Synchronizing…

Assassination is the targeted killing of an individual who is in a high-profile position.

The year is 1191 AD. The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart. Altair, a member of the Assassins Brotherhood, fights to bring peace and safety to the known world by assassinating key leaders.

Now and then…

Your name is Desmond Miles, a common bartender kidnapped by some scientists and imprisoned in a facility belonging to Abstergo Industries, where secret experiments take place. The newest experiment is… you. Desmond is the last descendant from a long family line of assassins. Abstergo created a machine called "Animus" which recreates the memories of an ancestor from a specific period. The time is 1191 AD, Holy Land and the ancestor is Altair.

Feeling dizzy? Well, the plot is somehow confusing in the beginning, every aspect of the game being explained as you advance through the story.

Altair is a killer from the Hashashein sect , a Brotherhood of assassins. He is charged with the mission of killing Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the Templar Knights, but his rushed judgment leads to the failure of the mission. The Brotherhood leader, Al Mualim, strips his ranks and weapons, giving him the chance to redeem himself: kill nine targets.

The plot takes Altair through different areas, historic cities like Jerusalem, Damascus, Acre and Masyaf, to gather information and perform intelligence tasks in order to complete his assassination missions. There are nine assassinations for Altair to perform, nine highly ranked political figures in each of the towns above. Altair discovers that these nine persons are more than just a way to redeem his failure, but they are all Templars and share a common interest.

In the other "reality", Desmond, who is a prisoner of his own past, learns that the scientists who kidnapped him are interested in an artifact and the location is known only by Altair. The overall story of the game is pretty compelling, with a lot of characters involved, each having its own story and a personal interest in the whole plot.

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re-establishing syncronization...

The flying eagle

The name Altair is Arabic and actually means "the flying eagle"; several hints were implemented by the developers: his hood having the design of a beak, his robe resembles an eagle with feathers being cut at the back. Also, every time you climb a view point , an eagle is standing at the top and when synchronizing the view you can hear the eagle, suggesting the feeling of freedom, that anything is permitted.

Benefiting the training and life in the Hashashein sect, Altair can perform some pretty tricky acrobatics and a full range of combat moves. In my opinion, the combat is the key element of the game. You can kill your opponents in so many ways, more and more finishing moves unlock as Altair recovers his levels in the Brotherhood. The more you keep playing, the more combat becomes a delight, 20 soldiers are nothing but a small challenge that will easily be suppressed.

When any person joined the Assassins Brotherhood, the initiation was to amputate the ring finger from the left hand, between the little and the middle one giving you enough space for the Hidden Blade. This is probably the most used weapon in the game for assassination. It is mounted on a gauntlet and can be used for high profile or low profile assassinations. The high profile assassination is when Altair jumps on his target and stabs him in the neck, this way he attracts the attention of every person around him. On the other hand, the low profile assassination can be performed quick, Altair moving at the back of the target stabbing him in the ribs and even if in the middle of the street, you won't attract the attention of the people, the death being noticed only after a few seconds.

The Short Blade is used when surrounded by lots of enemies, the weapon gives you room for a lot of agility. The Short Blade can be upgraded once during the game, giving you more damage to the attacks.

The Long Blade is more powerful than the Short Blade but also much slower.

Then there are the Throwing Knifes which can be selected on the same button as the Short Blade. When the enemy is outside the melee range, the Throwing Knifes are automatically selected. One can carry up to 15 knifes.

You also have the Punch, which isn't really a weapon and can be used only in interrogation missions where you need to beat the information out of targets.

The combat is very immersive , multiple opponents can be killed without taking any damage, for the simple fact that no more than one soldier will be attacking you at a time. If you need to escape, you need to make way between the citizens which will be a real obstacle course. To escape the followers, you first need to break the line of sight, then you need to hide somewhere and wait to them to lose track. Usually you can hide in a pile of hay or hiding spots found on the rooftops of the buildings. While running, you will attract more attention on yourself and the guards will suspect you did something. A good way to lose track is to find the monks, there are several groups in each area, and you can blend in, but first you also need to break line of sight.

Besides the combat, the feeling that you can do anything, you can go anywhere, is actually there. You really are the ultimate assassin and nothing can stop you. Climbing the walls of a building, jumping from house to house; gives you the feeling that Altair does not obey the laws of physics, every move being so simple, so acrobatic, almost like a feather in the wind. Climbing a building/walls looks very real just because any visible ledge can be grabbed; the developers took the time to implement these simplistic aspects of the game, which adds to its realism.

... syncronization lost.

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Gameplay: 85

The game has something unique that will captivate players of the genre and others as well. Is it the combat, the gore or it may be just the way an assassin is supposed to act? Whatever the reason is, Assassin's Creed is surely a game worth playing. Every single assassination starts from checking out lookout points, gathering intel, eavesdropping, pickpocket informers , citizen rescue and finally you get a go for the main target assassination; for all these reasons the game starts to feel repetitive at some point. The combat runs very smooth, a combination between attack and counter-attack, very impressive the way you kill you opponents using different types of weapons and combos.

Graphics: 89

It looks somehow like the colors are a combination of white and black hue. I guess it looks like this to amplify the game's atmosphere from the time of the Crusades. The attention to detail can be seen in every city, where people are dressed different from other locations, the way Altair grabs a ledge, not only simulating that he grabs on to something when there's nothing there.

Sound: 92

The sounds and music are great every way you look… or listen. Assassin's Creed benefits from an oriental music that alternates with the tweeting of the birds or some citizen preaching about the latest expedition of King Richard. And when the screaming gets annoying just stop killing every single guard in the city