An Assassain, His Victim, His Master And Their Excuses

I've recently been playing through the interactive-media entertainment Assassin's Creed and I have a few observations.

Each time you off a target you are thrown into a thrilling roof-top chase across the city to avoid the guards whose boss you've just introduced to the after-life. Now, I say thrown into a chase what I mean is your are gently pushed.

That is because you first undertake a moral debate with the unfortunate recipient of the pointy end of your sword/dagger/knife. They will claim they were only trying to do good, they are no different from you, they are simply misunderstood - a bit like when Tony Blair left office. These discussions often drag on and leave you wishing there was a 'Smother' button but just when you are really getting a little bored of these, about halfway through the game you are thrown a curve ball. Yes, that's right, one of the targets admits he had it coming. All the others try to reason the fact they are Mother Teresa with Goebbels's PR but this guy, this guy simply states he was an utter twonk and frankly needed his limbs forcibly rearranged.
So taken aback by this I forgotten to run when he finally sprung his mortal coil. Three sharp prods from the city guard later however and I was back to my deadly ways.

Another thing I find a little bit odd is I repeatedly told that I shouldn't be killing people who have nothing to do with my mission but the Assassin brotherhood is more than happy for me to butcher my way through twenty dozen soldiers and guards (who are just doing their job) if I manager to save one lousy common thief. You begin to wonder if you are on the right side of homicidal lunatic as you stare down at the remains of the district sheriff's department as the lowlife you've just saved from a trip to prison thanks you by providing a bunch of lawless thugs to berate people in the street.

And don't get me started on my Master, he's clearly up to something I don't like the smell of. For a start his guards register a threat level when I stand next to them - I supposed to be on their side, I'm was forced to kill one of my home town's soldiers because he apparently objected to me riding a horse faster than a crippled old man can walk. I'm betting now if I was allowed just to quietly off my Master and go home it is going to save an awful lot of trouble further down the line.

But whilst I may moan the game itself is quite good run as you leap from roof to roof and give people interesting new holes in their bodies. It is one where you wished the designers had show a little more imagination in the missions involved in 'investigating' the targets but then it's probably that they were distracted by Jade Raymond. After all she is a girl and everthing.

See http://www.jade-raymond.com/bio.php for those of you who need to check what a 'girl' is

As for the future set sections, well, I just pretend those don't exist.