Review

20 May

The start of the long-standing series didn’t initially start how most people think. Originally conceived as another Prince of Persia game, Assassin’s Creed made its way as Ubisoft’s new up-and-coming IP with immense potential to spawn an expansive franchise. To do this, it would first have to prove itself to the gaming industry and to gamers who have been accustomed to other game series like Call of Duty, Halo and World of Warcraft but thankfully it had enough to be able to stand on its own.

Taking place primarily in the holy lands during the Crusades, we take on the role of Altair Ibn La ’Ahad, a member of the original Assassins who operated against the Knights Templar, their historical enemies. The Assassin’s or Hashashins as they were called, were hardened and skilled killers who killed throughout the lands and the Templars were dominating the region for their respective God. Moving through the holy lands using the impressive skills Altair bears, we join Altair on a personal mission of redemption as he seeks to eliminate several men who have brought pain and suffering to the land.

Using the historical setting to apply their own unique narrative, Ubisoft puts us on the frontlines of a seemingly open war but as we traverse through the 11th century we begin to see that the conflict between the Assassins and Templars runs much deeper than what is historically reported. This is made all the more transparent when we spend time in the game’s secondary setting, Modern Day 2012. Here we take on the role of Desmond Miles, a former Assassin and recent captive of Abstergo Industries, a powerful company who are the modern-day incarnation of the Templar’s and it’s here that we get to the most unique storytelling aspect of the series.

Abstergo has abducted Desmond for 1 reason, to use him as a research subject for their latest invention, the Animus, a device used to unlock the genetic material of a subject to view the genetic memories of their ancestor. A brilliant storytelling idea that is very unique in its own way as while the idea of simulated worlds and time travel isn’t exactly new, it’s not exactly been used to explore historical settings for what they were instead focusing on the dominating plotlines of their central character like Marty and Doc in Back to the Future.

The mystery surrounding Desmond’s involvement and his past as well as learning more about how the Templars have evolved makes visiting the Modern Day an exciting prospect as often the main narrative doesn’t focus too much on the characters in the crusades. On Altair’s journey, we see him juggle the targets under his list and while we get to know him we begin to understand more about his beliefs and thoughts on certain matters despite this not giving him a lot of depth.

Assassin’s Creed doesn’t feature any type of side narrative, unless you’re counting the Modern Day storyline and its limited collectibles don’t bring much storytelling value but beneath the gloomy exterior of the holy lands is the rich architecture and fun environment that we find ourselves in and always seems to be in a constant state of peril and flux, mainly due to Altair’s actions. Besides that, there’s not all that much to do besides the main plot which sometimes loses its intrigue near the middle of the story but does begin to gain steam again near the end which mostly saves the game’s otherwise directionless story.

The Verdict

Assassin’s Creed serves as an excellent starting point for the series but is lacking in a lot of areas. Its stoic and deadly main character makes for an excellent anchor point to the series and its central premise of a secret war between the Assassins and Templar’s but there is room to improve his character if Ubisoft is keen to continue his arc. The exciting premise of Genetic Memory and being able to relive the memories of one’s ancestor is an exciting premise that can continue to open new possibilities for the series. While it is obvious to see why not much thought was given to the game’s side and collectible narratives it is a shame that not much effort was put into them as it seems that they were only placed for the sake of extending the gameplay. The Modern Day story is also something to keep an eye on as it sets the tone for many new storytelling and world-building opportunities that could serve the series well. With time and improvement, there can be a lot of good things in the series but sadly the 1st entry falls a little short of the mark.

Main Narrative - Assassin’s Creed’s dual narrative helps to keep the player in 2 different state of minds without being too distracting but only the Modern day seems interesting from the beginning with the Animus storyline struggling to pick up speed until later. Sadly it also comes off as predictable and a little lifeless as much of the narrative misses true player agency which is absent through the game’s main story - 7/10
Characters - Featuring a relatively huge cast, not a lot of time is spend really developing any of them save for it’s main character Altair. While Altair is likable enough, the rest of the characters feel very hollow and seem to fill a few typical stereotypes like villains who seem unnecessarily cruel because they believe in a cause. While they are devoid of much personality they provide a baseline for what we could expect in the future - 6/10
Collectibles & Environment - The holy lands are wipe with discourse and strife and provide a historically rich playground but beneath the lovely exteriors, there’s not a lot more to offer as activities are often limited, repetitive and don’t provide much in the terms of storytelling, if only to show the duties of the Assassin’s in the game - 6/10
World Building - Despite some of it’s flawed storytelling, Assassin’s Creed does a very good job as utilising the dual narrative to build upon the world of the series. While it is historically accurate that the Assassins and Templars fought only during the crusades, the Modern Day storyline helps to show the conflict is still very active and that there are layers to the fight that haven’t been explored yet and with the use of the Animus, it opens other settings for the series to explore - 8/10