Assassin's Creed (2007) – Review
Please, can you spare a few coins? Just a few coins, please! My family is sick and dying. No, you don't understand, I just need a few COINS!
“Patient gamer” isn't the right kind of word for someone like me, who's playing a game from 2007 for the first time 16 years later. At this point it's retro gaming. Coincidentally, I've also never played any other entry in the franchise, so I'm really starting at the top.
So, with fresh eyes, is it any good? Well, it's decent. I'm glad there's more in the franchise, because this shows a lot of promise. But it's also flawed in a lot of ways. The missions are incredibly repetitive. You pretty much do the same thing nine times in a row. Sometimes it's in a hospital, but other times it's on a boat! Meh.
The information gathering is okay but gets really annoying later on, when the city becomes more hostile towards you because you're a known quantity. And that's not just the guards, it's also the beggars, and the random dudes who shove you around when you come too close. Taking to the rooftops, like the game probably wants you to, solves this to an extent. Though you still have to maneuver around the rooftop guards and go down to the street to do the info gathering. By the end, I found myself dreading to do the view points, even though these little scenic cutscenes are probably a highlight of the game – just because I had to go down to street level afterwards and get shoved around by NPCs, risking to be discovered and having to hide.
Combat is stupid but fun. You can easily take on a dozen of enemies, especially later on. The game knows this, as the last mission is basically just a lot of fighting, presumably to break up the pace. Which is somewhat disappointing, considering it's a game about assassins. Admittedly, the forced fighting is a welcome change of pace but especially in the penultimate mission I would've at least appreciated a viable stealth route to the end fight.
Coming back to the original question, yes it is still good. Though by the end I was cursing out all the NPCs getting in my way in the cities, I found myself drawn in by the intriguing story, driving me to the finish line. And it was worth it. The setting is pretty damn cool – if anyone has recommendations for any historical fiction set during the crusades that somehow catches this vibe, please let me know – and the story is compelling, at least the part that plays in the 12th century. I kind of wanna go on playing this series now.
Anderswo im Fediverse als @dxciBel@fruef.social
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