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[Kobun Heat]

Could you please sum up these points? Or where can I find them?

Happy Thanksgiving:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/11/review-why-assa.html

 

[Kobun Heat]

I didn't agree with your assessment of the assassination stuff though. I made it a goal of mine to sneak around and behave like an assassin would

See, my assessment was that even though I tried to do that, the second I got caught, all that ever ended up happening was I'd just kill the guy anyway in the next minute or so. So there's no actual risk-reward-punishment system in the game to bring any of that about.

Doing otherwise is like deciding that Super Mario Bros. is "really" a rhythm game, and that unless you stomp on a Goomba to the beat of the music, it doesn't count and you have to turn the game off and start over.

Assassin's Creed is brimming with "emergent gameplay"

I would wholeheartedly disagree. "Emergent gameplay," as I understand it, is where you create a set of basic rules, from which more intricate gameplay naturally flows. Assassin's Creed creates a set of basic rules that almost entirely suffocate any possibility of gameplay, and it has to be shoehorned in.

Edit: Apparently my working definition of emergent gameplay was totally wrong. In the sense of "gameplay that wasn't anticipated by the designers," then quite possibly, although none of what people are describing sounds like much fun to me.

 

[yukoner]

Happy Thanksgiving:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/11/review-why-assa.html

Which is what's supposed to happen. Technically, this is entirely possible. Sure, the guards are everywhere, and they're on high alert, but if you stealthily take out a few of them without the others noticing, you'll be able to creep through undetected. The only problem is, what generally occurs is this:

The guards see you, because they always see you
They all start attacking
Your assassination target, a huge idiot, joins in the fight
You totally ignore all the guards, who don't do much damage to you, and end up assassinating the guy anyway, despite yourself, not even knowing which one he is.

Did you even use the intel provided in the attachments recieved from the sidequests??

I found that by reading all attachments, and getting all info, I could complete the majority of missions without alerting the gaurds.
One of the best was when I took the guy out on the boat, I didn't get spotted at all on the way in, killed the mark, and got all the way back out without being spotted, it was the perfect assassination.

There is challenge in this game, but you have to motivate yourself to do it. Pulling off a perfect asssasination is always possible, but it's not easy.

 

[beelzebozo]

my problems with the game (mostly structural, concerning repetitiveness and what not) could be so easily fixed in a sequel. i'm really enjoying the game, but whatever comes next seems really promising with the engine built and basics out of the way

 

[RSTEIN]

Happy Thanksgiving:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/11/review-why-assa.html

I just read your blog. You raise some valid points. I think this game is so polarizing because gamer expectations were all over the map before it came out. Ubisoft pimped the game hardcore (with the help of Jade Raymond), ultimately promising too much for their own good. Clearly the game failed to live up to your expectations, and I don't think you're alone there.

That being said, if you put the hype and promises aside, there is a neat little game at the core. You're right, this isn't quite the Assassin Simulator Ubisoft billed it to be, but just because it didn't quite reach this promise doesn't force us to conclude the rest of the game is shit - because it's not. I really like the combat. It clicks with me. The assassinations are fun. I like travelling through the Kingdom, taking in the sites and sounds. The story is pretty cool too. I haven't reached the end of the game so I can't comment on your gripes there.

So, the bottom line: forget the huge promises Ubisoft made. Maybe we'll see those materialize in the sequel. Take the game for what it is - an Adventure Game Lite, featuring a cool little story, fun combat, and some of the best graphics we've seen this gen.

 

[Fifty]

Did you even use the intel provided in the attachments recieved from the sidequests??

I found that by reading all attachments, and getting all info, I could complete the majority of missions without alerting the gaurds.
One of the best was when I took the guy out on the boat, I didn't get spotted at all on the way in, killed the mark, and got all the way back out without being spotted, it was the perfect assassination.

There is challenge in this game, but you have to motivate yourself to do it. Pulling off a perfect asssasination is always possible, but it's not easy.

I see your point, but they should have made the guards do much more damage if they wanted people to go about it in a stealthy manner. If it's easy and convenient to just start a big fight, they've failed somewhere in the game design process. It seems to me as if the people who are really loving the game are having to go out of their way to create their own experience, one that the game doesn't naturally deliver.

 

[Kittonwy]

See, my assessment was that even though I tried to do that, the second I got caught, all that ever ended up happening was I'd just kill the guy anyway in the next minute or so. So there's no actual risk-reward-punishment system in the game to bring any of that about.

Doing otherwise is like deciding that Super Mario Bros. is "really" a rhythm game, and that unless you stomp on a Goomba to the beat of the music, it doesn't count and you have to turn the game off and start over.


