Platforming and mystery at it's finest.
I returned to the gaming world only recently and so feel fortunate to have multiple franchises already into their 2nd and 3rd games, one of which is Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. As this is only first installment of the AC series, I was expecting somewhat limited play control accompanied by a rather engrossing story. Since I didn’t really know about Desmond when I bought the games, I was pleasantly surprised by the frame story setup of the game. The story sucked me in from the beginning, being a Da Vinci Code fan and all that. Part way through, however, the story became repetitive and I had a hard time identifying with Altair. The twists at the end of Desmond’s story, however, brought back the mystery and enticement I was hoping for all along.
As for play control, Ubisoft has created an amazing fully realized world that the player can manipulate. It’s very cool to be able to climb on and up ANYTHING. Even Prince of Persia wasn’t this fine-tuned. At times the play control and camera angles were unnatural and annoying, but for the most part running through the game was an exhilarating experience. Eagle dives made me feel as if I were actually falling. 5 Stars!