Assassin's Creed = a Crackdown Experience. Good or bad?

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 12:51 am

This is so confusing. I had AC pre-ordered and then I started hearing some negative first impressions. I decided to switch to Kane and Lynch but now that game got panned at gamespot (6.0). I'd get Crysis but I'm about to send my mobo in for an RMA. I guess it's gonna be COD4.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 1:22 am

pk500 wrote:Man, sounds like this game will be in the bargain bin almost as fast as possibly the most overhyped game of this decade, State of Emergency.

Take care,
PK

True dat! That game was sooooo over-hyped. Good call. Wasn't that supposed to "change the way we look at games"???

I'm shocked at the all the terrible reviews. They do make me worried though. Esp the "eavesdropping" missions. That sounds like a hoot.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:53 am

It looks to me that it's one of those games that if you go with a very high expectation, you may have set the standards too high for it, but if you didn't you may be pleasantly surprised.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:11 am

10spro wrote:It looks to me that it's one of those games that if you go with a very high expectation, you may have set the standards too high for it, but if you didn't you may be pleasantly surprised.

Yeah, I think some people expected this thing to usher in the Second Coming or something. And when's the last time a 7.9 was 'terrible'?

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:41 am

tealboy03 wrote:
10spro wrote:It looks to me that it's one of those games that if you go with a very high expectation, you may have set the standards too high for it, but if you didn't you may be pleasantly surprised.
Yeah, I think some people expected this thing to usher in the Second Coming or something. And when's the last time a 7.9 was 'terrible'?

A 7.9 IGN is like a -10 for me.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:24 pm

At the risk of posting PA links three times per week, I present the following for your consumption. It's Gabe's take on the negative reviews. I've abridged it to omit the portion wherein he insisited on his objectivity and discussed his willingness to hammer a game that they've been involved with. Go check it all out if you want.

I also can't be 100% positive but I'm guessing that some of these reviewers didn't let the credits role. Again, I don't want to spoil anything but wait for the credits to end. Until reviewers start posting their Gamertags along with the review we'll never really be able to tell how much of a game they played. But I'd be willing to bet some of them are missing the "Visions of the Future" achievement. I'm not gonna say why but If you don't have this achievement you can't say jack s*** about the ending.

I think the biggest complaint I saw was that the missions become repetitive and boring. I actually didn't understand this complaint at all until just the other day. I had gotten an early copy of the game just like everyone else in the media but I was just playing it for fun. I'd cracked into it over the weekend and when I got into the office on Monday I started seeing these negative reviews. When I saw the low scores I was actually really upset and I wanted to talk about the game here on the site. I wanted to tell everyone that these guys were full of s***. However, since so many of the complaints were based on the ending I wanted to beat it first so I was sure I wasn't missing anything. I attacked the game again but this time with the goal of beating it as fast as I could. I was determined to get a post up on Tuesday and I was pushing through the game as fast as I could. I went from finding every high perch in a district to only getting the ones I needed to advance the story. I stopped saving every citizen and avoided any unnecessary confrontations. The informer missions that I had really enjoyed before, I now avoided because I knew they took too long to complete. I did the bare minimum of missions to progress the story and anything that "hindered" my progress was frustrating. Monday night after skipping over another combat (something I used to really enjoy) I stopped myself. What the f*** was I doing? I wasn't playing the game because I wanted to I was playing it because I had a deadline and I needed to beat it. I stopped immediately and decided I'd write about the game whenever I got around to beating it. I spent another day and a half with it and during that time I hunted for hidden flags and explored the cities again. I came in this morning and finally did beat it but I did it at my own pace and I enjoyed every part of it.

Imagine what an open ended sandbox title must look like to a reviewer especially right now. How many games do they have piling up on their desks? A game like Assassins creed isn't meant to be played under a deadline. You shouldn't be trying to beat it as fast as you can so you can move on to Mass Effect or Mario Galaxy. As soon as I gave myself a deadline all of a sudden I understood all their complaints. It was like a f***in Escher painting. I had put myself in their shoes and suddenly the landscape flipped and I could see games from their perspective. In the end I wasn't angry at them for their bad reviews. I actually just felt bad for them.

-Gabe out

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:31 pm

Nice. I picked it up today and will post impressions when I have them. I've been hoping to see someone with some impressions today around here. Did the less-than-stellar reviews steer people away?

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:39 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:Nice. I picked it up today and will post impressions when I have them. I've been hoping to see someone with some impressions today around here. Did the less-than-stellar reviews steer people away?

It didnt stop me but Im insane...im about to put the sucker in.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:53 pm

The reviews didn't steer me away, but they did help point out things that are not up my alley and the video reviews helped me make a decision seeing what the gameplay was like. I don't care about stories or endings in video games at all so that didn't bother me (I'll watch movies for that) but I did not like the nature of the games 9 boss premise.

