Now that I've completed the game I fell I can comment on some of the reviews and misconceptions of this game.  I think that when people see a game with the name Assassin in the tile they tend to think this game is about stealth and sneaking around to get through the game.  That's not really the case with this game.

Now I don't feel I'm blowing the cover off this game by saying this game does not actually take place in 1191.  There is a sci-fi element to this game where you have a descendant of this assassin and you are reliving his memories via this special machine.  You are being held against your will but you participate willingly.  From this machine you experience the life of the assassin.  This revelation is revealed in the opening cut scene.

While reliving the memories you are tasked with killing nine individuals that are causing harm to the world around them.  On these missions there are some stealthy moments like pick pocketing letters or throwing knives.  You do need to blend into a crowd on occasion because the city guards are aware there is an assassin on the loose.  You also have the ability to walk up to someone and kill them without attracting attention.

Those stealth parts of the game really aren't the best part though.  The best parts of the game are all about the fighting, climbing buildings and the chase.  One large part of the game is simply climbing up towers and getting a better view of the city or general area.  First off this is where you really see how large the cities in Assassin's Creed are and how beautiful the world is drawn.  There is some challenge to find these towers and scale them at first but over time they become easier with exception to a few in heavily guarded areas.

It's not often you get to play a game that has some enjoyable sword combat.  In each section of the cities you need to help a certain number of citizens that are being harassed by guards.  Often this means killing all the guards and any others that come to help.  This often means fighting six or seven guards at a time.  I Enjoy the fights and like the use of a quick cut scene if you hit a combo correctly for a more visually appealing kill.  Often I've taken on 10 or more guards and walked away.  Nothing stealthy about killing ten or twelve guards in one fight.

On occasion you do need to run from the guards or maybe want to avoid the beggars in the streets.  It's best then to take to the roof tops.  The mechanism to run on the roof tops is very easy and accessible to all unlike the Prince of Persia franchise.  Simply hold the right trigger and A button to jump from roof to roof as you run.  I enjoy moving through the cities this way and it allows me to kill some guards with throwing knives.  I also hunt down Templars and flags that are scattered across the cities and kingdom.

I really think what this game does best is offer some fun hunting and gathering elements wrapped around some assassinations.  I enjoy finding the flags, Templars, climbing the towers and saving the peasants more than the actual assassinations.  The assassination help move the story and make you wonder about the plot.  To me his game is Crackdown in 1191 with much larger cities to explore.