Top Five Things Wrong With Assassin's Creed...

These problems are spot on.

i think the control sceme works very well. i have had no problems with it. even fromt he very beginning when i first got the game. i agree that the side missions do get repetative, but without them, the game would be really, really, short.

this is a great game, but i have to agree

First of all, I have to say that I did like the game, and I don't regret buying and playing it. That said, I won't be replaying it (what is there to do a second time that I haven't done already?), and I won't be buying the sequel (unless it is changed so radically that it becomes a Far Cry/Far Cry 2 situation). My biggest frustration with the game was that no matter how sneakily you made it to the target, you always had to go to a pre-arranged spot and then you basically had to fight your way through the assassination and just kill your target in battle. This was my experience at least. Maybe there was some obscure way to actually do legit assassinations on your targets, but I could not figure out how. I also hated the ending (this from someone who actually was untroubled by the ending of Halo 2).

Ultimately, I would recommend the game because it's high points (running over rooftops, taking guards out with throwing knives, climbing the towers) were so good. Even so, I think that Paul is right that there are definite problems with the game. Nice job Paul. My only disagreement with you is that I personally found the controls to be very intuitive (with the exception of the grab break, which I could never figure out). I'd appreciate others' thoughts on this as well. Did other people have difficulties with the controls?

maybe Ubisoft did some improveable things on purpose so they can be improved on in the second assassins creed, because if they werent their the game couldn't have much more put into it.
and if the controls are to hard for u.. R to block? R + X to counter? prety simple.

If the "five things wrong with assassins creed" matter SO MUCH why give it an 8.5 why!! bessides the game is really good and those things are wrong with the game are not that bad at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!so WTF?!?!

I enjoyed AC and wasn't too discouraged by the repetitive missions or the unsatisfying ending. What really got me was that it was barely focused on stealth at all. Did assassins really run around the city chopping up obnoxious guards? I kept waiting for a stealthier mission, maybe at night, but it never came. And besides the "collectibles" there is zero replay value if you paid attention the first time around. I would say it is a one or two week rental for most gamers.

Thanks for all the info on this game and for the review...i'll definetely rent this game now instead of buying it.

Someone below mentioned that it was "convenient" that no score for AC ran in this issue. I'd hardly call it that, I'd say it flat-out sucked to not have this score in our Holiday issue. But Ubisoft wouldn't give us the game, so it's not like we could review the press release or something.

Combat is very simple in my opinion.
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Full tutorial:
Hold R to Block. While Blocking Press X to Counter or A to dodge when you see an enemy's attack coming. If you hold your block for too long, certain enemies will break it and deal damage to you. Meaning, you won't want to spend the entire battle holding it.
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Attacking and dealing combos is as simple as listening for that sound of metal on metal. Instead of that cursed scraping sound. When your blade is about to connect to the enemy, press X again. If you hear the ting, you did it right. If you hear that Wolverine Skint.. you did it wrong. Certain enemys can counter you too. Be wary of your constant attacks.
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The Sword and the Short sword play pretty much alike in all but two ways aside from damage. The first is that the short sword has throwing knives which you can use in the middle of battle to deal damage from far away. And the second is that the counter window is smaller. The smaller the weapon the smaller the counter time.
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But my personal favorite combat weapon is the hidden blade. After initiating combat by locking onto an enemy, press down to select the hidden blade. In this style of fighting the only real move you have is the counter. The counter window, however, is relatively small, but it has to be as the hidden blade's counters are one hit kills.
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Also. In any style watch for your opponents taunting, or cowering in fear. That is your chance to strike and get some free damage in. And if you have the hidden blade, stop blocking (you can't attack without releasing R), press X and towards the guy, and show that man why he shouldn't taunt the assassin.
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Sorry. Just felt that the complicated combat isn't as complicated as you think. It's basically, press X at the right time and block at the right time. It's almost too simple. The only buttons I really ever used in combat were the X and R buttons. Attack/Counter and Block. And the occassional B for the counter grab. A for a little snap of a leg or two.
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Still.. the game in my opinion is only worthy of a rent. Not a full buy. Not long enough to warrant it.

Darn I guess I should have really got Call of Duty 4 instead... Christmas why can't you come faster?

I must start by saying that I have not finished the game yet, but I agree with most of what was said. The controls are pretty simple, but they may be too simple. Climbing takes no skill, just hold up on the left stick. After hearing about how different buttons would control different parts of the body, I was intrigued, but it turned out to not be so creative. I was expecting it to be something new and intuitive like S.K.A.T.E.'s contol system. Where the right thumb stick contols the board and the left controls your body. That works great and feels natural after you play it a little. This just never gave that same feeling. Saying that the 'y' button controls the head is like saying that in GRAW, HALO, or any FPS, the right thumb stick controls the head because you can look left, right, up, down, and click it and zoom in. While its true, its not innovative. You press 'y' to get a first person perspective but thats it, unless you need to listen, then you get to press 'y' again.

I also was expecting this game to have more stealth involved. After hearing that it was being made by the Splinter Cell team, I thought it would play a bigger part in the game, but so far it seems like you only need to use stealth when specifically told to, and thats not often. I've been killing in front of everyone without penalty. Just jump on a roof and all is forgiven.