It looks really, really neat design/atmosphere-wise, but I can already see it being a game I enjoy up until about halfway and then never touching again, especailly with Mario Galaxy sitting in my Wii.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:13 pm

Spooky wrote:The reviews didn't steer me away, but they did help point out things that are not up my alley and the video reviews helped me make a decision seeing what the gameplay was like. I don't care about stories or endings in video games at all so that didn't bother me (I'll watch movies for that) but I did not like the nature of the games 9 boss premise.

It looks really, really neat design/atmosphere-wise, but I can already see it being a game I enjoy up until about halfway and then never touching again, especailly with Mario Galaxy sitting in my Wii.

Spooky, you're like my videogaming mirror image. I can't wait to pick up AC, and I haven't yet and won't start now playing a Mario game

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:13 pm

The negative reviews haven't helped for me, that's for sure, but really it's more about the crush of better games either just arrived or on the way.

I am pretty sure that I will love Mass Effect, and more, that it will be a very long, engrossing experience. It's only a week away, so I have no need to get sidetracked by a similar, single-player only, long, at-your-own-pace, exploration based type of game right now. I am enjoying the single player of CoD4 a ton, and even though it's apparently pretty short, I don't know how quickly I will get done with it. Plus, I am warming to the MP as well. I still want to do more Halo3 co-op, possibly a lot more. Some of those levels, in fact most of them I think, are really, really good, and I've done many of them in co-op far more than once on Heroic and they've been tons of fun every single time. I loved, loved, loved playing through HL2 and am looking forward to Eps 1 and 2, not to mention I've only scratched the surfaced of Portal.

I was thinking of gameflying this one, but since I have FIFA and PGR4 from them right now, it came down to sending back PGR4 or buying one of them from GF. I ended up popping PGR4 in the machine for the first time in weeks, and I just can't send that one back right now. It's too much fun and to good (good grief, it looks amazing).

In the end, something's got to give. And that's going to be Assassin's Creed. If it had received exclusively great reviews, along the lines of Bioshock or CoD4 or even Halo3, it would be a lot harder for me to keep from going out to buy it (the gamefly thing would be tough, since I'd probably get it right when I got Mass Effect, which I will by on day one). But as it is, I will have to set this one aside and wait until a slower time, maybe at the end of winter, and give it a shot then. Of course, that may be the time the Wii finally enters my living room, and I get started on Zelda, Metroid, and Mario Galaxies!

Oy. Anyone who doesn't think that this is the most amazing time for outstanding games across all platforms is just crazy. DSP churn? Let's not blame ourselves; we all like good games too much to force ourselves to stick to one or two for a long period of time.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:29 pm

RobVarak wrote:Snip- Gabe from Penny Arcade's thoughts

That's a bit of a straw man Gabe's putting up there, IMO. If you read reviews like the Eurogamer that I linked above (and I tend to love Eurogamer...I find I agree with almost everything in their reviews) they are not bemoaning the fact that it is a sandbox game. Crackdown is a sandbox game and they enjoyed that. They are not saying they are getting annoyed because the side missions are keeping them from the main gameplay, they are saying that the side missions are simply not nearly as interesting or varied as what you can do with crackdown.

One of the problems we'll see with first impressions here, though, I think, is that even most of the lower scored reviews admit that the game is great for the first hour or two, before the repetition sinks in. So I have pretty much no doubt we're going to hear some great stuff.

I still might grab it myself, actually. I actually have a big collection of 7ish games in my library, and love a bunch of 'em!

I'm also a big fan of what they are attempting here, and because I always waffle between what games are in my consoles, leaving the game and coming back to it time and again might actually break up the monotony those that are playing it straight through are experiencing. If the world is cool enough, I'm also one of those gamers who can simply spend some time walking around and sight-seeing.

We'll see, I suppose!

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:41 pm

EH, hell...I buy a game because I want to, not because of which way the wind blows. I've learned that popular opinion regularly has nothing to do with MY opinion, and I lose out almost any time I give something that I was originally either going to/not going to purchase over to the opinions of others.

That being said, I haven't had a chance to really dig into it yet, as I worked night shift last night, and I haven't had any sleep since getting home this morning, except for the last couple of hours. I'll play some more in a bit, and post impressions.

...just remember they're MY impressions, not yours...

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:53 pm

I got the game this afternoon and have played for about an hour. Only enough to get through the training, and 'introductory' plot missions, I'm now moving into the meat of the game.

So far, I think this game is EXCELLENT. Great graphics, and interesting story, agile characters with easy control, but complexity to the overall controls/game.

I can't comment on repetitiveness etc., but I suspect this game will be enjoyed by people looking for an open-ended 'quest' experience and a good story. The graphics (PS3) are breath-taking overall.

