Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.

Pros-
The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.
Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.

Cons-
Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.
Lame setup that is almost insulting.
A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.
I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.

Conclusion -
Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.



Pros-

The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.

Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.



Cons-

Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.

Lame setup that is almost insulting.

A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.

I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.



Conclusion -

Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.





Pros-


The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.


Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.





Cons-


Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.


Lame setup that is almost insulting.


A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.


I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.





Conclusion -


Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.







Pros-



The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.



Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.







Cons-



Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.



Lame setup that is almost insulting.



A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.



I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.







Conclusion -



Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.









Pros-




The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.




Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.









Cons-




Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.




Lame setup that is almost insulting.




A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.




I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.









Conclusion -




Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.











Pros-





The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.





Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.











Cons-





Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.





Lame setup that is almost insulting.





A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.





I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.











Conclusion -





Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

cake and eat it too. For a game about assassination I was expecting a lot more violence and gore; I'm 33 I can handle it.













Pros-






The graphics are very impressive. The textures and modeling are top notch even though you still see some puppet like movement during the dialog cut-screens.






Ran without issues on my Intel E6600 C2D system with 2gb of RAM and the 9800GTX VGA card.













Cons-






Bad, made-for-consoles menu system and interface.






Lame setup that is almost insulting.






A game with the word 'Assassin' in it should have a higher body count.






I couldn't stomach it enough to keep playing it, but the friend I gave it away to said it's also really short.













Conclusion -






Nice eye candy but not enough to keep me from ditching this game and regret the money I spent on it. If you want to try it for your self wait until it's in the clearance bin.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

I noted in one review a person swore they changed it. Sadly, they altered the resolution, not the aspect. They played the tall, skinny version of Assassin's Creed.

I used my own controller setup so I cant tell you how nice it works with a mouse and keyboard. From the 2 seconds I used it in the intro I can tell you this, get a controller. I use an adapter which turns my PS1 controller into a USB connection. Worked wonderfully.

It is nearly impossible to quit this game. The Youtube video of the sums it up nicely. At minimum, you need to make about 10 keystrokes over about 2 minutes to exit. Impressive since I never found out how to quit and had to exit using alt+F4 every time. I would also not recommend trying to minimize the game. It will never restore and you will have to end it in task manager.

Aside from that, it was a decent port. I didn't have the video artifacts or crashes that many complain about. I ran it on a dual core 2.4, 8800GTS Video and with just 2 gigs of ram. Maxed my settings completely without a hitch.

The new content was a bit of a let down given that it was shamelessly tacked on. I figured Ubisoft would come through with their marketing promises and include naked pictures of Jade Raymond in hopes of selling out even more, but alas more disappointment to follow. A couple of extra mission types are tacked on. Talk to an informant, kill archers, race across town and that sort of stuff Nothing really new, and nothing that adds to the story or enjoyment.

In all, Assassin's Creed was a decent console game (if you tried not to think about it too much) and it is a functional game for PC. The user interface is terrible and the widescreen mode is obnoxious, but if you can tolerate that it will be enjoyable.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

games, but a friend brings over AC sometimes and personally I prefer the keyboard/mouse combo. With a controller you just feel so constricted and you never forget that you're the one guiding the character on screen. With keyboard/mouse it's easier to get past that and move as if you're in the game. But I understand it's preference and if you're a console person you might feel differently.

I don't know of all the improvements made from the console versions but I noticed at least 4 new side-quests. There's one where you stealth kill archers and guards for your fellow assassins, one where you have to race to another informer within a certain amount of time, one where you "escort vip", and one where you need to throw someone into merchant stores. Adds a bit of variety while you stack up enough investigations for the main kill.

I love the fighting in this game. I thought it was a little dull but once you get Counter, oh my god. Insanely fun and engaging combat sequences. I like that Ubisoft put in a lot of variety to what kinds of moves the Counter skill can pull off. It's just satisfying to watch the incredibly cool maneuvers this guy pulls off against 20+ enemies closing in on him as he spins and ducks and slices. One of my favorite has to be the one where he gets down and stabs a foot then charges up and impales a blade into the skull. Such a pretty game.

Graphics are incredible but yeah the specs are pretty high. I'm running it at max settings with 2x anistropic, 4x anti-aliasing, at 1920x1080 resolution with great fps on a 3.2GHz C2D, 2GB DDR2 800, 8800GT 512, system.

I don't usually buy single player games because of the lack of replayability. So unless it's a great experience, I'll stick with my mutliplayer. Bioshock was a huge letdown for me, but AC was a pleasant surprise. Bioshock had an interesting story but AC has the FUN gameplay. Games I usually go for are CoD4, TF2, etc. All PC of course. Consoles are for kids or for street fighter or rock band sorts of games. Assassin's Creed on PS3 was kind of lame but the PC experience is well worth it if you've got a system to run it.

