.:: Kid’s Ice-Box ::.

I’ll be honest, I have never been so excited of a game since Metal Gear Solid 4 and Devil May Cry 4. Heck, I’m not even excited to see MGS 4 trailer at e3 2007 recently. This game however, rocks my socks off. It hasn’t come out yet, but it really leaves a strong impression to me already.

Assassin’s Creed is a video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal ( the same team that brought your Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ) and published by Ubisoft. It is slated for a worldwide launch on November 9 2007 for PS3, X-box360 and PC.

The game takes place during the Third Crusade, in the year 1191. You take the role of Altaïr ( sort of anti-hero character ), a member of the Hashshashin sect (the original “assassins”), whose objective is to slay the nine historical figures who are propagating the Crusades. As you find and kills these targets, their conspiracy is unveiled. You will be able to travel through three cities: Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus. Yeah, like Heavenly Sword, this isn’t developed by Japan.

What sets this game apart from any other game it’s realism. It’s totally out of this world realistic. Okay, first of all, everything is interactive. You will be traveling in these huge 3 cities, and trust me when I say the city is HUGE. The amazing thing is you can travel anywhere, provide there is a path. You go around the cities by walking with the people, or maybe take it to the sky by climbing rooftops and building. The way Altaïr climbs walls is realistic and interactive, because he will grab whatever he can, unlike most games where you can only grab things that are allowed to be grab. If there is a crack on the wall, he will dig is fingers into the wall to climb it. It’s that realistic.

Next, the N.P.C aka the crowd. They are what drawn me to the game. Most games when you walk /bump to the N.P.C, you either will drag them along, you magically go through them, or nothing happens. Not in Assassin’s Creed case. If you run towards a N.P.C, you will bump realistically, and might even fall. These crowd will be an obstacle to you during run-for-your-life or chasing a target moments, because they will act like a real crowd. They will panic, run around and will be in your way. Lucky you can push them aside while you walk or run. It looks all so real. THIS is what next-gen game should be able to do. I doubt MGS have this kind of interactivity.

Finally, the combat system. Altair has more than 10,000 animation in the game, and during combat he has about 800. The kill and battle animation looks really good. You will see a few during the demo, and I must say they’re pretty impressive. Altair however is not Dante, he can’t pull off combo’s or get too many hits, especially at the head. 1 slash to the head and you might end up dead. That’s why you must learn to parry, and during this parry you will be able to perform counter attacks. However, these counter attacks require timing, which will take time to master. And no, the battle scene isn’t about mashing buttons, its more of timing and execution.

I could yap all day about the awesomeness of this game, but to truly see it, you must check out this E3 2007 demonstration. They will show you what I mean. It takes a while to download ( 48+ MB ), but do watch, its worth it. Check it out ! This…is truly a next-generation game. Though its available for PC, I doubt my PC can handle it.

Hmm…maybe it’s time to go save some money for either a PS3 / X-box360.