Assassin's Creed Reviews

[CeeKay]

Also, a video game has rarely made me hate anything more than the crazy people and beggar girls.  Ubi Montreal way overdid it with them in some sections of the game.   

you get an achievement for throwing so many of them away from you 

[Purge]

I figure I should have earned it; thus far I have not. I have 1 more (i) before completing hit #8 (Acre, I did the second one first). I think the use of the street beggars, drunks and crazies are used as artificial barriers to a game in which you would otherwise have complete control.

Some people mention problems with timers; I don't mind them when done well. I think you need to be GOOD at the game to be comfortable with it, and I'm pretty good. I found that pickpocketting has often gotten me into streetfights though...

I'll be writing up a review on this game shortly, in which I shall lay down the criticisms on an otherwise EXCELLENT game.

I mean, Prince of Persia + Splinter Cell meets GTA? How can one go wrong?

[Kevin Grey]

What in the hell were they thinking with the final section of this game?  I'm seriously in awe of how unfun this is and how much it sucks?

[JCC]

What in the hell were they thinking with the final section of this game?  I'm seriously in awe of how unfun this is and how much it sucks?

You are not alone.

[CeeKay]

What in the hell were they thinking with the final section of this game?  I'm seriously in awe of how unfun this is and how much it sucks?

the last portions show a definite payoff if you've been doing alot of combat during the rest of the game.  I was concerned that alot of people were saying it was really difficult, but I seemed to breeze right through it.

[Kevin Grey]

What in the hell were they thinking with the final section of this game?  I'm seriously in awe of how unfun this is and how much it sucks?

the last portions show a definite payoff if you've been doing alot of combat during the rest of the game.  I was concerned that alot of people were saying it was really difficult, but I seemed to breeze right through it.

I don't know- I did a fair amount of combat and it was never, ever difficult in the game up until literally the last portion.  Even then it's not exactly difficult but more of an endurance test- the game puts waves and waves of enemies at you like they feel like they need to artificially extend things.  Plus, the combat, by it's nature of guarding and counters, tends to be slow paced to begin with and isn't really designed for fighting waves of enemies. 

Top it off with the fact that it's basically betraying the game's core mechanic of at least having the option to be somewhat stealthy and the result is literally the least fun I've had in a game all year. Just a flat out awful final section.  For anyone who said they would drop a half point or a full point from their score due to the end section- I agree completely. 

[Caine]

i just wish that some of them would run away during that sequence.  after skewering a dozen of their friends right before their eyes, you would think one or two would run for the hills.

i only really had a problem with the end fights, past the lead up to #9. 

[leo8877]

i just wish that some of them would run away during that sequence.  after skewering a dozen of their friends right before their eyes, you would think one or two would run for the hills.

i only really had a problem with the end fights, past the lead up to #9. 

I haven't gotten to the end, but I have noticed that in all the big fights that I have been in, the last guy tries to run away.  I have to run after him and stab stab!

[rickfc]

Top it off with the fact that it's basically betraying the game's core mechanic of at least having the option to be somewhat stealthy and the result is literally the least fun I've had in a game all year. Just a flat out awful final section.  For anyone who said they would drop a half point or a full point from their score due to the end section- I agree completely. 

I completely agree.  What the hell happened to being "INVISIBLE" as they put it???  It seemed to me that they just added that shit there to extend the end of the game or to make it seem that you were doing something different than you had been the past X hours that you'd been playing.  You know what, Ubisoft?  What would have been really fucking cool???  To sneak into the campground at night, stealth-killing guards, killing your mark and sneaking back out.  Or AT LEAST, given me the option to do that.  Forcing you to fight wave after wave of inept guards what just a cheap cop-out.

That being said, I still enjoyed playing through the game itself.  I just think that they could have accomplished this and so much more without the stupid sci-fi twist.  That was pretty gay.

[CeeKay]

i just wish that some of them would run away during that sequence.  after skewering a dozen of their friends right before their eyes, you would think one or two would run for the hills.

i only really had a problem with the end fights, past the lead up to #9. 

I haven't gotten to the end, but I have noticed that in all the big fights that I have been in, the last guy tries to run away.  I have to run after him and stab stab!

I loved doing that- they'd run, I'd chase and do a high profile kill on them.  Poor fools just died tired.

[JCC]

Holy Crap! Joystiq (from Game Daily) says Ubi has announced 2.5 million copies of AC have been sold!!!! I guess we can count on the much sought after sequel!

Jade Raymond == Massive Sales

[rickfc]

Holy Crap! Joystiq (from Game Daily) says Ubi has announced 2.5 million copies of AC have been sold!!!! I guess we can count on the much sought after sequel!

Jade Raymond == Massive Sales engorgements.

FTFY

[Ridah]

Holy Crap! Joystiq (from Game Daily) says Ubi has announced 2.5 million copies of AC have been sold!!!! I guess we can count on the much sought after sequel!

