The latest PS3 game character to get Keri’s top trump treatment is Altaïr, star of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed…
Assassin’s Creed was a highly anticipated game with some true next-gen features that made it stand out. The ability to play as Altaïr, free-roaming the cities of the Holy Land was great fun, however the game did receive mixed reviews due to the sometimes repetitive nature of the gameplay once you’d moved past the first few hours.
Still, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad; giving him his full title, was one of the first of the next-gen characters to become a ‘famous’ name and he’s become quite iconic in his own right. The acrobatic assassin uses intelligence and stealth to achieve his goals giving him some decent ratings including strength – you’ve gotta have some upper body muscle to hang onto so many ledges if you ask me!
Playability and lastability hit the higher mid-range figures due to the enjoyment of the gameplay but its repetitiveness lets him down, which is sad really, as overall most gamers did enjoy the Altaïr experience.
Seemingly based on the free-running craze that was rife in 2007, the joy of playing as the assassin was the freedom of leaping from rooftop to rooftop and exploring the cities as you felt fit. His name is apt in this role, as Altaïr is an Arabic word meaning ‘the flying one’ or ‘the bird’. Indeed, the game’s producer Jade Raymond highlighted to journalists that whilst in mid-air his shadow resembles that of an eagle. This was done through the design of his outfit, which was made with a pointed hood to resemble a beak and his cloak was shaped to resemble tail feathers when ‘in flight’.
As for whether we’ll see Altaïr again is currently unknown, but never say never. The big question though, is would gamers like to see him return..?
Yes i love assassin’s creed. Love just scaling buildings, jumping around, killing innocents… awesome.
Comment by ThreeSpeechlover — Jun 30, 2008 @ 10:47 am
Would’ve said more of a 7 overall.
Comment by JohnSketch — Jun 30, 2008 @ 11:02 am
I was actually very disappointed with the game content overall, probably because it had been so overly-hyped that I was expecting much more from the game-play, an engaging story line, and technology advancement far in excess of what had already been demonstrated on the console to date.
I really do not understand why our hero can fall several stories onto concrete, but as soon as he gets his feet wet in two inches of water he dies.
I would, therefore, query the “Lastability” (longevity) of the character. Presently, I wouldn’t buy another chapter in the story, without at least having access to a playable demo version in advance. Uploading multiple videos during development to various sites did wonders for promoting the first title, but the next time around the gaming audience will be wise to this. More effort will have to be put into the creative aspects of the game.
If the next instalment (of the planned three-episode franchise) does not do something drastic then Altair will remain dead-in-the-water.
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jun 30, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
I didn’t have this game in my radar at all, except for the first FMV trailer shown, and that’s probably why I enjoyed the game more. Hype kills a lot of games, the only game which hype didn’t kill for me was warcraft 3 and mgs 4…
Comment by ThreeSpeechlover — Jun 30, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
What Jade Raymond did next…
[ http://www.gamekyo.com/news28224_jade-raymond-travaille-sur-i-am-alive.html ]
—
Jade Raymond working on I Am AliveWe can today announce that Ubisoft will show for the first time a new action game during E3 2008 next week called I Am Alive for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Jade Raymond (Assassin’s Creed) will be working on this new game developed by Darkworks (Cold Fear) in Paris since 3 years. Scheduled to be released during spring 2009, I Am Alive is a survival video game that takes place after an earthquake in Chicago, it will be a first person game without weapons (only flash ball), a little bit like Mirror’s Edge. Ubisoft will show a very long video of I Am Alive (14 - 20 minutes) during E3 2008, no playable version will be shown this time, we will have to wait for Games Convention in Germany to see the first playable map of the game.
—
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 10, 2008 @ 1:14 pm
Small snippet from article on GamesIndustry.biz comparing the media onslaught of Assassin’s Creed” versus the envisaged under-hyping of the new “Prince of Persia” title:
[ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ubisoft-reins-in-hype-machine-after-creed-controversy ]
—
Pivotal holiday 2008 release Prince of Persia, another ambitious action-adventure and update to one of Ubisoft’s most successful franchises, is now being promoted on a deliberately “compressed” version of the Assassin’s Creed PR and marketing plan as a direct result of the firm’s experiences with the medieval open-world title.
Following the sky-high expectations precisely set by a scintillating reveal campaign in the run up to the release of Assassin’s Creed in November 2007, few industry watchers at the time predicted the critical gulf that would emerge between leading publications in the US and the UK.
But as the scores rolled in a surprising yet significant divide quickly became apparent: while GamePro (5/5), Game Informer (9.5/10), Gametrailers (9.1/10) and GameSpot (9.0/10) lavished praise on the game, IGN (7.7/10), Eurogamer (7/10), Edge (7/10), 1UP (7/10), EGM (5.83/10) and X360 Magazine UK (5/10) were notably more muted in their reaction.
And this led to a feeling among certain Ubisoft staff that expectations were set too high as a result of the campaign, which had a negative impact on the game’s reception in some quarters once the final game had been delivered to reviewers.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz earlier this month at Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, Prince of Persia creative director Ben Mattes confirmed a conscious change in strategy as a result of these developments, stating: “I think that played into our decision this time around, certainly.”
—
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 16, 2008 @ 10:44 am
Small snippet from article on GamesIndustry . biz comparing the media onslaught of Assassin’s Creed” versus the envisaged under-hyping of the new “Prince of Persia” title:
[ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ubisoft-reins-in-hype-machine-after-creed-controversy ]
—
Pivotal holiday 2008 release Prince of Persia, another ambitious action-adventure and update to one of Ubisoft’s most successful franchises, is now being promoted on a deliberately “compressed” version of the Assassin’s Creed PR and marketing plan as a direct result of the firm’s experiences with the medieval open-world title.