I would wholeheartedly disagree. "Emergent gameplay," as I understand it, is where you create a set of basic rules, from which more intricate gameplay naturally flows. Assassin's Creed creates a set of basic rules that almost entirely suffocate any possibility of gameplay, and it has to be shoehorned in.

Edit: Apparently my working definition of emergent gameplay was totally wrong. In the sense of "gameplay that wasn't anticipated by the designers," then quite possibly, although none of what people are describing sounds like much fun to me.

My question is how good is the payoff when you complete an assassination after doing all that hard work? For me gaming is more about challenge-payoff than anything else, finish a scenario, get a nice brief but satisfying cutscene like in Uncharted or some fucking glorious explosion like blowing up that giant scarab thing in Halo 3, or even ME which I'm not really getting into yet like "OMGZ U DA MAN U SAVE TEH COLONIES U BADASS U" everytime I run into some random cadet dude.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Did you even use the intel provided in the attachments recieved from the sidequests??

You know what's crazy? I didn't even know those things existed until after I had beaten the game and written the review. That's an even bigger failure of design.

 

[BlueTsunami]

You know what's crazy? I didn't even know those things existed until after I had beaten the game and written the review. That's an even bigger failure of design.

I agree with this. The way I found out it even existed was reading this thread.

 

[RSTEIN]

I agree with this. The way I found out it even existed was reading this thread.

Wait. When you pickpocket someone you can actually read the note? WTF?

 

[MarkMan]

lol I love the last line...

*the above contains assassin's creed spoilers

 

[conman]

You know what's crazy? I didn't even know those things existed until after I had beaten the game and written the review. That's an even bigger failure of design.

Absolutely true.

I'd agree with most of your critiques if I had played the game according to how the final product is presented. But for those of us who have decided to "fix" the game (by killing the HUD and select screen map), nearly all of your critiques disappear.

What that means is, the biggest (and most heartbreaking) failure of this game was in not telling gamers how to play it properly. It's absolutely atrocious that the game doesn't even do itself enough justice to make itself clear to gamers.

Most of your critiques revolve around the game's lack of true "open-ness." I've said it a million times already, and I'll keep saying it until I prove to the world how incredible this game is: play without the freakin map and HUD!!

Once you do, it becomes patently obvious that this is how this game was meant to be played.

I'm tempted to write an instruction manual on how to play this game correctly. Anyone interested??

 

[yukoner]

You know what's crazy? I didn't even know those things existed until after I had beaten the game and written the review. That's an even bigger failure of design.

Ya it was a failure, it took me until the 3rd or 4th assasination to figure it out, but man does it ever make the sidequests WAY more meaningful.

Rather than getting some one-sentance overview, you can actually read the note, map or whatever, and get valuable intel. At that point the game turned a corner for me...

Many of the maps highlighted guard positions, hiding spots, archer positions etc etc

 

[RSTEIN]

Ya it was a failure, it took me until the 3rd or 4th assasination to figure it out, but man does it ever make the sidequests WAY more meaningful.

Rather than getting some one-sentance overview, you can actually read the note, map or whatever, and get valuable intel. At that point the game turned a corner for me...

Many of the maps highlighted guard positions, hiding spots, archer positions etc etc

Oh. My. God.

Fuck. This sucks. I'd be real pissed if I finished the game without knowing this. Thankfully I'm only going to my fourth assassination.

 

[Flipside]

Ok that kinda sucks. I finished the whole game, including ALL pre-quests and this is the first time I see that you actually get the intel you obtain trough the pre-quests.

I liked the game but I always wondered why certain things weren't added to the map (even scrolled trough the legend to see if stuff got added). They should have included this in the tutorial mission imo, instead of explaining what the yellow and red eye icons mean 1000 times.

 

[Cornballer]

Rather than getting some one-sentance overview, you can actually read the note, map or whatever, and get valuable intel. At that point the game turned a corner for me...

Many of the maps highlighted guard positions, hiding spots, archer positions etc etc

Whhhhaaaattt?!? I had no idea. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[PowerSmell]

Assassin's Creed bills itself as a stealth game, but you can't do any of the above. The city streets are a giant tangled ball of data that you can't legitimately be expected to process. There are dozens of guards, hundreds of people, and lots of little side streets and blind corners. Even if you were a math genius and could process it all, it's still random. A crazy person might push you into a guard, blowing all of your careful planning. You will get spotted in Assassin's Creed. You will get spotted a lot. And then you have to run around the city like a jackass hoping that the guards, who were omniscient a minute ago, suddenly become stupid enough to not see you "hiding" on a bench.