No complaints so far, nothing to warrant the negative reviews.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:53 pm

I think I'll pick this one up tomorrow.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:32 pm

Sport73 wrote:I
So far, I think this game is EXCELLENT. Great graphics, and interesting story, agile characters with easy control, but complexity to the overall controls/game.

I can't comment on repetitiveness etc., but I suspect this game will be enjoyed by people looking for an open-ended 'quest' experience and a good story. The graphics (PS3) are breath-taking overall.

No complaints so far, nothing to warrant the negative reviews.

I have had relatively the same experience after 90 minutes. I am very impressed so far. Its great to look at and fun to play. Again though its only 90 minutes so I dont know how it will turn out.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:08 am

If what I've experienced thus far doesn't change at all, this will be one great game. I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've played of it, which is to say, roughly 2 hours or so. The fighting mechanics are really cool, the acrobatics are out of this world, and the graphics...my,my,my...

Reviewers are, by nature of the job, a pretty jaded bunch, I would think. So they are gonna nitpick minutae to death. I've simply not seen anything so far that is worth bitching about.

It's a great, great title...

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:48 am

webdanzer wrote:
RobVarak wrote:Snip- Gabe from Penny Arcade's thoughts
That's a bit of a straw man Gabe's putting up there, IMO.

A HUGE straw man.

Is Gabe always a condescending prick, or just in this instance when he laughably states that reviews like Eurogamer's that gave AC a lower score than he would have are "bad" and that he feels "bad" for them?

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:36 am

I dunno man, I've never seen a Eurogamer review that I didn't agree with on most points. It was a day one purchase for me originally, but I think I'll hold off for a few to see how much staying power it has.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:17 pm

I went through the training stuff last night and toiled around the first area of the game. I was thinking, "Wow, this game is pretty darn cool."

Then I was asked to ride a horse to another city so I started riding around on the horse and visiting little encampments in the valleys and thought, "Wow, this game is really damn cool."

Then I finally made it to the next city and started weaving in-and-out of the citizens, climbing rooftops, collecting flags (the same thing as orbs in Crackdown!

), and saving distressed citizens. Basically just exploring. At this point I thought "My god, this game is awesome!"

I played for about 2-and-a-half hours last night and didn't even assassinate any of the nine targets yet. There's so many different kinds of flags to find, Templars to hunt and kill, and perches to climb to that I was in sandbox heaven.

I was a big fan of Crackdown as well and didn't tire of that game either. I guess if this type of game isn't your thing you'll likely tire of it but if you like this kind of game this one is outstanding.

Oh, and the graphics are insane.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:47 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:I went through the training stuff last night and toiled around the first area of the game. I was thinking, "Wow, this game is pretty darn cool."

Then I was asked to ride a horse to another city so I started riding around on the horse and visiting little encampments in the valleys and thought, "Wow, this game is really damn cool."

Then I finally made it to the next city and started weaving in-and-out of the citizens, climbing rooftops, collecting flags (the same thing as orbs in Crackdown! ), and saving distressed citizens. Basically just exploring. At this point I thought "My god, this game is awesome!"

I played for about 2-and-a-half hours last night and didn't even assassinate any of the nine targets yet. There's so many different kinds of flags to find, Templars to hunt and kill, and perches to climb to that I was in sandbox heaven.

I was a big fan of Crackdown as well and didn't tire of that game either. I guess if this type of game isn't your thing you'll likely tire of it but if you like this kind of game this one is outstanding.

Oh, and the graphics are insane.

I can always count on Scoop to say what I'm thinking...

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:56 pm

I'll third Scoop's comments. I've played for 5 hours so far and only taken out one of the nine with much of my time spent in the valleys collecting flags, taking out Templar's, climbing view points and basically just leaving a trail of dead bodies

This game is part Crackdown, part Oblivion, part Prince of Persia in my eyes and that makes it damn fun to play. Will it eventually go stale? Probably......but let's face it, eventually don't they all?

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:13 pm

RallyMonkey wrote:I'll third Scoop's comments. I've played for 5 hours so far and only taken out one of the nine with much of my time spent in the valleys collecting flags, taking out Templar's, climbing view points and basically just leaving a trail of dead bodies

This game is part Crackdown, part Oblivion, part Prince of Persia in my eyes and that makes it damn fun to play. Will it eventually go stale? Probably......but let's face it, eventually don't they all?

Im definately with you guys...Great game.

I like your Prince of persia/Oblivion comaparison. Its spot on.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 10:23 pm

Didn't get a chance to pick it up yet.. but after those last few posts, I'll try to get by a gamestop tomorrow sometime.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:21 am

Well said Zeppo. COD4 is short, but on Vet, it is long because it takes so many tries to get thru each section (at least for me).

I will get AC eventually, but probably after my birthday/xmas hauls. Then I can sit down and play a game like AC in 1st/2nd Qtr of 2008 (and hopefully buy it real cheap).