Assassin's Creed (2007)

If I remember correctly, I played both II and Brotherhood before going back to the first game. As most of the critique pertains to, it's EXTREMELY repetitive, basically doing the same 3 things over and over again. But the boss assassination reward when having enough info is pretty sweet, and it's fun.

When this game came out, tho, it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. It was like Prince of Persia, but with this super cool twist, and for its time, it was super advanced. I mean, look at the AC games now, I'd play this over Mirage every day of the week.

Now, what I find so ironic is that the story's theme of control and free will, and like mass mind control, has culminated in Ubisoft being under the same control and lack of free will for their franchises, which has spun completely out of control. Quite funny when you think about it. I love the story lore in the first games, and the first game in the series really set it up. It's a fun twist on things, and it's a shame they have completely disconnected this part in the games after III.

This title is a groundbreaking action-adventure game that blends historical exploration with stealth-based gameplay. The game introduces players to the iconic protagonist, Altair, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood, as he works to eliminate key targets during the Third Crusade. Visually, the game was ahead of its time, with detailed cities like Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus that felt alive and bustling. The open-world design was revolutionary, allowing players to climb nearly every building and explore at their own pace. The parkour system was fluid and satisfying, and the stealth mechanics set a standard for future games in the genre. However, the gameplay loop can feel repetitive after a while, with a lot of missions being similar in structure.

While the story is solid and engaging, the gameplay mechanics do feel a bit dated when compared to modern Assassin’s Creed titles, though understandable since this was the very attempt on this formula, which was later refined. Overall, it's a classic that set the foundation for one of the most successful franchises in gaming. If you enjoy historical settings and stealth gameplay, this is definitely worth playing, even though its age shows in some areas, it is still a very fun experience, specially when it comes to it's more simple, but enjoyable, older mechanics.

One of the most interesting aspects of the game is its narrative structure, which alternates between the memories of Altair in the Holy Land and the modern-day storyline involving Desmond. This dual-layer storytelling added a unique sci-fi twist that distinguished it from other historical games at the time. The philosophy surrounding free will, control, and the moral ambiguity of both the Assassins and the Templars gave the plot more depth than many people initially expected. Even if some characters are not deeply developed, the conspiracy and mystery surrounding the Animus remain compelling.

The atmosphere is further elevated by its OST and sound design, which effectively capture the tension. Combat, while somewhat clunky by today’s standards, still delivers satisfying moments, especially during counter-based sword fights. The investigation phase before each assassination encourages patience and observation, reinforcing the fantasy of being a calculated and methodical assassin. Despite its repetitive mission structure, the sense of scale, historical immersion, and innovation make this title an important and memorable entry in gaming history.

The game has some repetitive gameplay and is probably too easy but really shines as a classic in spite of those things.

The climbing ability in this game was revolutionary and although knowing where it all goes spoils the story a little bit on repeating playthroughs, the mystery it sets up is really effective and leaves you wanting more by the end of the game.

4 / 5 Stars

A lot of people disregard this game and start from the second one but I really like it. If it wasn't for Altair and his story we wouldn't have the legacy of Ezio, nor the Assassin's Creed series. The parkour is a bit clunky, keep in mind how old the game is, but I really enjoyed the story and all of the history it contains. Altair's character development from an arrogant know it all, to an empathetic and humbled veteran is really well done. Don't skip this game if you're just starting your Assassin's Creed journey, just give it a chance.

P.S : You will rage a few times throughout your play-through, again keep in mind how old the game is.

Ubisoft incorporated a lot of interesting new ideas into this game, so it is no wonder that it became one of their best selling games at the time in 2007. They must be appreciated for trying out something like this.

Unfortunately, the game feels quite repetitive. For every mission, Altair visits a particular region, must visit the local assassin's creed bureau, carry out 3 investigations and kill the target. This must be done 7-8 times.

The controls are very buggy especially when we are trying to escape from the guards, Altair seems too stiff and rigid and I have noticed many times that he does exactly the opposite of what we want.

But the real highlight of the game are the conversations that Altair has with his targets after killing them. Some of the stealth kills that Altair performs are just breathtaking to witness, though funny at times when it happens in front of a crowd and they act as if it did not happen. Altair and Al Mualim's voice acting are very well done.

This game is not bad and for the time that it was, it sure was new and innovative.

Gameplay: the mechanism of this game is horrible, it really didn't felt nice playing it, the character would lose balance on things that weren't supposed to or jump when I wouldn't want to jump.

The Story: It doesn't add much to the game too, which left me thinking they were already planning to release another game when they were doing this one (Which they might but I didn't investigate).

World-Building: The world was not bad, very repetitive building but I wouldn't blame them for doing that, the cities felt alive which was very great.

SFX: Poor handled, sometimes, the music was too loud I couldn't hear what the characters were talking, it was something...

Although they were all of these things from the game, I enjoyed it, it was nice to play it and see what the first game of this franchise was like.

I don't like Assassin's Creed, okay? Someone must, it's not me; I'm tired of holding the right trigger the entire flipping game (why can't it auto run/climb and then have me push the button to WALK and not climb??!?) for dissatisfying combat and stealth missions without any supportive stealth mechanics.

Good graphics though, I do like seeing the recreations of historic places.

I got this game ridiculously cheap awhile back and decided it would be good for me to experience the series from it's beginning and understand what has made this series so popular. While I'm glad I gave it a try, this game has definitely not aged well, and after getting about halfway through, the frustration was such that I've decided not to finish it.

While I really enjoyed the world-building (the towns are so well-constructed for the type of action they were designed for), the required gameplay itself was an absolute slog, and felt like it had very minimal effort put into it. While it can be very run to parkour your way around town (when the controls actually do what you want them to), I couldn't stand doing the same menial tasks over and over to advance the story while listening to the repetitive dialogue copied and pasted across a multitude of lifeless characters.

However, I can appreciate the importance of the game in the context of the time it was released, and playing Assassin's Creed has still made me want to give later installments in the series (which I've heard have many improvements) a try.

One of the least enjoyable gaming experiences of my life. Assassin's Creed was entirely devoid of fun gameplay, interesting story, or decent voice acting. What makes this even more painful is that somehow, somewhere, people think that this was ever a good game. The missions are either boring or extremely frustrating, the plot is nonsensical, and the UI is a clusterfuck of sci-fi bullshit that looks like Minority Report, if Minority Report were beaten severely with a bat. I have not completed this game, as a seemingly simple mission in chapter 5 proved to be my breaking point.

The combat is awful and should be avoided.
The "stealth" is laughable and there is little to no information on the screen to assist with stealth (unlike "Mark of the Ninja" where you were given the proper tools to do your job).
The climbing is frustrating, and often Altair will simply leap off a building at a 15 degree angle different to where you were pointing, straight to his death.
The checkpointing is absurd, and there is no way to save or load.
Altair dies upon contact with water, like this is a 1996 3D platformer.
The fake middle eastern accents are unbearable.
Beggars and drunkards are in your way 80% of the game, hindering your plans. There's no way to deal with them without alerting guards. So when one is blocking your path in a tight alley? Tough shit. The "gentle push" doesn't work on them.

For the love of all that is holy please do not play this game. Do not give anyone your money for this abomination. I want to give it points for originality, but god damn I can't bring myself to give it anything higher than a 2.