If you don't know what Assassin's Creed is, it's likely you haven't been following it. However, you probably know what Prince of Persia is and what the series did for the last generation consoles. It brought some excellent gameplay mechanics coupled with excellent visuals. The same team that worked on Prince of Persia is now behind the controls of Assassin?s Creed and from what we saw, the game is coming along amazingly.
It's important to note that the game is definitely more realistic then anything else - and Jade Raymond made sure we knew this. Taking play in the Holy land of the 12th Century, you play the part of Altair, whose job as an assassin is easier said then done. Working for the mysterious Hashshashin, you are tasked with the killing of certain targets within the city, all done with some amazing action and stealth gameplay. There are also three huge cities throughout the game and they are massive - and when we say massive, we mean it.
Since it is the creators of Prince of Persia games, we knew what we were getting into; in other words, the game looks and moves brilliantly. Most notable is crowd interactions, something that Splinter Cell: Conviction will also have, but not nearly on this huge of a scale. Obviously, Ubisoft Montreal has something to be proud of here, because moving among the crowd can be quite a difficult task.
You'll find that there are many different types of NPC's and many of them have side-quests accompanying them. For example, if you help out monks, you can use them as your "shadow" to hide within the diverse crowd to get closer to your targets. The free-form sandbox gameplay is the most important factor here, as you can scale walls, short jump across rooftops, and get to every single building one way or the other.
Called "free running," this systems allows for you to hold down the right trigger with the A button on the Xbox 360 controller; point towards the object, rooftop, or ledge, and you'll do the necessary moves to get where you need to go. The animation system is absolutely incredible and the fluid animations are something to behold. Not only does the game look gorgeous in screens, but Altair's (the main character) clothing actually moves appropriately. It appears that they went all-out on the graphics engine. We'd expect nothing less from the team over at Montreal.
What's also nice about the movement is not being too suspicious to the various guards around the city. To remain stealthy, you can hold down the A button for what is called "blend mode," having the ability to put you hands together appearing like a monk. This is crucial, as it also makes you less suspicious and blend in the crowd all the while. If this is too slow of a method for you, you can actually gently "nudge" people out of the way - or better yet punch people. The latter, however, will grab the guards' attention.
You have to be careful how you play the game, however, as there is a wanted system similar to some of the open-ended games you may have played. If you happen to climb a building and run along its rooftops and get spotted doing this, archers and the appropriate enemies will come after you without second thoughts. So being very stealthy is crucial. Mentioning stealth, there are three types of action methods: Stealth, fighting, and fleeing.
The fighting system is built on a combo system across four different platforms of weaponry. We really admired his knife - especially his knife - because of all of the cool contextual moves you are able to pull off. You'll also have your sword at your disposal as well as the blade that literally replaces your middle finger. This weapon is unique in the fact that you use it for assassinations. It's great to see such creativity and this character seems to have it all.
Now if you do get caught, you can choose from two options; fighting or taking flight are available to you and again shows off the sandbox design behind Assassin's Creed. You'll also have four weapons, such as a sword, daggers, a hidden blade, and Altair?s fists. If you are surrounded by a bunch of enemies, you are going to definitely want to use your sword, not only because of its length, but because of its combos and counter-attacks. Using your daggers is best against archers.
A fresh approach to the new franchise is what moves you can perform. Unlike Prince of Persia's wild acrobatics, Altair is approached as a regular human and limited to gravity. Although true, his moves still look and play fantastic; you'll have your chance as counter-attacks, sword attacks, but you won't be able to perform more of the insane moves that the Prince could've performed. You will, however, have the chance to scale any building you wish. And the way you do it is up to you, of course. One cool move to mention, of course, is the "leap of faith," where you can jump off a building into a barrel of hay without taking any damage to your health - it's also great in moments of flight, when you need to break the line of sight.
Another interesting tidbit is the way you dispose of your bodies and show them as mere "trophies." After you have assassinated your target, you take your feather(s) and wipe the blood from the body, take it back to your "base," and show it to demonstrate that, yes, you have eliminated the appropriate target. But before you can go back to your hideout, you need to get rid of your wanted level - almost like Need For Speed: Wanted, a game that Jade Raymond actually compared Altair's chases.
What's really cool is how you can flee from your enemies, by either blending in or breaking the line of site - the latter being the hardest of them. Why? Well, simply because they can follow you anywhere and everywhere, even on rooftops, simply because there are ladders that give enemies access to these higher places.
Once more, what is incredibly different is the secret that Ubisoft Montreal is keeping behind the game. One thing that you might have noticed is the technical looking lines and apparitions that appear on the screen. Behind the scenes, after you die, you wake up in a room of technology, so this is very intriguing indeed. There are many theories as to what this is, but Jade Raymond noted that it is not like the Matrix, etc. However, there are very little details known about this but we know it will tie in the storyline and be incredibly significant.
Due out this November, Assassin's Creed is looking amazing. We cannot wait to get our hands on the final version.
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