I agree with many of your points, but I think stealth gameplay is there, but it might not be completely obvious (like so many things in the game, which like you said, is bad design on the devs' part).
Stealth comes into play by sticking to the rooftops. On the streets you'll be exposed, but if you stick to the roof tops, you'll start to notice some of the more common stealth game conventions. For example, you'll notice that there are only a few guards and in certain places, and not the randomly spawning guards in the streets. It will really start to seem like an MGS or Splinter Cell game at that point in that the guards have been placed in those positions. Couple that with having to traverse to roof tops to get to your goal, and you'll start to notice that the open world might not actually be completely open, and this is where the free running really starts to shine. Maybe you've pulled off some stealthy assassinations without being spotted, I'm willing to bet that you were got to location via roof tops. And as you get farther in the game, you'll notice the difficulty increases mainly by increasing the number of guards on the roofs.
Another thing, if you notice the guards at street level that aren't randomly spawned, the type that are standing guard in front of a door or passage way, you'll notice the area around them is designed to allow you to get past them via the free running.

edit: Approaching the main assassination targets from rooftops I think will highlight my point. They'll be an increased number of them near the target, meaningfully placed with respect to enviroment.

 

[conman]

This isn't a typical "stealth" game. At one point, Altair himself tells one of his bureau heads something like: "An assassin makes his presence known so that everyone knows of his deeds."

In this game, stealth does not mean remaining hidden; it means being ignored until you no longer wish to be.

 

[Bebpo]

The great bulk of the story scenes take place in one of two areas: the assassins' bureau in each city (which all look the exact same, which is not what I would do if I was trying to run a shadow organization) and the main assassins' hideout where you return after each kill to talk to your boss.

Eventually I started to dread going in there, because I never knew how long they were going to keep talking at me for minutes at a stretch with nothing interesting happening on screen.

Yeah, this pretty much sums up why the unskippable long dialogues were bad.

 

[itxaka]

I finish it. Top notch. Need Sequel now. 8/10 Best sandbox game of the year (I still love you crackdown)

Starting another one game to try the hudless thing.

BTW who is Ptrice Brisebois? On the credits i couldn´t find him, it´s not Patrice Desilets?

 

[mauaus]

I finish it. Top notch. Need Sequel now. 8/10 Best sandbox game of the year (I still love you crackdown)

Starting another one game to try the hudless thing.

BTW who is Ptrice Brisebois? On the credits i couldn´t find him, it´s not Patrice Desilets?

Hockey player methinks

 

[Lakitu]

I've just reached Jerusalem and am going to do my 3rd assassination now, how far am I through the game? Amazing game so far, lived up to my expecations.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I was recognizing subtle differences by the time I got to the fourth memory block (second districts in each city). By the time the final districts opened up, there was an unmistakable difference in the logic of the architecture.

That's really too bad. For me, my only disappointments have been with the architecture itself. Meaning, if I couldn't get somewhere I wanted to go, I blamed the city's architecture rather than bad game design. That's a sign of something truly special happening here.

They're so subtle that they don't make a difference. I find myself just going effortlessly through the city just by holding up, RT, and A. I don't have to make much effort to figure out where to go and I'm just cruising through effortlessly. It's mostly automated for me with the occaisional push a bit left or push a bit right. It really does amount to just holding it down and not doing much else.

I've got like a billion complaints about the game cuz a lot of it doesn't make any sense. I see the framework for something special only for there to be nothing on top of the framework. The gameplay is simple and not varied. It's a sandbox game with nothing to do. It's an assassin game without much to the asssassination. I'm doing everything possible in the game so I don't know what more I can be missing. The flaws are glaring and if you can get past them, more power to you, but it doesn't mean the flaws aren't there. When it amounts to just doing two side quests to unlock the assassination and no effort needed to do the assassination with a city that doesn't give you much to do outside of the scope of the main game, how can you not see why people find the game flawed?

 

[mckmas8808]

Most of your critiques revolve around the game's lack of true "open-ness." I've said it a million times already, and I'll keep saying it until I prove to the world how incredible this game is: play without the freakin map and HUD!!

Once you do, it becomes patently obvious that this is how this game was meant to be played.

I'm tempted to write an instruction manual on how to play this game correctly. Anyone interested??

YES!!! Why is playing it without the HUD so much better?

 

[itxaka]

Hockey player methinks

:lol to think that actually I was looking for him on the credits..

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Exactly what the hell did you guys think the "You've acquired a map of whoever's gaurds" and so on meant?