It's not a perfect game. There isn't an option to save so you'll have to sit through long speeches again if you die. There are some little things I might nitpick about. But from the games available on the market, it's definitely one of the best. I'm excited about other games with this engine because the movement and combat are just so damn fun.

The only keys I customized were the weapons(which is pretty much preference) and I made "Q" eaglevision and "E" target. Works great.

I know it's not a game I'll play again and again like CoD4 but it's a 4.5 for a single player. Downfall is the repetitiveness but the gameplay engine is just spectacular.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

games, but a friend brings over AC sometimes and personally I prefer the keyboard/mouse combo. With a controller you just feel so constricted and you never forget that you're the one guiding the character on screen. With keyboard/mouse it's easier to get past that and move as if you're in the game. But I understand it's preference and if you're a console person you might feel differently.



I don't know of all the improvements made from the console versions but I noticed at least 4 new side-quests. There's one where you stealth kill archers and guards for your fellow assassins, one where you have to race to another informer within a certain amount of time, one where you "escort vip", and one where you need to throw someone into merchant stores. Adds a bit of variety while you stack up enough investigations for the main kill.



I love the fighting in this game. I thought it was a little dull but once you get Counter, oh my god. Insanely fun and engaging combat sequences. I like that Ubisoft put in a lot of variety to what kinds of moves the Counter skill can pull off. It's just satisfying to watch the incredibly cool maneuvers this guy pulls off against 20+ enemies closing in on him as he spins and ducks and slices. One of my favorite has to be the one where he gets down and stabs a foot then charges up and impales a blade into the skull. Such a pretty game.



Graphics are incredible but yeah the specs are pretty high. I'm running it at max settings with 2x anistropic, 4x anti-aliasing, at 1920x1080 resolution with great fps on a 3.2GHz C2D, 2GB DDR2 800, 8800GT 512, system.



I don't usually buy single player games because of the lack of replayability. So unless it's a great experience, I'll stick with my mutliplayer. Bioshock was a huge letdown for me, but AC was a pleasant surprise. Bioshock had an interesting story but AC has the FUN gameplay. Games I usually go for are CoD4, TF2, etc. All PC of course. Consoles are for kids or for street fighter or rock band sorts of games. Assassin's Creed on PS3 was kind of lame but the PC experience is well worth it if you've got a system to run it.



It's not a perfect game. There isn't an option to save so you'll have to sit through long speeches again if you die. There are some little things I might nitpick about. But from the games available on the market, it's definitely one of the best. I'm excited about other games with this engine because the movement and combat are just so damn fun.



The only keys I customized were the weapons(which is pretty much preference) and I made "Q" eaglevision and "E" target. Works great.



I know it's not a game I'll play again and again like CoD4 but it's a 4.5 for a single player. Downfall is the repetitiveness but the gameplay engine is just spectacular.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

to this is the wonderful sound! From the crowd murmurs and the NTCs cries for help, to the whistling of the wind and the well-chosen background music, a good sound-card and speakers set is recommended to truly enjoy this game. If you have a 5.1 speaker system (I do not) I can imagine the experience to become even more immersing.

As to the gameplay, you control Altaïr ibn La-Ahad ("The Flying One, Son of None"). He is a member of the Assassin Brotherhood that sides, well, with both...sides, during the 3rd Crusade. In a story twist, he is also your ancestor, the game being your/his flashback memories. This is a twist I could do without, but I would guess it lays groundwork for the sequels.

The Third person perspective works beautifully and will never loose your interest. Most missions require sneaking and murdering in the shadows. Others will have you eavesdropping for passwords or pickpocketing documents to gain access into target buildings. Some will have you sharpen those sword skills. Still, the game does not avoid its share of stupid "keep this...suicidal character from getting killed" missions. Keep in mind though that ASSASSIN's CREED is rather a strategically thinking action TPS, not a hack&slash fast-paced one.

Controlling your character with a keyboard/mouse takes a lot of getting used to as you have to manage running, climbing, fighting as well as modifying your actions from low to high visibility. The keys are remapable but their complexity will never let you forget you are playing a game. Now for some bad news.

