Creed

Everyone who has played it wants to talk about it, and so do I. Assassin's Creed, it's great. I've heard it said several times in several places that it's repetitive. Well perhaps there is some repetition but it is by no means boring.

Do you remember what it was like the first time you saw Grand Theft Auto III? Instead of walled-in levels and linear map progression you were suddenly presented with a free-form wander-around do-what-you-like three-dimensional city filled with NPCs. The freedom that Liberty City afforded us was a revelation. Since then we have played Vice City, San Andreas, Morrowind, and Oblivion. Of course there were free-form games out before these titles. Daggerfall, Fallout and its cult hit sequel Fallout 2 were among several other games which presented the player with a large world to explore freely, but it was never done in such a rich, three dimensional way.

And now there is Assassins Creed. It's GTA3 all over again. Where GTA3 had three islands (progressing from industrial, through commercial, to residential type districts), Assassin's Creed has three cities. It also has your home town base and the "kingdom" in between these locations which features villages, hamlets and outposts.

These cities are not small either. The areas of the cities you can visit at the beginning of the game are limited until you "unlock" further districts. Revealing how these areas are unlocked would spoil the big twist which occurs right at the beginning of the game. However, unlock enough of the English-held port city of Acre and climb to the top of the Cathedral and you are presented with a view of a colossal city. I really do mean huge. And it's all open for you to explore. No loading zones, no invisible barriers (once it's all unlocked at least), no broken wagons blocking the way; just pure, unadulterated freedom.

The acrobatic method Altair has of moving over, through, and around the streets is also satisfyingly portrayed. Whether you're looking for a vantage point from which to plan your route, fleeing from angry soldiers, or simply trying to avoid the crowds below; running, jumping, and climbing the buildings in Assassin's Creed is deceptively easy and provides for fluid, cinematic game play.

The combat system is satisfying enough. If you liked the swordplay in the Prince of Persia games (fancy that, Ubisoft Montreal made the PoP series too!) then you'll be happy with the visceral melee in Assassin's Creed.

There's more, much more, than I can write in this blog. I have a passion for adventure games and Assassin's Creed has currently taken the crown in my list of favourites. So I won't go on, I'll leave it there and go have a cold shower. My only regret is that the XBox 360 controller won't work when it's wet.