 

[TTG]

initially i thought this game was awesome but after a few hours of play, its little problems do start to get annoying

the tasks do get repetitive and the combat can be frustrating, especially against multiple enemies where it automatically switches targets for you while your getting constantly attacked

continuously pressing the square button also loses its charm after a while, combat needs to be improved.....the biggest problem for me though is that you have this massive world which looks really interesting but there is basically nothing to do, you dont even have to complete most of the objectives to get to assassinating someone

i still think its a good game though, the animations (mainly for Altaïr) and graphics are great and jumping over the rooftops as well as climbing towers is really fun. The actual assassinations are the best bit, nothing beats sneaking up on someone and having that little sword drop out of your arm as you stab them in the back

i am glad i bought the game though

My advice for people getting bored with the repetition:

1. Pick and choose what objectives you want to do. Climb the coolest/tallest looking thing in the area and forget about the rest. When you have a bunch of markers, pick out the informers, "I". These are either timed assassinations(gets pretty hectic when you have to do 5 in 3 minutes in a crowded town square with guards already on the lookout) or a Jet Grind Radio style thing where you run one continuous line around a certain area. Those I've found to be the most fun.

2. Don't go through the Kingdom unless you want to.

3. DON'T HESITATE. The faster and more lethal you are, the more fun it will be. Don't pause to make sure the patrolling archer is not looking while you run by, stab him in the neck. Don't stop to make sure you are perfectly lined up with a ledge before you jump onto it. This game is not your average platformer where you jump on the new platform, check out the surroundings and line yourself up for the next jump. Just trust Altair enough and you'll probably make the right move, if not be ready to catch a ledge with yours hands while you fall(b button). Hay stacks aren't just there for jumping off a viewpoint or hiding. They are all over the place, if you see some pigeons or bird droppings on a ledge it means you can make a leap of faith from that spot. No need to jump off or scramble down some stairs.

About the combat... button mashing is really boring. There's 2 ways to initiate an attack really. Counter attack(guard + X) or step+attack to knock them off balance(A then X). If you don't use those, it can really seem like a mess of a combat system.

It seems that it comes down to whether the core gameplay is enough to keep you playing. I haven't missed one view point or objective.(other than saving all citizens) Yes pickpocketing and interrogating are no highlights of the game, but the overall experience makes up for it for me.

Also, if you guys think the platforming is easy and the guards are way too good at it, you're doing something wrong

 

[nelsonroyale]

YES!!! Why is playing it without the HUD so much better?

seems about the same to me, except you get lost easier..which is annoying

I enjoy the free running...its very intuitive...if you are looking for hardcore platforming, you aint going to find it here though...also, beating the crap out of the guards is quite fun and easy, I can take dozens out at a time with ease...too much ease maybe.


Japan for the sequel would be sweet...that or as a russian hitman...or maybe during the French Revolution or some such...many possibilities. A futuristic one would be cool as well, but that cant really happen

 

[yukoner]

It seems that it comes down to whether the core gameplay is enough to keep you playing. I haven't missed one view point or objective.(other than saving all citizens) Yes pickpocketing and interrogating are no highlights of the game, but the overall experience makes up for it for me.

Also, if you guys think the platforming is easy and the guards are way too good at it, you're doing something wrong

I actually really liked the pick-pocket missions, because that always meant that I would get something I could read, like a map or something. So I'd always go out of my way to do a pick-pocket mission if one came up.

And I agree about the Informer missions, one of the funnest parts of the game for me. Not the flag collections, but the assasination missions were very fun. Taking out 5 guys, in 5 minutes, without getting noticed, makes youy feel pretty bad ass!

The other activity I really enjoyed doing as a diversion was riding around the kingdom hunting templars. What a great way to spend an hour or two, and it's way fuckin funner than any Hidden Orb, or Pizza delivery mission in GTA or Crackdown.

Essentially, the templars are hidden orbs...which you can stab in the throat

 

[Bluemercury]

So is this game decent?

 

[Phthisis]

I finish it. Top notch. Need Sequel now. 8/10 Best sandbox game of the year (I still love you crackdown)

Starting another one game to try the hudless thing.

BTW who is Ptrice Brisebois? On the credits i couldn´t find him, it´s not Patrice Desilets?

It's a joke: the developer at Ubisoft Montreal is named Patrice Desilets while Patrice Brisebois is a defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens who has taken some crap from fans in the past for not being very good.

So is this game decent?

I would put it #3 of 2007 behind Mass Effect and Portal.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

So is this game decent?

It is my own and others GOTY.

