Honestly this is a game I can barely recommend. Pretty much only play this if you are really curious about the AC franchise and really want to try out the game that started it all. If that’s not you, I’m tempted to recommend skipping it altogether. It’s pretty cheap on a discount, so feel free to try it out though.
The PC port is not good. It isn´t unplayable, but it’s really not good. Mostly in terms of compatibility with newer setups and overall controller input. It’s already a game with janky elements, made even jankier by this port.
It’s an interesting game and I can see why it became so popular when it released. The setting is awesome and one we basically never see in games. It kinda tries to be historical fiction, which I appreciate. There’s also this flow that the game falls into when everything is working properly that is quite engaging. The problem is that it everything doesn’t work properly all of the time.
There’s a lot here that is impressive for its time, but there also is a lot of jank. Some that comes with age, some that I’m pretty sure was always there. Platforming and free running are cool in concept, but rapidly becomes extremely unprecise and unwieldy. The auto-jumping has a tendency to go nuts and the character likes to get stuck at times, completely breaking the flow the game is trying to maintain in these sequences. I was rather impressed by the physics simulation and the NPC density and reactions though.
Combat is button-mashy, very simple in terms of options available to engage enemies, and stealth options are also rather limited, making the non-engagement of enemies pretty much unviable in the long term.
In terms of the gameplay loop, there really isn´t much more to it. The latter half of the game gets a bit more varied in the structure of its main missions. You’ll always end up going to a new section of a city map, unlock a couple of towers by climbing them, dispel the fog of war and unlock some side activities, repeat a couple of these activities (which are all basically the same objectives, repeated over and over), unlock the main assassination, complete it and do this again and again and again. It’s the same exact structure all the time, and as I said, there is some variation in the missions later on, but during it’s first half all main assassinations are pretty similar, and all side activities are the same.
In terms of narrative, it isn’t all that interesting either. Both the ‘present day’ framing device and the main Altair plot are very shallow and by the numbers. The Altair story has its interesting setting and occasional compelling moments going for it. The framing device has nothing, a really uninteresting and convoluted concept that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Altair is a bland protagonist though; the side characters shine a bit more. I would have loved if the PC version included subtitles, alas it doesn´t.
An interesting piece of gaming history, the point of origin for a massive videogame franchise, I think I appreciate it more in that context than as a game I played this year. But, it’s a short game, and I think that there is plenty here to be entertained and appreciate for the length of its main story. If curious check it out, if it seems dull don’t feel bad about dropping it and booting up some of its more accomplished successors.
The PC port is not good. It isn´t unplayable, but it’s really not good. Mostly in terms of compatibility with newer setups and overall controller input. It’s already a game with janky elements, made even jankier by this port.
It’s an interesting game and I can see why it became so popular when it released. The setting is awesome and one we basically never see in games. It kinda tries to be historical fiction, which I appreciate. There’s also this flow that the game falls into when everything is working properly that is quite engaging. The problem is that it everything doesn’t work properly all of the time.
There’s a lot here that is impressive for its time, but there also is a lot of jank. Some that comes with age, some that I’m pretty sure was always there. Platforming and free running are cool in concept, but rapidly becomes extremely unprecise and unwieldy. The auto-jumping has a tendency to go nuts and the character likes to get stuck at times, completely breaking the flow the game is trying to maintain in these sequences. I was rather impressed by the physics simulation and the NPC density and reactions though.
Combat is button-mashy, very simple in terms of options available to engage enemies, and stealth options are also rather limited, making the non-engagement of enemies pretty much unviable in the long term.
In terms of the gameplay loop, there really isn´t much more to it. The latter half of the game gets a bit more varied in the structure of its main missions. You’ll always end up going to a new section of a city map, unlock a couple of towers by climbing them, dispel the fog of war and unlock some side activities, repeat a couple of these activities (which are all basically the same objectives, repeated over and over), unlock the main assassination, complete it and do this again and again and again. It’s the same exact structure all the time, and as I said, there is some variation in the missions later on, but during it’s first half all main assassinations are pretty similar, and all side activities are the same.
In terms of narrative, it isn’t all that interesting either. Both the ‘present day’ framing device and the main Altair plot are very shallow and by the numbers. The Altair story has its interesting setting and occasional compelling moments going for it. The framing device has nothing, a really uninteresting and convoluted concept that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Altair is a bland protagonist though; the side characters shine a bit more. I would have loved if the PC version included subtitles, alas it doesn´t.
An interesting piece of gaming history, the point of origin for a massive videogame franchise, I think I appreciate it more in that context than as a game I played this year. But, it’s a short game, and I think that there is plenty here to be entertained and appreciate for the length of its main story. If curious check it out, if it seems dull don’t feel bad about dropping it and booting up some of its more accomplished successors.