Assassin's Creed Altair's Chronicles

This game is fun, i like the obstabicles you have to go through but i'm am a little bumbed on the lack of fighting ability in the beginnig but the more you get into the game the more ways you get to fight and kill characters. which is the whole point of the game.

I got Assassins's Creed when it was on sale for $15 a couple weeks back, so if you can find it for cheap, than it is worth it, but i wouldn't waste $30 on it. After reading all the mediocre reviews, I had pretty low expectations for the game, but it defintely isn't as bad as a lot of people are saying it is.

I, too, have yet to play the console version, so i can't compare, hoeever, you can't really compare a handheld version the console versions, its not really fair. So far, i think it's a solid platformer, and I have yet to run into any of these so called glitches or anything. It's not quite worth 5 stars, but it does deserve a better rating than what it has now. Its probably worth 3.5-4. Heres to hoping Assassins Creed DS 2 is a little less of a platformer and more like the console versions.

More and more lately there have been great AAA games available for the DS, and quite a few of them are more adult oriented than the usual kiddie fare. This game is sweet! Offering quite a bit of sophistication for the system and displaying some of the best graphics seen to date on the DS, the story will also hook you and pull you into the world of Altair, a much feared assassin. I've never felt so immersed on such a small screen. I feel like I AM Altair every time I play this. Excellent!

I simply did not enjoy this game. I expected a portable version of the console game, and I was largely disappointed when I played a mediocre platformer.

The controls are clunky, and while the graphics push the DS to their limits, the unrealistic death scenes, cheap deaths such as hitting the water, and overall clunky controls with the D-Pad are just lame. It felt like a platformer from the Nintendo 64 age. And while the mini-games are fun, the lower-half of the DS is sparingly used, and the graphical effects beyond the textured 3D are just unimpressive and unimaginative. The game lacks the stealth components and free-roaming game-play that made its console big-brother great.

I was hugely disappointed and it was a waste of my money. I wouldn't recommend this to anybody.

A prequel to Assassin's Creed, "Altair's Chronicles" explores the titular assassin's life before the events detailed in Assassin's creed. It also makes the rather clumsy transition from the PS3 and Xbox 360 to the Nintendo DS.

The story is much more simple in this game than in the original, possibly because if the events of this game were particularly ground-breaking the events of the original would not make as much sense. Altair is attempting to find the Chalice - a powerful artifact said to be able to unite many groups under a single banner - by the order of his superiors. If the Crusaders or Saracens should find it, they would use it to end the Crusades and dominate the holy land. Notably absent is the "modern day" setting present in Assassin's Creed - showing the use of the Animus machine to re-live past events and so on (though the main menu is meant to be the Animus' display).

The gameplay is meant to be similar to Assassin's Creed, but isn't quite as advanced. Altair runs, jumps, and climbs like he does in the original, though with slightly less grace. Attacking has been reduced to attacking, blocking, and countering, with a lot less of the subtlety that made it so fun in Assassin's Creed. The top screen usually displays gameplay, while the bottom screen holds a map showing where all the people in the area are. Certain activities, like interrogation and pickpocketing, have been turned into touch-screen minigames. The former relies on a timed sequence of point-pressing to simulate pressure points, while the latter involves dragging an item through a bag without touching the bag's other contents. Instead of the old system of getting upgrades after completing missions, Altair must now collect "blue orbs" - slightly out of place in the otherwise fairly realistic setting - to upgrade his health and weaponry.

The graphics didn't survive the transition to the DS very well. The attempt at 3d is grainy and blocky, with little of the detail shown in Assassin's Creed. The level design is especially artificial, contrasted with the occasionally improbable but still acceptable cities in the original. In Altair's Chronicles, the buildings seem much less sensibly constructed, with one village containing giant stone arches and pillars that seemed out of place amidst its otherwise low-level construction (of course, you have to follow the path up and across the pillars the continue). As a whole, they seem fairly obviously like an attempt to compress cutting-edge graphics into a portable system (see also the GBA Splinter Cell games). The sound is similarly disappointing, being barely noteworthy in any sense of the word.

As a whole, the game fails to live up to the original Assassin's Creed. Even on its own, it's not a very good game. Despite an attempt to use the dual screen function, it seems more like a gimmick than an actual gameplay point. This game just doesn't have anything that the original did; everything, from story to gameplay to technical things, is eclipsed by the original.

4/10.

This is a fun game to play. My three year old son has really enjoyed beating up the bad guys with his sword. It has some reading, but it really isn't necessary to be able to read, since you just follow the arrow to where you need to go. He has really enjoyed it so far. The story line is that you are basically on the other side of the crusades and the Templers are the "bad guys". So you are an assassin killing off the Templar. Not exactly the "team" I really would be on, so it is probably best my son can't read just yet. Other than the storyline, the game itself is fun. The graphics are good, the game play is good, and it is overall a fun game. Just be aware of the story line. This story line could be very touchy especially in today's world with the strife still going on in the Middle East. Now the assassins strap bombs on themselves and blow themselves up in crowds of people, hoping to take out their targets. The "holy war" still continues today, unfortunately. This is why I had to give it a lower grade then it would have received from me.

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I hope this helps with your decision to buy this or not. For some the story line may not be a big deal and just want to play a fun game, for others it could be a big deal. So I wanted to make you aware of it all.

The setting is 1191 AD. The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart. You, Altair, intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. You are an Assassin, a warrior shrouded in secrecy and feared for your ruthlessness. Your actions can throw your immediate environment into chaos, and your existence will shape events during this pivotal moment in history. Be an Assassin Master the skills, tactics, and weapons of history's deadliest and most secretive clan of warriors. Plan your attacks, strike without mercy, and fight your way to escape. Realistic and responsive environments-Crowds react to your moves and will either help or hinder you on your quests. Action with a new dimension -- total freedom Eliminate your targets wherever, whenever, and however. Stalk your prey through richly detailed, historically accurate, open-ended environments. Scale buildings, mount horses, blend in with crowds. Do whatever it takes to achieve your objectives.