 

[dirtmonkey37]

Okay, so couple questions.

When you go HUD-less, how do you...well, what noises am I supposed to be looking for when I'm perched upon a short wooden plank on a tower? What are these supposed audio "cues"?

Also,

Spoiler

How was I supposed to stealthly assassinate the third guy in Damascus? The guy who was executing the "innocent" civilians? Even after using the scholars to sneak up on stage, as soon as I terminated the "blending" process, the guards spotted me. I ended up fighting him in combat...I'm planning on doing this mission again.

 

[Bildi]

About 17 hours in and just got to Jerusalem last night to start researching for my third assassination. I'm still playing HUD-less and have been using the map less and less. I used the map in Acre poor district to help cross off areas that I had searched for flags in but for Jerusalem rich district I'm going to forego the map entirely even for the flag searches.

I definitely agree with what others have suggested - a hard difficulty with no access to the map would have been great. Here's hoping they're listening for the sequel

Regarding flags, I would have liked it if each flag was visible from at least one viewpoint. I think that would make using the viewpoints even more interesting and integral.

 

[X26]

So is this game decent?

I think it's awesome, but it's a very "not for everyone" game

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Okay, so couple questions.

When you go HUD-less, how do you...well, what noises am I supposed to be looking for when I'm perched upon a short wooden plank on a tower? What are these supposed audio "cues"?

Also,

Spoiler

How was I supposed to stealthly assassinate the third guy in Damascus? The guy who was executing the "innocent" civilians? Even after using the scholars to sneak up on stage, as soon as I terminated the "blending" process, the guards spotted me. I ended up fighting him in combat...I'm planning on doing this mission again.

Spoiler

I just climbed the scaffolding to the left of the gallows and lept right behind him into an assassination blade lunge. Not exactly stealthy, but hey.

 

[Lemming_JRS]

Wait. When you pickpocket someone you can actually read the note? WTF?

Yeah, exactly. I didn't figure this out until assassination #4. Strange, given how they hit you over the head with tutorials for the first hour of the game, that there's NO mention of this whatsoever.

 

[X26]

Yeah, exactly. I didn't figure this out until assassination #4. Strange, given how they hit you over the head with tutorials for the first hour of the game, that there's NO mention of this whatsoever.

Yea, like 99% of the people in this thread it had to be mentioned here before I realized it

 

[TTG]

Happy Thanksgiving:

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/11/review-why-assa.html

I'll try to actually pick out some points from that.

1.The guards see you, because they always see you
2.They all start attacking
3.Your assassination target, a huge idiot, joins in the fight
4.You totally ignore all the guards, who don't do much damage to you, and end up assassinating the guy anyway, despite yourself, not even knowing which one he is.


I died during a couple of assassination attempts, but more often than not I was able to get the kill in even though I was spotted. So the game's Big Promise, that you'll become this stealthy silent killer who carefully orchestrates his every move, quickly fades away when you realize that more often than not, the game will force you into a situation where the easiest thing to do is just stab the guy right in the middle of broad daylight with a dozen armed guards standing around not doing anything about it.

Are you the type of person that shot everyone in the head in Hitman games too? Yes you CAN use brute force to kill the targets. What you describe here is NOT how it happens when you do things right. Your first mistake was that you did not pay attention to what you got out of those boring investigations missions. If you did, the "Investigate targets, carefully plan, then pull off the ultimate stealth kill." concept would make a whole lot more sense. Why? Because you get maps showing you the positions of all the guards, where the best place for entering is without getting noticed. When you can strike so the target himself is distracted, even what options to eliminate when searching for the target(the scholar). If everything goes right, you're noticed AFTER you've killed. Just like the little concept trailer that got you all excited.

There is shit all to do.

Don't forget what this game actually is. It's not an RPG or a GTA style game. There's no sidequests and you can't call up the local mob boss to run some missions for him. Why? Because at the end of the day it's very focused on the Action and Platforming. Would it make sense to go fishing or chasing cats like in Zelda? Or maybe rob the local merchants GTA style? A lot of people apreciate the fact that Ubisoft recreated a world from that time period. There's an incredible attention to detail here, the sense of scale is right on. It looks and feels amazing as well. People enjoy just moving through the kindgom and apreciate the architecture within the city. You think it's filler, fair enough. When the game asks you to fastforward to the city you need, go ahead and select "yes". You can also go ahead and put markers on the next objective, god forbid you actually stumble around for 30 seconds looking for that informer in the "filler" parts of the game.

