Assassin's Creed (2007 game)

 In advance of the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, I will be discussing my impressions of the previous eleven games and the 2016 movie. Today's discussion will be about the original game. 

Assassin's Creed was originally envisioned as a sequel/spin-off to 2003's Prince of Persia, but developed into its own game during development. It was released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in November 2007. To date, it is the only game in the series that has not been remastered for PS4/Xbox 1. 

Plot

This game and all subsequent games revolve around the conflict between the Templars, who to control the world and all peoples, and the Assassins, who desire freedom and fight against Templar influence. In the modern day, the Templars work behind the scenes using the company Abstergo Industries for cover. Abstergo captures Desmond Miles and forces him into an Animus, a device used to study a person's genetic memories. 

These genetic memories involved Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, an Assassin living in the Holy Land during the height of the Third Crusade in 1191. At the opening of the game, Altaïr violates the Assassin's Creed and is demoted by his mentor, Al Mualim. Through the game, Altaïr restores his status by carrying out a series of nine assassinations involving men on both sides of the conflict. Through time, it is revealed that these men were all Templars and sought a mysterious device called an Apple, which was made by an unknown race of people that preceded humanity. 

 The last assassination reveals that Al Mualim was working with the Templars and had them all eliminated so there would be no competition for the Apple. Returning to his mentor, Altaïr duels Al Mualim and defeats him, taking the Apple and inadvertently revealing a map of the world with Precursor sites. In the modern story line, Desmond finds out that the Assassin-Templar conflict still exists and that his efforts were helping the Templars. During his time in the Animus, Desmond gains abilities that Altaïr had and uses his newly discovered Eagle Vision to discover a warning from the person Abstergo had in the Animus before him. 

Gameplay

This game introduces many aspects that would continue in later games. Assassin's Creed has an open-world setting, allowing the player to explore the Holy Land during the Third Crusade, including Masyaf, Jerusalem, Damascus, Acre, and a rural area in between these cities known simply as the Kingdom. Map information is revealed by climbing viewpoints in these locations. The player movement is based on parkour, allowing the player to climb buildings and run along rooftops. 

The player is able to interact with historical characters that were active in this combat theatre during this time, such as Richard the Lionhearted. Indeed, several of the assassinations were of men that really existed, such as Robert de Sablé, the Grandmaster of the Templars. 

During each individual assassination, the player reveals information about his target through a series of activities, such as pick pocketing a letter, beating up informants, or killing their subordinates. The player does not have to do all of these activities to unlock the assassination, but doing all of them gives the player the most comprehensive information with which to conduct the assassination. 

Naturally, illegal activities draw the ire of guards and soldiers and if they become aware of the player, they will attack. The player can either fight or escape, using hiding places such as roof gazebos and hay piles to hide. The player uses a sword, the hidden blade, and throwing knives in combat. Additionally, the player could avoid combat altogether by assassinating combatants with the hidden blade while not in open conflict. 

Thoughts

For a game that spun off from an entirely different one, the concepts in this game are particularly well thought out. It sets up the central conflict of the entire series and introduces elements that would be explored in further titles, such as the Precursor race. Still though, it was a concept that was not fully realized this time around. The game is somewhat repetitive, but the individual assassinations are unique enough to at least keep things interesting. 

The combat is somewhat clunky, especially compared to later titles. There is also no economic system or player customization for this game either. As far as graphics go, they are well developed for that time, especially considering the size of the open world. Despite the graphics, this game lacked the vibrant environment of later games because of a muted color scheme. 

Still, I enjoyed playing this original game, even if I thought it did not quite live up to its potential. It would not take long for this potential to be realized, however, with the release of the sequel two years later.