Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

It's fair to say that Assassin's Creed is probably one of the most press covered games in the history of gaming, with journalists writing about every step of the development years before it hit the shelves. Boasting thousands of man-hours and the type of production values that are usually reserved for your average Hollywood movie, the game was expected to be a worldwide hit and fortunately for Ubi Soft, it was. A handheld version however was not expected but what began as a rumor eventually became fact. The DS has its shortcomings though and it would take a special type of developer to 'convert' this huge game. Game Loft appears to be Ubi Soft's developer of choice for this type of challenge and, while they did great things with last year's Call of Duty, Asphalt Urban wasn't as successful. With that in mind, they needed to get the balance here just right but do Game Loft know where that is?

Gameplay

Firstly if you have played the console versions, you must try to forget everything you know, as this is no longer a subtle stealth game but rather a basic platformer with puzzle elements. The action takes place over rooftops, on moving platforms and conveniently placed ropes that allow you to swing over the city streets without being noticed. Your main mission is to locate a Chalice that has the power to end the Crusades but as an assassin you're not really strong on the negotiations. The levels themselves are well designed containing a smooth learning curve, which introduces new moves as and when you need them. Unfortunately it is all very linear and not only does each level simply challenge you to get from A to B but it then indicates exactly what you should do at each point along the way, such as avoid the soldiers by hiding behind the tents or change disguise so you can wander though and area unnoticed. To make matters worse, the DS version of the game even indicates where you should be heading via a directional arrow and a blue circle marking the exact area you need to be.

The puzzle elements are very simple indeed mostly because of the amount of help the on-screen text gives you. You are only likely to lose a life due to poor game design, such as a bad camera angle or poor collision detection, so it makes no sense for the developers to have inserted so many save points throughout such a short game. This is Assassin's Creed's biggest flaw as, not only will you complete the whole thing in around six hours or so, but there's no incentive to replay the whole thing again.

Controls

Moving your main character around is fairly simple and while he behaves himself for the majority of the game there are some graphical glitches and unforgivable collision detection issues which really should have been sorted out in the testing stage. Unfortunately, the real issue here is the combat and while you are always armed with a weapon (with more complicated moves being unlocked as the game progresses) the actual mechanics of killing are very simple and almost all guards can be taken down with a three-button combo.

Graphics

If the developers have taken one thing from the console version it's the production values. The visuals are truly stunning with some wonderful textures and modeling populating the detailed environments. The animation is also wonderful with the main character of Altair moving with speed and fluidity except when he's involved in combat of any description where he becomes far from graceful in his attempt to fend off the enemy. The only real drawback is the occasional frame rate glitch when the developers have attempted to become a little too cinematic, with the camera chugging around as opposed to smoothly sweeping across the rooftops.

Sound

The audio has been lifted from the console versions so while the production values are incredibly high it does tend to repeat itself a little too much. Still, it's better than your average DS sound and does enhance the gameplay.

Dual screen

The touch screen elements are given over to a handful of mini-games but rather than feeling tagged on they are fully integrated into the game's storyline. The first of these is a 'pickpocket challenge' where you attempt to steal a key from a member of the public without them being aware of your presence. The problem you have is not only the constant movement of other objects but the fact that touching the pocket boundaries will alert the individual that you are so close to him. The other is a rhythm game where hitting the correct marks let you to torture an unfortunate victim into disclosing information. Neither is original nor particularly well implemented but the fact that they are seamlessly woven into the structure of the game will hopefully persuade other developers to do likewise.

Final comments

Anyone who's played Assassin's Creed on one of the consoles and was expecting a handheld version will be sorely disappointed. As usual with a handheld conversion instead of over reaching Game Loft have adapted the action to a more suitable adventure and while the main aim of the game is still to assassinate various individuals, the whole thing plays out like a Medieval Prince of Persia. Not that that's a bad thing but with simple puzzles and generous save points the whole thing is all over far too quickly. Still, Assassin's Creed is one of the few Ds titles that does at least demonstrate just how good the sound and visuals can be and as such it deserves a place in every serious gamers collection.

Pro: Looks and Sounds Great.
Con: Too Short With Little Replay Value.
Final score: 7.1

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