Assassin's Creed bills itself as a stealth game, but you can't do any of the above. The city streets are a giant tangled ball of data that you can't legitimately be expected to process. There are dozens of guards, hundreds of people, and lots of little side streets and blind corners. Even if you were a math genius and could process it all, it's still random. A crazy person might push you into a guard, blowing all of your careful planning. You will get spotted in Assassin's Creed. You will get spotted a lot. And then you have to run around the city like a jackass hoping that the guards, who were omniscient a minute ago, suddenly become stupid enough to not see you "hiding" on a bench.

The game is designed around the fact that you will get spotted and it will happen often(especially later in the game). It is NOT Hitman or SC. The catch here is when you do get spotted to either eliminate the guard that sees you before the back up arrives or get away from him. You are not suppose to process the whole city before making a getaway however. Do you memorize each and every half pipe and staircase in Skate or Jet Grind Radio before making a move? Do you just ride around like a jackass before you have the whole picture? Or do you learn as you go, picking out lines to keep your momentum/combo going and then get better at it the more you play? Do you eventually learn the best lines in those levels with more experience? And yes, the guards lose you when the line of sight is broken if you hide. This suspension of disbelief, I'm sure is much harder to swallow than, say getting shot over and over in the face only to find a medkit or have your health regenerate. Oh shit, hold on a second, in the concept video you so adore, didn't Altair blend in with some monks to hide? Why didn't the guards just surround the monks and look for the guy with the sword?

I skipped your last comments, because I haven't completed the game yet. The game is not without it's flaws, but you sure do a shitty job at criticizing it. It's alright though, your peers don't do much better.

 

[TEH-CJ]

So is this game decent?

I'm still trying to figure that out, I'm trying hard to get into it, but everytime i die i put in ratchet and clank future instead of replaying the section i just died in.

 

[Skilletor]

Spoiler

I just climbed the scaffolding to the left of the gallows and lept right behind him into an assassination blade lunge. Not exactly stealthy, but hey.

Spoiler

I timed walking with the scholars so that he would be in the middle of his long speech about the...3rd victim. He turns around a lot during that speech. As I got up onto the stage, he was turning around again and I ran up and killed him.

 

[dirtmonkey37]

Spoiler

I just climbed the scaffolding to the left of the gallows and lept right behind him into an assassination blade lunge. Not exactly stealthy, but hey.

Oh, I think I'll redo that mission again then.

Thanks for the information though.

 

[Rhindle]

I skipped your last comments, because I haven't completed the game yet. The game is not without it's flaws, but you sure do a shitty job at criticizing it. It's alright though, your peers don't do much better.

That's not really fair, given that the game does such a lousy job of showing people how they're supposed to go about playing the game "properly."

You mentioned Hitman - a great example of a game that does a good job of handholding you through an entire first mission to teach you how the game is intended to be played. AC does that with respect to the basic mechanics, but not with respect to the gameplay strategy. I guess the idea is that players should be able to experiment and discover the secret path for themselves, but that doesn't seem to be working out for most people, and certainly not for reviewers working against a deadline.

 

[Marty Chinn]

So is this game decent?

I don't think so. The more I play, the harder it is for me to push myself to finish it. If it wasn't for achievements I would have given up on it. I think the gameplay is too flawed and repetitive to be decent. It's got a great atmosphere, great graphics, the freerunning is cool, but that's where it ends. The gameplay itself isn't good at all when you realize how little there is to do and no challenge involved at all.

 

[dirtmonkey37]

Actually, another question: is it possible to play this game in such a way that you assassinate the target and do so stealthily enough that you can just casually stroll back to the Assassin's Bureau?

It seems that no matter how stealthy I am, there is no way to avert the impending chase that triggers as soon as you slip your blade into the neck of your target.

 

[BuRT!]

Okay, so couple questions.

Also,

Spoiler

How was I supposed to stealthly assassinate the third guy in Damascus? The guy who was executing the "innocent" civilians? Even after using the scholars to sneak up on stage, as soon as I terminated the "blending" process, the guards spotted me. I ended up fighting him in combat...I'm planning on doing this mission again.

Spoiler

I blended with the scholars about the time that he was talking to the third prisoner, by the time we got to the stage he was talking to the crowd about the last prisoner. At this point he is close enough to reach and kill before you get put in combat, after he's dead you just run away.

 

[conman]

Unfortunately, I don't post often enough to have "earned the privilege" of starting a new thread. This is rather long; sorry. If you were "disappointed" in the game or thought it was "promising," then this guide is for you. (I'll gladly delete this lengthy post if someone moves it for me).