Following the sky-high expectations precisely set by a scintillating reveal campaign in the run up to the release of Assassin’s Creed in November 2007, few industry watchers at the time predicted the critical gulf that would emerge between leading publications in the US and the UK.
But as the scores rolled in a surprising yet significant divide quickly became apparent: while GamePro (5/5), Game Informer (9.5/10), Gametrailers (9.1/10) and GameSpot (9.0/10) lavished praise on the game, IGN (7.7/10), Eurogamer (7/10), Edge (7/10), 1UP (7/10), EGM (5.83/10) and X360 Magazine UK (5/10) were notably more muted in their reaction.
And this led to a feeling among certain Ubisoft staff that expectations were set too high as a result of the campaign, which had a negative impact on the game’s reception in some quarters once the final game had been delivered to reviewers.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz earlier this month at Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, Prince of Persia creative director Ben Mattes confirmed a conscious change in strategy as a result of these developments, stating: “I think that played into our decision this time around, certainly.”
—
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 16, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Small snippet from article on GamesIndustry . biz comparing the media onslaught of Assassin’s Creed” versus the envisaged under-hyping of the new “Prince of Persia” title:
—
Pivotal holiday 2008 release Prince of Persia, another ambitious action-adventure and update to one of Ubisoft’s most successful franchises, is now being promoted on a deliberately “compressed” version of the Assassin’s Creed PR and marketing plan as a direct result of the firm’s experiences with the medieval open-world title.
Following the sky-high expectations precisely set by a scintillating reveal campaign in the run up to the release of Assassin’s Creed in November 2007, few industry watchers at the time predicted the critical gulf that would emerge between leading publications in the US and the UK.
But as the scores rolled in a surprising yet significant divide quickly became apparent: while GamePro (5/5), Game Informer (9.5/10), Gametrailers (9.1/10) and GameSpot (9.0/10) lavished praise on the game, IGN (7.7/10), Eurogamer (7/10), Edge (7/10), 1UP (7/10), EGM (5.83/10) and X360 Magazine UK (5/10) were notably more muted in their reaction.
And this led to a feeling among certain Ubisoft staff that expectations were set too high as a result of the campaign, which had a negative impact on the game’s reception in some quarters once the final game had been delivered to reviewers.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz earlier this month at Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, Prince of Persia creative director Ben Mattes confirmed a conscious change in strategy as a result of these developments, stating: “I think that played into our decision this time around, certainly.”
—
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 16, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Small snippet from article on GamesIndustry . biz comparing the media onslaught of Assassin’s Creed” versus the envisaged under-hyping of the new “Prince of Persia” title:
[ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ubisoft-reins-in-hype-machine-after-creed-controversy ]
—
Pivotal holiday 2008 release Prince of Persia, another ambitious action-adventure and update to one of Ubisoft’s most successful franchises, is now being promoted on a deliberately “compressed” version of the Assassin’s Creed PR and marketing plan as a direct result of the firm’s experiences with the medieval open-world title.
Following the sky-high expectations precisely set by a **** reveal campaign in the run up to the release of Assassin’s Creed in November 2007, few industry watchers at the time predicted the critical gulf that would emerge between leading publications in the US and the UK.
But as the scores rolled in a surprising yet significant divide quickly became apparent: while GamePro (5/5), Game Informer (9.5/10), Gametrailers (9.1/10) and GameSpot (9.0/10) lavished praise on the game, IGN (7.7/10), Eurogamer (7/10), Edge (7/10), 1UP (7/10), EGM (5.83/10) and X360 Magazine UK (5/10) were notably more muted in their reaction.
And this led to a feeling among certain Ubisoft staff that expectations were set too high as a result of the campaign, which had a negative impact on the game’s reception in some quarters once the final game had been delivered to reviewers.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz earlier this month at Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, Prince of Persia creative director Ben Mattes confirmed a conscious change in strategy as a result of these developments, stating: “I think that played into our decision this time around, certainly.”
—
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 16, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
PS. Replace “****” with “scin-till-ating”.
Yet another word rejected by Three Speech’s comment parsing engine!?!
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Jul 16, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
Just noticed my comment (#6-#9) appearing so many times.
Sorry!
PS. More Ubisoft news…
[ threespeech.com/blog/2008/08/good-news-for-ubisoft-fans-in-europe/ ]
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Aug 29, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
@3 [me]:
Altaïr can swim in “Assassin’s Creed 2″!
[ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=199332 ]
—
First Assassin’s Creed 2 info
Tuesday 14-Oct-2008 4:03 PM
Prince of Persia animation director David Wilkinson seems to have slipped the first information on Assassin’s Creed 2… which hasn’t even been officially announced yet.
Speaking in a very frank interview with AusGamers, Wilkinson was quizzed on the current status of Assassin’s animation guru Alex Drouin.
“He’s busy making Altair even more beautiful,” Wilkinson revealed. “Last thing I saw him do was getting Altair to swim.”
Uh-oh, someone’s going to get sacked…
So it looks like Altair will be assassinating bad men from the watery deep - and if we know Ubisoft, probably reaching up and dragging guards into the drink with him as well.
Ubisoft hasn’t said much of a second game, apart from making it clear that Assassin’s Creed is “a franchise”. So there will be more games.
The conclusion to the original also heavily hints at plot points for a follow-up…
—
BFN,
fp.
Comment by fanpages — Oct 15, 2008 @ 3:38 am
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