Jade Raymond == Massive Sales

Jade Raymond is only known in niche gaming message boards, I wouldn't even have known who she was if you guys didn't spaz out over her  I'm not surprised at all that AC is doing so well, it's been one of the most anticipated games since it was announced and shown at E3 a few years ago.

[TheMissingLink]

Assassin's Creed sold that much thanks to the terrific advertising.

[JCC]

Jade Raymond is only known in niche gaming message boards, I wouldn't even have known who she was if you guys didn't spaz out over her  I'm not surprised at all that AC is doing so well, it's been one of the most anticipated games since it was announced and shown at E3 a few years ago.

Who says I was walking about popularity? I was referring to her stellar skills as a game producer.

[depward]

Assassin's Creed sold that much thanks to the terrific advertising.

Totally agree.  Not only were there a fair amount of commercials... but the commercials were BAD ASS!  My boss, who has a 360 but only plays guitar hero on it, asked me about Assassin's Creed because he saw the commercial and thought it looked killer.

[JCC]

The ads were quite badass. How could they not be? They had the House theme in them!!! 

[CeeKay]

Holy Crap! Joystiq (from Game Daily) says Ubi has announced 2.5 million copies of AC have been sold!!!! I guess we can count on the much sought after sequel!

Jade Raymond == Massive Sales

can I get a w00d?

[USMC Kato]

The ads were quite badass. How could they not be? They had the House theme in them!!! 

Yeah it did!!! It fit quite well and even my wife (who's not into violent games) said "that's badass"

[Calvin]

Whats the name of the theme song if you all dont mind?

[CeeKay]

Whats the name of the theme song if you all dont mind?

'Teardrop' by the group Massive Attack.

[Calvin]

Whats the name of the theme song if you all dont mind?

'Teardrop' by the group Massive Attack.

Thanks bro.

[leo8877]

I still need to finish this game.  It got lost in the holiday rush for me.

[Purge]

The last mission drew me in bigtime.

I anticipate the sequel.

[rickfc]

The last mission drew me in bigtime.

I anticipate the sequel.

Spoiler for MY BAD :):

Really?  The last mission almost killed the game for me.  It was so contradictory from everything the game was hyped to be.  You were constantly out of cover and having to fight wave after wave of guards.  That's just my opinion.

[Purge]

Nice spoiler alert.

Spoiler for Why I think rickfc's opinion is WRONG:

You're a killer who is good at hiding. In this case it'd be pretty damned hard hiding at a dead run. You're trying to prevent further war just as everyone else is; sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone. As it is, Altair is a very capable fighter and I had no problems with the running and fighting portion... it was not contrary to the feeling of being in a panic situation where time is a bigger factor than hiding.

[rickfc]

Nice spoiler alert.

Spoiler for Why I think rickfc's opinion is WRONG:

You're a killer who is good at hiding. In this case it'd be pretty damned hard hiding at a dead run. You're trying to prevent further war just as everyone else is; sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone. As it is, Altair is a very capable fighter and I had no problems with the running and fighting portion... it was not contrary to the feeling of being in a panic situation where time is a bigger factor than hiding.

Spoiler for nuh uh, Purge is wrong:

He's a big fat doodie-head!

[Simon]

The last mission drew me in bigtime.

I anticipate the sequel.

Spoiler for MY BAD :):

Really?  The last mission almost killed the game for me.  It was so contradictory from everything the game was hyped to be.  You were constantly out of cover and having to fight wave after wave of guards.  That's just my opinion.

The waves of guards didn't bother me nearly as much as...

Spoiler for Final fight spoiler!:

...fighting the last boss with zero health. One hit and you were dead, over and over again. I thought it was ridiculous until I finally figured out that hitting him with the throwing knives gave you health (or something like that).

[Destructor]

Spoiler for Hiden:

You actually have to wait a few seconds to engage before getting your health back. So either don't get hit, or yes, use those throwing knives and play defensively for a bit.

[CeeKay]

Spoiler for Hiden:

yeah, just don't get hit you pussies

Spoiler for Hiden:

[disarm]

i've seen a few comments about the final mission of AC being a disappointment...i'm going after the final assassination now and just wish i could experience the end of the game.  apparently the only fun i get to have now is experiencing an unending series of bugs that prevent me from finishing the game.  i've reached the Arsuf area, but every time i follow the path toward my target i encounter a bug of some kind...my own personal doppelganger, falling through the ground into the great beyond, cutscenes that fail to trigger...until i figure out some kind of fix (maybe clearing the game's cache?), it's not possible for me to finish the game.  falling through the ground is only an occassional occurrence and not consistent in where it happens, but combine that with the doppelganger that shows up at exactly the same point every time and there's no way to progress.  the one time i actually made it near my target, i had my doppelganger in tow, none of the guards were responding to me, i locked onto the target, hit the assassinate button, and watched Altair kill his duplicate...i actually assassinated myself and the mission reloaded.  i've tried restarting the mission and even restarting the game with the same results...make it a short distance down the path and encounter a game-stopping bug. 

i'm about to go hunting on the official game and xbox.com forums for any suggestions, but my disappointment at this point is beyond words.  i've been loving every minute of Assassin's Creed and it's been an entirely bug-free experience until this point.  now, i'm prevented from seeing the end until i find a solution...

