Early Review of Assassin's Creed for PS3 / XB360

Assassin's Creed, the stealth-action game set to be released on November 13 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, has been one of the most anticipated projects from publisher and developer Ubisoft for some time now. Since the original live, playable demo was first presented at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) back in July, the potentially franchise-spawning game has undergone massive amounts of tweaking, and the final product is, at the very least, truly something to marvel at.

First and foremost, the most boast-worthy aspect of Assassin's Creed's is without a doubt its superior visuals. The game takes place in the Crusades-era and features amazingly detailed, beautiful, and authentic architecture in its worlds. Many of the game's locations are actually based on real, historic locations, incorporating a hugely vast kingdom taking place in three different, well-developed cities. While only the outdoor environments were shown to critics in the initial demo, the finished game also includes indoor environments that not only rival but surpass those of Ubisoft's other similar, hit franchise, Prince of Persia. And although the game takes pride in being a historically accurate period drama, there are also a few surprises included in the form of futuristic, almost science fiction elements added to enhance gameplay and story.

Graphics and settings aside, what most critics seemed to have mixed feelings about regarding the game was its innovative controls, which even the game's producer Jade Raymond has admitted "takes some getting used to." The original demo presented at E3 was described as many critics as being "awkward" and "glitchy." Since then, the game has been improved significantly, and the finished product successfully introduces an innovative new way of controlling your character that is neither glitchy nor awkward. Altair, the player-controlled character and professional assassin, climbs up high on walls, leaps with ease across rooftops, and lunges down from high above to engage entire groups of enemies in combat.

However, unlike most action games, even the most simple of movements, such as running in a certain direction or jumping from platform to platform, requires a specific and often complex usage of button combos. Hardcore gamers will likely get used to the controls quickly enough, but casual players may have some serious trouble trying to get the hang of the complex controls. Most of the game involves assassination missions, and success eventually depends on how well the player was able to eavesdrop, pick-pocket, and otherwise gather crucial information regarding each mission.

As far as the artificial intelligence goes, enemies and surrounding characters are exceptionally smart for an action game. Assassin's Creed prides itself on creating an incredibly realistic environment in which the player's every move is noticed; knocking over something will draw attention to yourself, and acting suspiciously will alert nearby guards. In fact, considering how many people populate a particular location at any instance in the game, the A.I. is incredibly impressive in making every enemy keen to the player's actions. The most difficult aspect of the game is without a doubt avoiding, evading, and in the worst case scenario, engaging in combat the guards that are literally everywhere.

Similar to Ubisoft's Prince of Persia titles, Assassin's Creed provides an innovative combat system that utilizes button sequences and reaction commands to execute everything from timed blocks to counterattacks. The combat system is most definitely strategy-based, and players that rely solely on button-mashing will surely have trouble avoiding being pummeled to a pulp. Luckily, most of the game's fun comes from trying to avoid enemies by dashing through the cities, climbing up walls, and jumping across rooftops. And while the combat can feel a bit slow at times, and the controls not as smooth as they could be, the game is still one of the most innovative in recent memory, and its rich, deliciously-detailed cinematics and visuals, represented best on the PS3, will impress even the most hardcore of gamers.

Gameplay/Controls: 4.5/5
A.I./Combat: 4.5/5
Story/Settings: 4/5
Graphics/Visuals: 5/5
Music/Sound: 4/5