A Face in the Crowd

Game: Assassin's Creed
System: Xbox 360
Release date: November 14, 2007
Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal
Published by: Ubisoft

Stealth action games have been around for a long time, but usually players are tasked with avoiding detection from enemy soldiers and electronic monitoring equipment. In Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft has introduced into the sub-genre an innovative social element, requiring players to behave according to accepted social norms; strange and disruptive actions will draw unwanted attention and more often than not lead to violence.

Assassin's Creed is set in the Levant in 1191 during the Third Crusade. Players take control of Altair, a member of the Assassins, a brotherhood of highly skilled covert warriors devoted to destroying the architects of war in the Holy Land, including war profiteers. Altair travels from Acre to Damascus to Jerusalem, all the time trying to blend in with the local population. In each city, he must eavesdrop on conversations, pickpocket unsuspecting citizens and beat confessions out of collaborators. Information gathered from these activities will help Altair plan and carry out each high-profile assassination.


Unexpectedly, Assassin's Creed takes place not only in 1191; it also is set in modern times. Players actually control a modern-day assassin named Desmond who has been abducted by a mysterious corporation and forced to relive the genetically preserved memories of his distant relative Altair. Each assassination carried out by Altair is thus only a memory centuries old. Jumping between the Third Crusade and the present day is a bit jarring (and arguably unnecessary) but adds another dimension to the plot.

Although in each city the ultimate goal is to assassinate a high-profile individual, there are plenty of side-missions which Altair can complete. In the many districts of each city players can climb buildings (minarets, churches, mosques, guard towers) and survey the cityscape, rescue men and women from violent guards and collect flags hidden among bazaars, plazas and houses. These side-missions help break up some of the monotony that invariably accompanies the intelligence-gathering missions which precede each assassination.

Assassin's Creed is a promising start for a new franchise. The story can be somewhat predictable and the action redundant, but the stealth-action formula and the level design, which convincingly transplants players backwards in time 800 years, is definitely a success.

Score: 91/100