First Impression: Assassin's Creed

Now here is a game that I really didn't have any expectations built up about. Sure, I did read about it here and there in a few gaming magazines, but otherwise it was just another game to me. So understand my uncertainty as well as my surprise when I found myself a mere day or so ago, in a game store with Assassin's Creed in my hands.

The narrative is pretty good from what I've heard so far and the story itself intrigues me to say the least. The graphics itself is nothing short of beautiful and to think that I say this and I do not own a HD TV.

What surprised me even more so was how easy it was to pick up the control and play the game and yet there was more to it then it seemed. I think my favorite past times in game (so far) are the assassinations and taking every opportunity for a "Leap of Faith."

As I said, while one of my favorite things is the assassinations, it also is the only thing I can complain about this game thus far. Let me set the scene here...

I entered a town and I immediately see a pair of guards with their swords drawn. As I've learned oh so very quickly, that spells trouble for me. So I quickly hop onto a rooftop of a house and drop down a short distance away from one of the guards. I hold a button and the Ancestor (as one half of the main character is called) "blends" in. I double check to make sure I have my hidden blade ready and I proceed slowly towards the guard. In a split second, I drop my hands and drive the blade into his back and he quickly drops to the ground dead.

Now comes my surprise.

There were actually a total of 6 guards in that immediate area and they were all basically facing each other, so it wasn't like I was all that stealthy. I take my time and wander around and drop the guards, one by one. What gets me is each time I kill a guard, the remaining said aloud: "Who is responsible for this!?"

Because surely, a hooded man with a sword on his side and a horse following behind of him who, by some stroke of chance, happens to be nearby as each of the guards drops dead. No, no... that just doesn't look at all suspicious.

Again, that is the only thing I can really say that stands out to me and I suppose it really is just a minor thing.

Otherwise, this is a fun and different game (at least for me anyway) that looks to be that great game I've been hoping to find/play on the XBox 360.