[disarm]

a quick update after my previous rant...

i visited the Ubisoft support site and found a solution to my problem that does the trick.  here's the info quoted from their website in case anyone else experiences the same problem...

Question
     I keep experiencing a glitch on the Arsuf level. In the very beginning I would start running then suddenly fall through the ground and die. When I respawn, there would be two Altairs. Sometimes, it would freeze shortly after. What is going on here?

Answer
We are currently looking into this problem and hope to have an official fix soon.
In the meantime, we have received reports from people who have found workarounds for this problem. The following is not guaranteed to work, but it has helped a lot of people.

Workaround 1:

1. Turn off the Xbox 360.
2. Disconnect everything from the USB-ports on the FRONT of the 360 (if applicable, network adapter on the back USB does not need to be disconnected).
3. Turn on the 360 and connect a controller (wired or wireless). Load a saved game in Jerusalem.
4. Quick travel from Jerusalem to Acre.
5. From Acre, go by horse to Arsuf.
6. Now, the game should work as intended.

Workaround 2:
1. Plug in a second controller into the system.
2. Go to the last zone with the horse (The same zone where you fall through the world with the horse and then the 2 Altairs appear)
3. Once you enter the zone, disconnect the second controller.
4. Play normally and the game will save after the mission.

by following the steps in Workaround 1, i was able to finish the game without any trouble...and i too am a little disappointed with the ending, although i do think it's a fantastic game overall.  i really didn't mind the repetitive nature of the gameplay because running around the cities and fighting off guards was so much fun.  by the later part of the game, i could whip through the information-gathering missions so quickly that it took no time at all to reach the next major assassination, and all of those were incredibly well done.  my biggest complaint is something i won't mention without spoiler tags though...

Spoiler for Hiden:

i really didn't mind that it became very combat-oriented at the end as the fighting system is something i really enjoyed throughout the game.  my dissatisfaction with the ending is that there really didn't give us one.  instead, we wind up with a Halo2-style 'ending' that does nothing more than set up a sequel.  that said, i'll probably be in line to pick up Assassin's Creed 2 on day one.  given how much i enjoyed this game, i'm anxious to see what kind of game they can turn out with some more time and feedback to refine the gameplay...definitely has the potential to be something great.

now, i think i'll take a little break from AC and focus on Mass Effect for a while.  i'll definitely be heading back into AC to do some more Templar killing and flag hunting though...gotta collect them all 

[metallicorphan]

just finished the game,quite suprised at how big the game field was,what with all the cities(roofs and streets)and the kingdom that held them all together...didnt like the ending one bit


got quite a fair share of the achievements,dont think i will go back to collect/gather flags though

oh and i also fell through the floor at one point....funny actually,because as i fell through the floor,i got the achievement for fighting for ten minutes...when i did nothing of the sort,LOL

[HankRaptor]

The last mission drew me in bigtime.

I anticipate the sequel.

Purge, I agree. I loved the ending. Cant wait for the sequel.

[Knightshade Dragon]

The last mission drew me in bigtime.

I anticipate the sequel.

Purge, I agree. I loved the ending. Cant wait for the sequel.

You got an ending? You must have played a different game.  My wife even commented "Uh...where's the rest of the game?  Is there another disc?" 

[JCC]

You got an ending? You must have played a different game.  My wife even commented "Uh...where's the rest of the game?  Is there another disc?" 

Agree completely. As soon as the cut scene for the final assassination mission starts, the game is nothing but a giant vacuum of suck. The 'ending' is very unsatisfying.

Still can't wait for the sequel!! 

[CeeKay]

The last mission drew me in bigtime.

I anticipate the sequel.

Purge, I agree. I loved the ending. Cant wait for the sequel.

You got an ending? You must have played a different game.  My wife even commented "Uh...where's the rest of the game?  Is there another disc?" 

at least it doesn't pull a Halo 2 were it gears you up for a big fight and then ends.  In AC you know you have 9 assassinations, you off them then face your master, the company gets it's info and decides to go after the artifacts and keep you on ice in case they need you.  Granted they shouldn't have left you to wander around the office after you view all the hidden symbols, but the ending was kind of like the original Half Life.

[Purge]

That is how you can go back into the thing and restart any part of the game.

[CeeKay]

That is how you can go back into the thing and restart any part of the game.

yeah, but a level select menu could have worked just as well and probably caused less confusion.  but who knows, maybe they put in a time sensitive easter egg that will pop up in the office after a certain date....

[Ridah]

I'm about 3-4 assassinations into the game, does anyone else find themselves constantly wrestling with the controls?

I'm enjoying the beautiful graphics and animation, but the core gameplay itself is stale. AC simply looks cooler than it really is it seems, killing targets isn't nearly as calculated and satisfying as the likes of Hitman and Splinter Cell. I don't think I'll be bothering to play the whole way through.