Assassin's Creed [PS3]

For the past four years, Ubisoft's Montreal studio have been working on this next-generation project, bringing together elements from previous franchises and a new level of refinement to the action.

The game takes place in the present, with Desmond Miles being the subject of a research project into one of his ancestors, a man named Altair. Most of the game is spent with Desmond using a system called The Animus to travel back into his ancestral memories and control Altair as he carries out various assassinations in the year 1191.

Throughout the game, players will be given missions in various cities where they must meet with the local Assassin's Bureau, gain information on their target's whereabouts through eavesdropping, pickpocketing and interrogating locals, and finally perform the kill before moving on. Climbing certain buildings throughout each city will offer viewpoints that reveal optional objectives such as helping citizens in trouble. Collectible items such as flags can also be found while roaming the rooftops.

The game is very action-oriented, and as expected, owes quite a bit to the platforming action of the studio's Prince of Persia series. Altair's movements are much more fluid though, and you'll often find yourself jumping from rooftop to rooftop in a manner similar to parkour to get to your destination or evade the city guard. Being an assassin, there's also a level of stealth required here too. Altair can choose to carry a low profile with several moves that allow him to blend into and easily move through a crowd, act neutrally, or when the time is right, use high profile attacks on his targets. While the core gameplay is very much PoP meets Splinter Cell, the implementation takes the best of both series and blends them together in a very refined way. The controls are well designed, and easy to get used to while offering several styles of play.

It comes as no surprise that the game simply looks amazing. When you arrive at various cities, or are treated to a 360-degree camera pan when you access a viewpoint, the scale of everything will inspire you to explore every area and detail. The animation, especially between characters as they interact in a crowd, is especially impressive. On the audio side, the game's voice work is very good, and the voices of the crowd will help you locate targets, citizens who need help, and guards who are looking for you.

If you enjoyed Prince of Persia, you'll feel right at home here, and even players who found that series somewhat frustrating will appreciate this game's intuitive controls. The combination of so much to see and do, varied and optional objectives, and quality execution make for an easy recommendation.

9/10