Oct 12, 2007

We're fresh from our most extensive hands-on time with Assassin's Creed yet, and were fortunate enough to play a nearly complete version that is mere days away from gold status. Unceremoniously dumped into the middle of the action with no training, our exploits ranged across two of the game's three cities and the wilderness area that connects them as we pursued two of Altier's primary targets.

You can check out a ton of new screens here.

As with all things new and innovative, Creed takes some getting used to. There are several complex systems operating at any given time, and the successful assassin must manipulate all of them to his advantage. It's not just a simple stealth-timing game like a Splinter Cell or Tenchu, though those elements are present. Combat is not a God of War-style button-mashing combo frenzy, though combos and counters are crucial to combat. There's a huge world to explore and skills to acquire, but there are no economics or inventory as in Oblivion. Now that we've told you what it isn't, let us try to explain what it is.