• Summary: The first game in the Assassin's Creed franchise is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history. [Ubisoft] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 38
  2. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. 95
    The game looks better than ever on the PC and plays like a dream too. However if you already have the game you wont find anything totally new other than the odd side-mission.
  2. When pumped up to max settings, this new director's cut makes the game look better than ever. Individual textures pop off the screen, making cloth and stone appear remarkably lifelike.
  3. The spectacuar way in which the game is presented is enough to make the most players want to overlook the deep-running problems it harbors and plaudits must be paid to a setting this original and so excellently realized. [June 2008, p.64]

See all 38 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 92
  2. Negative: 15 out of 92
  1. JalexD.
    10
    Okay, I do wish that there was even more variety in the gameplay, even if it meant delaying this version some. But, I already loved the console version and the PC version does no harm to the original. It merely adds to it and that can only be a good thing. So, if you loved the game (not just liked it or thought it was 'okay') or haven't played it yet and think it looks good, this is a must-buy expansion to a classic game. Expand
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  2. 6
    The story is good - EA did an awesome job doing historical research. However, the game play has the following pattern that does not change: Get Assignment, Kill soldiers, Assassinate Target. Next. Guess what - using a Knife! After third assignment - i uninstalled this game from my computer. Expand
    • 3 of 4 users said yes
  3. MechelsM.
    4
    The graphical quality is very good, the models and animations are some of the best I've ever seen. The storyline is reasonable, but nothing to write home about. It pretty much spoils itself before it's halfway through. The 'random' banter from NPCs is highly repetitive, most of them have only one or two sentences which they repeat over and over again. Which gets really annoying after a while. This annoyingness is matched easily by the behaviour of the NPCs, drunkards and beggars will only harrass the player. I ended up getting killed several times by a drunkard who for no reason at all lashed out and pushed me into the water. No guards or any NPC seems to care about the violent behaviour displayed by these drunkards, though if you fight back the heat will be on like there's no tomorrow. NPC guards in mini-game missions will instantly know where you are and of your intentions the second you 'lock' on to them, regardless of how stealthy your approach was. This completely negates the option of using the throwing knifes to get a free kill on these mini-games. I find this a rather immersion breaking issue. The controls leave the most to be desired though. Clearly it is a console port and the controls will constantly remind you of this fact. AWSD only allows for movement in 4 absolute directions, where in combat it is often needed to be able to 'move' diagonally or else the game will lock onto a different target and ruin your combo. The same goes for getting around the towns, in freerun mode the game decides when to jump, how far to jump and will adjust your direction to accommodate the jump it wants you to make. This will often lead to frustrating gameplay where the character either jumps too far or onto the wrong object killing the momentum of your run. Even when playing with a gamepad the controls feel unresponsive and like you're not the one in control of your character. Yet despide this "AI" controlling where and when you jump it's more than happy to let you jump to your doom, even though you have already changed directions or let go of the freerun mode entirely. I'd give it a 8 for graphics and animations, a 5 for the storyline, a 2 for immersion and a 1 for the controls. All in all, I give it 4 out of 10. Sorry, but lavish graphics do not make up for such poor controls and poor NPC behavior. Expand
    • 7 of 10 users said yes

See all 92 User Reviews