Impulse buy at Asda last night... after reading so many negatives about it (and not being that impressed with the vids on GamerTV the last few months), I dont know why I did it!
But, yesterday I read a lot of the GameFaqs board for AC and they were saying people were being way too harsh and looking for the negatives when there were lots of positives.
Anyway, as I loaded it up, my feelings were mixed. Played it into last night and for a few hours this morning and here are my thoughts so far:-
- Graphics are stunning... dont care about the glitches/tearing - its minimal and the view makes up for it.
- Atmosphere is great - bustling cities, good background noise etc, quite immersive.
- I quite like the 'basic' free-running - ok, you are holding down 2 buttons and the character does all the moves, but you still have to pick the right path and I think if you had to do all the jumping, it would get damn frustrating real quick.
- The fighting is ok as well - again, fairly basic, but makes a change from learning combo's etc etc... once you get into a good brawl, defense and attack add enough elements to make it exciting enough.
- I like the story and the missions so far. Horse riding is the best I've seen in a game (although reasonably pointless).
Now the bad...
- Camera is dodgy at times
- AI can be dumb - i.e. a guard can spot you and draw his bow, then you step into the box next to you and he is like "huh... where'd he go?" and then go about his business.
- The much talked about 'puppet' system is a very misleading joke... its basically 4 normal buttons, 1st Person View, Attack, Dodge and Run!! I thought each button would move a limb, which could have made the climbing more interesting.
- My biggest problem is a lack of direction when you have to do something... i.e. targets such as pickpocket victims, eavesdrops etc are not identified - should have been part of Eagle Vision.
I dont really buy into the 'repetiveness' angle too much - any game by its nature is fairly repetitive - COD4 is running and gunning, FIFA 5v5 is virtually the same each time, yet i still love it.
I think the biggest problem everyone has with Assasins Creed is it was hyped up WAAAAAAY too much to be something revolutionary. I will stick my neck out and say it has almost achieved it (would be better if they hadnt sugar-coated the puppet movement system) - this game is 'next-gen' - sure the gameplay can be a bit basic, but its good for a short burst.
If everyone ignored the hype and took the game on face value, they will probably see the beauty and overlook the faults.
Will I keep it or trade it Friday for Mass Effect?? Dont know... I am liking it so far and would give it a solid 8/10... I'll see if my view changes in a week, then decide what to do!