Let me get this out right now: I fucking love Assassin’s Creed. This is the game I’ve been waiting for ever since those crazy marketing execs started screaming “Next-gen gameplay found here!” I cannot get enough of this game, and I mean physically. I went to bed last night in a state of withdrawal. I almost fell off the wagon (or is it on?) last night around 3 AM, but thankfully I held back the urge. For a little while, anyway.
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Suffice to say, I totally want to make Assassin’s Creed babies:)
But sadly, as the title of this blog suggests, it is not perfect. For every eight aspects that expertly immerses you into the world of assassins, there is one that takes you out of it. There are a few examples I could give you that show how Assassin’s Creed is flawed, in both design and technical execution, but it really doesn’t matter. Assassin’s Creed is such an amazing experience that even the minor flaws do nothing to phase me on my final verdict.
And it is because the game draws me in so well that the minor flaws are even noticeable to begin with. When you climb onto a rooftop and view the scenery, you truly feel as if you are roaming around 12th century Jerusalem. As of right now, Assassin’s Creed holds the crown for best graphics ever created. But then you’ll notice that the Archers, whom you need to sneak around while traversing the city’s rooftops, act in a weird way, tainting the experience a little. There are a few examples like this in AC, but I won’t even question this game’s outstanding merit with these trivial problems.
As well, many of the problems cited in the various reviews popping up on the net talk about how the game immerses you into the game further, but don’t really lend themselves to “gaming”. Hilary Goldstein from IGN talked about how boring it is to sit on a park bench to overhear a conversation between two individuals. It’s not amazing gameplay, I’ll agree, but it’s supposed to envelope you within the game’s environment and narrative. To complain about it is to miss the point entirely.
Assassin’s Creed tries to be both the most realistic interactive experience and a traditional game at the same time, but those two aspects don’t mesh very well in the end result. If they ever make a sequel to Assassin’s Creed to address the few flaws it has…. Never mind, I seriously don’t want to think about a sequel right now. My heart is too weak to think about something that cool.
As I said, Assassin’s Creed is not perfect. But guess what: no game is, and to paint Assassin’s Creed in a poor light for the few minor flaws it has is unjust, and immediately puts into question the very idea behind reviews.
If you want to play a game that is more immersive than BioShock (yes, I just did that), buy Assassin’s Creed. Just make sure to bring condoms.
How many condoms am I going to need, exactly? More immersive than Bioshock?! That’s a very serious claim, my friend! No, no, don’t get me wrong, I am going to the store now and everything… it’s just hard to believe, that’s all :)
I would say 15: one for each hour of play. I’ve even gone back to BioShock to see if my claim really has any substance, and I was definitely right. AC is way more immersive. Sploog-ariffic, indeed.
Its an awesome game. The environments are detailed and rich. Its a well deserved 9/10 easily. Some of the minor things i noticed with the rendering on the 360 and PS3;
LOD meshes, ‘Popping’ is quite clear. Although disguised by the verticality of the game.
Shadow Mapping, the interpolation between the 3 or 4 shadow maps…
But these gripes are nothing, they did a good job and i’m looking forward to seeing what else they have in-store for us in future editions.
Its gorgeous looking for sure the music and atmosphere is really superb in every way. The game is just boring though IMO… the travel is a pain, the cities while impressive at 1st get really boring and they all look the same after a while. No one can deny that its gorgeous, but I think the games snail pace of game play 99% of the time (1% of the time being the actual assassinations/running from guards) really makes it tough for me to play.
holy shit matt. if i had seen this post before i wrote my review of AC i would not have even bothered.
Jay, you should have told me this was here.
It’s alright buddy. You went into more detail with certain aspects of the game that people should know about than I. And it’s always good to get a second opinion on stuff, especially with Assassin’s Creed.