April 8, 2008 - Despite enormous commercial success on consoles, developer Ubisoft didn't completely slack off when it came to developing the PC version of their highly successful third-person action game, Assassin's Creed. This is a real concern for PC gamers. Many developers seem to almost forget they're even bringing their console-focused titles to mouse and keyboard aficionados, sometimes neglecting to remove console interface layouts (The Club), omitting adequate video or control configurations (Resident Evil 4), or just otherwise displaying obvious disregard for functionality and ease of use (Phantasy Star Universe).

Assassin's Creed, on the other hand, has all the features you'd expect in a PC game. Customizable controls, various graphical settings to scale performance, the choice of DX 9 and DX 10 modes for gamers with more high-end hardware, and all the proper UI icons mean PC gamers won't have to wince in pain at the sight of a giant green "A" button icon to select or apply options in menus. Yes it's minor in the overall scheme of things, but it shows Ubisoft actually paid attention. Beyond that, Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut represents a style of gameplay not often seen on PCs. It's not without quirks and definitely tailored for the tastes of someone like me, a guy who appreciates sandbox environments and the ability to sow destruction and mayhem into a virtual world, although such a description could likely be ascribed to a wide range of gamers.

Yet the game offers a different style of sandbox play than something like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (hereafter referred to as GTA and Stalker, respectively), so it's likely the masses of people who enjoy those games (or at least GTA – quite a few people didn't appreciate Stalker) wouldn't necessarily be drawn to Assassin's Creed. The mission structure accounts for a large portion of the difference, as do the basic gameplay mechanics and rules that govern how the sandbox cities function.

Assassin's Creed's story centers on Altair, a murderous gent in a fancy white robe who hops around the cities of Jerusalem, Acre, Damascus, and smaller township of Masyaf. It's all loosely based around figures who inhabited the area back in 1191, the time of the Third Crusade, and follows an often disturbing, violent tale of how controlling factions vie for dominance and the disruptive role you play between them. Through your brotherhood of assassins' leader, Al Mualim, you're tasked with wiping out nine prominent people to maintain order in the area.


Starting out you're forced to slog through a tutorial that assumes your IQ must be on par with phytoplankton, but it's more than worth the hour-plus exercise in patience. Afterward the world opens up and you're free to head out beyond the training area of Masyaf to the countryside, called the Kingdom, and put into practice the techniques you've learned. Though Altair begins the game in a fairly weak state, he gains new abilities and health pellets for completing missions and side-quests. After a couple of hours you should be in decent enough shape to hold your own against the groups of enemies attackers you find as the environments are explored.

Like GTA and Stalker, more of the game world opens up as you complete primary missions. You'll have access to the cities early on but several neighborhoods will be off-limits until you move deeper into the game. To break down these barriers (and acquire new gear and advance the plot), you'll have to kill your primary targets, and the methods by which you go about doing so represent the most irritating aspects of the game.

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