Assassin's Creed The best video game ever!

“This work of fiction was designed, developed, and produced by a multicultural team of various faiths and beliefs.” Is that not the best disclaimer you've ever seen put on a game? The first time I turned "Assassin's Creed" on and saw that I instantly thought to myself: "Oh this is gonna be good!", and I was right. Understand that of all the "Best Ever" categories that I maintain for myself, this is the one I consider most important, and most sacred, as video games are easily the most sophisticated and advanced form of entertainment that humans have devised. They have taken our species away from passive forms of entertainment, like watching TV or movies, and moved us into the realm of interaction, allowing us to participate in the story rather than just watching it. Unfortunately very few games have achieved the status of "art", but this is one of them. I think, but have not been keeping a running record, that this is the first time the Best Game Ever title has gone to a non-Nintendo title... Without spoiling too much of the story, suffice it to say that this game will introduce you to new ideas and philosophical concepts that you haven't considered. In fact, it's one of the few stories I've ever seen that provides a concise, clear explanation for the co-existence of every religion on the planet. The main story aside, however, there are still many stories within stories that also provide great ethical discussions and moral lessons. The dialog couldn't be better, and I've heard some people complain about the voice work for Altair/Desmond but I didn't mind at all. Anyone who knows me, as well, knows that playing a Muslim assassin during the time of the crusades is PROBABLY the most fun Derek Sweet can have. If you've been playing video games since the 80s, you know that the old arcade games just had core gameplay that doesn't often get matched by modern games. Games like Donkey Kong, Galaga, Pacman, etc.. had to be amazing in terms of controls and gameplay because the graphics and sound were so shitty. Assassin's Creed has done an amazing job of bringing core gameplay like that to life in a rich and lustrous environment. Just the process of walking down the street, knowing where to walk, how fast to walk, and who to avoid in your path so the guards don't notice you will give you that 80s arcade game feeling. The combat, as well, is simple but very effective. It is easy to slaughter 20+ people in a fight if you have the skill to perform a killing blow right away each time, but it takes a while to get that good. Camera angles shift and move beautifully as this all goes on, as well, making it look more like a movie than a video game. If the Templar Knights is a new concept for you, then I suggest you do some reading on Wikipedia. To finish this off I will say something a bit.... conspiracy theory. This game did such an effective job in telling it's story that you start to wonder what's going on behind the scenes. Everyone talks about the Templars in these contradictory ways: dismissing them as conspiracy fodder, but then admitting the idea that a small number of very wealthy people are manipulating everything on this planet is not only plausible but likely. There are times while playing this game that I started to question if maybe there was an ulterior motive for it's release, and part of me still does...

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