As I said before, I haven't finished the game. I have regained a few weapons and moves though. I just regained my throwing knives and the ability to tackle, and I am hoping that at some point in the future I can regain the ability to swim. I thought this was corrected in video games. I have a hard time believing that I've been tought how to scale the tallest buildings and dive from amazing heights into 4 feet of hay without injury, fight 25 guards at once and survive, but no one tought me how to swim! Don't get me wrong, the game looks great and does have some great moments, but theres a lot more than 5 things wrong, and they do matter. I like the game, I like the combat but just wish that it was a little more difficult to pull off some of the amazing moves. I think it would feel more earned. Its bad when my grandmother can grab the controller and scale the huge buildings in 5 seconds of play time. I would give it an 8 or 8.5, but not 10.

I agree with pretty much every point Paul made except for the controls. After an initial learning period I found the controls to work just fine. I think holding down "A" instead of pressing it every time you wanted to jump from one thing to the next would get pretty tiresome really quickly. And the combat could be handled easily by just holding down the right trigger and pressing "X" at the right times,if you think its too complex all of the other combat controls (dodging,grabbing)are really just optional.

actually none of these things really matter, why would they matter sense mass effects problems didn't "matter"? well obviously somethings up with the way it matters for one game and not the other, so please dont listen to this critics words, there BS. suport this game cause its one of the best on the xbox 360 and it needs some well deserved credit.

Rent this game. After you finish it the first time you'll relize that if you went back to get those forgotten achievements you'll be putting yourself through hell. The reason for this is not a gameplay or story issue but more of an "Oh-my-god-how-freakin'-repetitive." Aside from this replayability factor the game deserves a 9.0 for all that it achieves.

I don't get the complaints about the controls, they work like a charm and they are not that complicated

buttmunkey,
you hit the nail on the head, you said what i meant in half the words, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
Chris D
tylerdurdin20(livetag)

Well I know opinions are like a$$holes, everbody has them and they all stink! How ever I can't help but think there is something more sinister going on behind the scenes than mere opinion! I have been playing both Assassins Creed and Mass Effect and I must say they are of the very same calibur! Each has its flaws, although minor and little to ruin gameplay. Both have a quality of tedium. But Mass Effect gets a ten and Assassins Creed, conveniently no score 'till next month. However, i'm guessing it will not be a 10. Which neither game really deserves for one reason or another. If H3 and Call of Duty 4,Bioshock, and Mass Effect all deserve a 10 then you are doing Ubisoft and your gamers who base their purchases on your opinions a disservice by allowing them to think this outstanding game is somehow less spectacular than the other big games of the season!

Good points, guys. And definitely to each their own. These articles and the reviews are meant as opinions, not as recorded fact. Hopefully they'll help some folks decide where to spend their $60...

www.cobhalo.com
perosnally i think Mass effect> assasins Creed.
for some reason almost everyone that owns a 360 at my school was in a competion over who wanted assassins creed or Mass effect.

No comment on this...

3. The ending is so unfair. (SPOILER ALERT!)

All game long, you’ll be dying for the future portion of the game to pay off, to finally give you the chance to get the chance to play assassin in that time period. Without spoiling more, the abruptness with which that doesn’t happen is the worse game ending this side of Halo 2. Sure, it teases at an interesting future for the Assassin’s series, but this is not the next episode of 24, people – come 2009 or 2010 when the sequel hits, I won’t even remember where it left

To each his own I guess. The side missions are repetitive. There is no denying that. And I would think that a citizen who is saved from likely death would have more to say to me than "I wish my sons were as brave as you." Hey, I'm pretty selfless, but as Carl (Bill Murray) says in Caddy Shack, "How 'bout a little something, for the effort."

I have found acquiring all of the intel and the use of the controls to be a joy. I am 2/3 of the way complete and have not grown tired of sticking a blade into a soldier to simply gather a flag or information. I also have not become bored with beating the crap out of an informant or riding my stead across the land. Plus, I love being able to scale the tallest towers and diving into a haystack below. It reminds me of some of the joys of Crackdown. The scope and beauty of the terrain have me mesmerized, while brandishing a sword against my enemies has kept a smile on my face during the experience thus far.

this review is terrible. i have played mass effect and assassins creed. Maass Effect SUCKS! I do agree that the missions get a little old in creed, but mass effect is just one of those games that promised everything and delivered about half. And for the previous comment, while i love oxm and the staff and their reviews if you want a game buy it because alot of the time theese reviews are just opinion, trust me dude your missing out on a great game. and as for the opinion thing, remember this is just my opinion about mass effect i have alot of friends who love it, i just didnt think it was fair to say why they dont matter in mass effect and they do matter in creed(the 5 things wrong i mean)
Chris D
tylerdurdin20(livetag)

[url=http://profile.mygamercard.net/Daze+Of+War][img]http://card.mygamercard.net/crest/Daze+Of+War.png[/img][/url]

I also didn't like how that every guard would start chasing you in the middle section that branches all the city's together no matter if you did anything or not. Overall it wasn't a bad game but it did get repetitive.

I have to say I am severely disappointed with this game. You hit the nail on the head with your complaints here. I had only been playing for an hour and got bored with the repetitive gameplay (pickpocket is the most annoying). I find its more fun to just run around to all the viewpoints just because it gives me a reason to climb buildings and run around.

I found the controls worked just fine once you got the hang of them. I do agree about the missions getting a little repetitive once you get towards the middle of the game.

Wow, I've heard about the control issues but what you're saying here... didn't expect it, specially when an ending is not really an ending.

Good news to me as this just made me decide to skip it in favor of Mass Effect.