When a game about the past is mixed with science fiction, it runs the risk ruining the realism of the game. Even if we have not lived during that past, previous eras are often carefully represented in games with characters we can understand. Fortunately, Assassin’s Creed has Altair, a very solid lead character who feels more real than his descendent in the near future.

The best part about Altair is how believable he feels. When he moves around, he feels heavy. There are clinks when he walks from his weapons and gear. He can push through a crowd or weave through less dense groups. He can also collide with people if he runs into them, and they respond accordingly. Despite his weight, Altair is still graceful enough to carry out acrobatic feats reminiscent of Prince of Persia.

Supporting the realistic Altair is a fantastic population of NPCs in towns. There are so many people in the towns, each traveling to and fro as if they have their own agenda. They make surprised comments if Altair leaps up onto a rooftop and notice disturbances he causes. The towns feel believable to a degree that has rarely been achieved in games to date.

Some of the visuals are fantastic, but other visual elements detract from the realism. The scenery is beautiful. The backgrounds in particular are incredibly real. However, the eyes on people are a little too bright and look slightly odd, slipping into the uncanny valley. Also, the motion capture technology is inconsistent. The doctor in the future looks great, but the assassin leader in the past has movements that seem a bit stilted.

The dialogue and visual presentation are two of the game’s main weaknesses. There are many lengthy cutscenes that could be a lot shorter if the dialogue were tighter. The lines are often repetitive and give too many details. Unfortunately, the camera angles during cutscenes can be controlled by the player. I frequently found myself flipping through the angles out of boredom and it severely detracted from my immersion in the game. Sometimes none of the angles would look right, and it felt like this mechanic was a cheap substitution for a cinematographer.

I had a few more frustrations with this game. First, the tutorial was way too long. It went on and on, going over abilities I didn’t need to know until much later. It is impossible to remember everything when too much is presented at the beginning. I was so excited to play the game that I could not retain as much as normal. Also, the game soon takes away all these abilities that it spent so much time teaching me. It seems pointless to learn how to use several abilities only to lose them. Why not learn them gradually? Finally, the combat system is essentially a few non-strategic button presses. It felt unremarkable and dull.

Assassin’s Creed is not a horrible game. It does a lot of things well, most notably many visuals and the realism in towns. However, its weaknesses detract from this game’s merits and can become frustrating. While I did enjoy playing Assassin’s Creed for a while, I hope that games in the future can model themselves after its strengths and learn from its weaknesses.