A Quick Guide to "Fixing" Assassin's Creed,
or "Maps? We Don't Need No Stinking Maps!"

This quick guide assumes three things about Assassin's Creed:

1) That this game was originally designed to be played without the use of map markers, GPS, or the select-screen map. Judging by what follows below, it seems that these things were added late in development as a way to "dumb down" the game.

2) That this "fix" is not a way to artificially make the game more difficult. If anything, the use of the GPS and map screen is a way to artificially make the game easier.

3) That this game is worth fixing. If you're not interested in "fixing" the game, don't bother reading this.


Here're the TWO SIMPLE RULES that form the heart of the fix:

First, turn off your GPS in the HUD display options menu. You can choose to leave the other HUD displays on if you like, but kill the GPS. Let it go. You don't need it. It's Dumbo's magic feather and Luke Skywalker's targeting computer all over again.

Second, although it might be tempting, don't ever push the select button. That will take you to the Screen-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named. Unlike the GPS, there's no way to "turn off" this screen. You're going to have to trust yourself. Think of it as a cheat screen. If you're someone who likes to use "invincibility" cheats or "all weapons" cheats, then the select screen is for you. If you're someone who refuses to use cheats, then resist the temptation to use push the select button.

You will never have to search "blindly" for anything. There're clues for every single target you need to find.


Question: But isn't this just introducing a made-up way to make this game more difficult?

Answer: No.

Here's why:

1) Everything that is marked by your map and your GPS is also marked in the game itself. If you play using your map and GPS, you'd never notice these clues, but they're everywhere.

2) As much as you are an assassin, you are also an investigator and information-gatherer. If you use the GPS and map, there's no investigation to do. You simply follow the markers on your map. If you don't use the GPS and map, you have to follow clues laid out in the city.

3) Part of the punishment you receive early on is that you have been put in the menial position of gathering information. Al Mualim explains this to you clearly. If you use the GPS and map, the only "information" you gather is when you go to the top of a view point. If you don't use them, you begin your investigation at the view points and must then work your way gradually down to the street level.


Question: Ok, big-shot, if there are clues "everywhere," then where are they? How come I didn't see them before?

Answer: Here's a run-down of the most useful and common clues to finding all the various types of information, citizens to save, and so on. This list is not exhaustive, but is a collection of strategies and clues I've found in my playing. I'm also putting some of these behind spoiler bars because part of what made this game so fun for me was the process of figuring out what these clues were.

Use your memory log. If you use your GPS and map, there's almost no reason to use this. This is why so many people have gone through the game without even realizing it exists. If you're playing without the GPS and map, it contains necessary and vital information. Some of the information you gather includes maps and letters. Use these to your advantage. They give you options and advice on how to go about your final assassinations.

Spoiler

The memory log also tells you what type of mission your remaining missions are. There is a little icon in the lower left-hand side of the picture for each mission. The memory logs also include pictures of the appearance and location of your targets. pay attention to the archicture around them and any nearby landmarks. Often, you'll see a combination of things like a wooden awning plus a cupola in the background with a palm tree in front. This will help you narrow your searches down considerably.

Use your eagle vision. Like the memory log, if you use your GPS and map, there's almost no reason to use this. Without the GPS and map, this is a crucial investigative tool. Eagle vision is your first sign of where your targets are. Investigation targets show up in bright white. In order to make it somewhat difficult, some citizens appear white-ish and your allies appear a bright blue that looks similar.

Spoiler

For stealth assassination side-quests, you will use your eagle vision as a sonar device. Follow the direction of the loud murmuring you hear to find your targets. Your targets are also usually close to the informant and appear in bright yellow when in eagle vision

Use the view points. Like the memory log and eagle vision (see a pattern yet?), if you use your GPS and map, there's almost no value to these. All they would do is give you markers on your map. However, if you don't use your GPS and map, they are where you begin your investigations. The easiest information targets will always be those you can spot from these viewpoints (which is incidentally why they appear first in your memory log).

Circling eagles: The game does mention these, but doesn't put them to much use. Without the GPS or map, the only way you know if you've scaled and used a view point yet is whether or not there's an eagle circling around it. If there's an eagle, you still need to climb it. If there isn't, then you don't need to.

Assassin's Bureau: These are pretty distinctive.

Spoiler

You probably already know this, but look for the Assassin's symbol on a rooftop and/or the tell-tale latticework of the roof entry. These are almost all in or near the center of each of the three cities (not to be confused with districts).

Pigeons:

Spoiler

These always hang out on ledges near bales of hay. This helps a lot if you're trying to gain anonymity in the midst of a chase. Simply jump off the ledge where they roost (visible by their nests and crap), and you'll land safely in a haybale.

