Killing is my Business and business is good: Assassin's Creed on PS3

Author's Rating:

Pros: Beautiful graphics, rich environments, easy intuitive controls.

Cons: Gameplay can get repetitive.

The Bottom Line: 
A very good game that shows off the PS3's beauty and is fun to play.

Author's Review
When my son saw Assassin's Creed for only $30.00, we had to pick it up. It was a game he wanted for his X Box 360 but for whatever reason he never got it.

Since we now have the PS3, we picked it up, and we are both glad we did.

The Story / Game Play Type

In this game, you play mostly as an assassin in the 15th Century in the middle east. I say mostly, because the games interface actually has you as a man today or sometime in the future who is subjected to accessing memories of being a 15th century assassin via an Animus. If I had to describe the game, it is a 3rd person stabber. It is not a shooter, because for the most part you take out your opponents with a variety of knives and swords. It is also a stealth game, you want to be as secretive as possible, although in some points of the game, this is not possible.

In the modern world of this game, scientists want you to unlock your memories so you can carry out assassin missions. Why I will not tell you.

In medieval times, you travel through cities like Damascus and Jerusalem to carry out your missions. You have to gather information by eavesdropping or talking with people, you have to get assignments from the Assassin's Guild, and you have to find high points in the city to scope out the area. Of course, as you probably could guess from the game title, you have to assassinate people.

The controls

Assassins Creed has very fluid and intuitive controls. Depending on what mode you are in, stealth or danger, the different buttons will do different things. Analog sticks control movement and camera angles and the D pad allows your assassin to blend in in stealth or to kill in various ways when in danger. He also climbs like a monkey! Seriously, you will be hanging off balconies, climbing towers and running across rooftops quite a lot in this game. The game also gives you special vision which will reveal what characters are neutral, soldiers or targets. Overall, the controls work very smoothly, and cheap deaths are few and far between.

The AI

Medieval soldiers will chase you when they see you, but once you are out of sight, they will soon forget about you. I did find it rather ironic that for a stealth game, the missions require you to do a heck of a lot of stabbing. Unlike a stealth game like Hitman, you can't sneak in and just take out your intended target. They are always surrounded by a group of comrades, all of whom you end up fighting to get to your target. Although the game looks gorgeous, and you do get better moves and weapons as you progress, the artificial intelligence and the kill and then kill again does get repetitive as the game progresses. In other words, its a fun game the first time through, but nothing with a lot of replay value.

Rating

This Game is rated M for mature, so my 13 year old son loved it. However, it is rated M for occasional swearing in the modern sections of the game and tne necessary blood and violence that one would expect from a game enttitled "Assassins's Creed". Since the game is set in the 15th Century Middle East, you can bet there is not only no sex, but not even a hint of nudity. All women in the game are very fully clothed.

Video Quality

This is where PS3 shines with well made games. Assassin's Creed looks gorgeous. I haven't played it on X Box 360, so I can't tell you how PS3 v. X Box 360 compare. However, even on a 105" movie screen, this game has a definite film like quality from the expansive 15th century cities to the way your character moves. You even get to use a horse, who also moves very naturally. The loading scenes are done in a way so you don't feel like you are waiting for load scenes. Most of the time when you are sent back to your memories, you are simply immersed into the past. The cities spread out and seem to be a real living breathing city rather than a video game town. Especially beautiful are scenes where you climb up to "viewpoints", high points in the city, and see the city spread out beneath you. If you are afraid of heights, you may want to avoid this game!

Audio Quality

Although the game doesn't take advantage of some of the new blu ray audio codecs, the Dolby Digital Surround Sound immerses you in the game. People comment on your character, and you can distinctly hear where their comments come from. Sometimes their comments get repetitive though. why did he do that? He must be running from someone. At other times, the surround sound will help you to pinpoint the location of your enemies. You will hear it if someone tries to sneak up behind you.

Summary

There aren't a lot of games to choose from on PS3 yet, but this one is worth a weekend rental or purchasing used. We were lucky and got it preowned for $30.00. I loved the graphical beauty of it, and the smooth control scheme. However, by the end the the game, the gameplay has a certain sameness to it. I mean there are only so many ways you can stick someone with a knife or sword. Although it is not one I would play through twice, it was fun to play and it looks beautiful. I gave it 4 stars.