Warning!  Minor Spoilers Below

Ambitious.  A word that best describes the Ubisoft Montreal project entitled Assassin’s Creed.  A game so complex and ambitious in scope that most critics - and some of the development team themselves - believed would it would not see the light of day this year.  The reasons for its early arrival are unclear; call it divine intervention, sheer tenacity on the part of the developers or a mighty mandate from on high within Ubisoft’s finance department.  However you choose to explain it, Assassin’s Creed has arrived – and though it is a little rough around the edges – this game suffers not.

Increase of Knowledge is Increase of Sorrow

Assassin’s Creed’s story will no doubt stir the controversy pot with its release.  As with all great discussion and debate the illiterati will no doubt miss the point entirely and choose rather to incite with claims of racism and heresy.  What the game offers, however, is a very thought-provoking look at faith, the philosophy of Enlightenment, mankind’s need to bridge the chasm of ideology in order to unite, and ultimately his innate ability to let his primal lust for power blind him to the path most clear.  From the Apple, to the Ark, to the Bomb – we are doomed to repeat ourselves.  And for those who could care less – tis’ seasoned with a lethal dose of action that should surely satisfy the most bloodthirsty action-adventure fans among us – yours truly included.

Abstergo. Ergo, Io

At the center of the tale is Desmond Miles, the trailing end of a long line of Assassins who is kidnapped in the near future by the Abstergo (latin for ‘to wipe off, clean away’ ) Corporation, bent on mining the depths of his genetic memories  in order to unveil a deep dark secret.  So dark in fact – that his memory refuses to yield its contents, and lucky for us too as this is where the play comes in. 

Through the use of a device known as ‘The Animus’, the Abstergo Corp. can read the genetic memory wrapped into Desmond’s DNA allowing him to re-experience the memory of his ancestors in real-time.  The memories in question reside within the 12th century, at the time of Richard the Lionheart's involvement in the Third Crusade and his attempt to control ‘La Terra Sacra’ from Damascus to Jerusalem, and ultimately rid it of the growing influence of Salah al-Din’s Muslim forces.

Desmond finds himself in the boots of an ancestor named Altair, a disgraced assasayun (assassin) tasked by his Master, Al Mualim (or ‘beloved teacher’  ), with redeeming himself by frustrating the plans of Richard’s co-conspirators, William of Montferrat and Robert de Sable, taking down the members of the Knights Templar, and those who would do their bidding. 

Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted

As Altair Desmond has a lethal set of abilities at his disposal that are increasingly unlocked as the various assignments are completed and he regains both his lost ranks and the trust of Al Mualim.  Each regained rank adds new combat and movement abilities ultimately transforming the fallen Altair from an Initiate, armed with but a single blade, to a Master Assassin capable of dispatching a multitude of would-be assailants simultaneously through the skillful use of combos, reversals and added weaponry.

Control over Altair’s fluid, and cat-like movements, is made possible through an intuitive puppet-like mapping system of console button position to relevant body part.  Depressing the right-trigger shifts the controls between low and high-profile, offering a simple approach to accessing an increasingly complex set of moves.  Pressing A (X360) for example sends Altair into a sprint while the same button with the right-trigger depressed enables the game’s amazing ‘free running (parkour)’ mode which essentially turns the rooftops, walls, beams and stacked crates of the Kingdom's bustling Souks into his playground.  You’ve seen the opening sequence of Casino Royale right? 

This effortless, intuitive, approach to control empowers the player to suspend disbelief and become Altair as they are rewarded with masterfully executed animation blending that turns what could quickly have become a repetitive, and boring combat system into a poetic ballet and everyday navigation of the city streets is anything but pedestrian.

Behold a Pale Horse…

The world of Assassin’s Creed cries out for exploration – though many will miss out on the chance to do so as they opt to jump past the Kingdom to their next city destination. I would firmly suggest one to slow down.  Take it all in from horseback and on foot.  Move too fast and the guards will get suspicious anyway.  But it would be pure folly to race through this game without taking in the impressive attention to detail on exhibition herein; from the displaced sand that blows into the wind from Altair’s boots as he scales a tall city minaret to the bits of straw that cling to his cloak as he emerges from a hay cart after a ‘Leap of Faith’ (one of the game’s more thrilling maneuvers) there is a richness and depth in the game’s execution that can easily be taken for granted.

Prior to each assassination Altair must do his ‘due diligence’ and canvas the main cities of Assassin’s Creed (Acre, Damascus, Masyaf and Jerusalem) gathering enough evidence to turn the terrain to his favor.  As Altair scours the cities markets (Souks), squares and back alleys in search of opportunities to Eavesdrop, PickPocket, Interrogate (read: rough-up) or execute a timed task in exchange for an Informer’s tale, you’ll have a chance to take in the game’s stellar Foley work.  Hats off to the audio crew who really make this game happen.  From the clash of combat to the scuffle of boots across the rooftop’s varying material make-up, to the ambience of the busy city streets – one truly feels transported.

And lest we forget Jesper Kyd’s score invoking the spirit of Lawrence of Arabia flowing atop a surging electronica spine – warm, wide and epic.

Paradise Now

Assassin’s Creed was a massive development undertaking that, in order to succeed, had to deliver on a vast, fully-inhabited and explorable game world whose citizens would appear animate, empowered by a complex crowd control AI schema.  This coupled with the complex ‘free-running’ mechanic triggered rumors of delay.  It’s possible the developers did want additional time to polish up some HUD features, terrain aspects and sloppy lip-synching animations, however, even with these rough spots the game as a whole does not suffer and delivers a little bit of paradise, now.

Assassin’s Creed’s ultimate success will rest on the reaction of the many adventure fans out there whose imaginations its Prince of Persia meets Tomb Raider style is sure to spark. I for one welcome the developer’s attempt at offering a story with depth well beyond most offerings - provoking thought and discussion that will challenge and rouse – like any great debate.  And the setting offers opportunity for the writers to express a little creative freedom with the fuzzy historical details; look out Dan Brown – because it looks like we’re in for Assassin’s Creed 2. 
For this reviewer, Assassin’s Creed is indeed a success – dare say, a triumph, and this Initiate – for one – cannot wait for his next assignment. 

Patience Altair – In all things – Patience.