Ok, today I'm going to take a shot at "reviewing" the Action/RPG games I've been playing lately.

At first I wasn't too keen on the genre (the action part) as I normally tend to suck at those types of games. I've toyed with Perfect Dark Zero and Devil May Cry 4 and it just didn't work for me. I've also given Kameo a go, but while I consider myself able to finish it, I find that I don't have the inclination to spend time on it.

Two games changed this for me though. Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed. If I remember correctly, I started with Mass Effect, was getting into the story, the action-bits weren't too hard, and then... BAM! My initial contact with the planetary exploration vehicle ruined the experience for me. Being a n00b with the Xbox controller, I got immensely frustrated with having to control and drive the thing (not to mention fighting for your life with it). So that's when I put Mass Effect on the shelf. I did get back to it though, but I'll come to that in a short while.

Next I turned my attention to Assassin's Creed, which I picked up at the local Cash Crusaders for a bargain. Now, I've seen it before at a friend's place and read some reviews on it, so I kind of knew what to expect but thought I'd give it a try anyway. The main issue (according to the reviews) was the repetitiveness of the missions. That didn't bother me too much as I wasn't planning on playing for hours on end anyway. However, once I sat down, I invariably played for more hours than I should've. But that's because I found the story intriguing. Yeah, sometimes the requirements to continue the story were a schlep, but every game has those moments.

Basically, you play two characters in the game: Desmond and Altair (Anglican spelling). Technically they are the same person, although one is alive now and the other lived during the Crusades. Your role in the Crusades as part of a not so secret organisation was to protect the people from tyranny. You made their problems... disappear... violently. The organisation was loyal to the people, not to rulers. It kept the rulers in line, and it's elders kept it's members in line. You mess up, you disappear.

This is where the game starts, with Altair messing up. Presently he gets stripped of his rank in the organisation and, along with that, of his skills and weapons. I know, I know, it sounds extremely stupid to lose learned skills because you get demoted. There's a convoluted explanation for this that can make sense, but which I'm not going to discuss. He is presented with two choices: Die or undertake a mission to correct his mistake. Obviously, he chooses the latter. You get presented with a hit list of people you have to eliminate for the greater good, as they are after some kind of Templar artifact that would allow them to rule the world in their greed-ridden and decadent ways.

Now, being an assassin is a complicated business. You can't just walk up to your target and kill him/her, and then escape with your life. If it was that easy, everyone would do it. First, you have to find your target. Then you have to scout the area and your target. Then you have to get into position and wait for the opportune moment to strike. Then it's simply a matter of running for your life. To find your target you complete a multitude of mini-games from eavesdropping on conversation to picking pockets of individuals to intimidating people-in-the-know with your fists. This is where missions can get repetitive.

There are also numerous side-missions where you save citizens from Crusaders/city guards who harass them, climb the tallest buildings to scout the city, and collect a never-ending amount of flags. These all count towards your achievements. Scouting the city is by far the most fun as you get to run, jump and climb buildings. It's very satisfactory if you manage to do this in a free-running style. Once you've scouted the surrounding city, you have to get down. Climbing down usually isn't the answer, because of various leaps you had to do to grab a hold of some tiny ledge and pull yourself up. So you either plummet to your death and respawn at the checkpoint or you take a leap of faith. The leap of faith is basically you doing a dive into some form of soft cover (normally a nearby haystack). The experience is so immersive though, that you get an adrenaline rush from the dive. Or maybe it's just the heights.

I'll have to continue this a bit later, so please bear with me.