« A Life Better Left Unexamined | Home | Left Politics, Middle East, Right Stuff »
The Killer As Tourist
By bukkhead | December 18, 2007
VIDEO GAME REVIEW: ‘ASSASSIN’S CREED’
Developed by Ubisoft Montreal
Distributed by Ubisoft
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: 3rd Person Platform
I’ve got this crazy idea that there should be a college class called “History for Gamers,” which would give lessons on the eras in which video games set themselves. There’s a ton of WWII-era games out there, of course. But it would be cool to learn more about 1930s America and the Art Deco style, featured in Bioshock. And now that Assassin’s Creed has come out, I find I want to know more about the Crusades, the cities of Jerusalem, Damascus, and Acre.
In Assassin’s Creed, you play Desmond Miles, who’s been kidnapped by a secret corporation and placed in an Animus, a device that lets you access and relive ancestral memories. Your goal is to access a particular memory, which you will only have access to once you’ve lived through pertinent events: specifically, assassinating 9 targets.
The controls are tight, if not a little complicated—sometimes I accidentally hit the walk-slow button when I want to sprint. Also, for all the bally-hooed fighting options, I usually just end up button-mashing my way through most fights.
I know some reviewers called Assassin’s Creed repetitive, but I think they weren’t playing it right. Yes, you heard me– I think there is a right way and a wrong way to play video games. (Fun, of course, trumps all. If you enjoy playing Pole Position, seeing how many times you can crash in 2 minutes, then no one can tell you that you’re playing wrong).I’m not the first one to say this, of course. The Penny Arcade guys said something similar, suggesting that reviewers rushed through the game too quickly, which would make any game feel flat.
For me, the game is about “edificing” (Thanks, Terry Practhett). I love just running around, collecting flags, and exploring the incredibly varied cityscapes. Yes, there’s some fighting, some killing, and so forth. There’s a story in there (actually, two for the price of one). But I think the developers focused on the sandbox aspect of the game the most, and so that’s where it delivers. (It was the same with Crackdown. Some folks called it a Halo 3 Beta test with a free game included. Har har. I spent countless hours just bounding from building top to building top.)
“Sandbox” is a buzzword in the gaming industry now, and I’d love to see it shift in the vernacular as a genre unto itself– if only because I’ll play pretty much any sandbox game, or, to verb the noun, I’ll sandbox any game that gives me the flexibility. GTA, of course. The Tony Hawk series. (I use to call them “Explore and Chore” games. Kinda clunky). To a very minor degree, Hitman and Bioshock have the potential.
Assassin’s Creed is not the ultimate sandbox game; but it definitely satisfies. Combining the immersion of well-executed historical depth with an enormous landscape to play in, this is a game that I will savor, taking my time to play, lingering where others might rush by to the next killer title.
Topics: Video Games | No Comments »