These are the official MINIMUM Requirements:
* Pentium D 2.6GHz (YES, Dual Core!) (or AMD equivalent)
* 1GB RAM (WinXP) or 2GB (WinVISTA) (3GB RECOMMENDED!)
* nVidia 6800 (or Shader Model 3.0 compliant or ATI equivalent)
* Dual-Layer DVD-ROM (or BluRay disc)
* 12GB HDD Space (although my install folder was no larger than 7GB)

As one can see, this is worse than CRYSIS! What I cannot get is how on earth ASSASSIN works on only 512MB of RAM of the XBox, yet it is recommended to have...3GB of RAM on a PC! Sure, the extra content is nice but who did the porting, unpaid interns? Has ANY PC optimization been attempted at all?
Keep also in mind that (as with CRYSIS) in order to fully enjoy the game, barely meeting the minimum requirements means you will barely experience the game. I refuse to deal with WinVISTA so, obviously, this review pertains to DirectX-9. The game is also DirectX-10 compatible, something I cannot comment on though. And now for some good news.

UBISOFT has been recently hit with a $5million class-action suit for hardware (OK, "allegedly") damaged by StarForce bundled with its games. Since, they have announced to be abandoning its StarForce partnership - so let's all rejoice: unlike other UBISOFT games, ASSASSIN's CREED does NOT sport StarForce! Instead, a much milder SecurDisc is used.
It is a pity it took litigation to finally listen to their own customers (suing StarForce would make much more sense, but try finding them in Russia!), but let's count our blessings.

So, overall, this is a well made and beautiful, immersing (although quite short) game that needed more work in PC optimization (where it looses 1 star Overall) and character control (where it looses 1 star for Fun).

As Altair himself would have put it: "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."
Well, not everything - and certainly NOT StarForce.

Assassin's Creed: Windows

...

to this is the wonderful sound! From the crowd murmurs and the NTCs cries for help, to the whistling of the wind and the well-chosen background music, a good sound-card and speakers set is recommended to truly enjoy this game. If you have a 5.1 speaker system (I do not) I can imagine the experience to become even more immersing.



As to the gameplay, you control Altaïr ibn La-Ahad ("The Flying One, Son of None"). He is a member of the Assassin Brotherhood that sides, well, with both...sides, during the 3rd Crusade. In a story twist, he is also your ancestor, the game being your/his flashback memories. This is a twist I could do without, but I would guess it lays groundwork for the sequels.



The Third person perspective works beautifully and will never loose your interest. Most missions require sneaking and murdering in the shadows. Others will have you eavesdropping for passwords or pickpocketing documents to gain access into target buildings. Some will have you sharpen those sword skills. Still, the game does not avoid its share of stupid "keep this...suicidal character from getting killed" missions. Keep in mind though that ASSASSIN's CREED is rather a strategically thinking action TPS, not a hack&slash fast-paced one.



Controlling your character with a keyboard/mouse takes a lot of getting used to as you have to manage running, climbing, fighting as well as modifying your actions from low to high visibility. The keys are remapable but their complexity will never let you forget you are playing a game. Now for some bad news.



These are the official MINIMUM Requirements:

* Pentium D 2.6GHz (YES, Dual Core!) (or AMD equivalent)

* 1GB RAM (WinXP) or 2GB (WinVISTA) (3GB RECOMMENDED!)

* nVidia 6800 (or Shader Model 3.0 compliant or ATI equivalent)

* Dual-Layer DVD-ROM (or BluRay disc)

* 12GB HDD Space (although my install folder was no larger than 7GB)



As one can see, this is worse than CRYSIS! What I cannot get is how on earth ASSASSIN works on only 512MB of RAM of the XBox, yet it is recommended to have...3GB of RAM on a PC! Sure, the extra content is nice but who did the porting, unpaid interns? Has ANY PC optimization been attempted at all?

Keep also in mind that (as with CRYSIS) in order to fully enjoy the game, barely meeting the minimum requirements means you will barely experience the game. I refuse to deal with WinVISTA so, obviously, this review pertains to DirectX-9. The game is also DirectX-10 compatible, something I cannot comment on though. And now for some good news.



UBISOFT has been recently hit with a $5million class-action suit for hardware (OK, "allegedly") damaged by StarForce bundled with its games. Since, they have announced to be abandoning its StarForce partnership - so let's all rejoice: unlike other UBISOFT games, ASSASSIN's CREED does NOT sport StarForce! Instead, a much milder SecurDisc is used.

It is a pity it took litigation to finally listen to their own customers (suing StarForce would make much more sense, but try finding them in Russia!), but let's count our blessings.



So, overall, this is a well made and beautiful, immersing (although quite short) game that needed more work in PC optimization (where it looses 1 star Overall) and character control (where it looses 1 star for Fun).



As Altair himself would have put it: "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

Well, not everything - and certainly NOT StarForce.