playstation 3 makes a stand with assassin’s creed

One of the oft-heard criticisms of new gaming systems goes something like, “Sure the graphics are amazing, but it’s going to be months until any decent games are released.” Truth be told, this is typically a well-founded claim.

Among the newest generation of video gaming systems, it seems Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has the upper hand in game selection. However, it has been around for a year longer than its competitors, Sony’s Playstation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. The Wii has its own charms, offering active play and games which deliver pure, simple fun. But as any brief stop in the New Hartford Best Buy will show you, the PS3 has the most visually stunning graphics of all the new systems.

The PS3 has been on sale for less than a year, having been released in November 2006, just in time for the Christmas rush. Initially, the console was released in two versions, one with a 20 GB hard drive and another with a 60 GB hard drive. Since last November however, both versions have been discontinued, the 20 GB version due to its poor revenue and the 60 GB when Sony released an 80 GB version of the PS3 in July 2007. The 60 GB version is however still on sale for $499 at most stores. The new 80 GB version sells for $599, though analysts at the Wedbush Morgan Investment firm have confirmed Sony’s intention to drop the price to $499 by early 2008, if not during the 2007 holiday season.

The high price of the PS3 puts it at a disadvantage against its competitors. But the expense isn’t the only thing hurting the PS3’s sales. There are, with few exceptions, no good games available for the PS3, especially when compared with Xbox 360 and Wii. As Business Week put it, people are “more impressed with what it could do than with what it currently does.” Thankfully, this criticism is on its last legs. Between now and the holidays, around 30 games are set to be released for the PS3. One game that stands above the rest is Assassin’s Creed, due out November 13, 2007.

Assassin’s Creed takes place in late 12th Century Europe during the Third Crusade. Players control Altair, a member of the Hashshashin sect sent to minimize the amount of violence committed by both the Crusaders and the Seracen by acting as an assassin. A killer with a conscience working for justice, he is soon caught up in a conspiracy which threatens the security of the entire world, and is forced to do all in his power to stop it.

Plot aside, the game includes some impressive and unique game-play features. The first of these is that missions are free-form. Altair might be asked to assassinate a certain person, but the timing and execution of the murder are left completely up to the player. Additionally, the game is composed of “responsive environments.” This means that Altair can interact with any other character in the game. If Altair rubs an influential townsperson the wrong way, he could end up with the wrath of an angry mob of Dark Age peasants on his hands.

The unofficial motto of Assassin’s Creed reads, “Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” In many ways, this phrase sums the game up well. The combination of remarkable visuals and actions with real consequences makes Assassin’s Creed a game to watch for, even if you aren’t a hard-core ‘gamer.’ All you need is a friend with $600 to blow on a PS3 and you’re ready to go.

-scott flaherty '08