Saving citizens:

Spoiler

You should know this one already. Follow the sound of a citizen asking for help. Fight off the soldiers. Talk to the citizen. You can also often find them by the nearby presence of a group of four guys in black or of a moving group of four scholars.

Interrogation:

Spoiler

Like the citizens, use sound clues. Listen for the pundits who seem to be talking about a person of interest (usually your final assassination target). Since there are only a few pundits in each area, these guys are pretty easy to find. They also generally attract crowds and speak in highly visible areas like plazas.

Eavesdropping:

Spoiler

Like the pundits, these people are often in or near public areas. However, they often hide themselves from overhead view, so you'll often find them underneath arches, inside buildings or arcades, and beneath awnings. They generally exist in groups of two. Use the pictures in your memory log to help find them.

Pickpocket:

Spoiler

Like eavesdropping targets, you'll find mostly find these guys in groups of two. However, they're often harder to find than the eavesdropping targets. They usually hang out in alleyways and other areas that can be difficult to spot from overhead. Use the pictures in your memory log to help find them.

Informant (flags): These guys can be tought to spot.

Spoiler

Like almost all of your targets, these guys are immobile. They often hide themselves away in doorways, corners, and dead ends. The flag informant, though, usually is near (or in) a public plaza. He wears a black/grey outfit that covers all but his eyes. Use the pictures in your memory log to help find them.

Informant (stealth assassinations): Like their flag-obsessed brethren, these guys can be tough to spot.

Spoiler

Like almost all of your targets, these guys are immobile. They often hide themselves away in doorways, corners, and dead ends. The assassination informant is the toughest of all to find (I think). Luckily he dresses in all white, so he's easy to recognize without the eagle vision. Use the pictures in your memory log to help find them.

Informant (stealth assassination targets): I mention this above in my discussion of eagle vision, but here it is again:

Spoiler

After talking to the informant, go into eagle vision. You'll now hear a loud murmur. That's the sound of your targets. Follow the sound and you'll find the bright yellow targets!

Question: What does all of this do for me?

Answer: Many important things.

1) It almost wholly eliminates the feeling of repetition. You can no longer simply move from target to target. Instead, finding each information target becomes a task in and of itself.

2) The difficulty of the game increases as you progress. In early stages of the game, finding your information targets is relatively easy. Most of them are visible from one of the view points. As you progress in the game, however, the information targets become less and less visible from higher view points. You have to search from lower positions (rooftops) or use clues to search intelligently at the street level. The reason you only need two pieces of information to do your assassination is because the information is meant to be relatively challenging to find!

3) If you ever feel like you are searching "blindly" for an information target, you're doing something wrong.

4) Best of all, it gives a reason to the open-ness of the city. This is a game about investigation, so playing "properly" forces you to familiarize yourself with the districts and with the cities as a whole. If you've played with the map and GPS, you've realized that all you have to do is continually go from point A to point B. When played correctly, this game is not linear. You need to explore, investigate, use your head, and do some legwork. This does not mean you'll suddenly have to wander the streets blindly.

5) You will play this game as it was intended to be played. Yes, I said that.

As I've shown, there are numerous clues in various forms given throughout the game. They're there for a reason: to play without any stinking maps!

 

[BuRT!]

Actually, another question: is it possible to play this game in such a way that you assassinate the target and do so stealthily enough that you can just casually stroll back to the Assassin's Bureau?

It seems that no matter how stealthy I am, there is no way to avert the impending chase that triggers as soon as you slip your blade into the neck of your target.

Off hand the only target I remember actually doing this with was

Spoiler

on the docks, since no guards are in line of sight. I then killed the two guards on the lower portion of his boat with the throwing knives and managed to make it back to the bureau completely unseen.

After about the fourth assassination target I made it a point to get stealth kills. If I fucked up and got caught I'd just let the guards kill me and try again. It starts you off after the targets speach so it's not that big of a penalty.

 

[TTG]

Regarding flags, I would have liked it if each flag was visible from at least one viewpoint. I think that would make using the viewpoints even more interesting and integral.

So true. I wish there were about 20 flags to find in an area instead of 100 or 4 sets of 30. Just leave them in a very hard to reach, but obvious spot. Everytime I have the urge to collect some flags I think of a whole bunch that are just on the ground in a corner somewhere that I won't find without a faq.

 

[Witchfinder General]

If I love Crackdown will I like this game?

In Crackdown I loved just dicking around the city, scaling buildings and taking in sights whilst collecting orbs.