. The biggest inspiration and one I’m personally
familiar with is The Prince of Persia series which was also published by
Ubisoft. I’ve revisited The Sands of Time a lot on the PlayStation 2.
Unfortunately, that game series has pretty much been forgotten about by Ubisoft.
When Ubisoft was looking to create
another game and possibly another franchise, they took Alamut’s concept and the
Prince of Persia’s gameplay to come up with Assassin’s Creed.
Today, I’ll be talking about the first game in the
franchise, Assassin’s Creed. It was what
first introduced me to the franchise in 2011. It’s also one that I didn’t beat
until a few weeks ago. Yes, this game can get frickin’ grating in places
especially at the end. I’ll get to that later, though. I was also going to quickly
go over the 2016 movie, but this post is going to be long enough. Besides, it
means I have to watch the dang thing.
Assassin’s Creed (2007)
The first game was released by Ubisoft in 2007. In the game,
you play as Desmond Miles, a man who was kidnapped by a medical company called
Abstergo (a major front for the Templars). They basically strong-arm Desmond
into entering the Animus and have him experience the life of his Assassin
ancestor, Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, in the 12th century during the
Crusades. In the year 1191, we follow Altair as he has to regain his status as
a top Assassin. His leader, Al Mualim, sends him on missions to Israel, Acre,
and Damascus, to kill members of the Templar Order.
He's not vengeance (that's for later games) nor is he the nightstalker, but Altair definitely has some Batman vibes to him.
I finally replayed and finished this game a few weeks ago
for this little project and I saw what brought me into this world. While it has
its issues, this is a good game. I remember seeing promos for this game back in
the day and thought that it was some game that took place in the past. A “Let’s
Play” completely changed that when I saw folk in science coats, Kristen Bell,
and some weird Matrix-like machine.
The story is actually pretty good here
especially Altair’s storyline. We start out with him being a good fighter but a
bad Assassin. Because of a battle gone wrong, Al Mualim forces Altair to rise
up in the ranks again and learn what it really means to be an Assassin. As
Altair does his thing, he finds out about his enemy and that things aren’t
matching up with the things he’s been taught. As for the
present storyline, it’s fine for the most part. Desmond is stuck in a room and
we basically find out about what’s going on with the Assassin-Templar battle in
the present day (2012). Desmond only gets to interact with Dr. Vidic, the man
who created the Animus, and Lucy, his much nicer assistant.
The gameplay is pretty cool. After an introductory level,
you get thrown into a bit of an open world. You get four areas to play around
in. You can climb buildings, run rooftops, ride horses, kill folk, and flee the
scene of the crime. If there’s one thing that’s cool about the franchise, it’s
running away from soldiers. You also have to do the dirty work in finding out
who these targets are. You get to interrogate folk, eavesdrop conversations,
and pickpocket plans. You also gotta do
this stuff discreetly or you’ll get into trouble. While some of it can be
pretty repetitive (especially when unlocking the assassination mission), it can
be pretty fun.
The combat is fine but it has its issues. You get a variety
of weapons to use, so you won’t be stuck with a sword. The graphics for 2007
look good. This was one of the first games to come out on the PS3, after all,
so don’t go looking for something that looks like current-gen stuff. The music is pretty good but not too
memorable. Finally, the voice-acting is good for the most part. I do have a
sticking point with one person, but I’ll get to our leading Assassin in a
minute.
As for my qualms, this game can be pretty repetitive. You go
to an area, get your information, save a citizen about 80 times, and then kill
your target. You have to do this about 8 times and that can be a drag. I think the thing that make it so repetitive
is really the citizen saves. They almost say the same dialogue in each
encounter. I don’t know how many times I heard some dude say that he needs to
stay home for a while, but it was more than six.
This fight here (and fights after this) made me want to slap someone.
The combat is another area where things can a little
annoying. You really gotta be good at the end because the combat gets so nuts
that you’ll rage quit. I really felt like throwing the controller at the end of
this game which is why I stopped playing back then. Luckily, I prevailed… and
added three more specks of gray to my face. Another drag on the game is the
present-day gameplay since… there is none. All you do is walk around the lab
and talk. While that’s not bad, it can be a bit of a bore since you’re
constrained by what you can do.
The final qualm I have about this game has to do with the
voice of Altair. Not only does he sound bland when compared to everyone else,
he sounds like he came from present-day US, not 12th century Israel.
He’s not bad especially in the more intense scenes, but he just didn’t fit the
time period. It kinda took me out of the game. Luckily (and this is a bit of a
spoiler), when Altair returns in future installments, the voice actor is much
better. Even though the first game has its issues, I was glad to finally finish
this game since it is a good one.
…………………………………………………………………………….
Well, I’ll end it right here. I was going to talk about the
movie today, but I’d rather do good things instead of watching that movie
again. Besides, it looks good outside. Next time, I’ll touch upon the next
three games in the franchise. If you thought this game was good, just know that
the next three surpass this one… well, at least two of them do. Anyway, I’m outta
here. Peace, God Bless, and don’t go into debt this holiday season. That Porsche
ain’t worth it.
NEXT TIME: THE EZIO TRILOGY!!!
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