Assassin’s Creed Review

At last Assassin’s Creed has been released for the PC! I dare say it was all worth the wait. It has a couple more goodies compared to the console versions. There are however a few quirks on the PC version. What the heck am I waiting for? Let’s dive right in!

Assassin’s Creed is a third person adventure game/RPG in a sense, but to call it that would be calling the Super Ferry a “bangka”. It won’t do it any justice. The storyline itself proposes interesting plots and ploys. It begins when a bartender – a former assassin – is kidnapped by a couple of geeks working for a secret organization of sorts. They stick him in this machine called an Animus that takes a peek into a person’s cellular memories and finding out about that person’s ancestors. This particular bartender however is a decendant of a man named Altair; a member of the early Hashashin clan back in the time of the 3rd crusade. Interesting no? Di ko maikuento buong story dito no, you have to play the game to find out!

If the story impresses you, the graphics (especially the Directx10 PC version) will make your jaws drop. Naka SLI nga lang ako na 8600GT paano pa kaya pag 8800GTX video card ko sobrang kumikinang siguro ito (pati electric bill ko sunog, yokyokyok). The graphics portray a rich living environment during the middle ages. People walk around the town streets like they really have something to do. They shop, they mingle, they gossip. Plus the feel of the game due to the graphics is astoundingly original as well as unique.

Sounds in the game are fairly impressive. I suppose since I wasn’t alive in the middle ages, it is hard to approximate what a town would sound like at that time. I would wager the game’s developer Ubisoft has the right of it. You can hear murmurs in the crowd, horses snorting in the stables, birds chirping, eagles screeching, and swords clanging. All these contribute to the living environment that Assassin’s Creed depicts.

The Gameplay however is a little less than perfect. You play the game like most 3D third person games. You move around with the mouse and keyboard following the storyline. In this one, you are assigned to kill 9 men responsible for the crusades. This plot, however conniving and underhanded, gives you a sense of being short changed after the actual kill. Ang dami dami mong kailangang gawin bago mo mapatay yung tao. Avoid the guards, go to this person, talk to this person, get this one, make this one, then sneak, sneak, sneak. Then KILL! After that you go…”ahhh so yun lang yun?” most of the time. Some of the NPCs are very annoying too. There are beggars on the street who will keep on nagging you for coin and drunks punch you around. When you hit back, the guards will be all over you. If you like a game of build up and a one shot climax, this is for you.

As for replay value, the game is on an open ended format. There are no major strings to pull you here and there except to guide you through the story. There are so many ways to kill a target or achieve your objective. You can come in with your sword and bow and start hacking and slashing everything (with great consequence) or you can be sneaky and stab the guy in a crowd no one the wiser. So you will want to go back to a target over and over and try new stuff. You will get new weapons and abilities too as you level up, this will entail more ways of owning.

All in All, Assassin’s Creed PC is a game you must not miss if you have the hardware for it. It recommends a whopping 3GB of RAM although 2GB will do for minimum. Even at Directx 9 and on minimum settings though, the game is still impressive.

Graphics – 10
Sound – 10
Gameplay -8
Longevity – 9