These big open worlds, which are fully interactive, do come at a severe cost on PS3. There is considerable texture pop-in and noticeable framerate issues. Playing back-to-back with the 360 version, it's obvious that Ubisoft did not devote enough resources to the PS3 edition. The framerate is considerably worse, so much so that it begins to affect gameplay in the later levels. You can get through the first two-thirds of Assassin with the framerate being just an annoyance, but it becomes more of an issue for the final third of the missions.

There are few differences between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. PS3 owners are blessed with a slightly more solid frame rate, although the 360 version features a little more contrast in the lighting, so it's pretty much a wash.

IGN 7.7/10
TEAMXBOOX 7/10
GAMESPY 7/10

I dont care i'm buying this game!

Gamespot gave it a 9. Oddly enough they say the framerate is BETTER in the PS3 version.

Owners of both next-gen consoles take heed, AVOID THE PS3 VERSION.http://ps3.ign.com/articles/834/834770p4.html

why does the ps3 verson always have to be the inferior one? The game was originally announced as a ps3 title for god's sake (though everyone and their mom knew it would come for 360 too). You would at least think it would be equal to the 360 version if not superior. booerns.

You need to look at the constant element in these problems, the PS3 itself. Microsoft knows how developers like to work because it is a software company primarily.

Correction MS knows how PC developers like to work.

Someone like Square-Enix and Kojima don't work anything like someone like Ubisoft.

Although I agree that the 360 is more developer friendly, mainly because of the software.

The Truth About Assassin's Creed

There are a lot of opinions flying around today about Assassin's Creed, and a lot of doubt. And certain sad individuals have taken it upon themselves to latch onto the first negative reviews they can find and repeat it ad nauseam as gospel, though in fact they have not played the game themselves. I am here to set the record straight. Although let me just say ahead of time, my impressions are based off of roughly 6 or 7 hours of play, but that shouldn't discredit most of what I'm going to discuss.

Okay let's get right to it. Assassin's Creed is probably NOT what you are expecting. Or maybe it is, but it's not HOW you are expecting it. This is not your typical action game; in fact it's one of the most atypical games I have ever played, and I'm speaking mainly of the control scheme and how you interact with the world. I consider myself a seasoned gamer with well over 20 years under my belt. Having said that, after many hours of play time I still find myself struggling to wrap my head around the control scheme. Note, that does NOT mean it is bad; it is unorthodox, and takes quite a bit of time to learn. The game has a semi-lengthy tutorial when it starts, and even having completed it I still am not entirely sure I understand it. But let me stress again that this is not a bad thing. We are all used to certain control schemes for certain types of games, but this game is trying something unique and I think that if everyone approaches AC with an open mind they will discover that they really like this game for what it is. In some regards it might be easier for a complete gaming n00b to pick up and play Assassin's Creed because that person will not have to *unlearn* what they have learned in order to play. However, AC's control scheme is fairly complex at the same time, so that player will probably not have the patience to learn this game. In my opinion this is AC's biggest flaw, however it was necessary in order to deliver the experience that Ubi intended.

Much of what Altair does is AI driven. So running up the side of a wall, vaulting over the top and jumping from rooftop to rooftop does not require multiple button presses. In fact all you need to do is hold the right trigger and 'A' and press a direction and he will do it all for you, for the most part. You can still coax Altair this way or that with the left stick, so it's not like it's entirely automatic. But it does not feel like any game you have played (or at least any that I can think of). However this is not a bad thing. The point of this game is not intricate platforming, and frankly if you were being chased by guards and had to perfectly time every jump manually it would probably get frustrating very fast. To be honest it is in some ways very liberating not to have to do all of that shit, especially in the context of this game. The emphasis here is on recon and stealth. Altair is a skilled assassin and he doesn't need you to tell him when to jump. (I know, frightening isn't it?) The real focus of this game is exploration, planning and decision making.

The fighting mechanics are equally unique. Altair has two stances, offensive and defensive (toggled by holding and releasing the right trigger). If you are in defensive stance he will automatically block an opponent's strike. (This is true for the average guard; the Templar Knights are fucking tough and I don't know how to fight them yet; they WILL kick your ass.) Pressing the X button will attack, and pressing it again with the right timing will perform a combo. Most of the time the person you are attacking will block you as well, so it's really all about the timing of your button presses and your blocks, and how you manage being attacked from all sides at once. In defensive stance, pressing X at just the right moment will reverse an attack (unlockable ability). While fighting a flick of the left stick will let you highlight different targets so you can quickly block one guy and then attack another. You might be thinking that this approach will take you out of the experience, but in fact in my opinion it does the exact opposite. Some people are going to bitch and moan because this game does not play like a Ninja Gaiden or God of War, but the key here is immersion. Imagine Altair swinging his sword at 90 miles per hour while jumping over the heads of guards and off of walls - it would look silly. Instead you have a realistic looking sword fight with awesome animation and camera angles. This game is striving to look realistic and cinematic, and in my opinion it accomplishes this probably better than any other game in history. Coupled with one of the best stories ever in a video game (as well as probably THE BEST voice acting), incredible music, visuals and smart directing, and the experience is really second to none. To put it another way, I really should have been working on a research paper last night, but I could not put the controller down. Consequently I am running on 5 hours sleep and have to write the whole paper today, but it was absolutely worth it.

Something else that I want to stress is that this game requires patience, not only in the learning curve but also in the way you have to approach the game. Players that want to run quickly from one area to the next are going to find themselves being chased by guards all of the time. Even riding your horse too quickly past a guard post will alert them and cause them to chase you down. Often times you are going to have to walk slower through town than you want to, because even running through the crowded streets will raise people's suspicion of you. Assassin's Creed truly is a role playing game in the strictest sense of the phrase: you ARE Altaire, you ARE an assassin, and you'd better act like it or you are going to be beat down in a hurry.

I have to cut this short (lol) because of class, but all of this is to say, don't let some disgruntled game reviewer's opinion sway your decision to play or not play this game. It bugs the shit out of me that these guys mope around about how video games lack innovation, and then an innovative game comes along and they throw their hands up in protest. Assassin's Creed is truly a unique experience and an early glimpse of what the future of video gaming could be (if asshole reviewers don't sabotage it first). If not for Mass Effect coming this month, I would give AC my vote for Game of the Year right now without a second thought, and by a large margin. It truly has to be played to be believed. At the same time I know it will not be for everyone, so I will stop short of saying that everyone should run out and buy it immediately, but I urge you all to at least give it a try, because games like this don't come around very often.

I don't get the "repetitive" criticism, games have always been repetitive and always will be, its a pretty big part of this hobby.

Let's make a list of games that don't have repetitive mechanics.

I'll start.

While the story may seem a little complex, the actual game structure is surprisingly simple: Kill nine dudes. Yep, that's it. But before you can start the slaying, you must perform various investigations in order to gather the adequate information for each hit. You gather information in several different ways: picking pockets, eavesdropping on conversations, performing tasks for fellow assassins, and interrogating informants. In order to find out where you need to go in order to accomplish these tasks, you must climb up to various viewpoints throughout each city. (Though how you learn where to eavesdrop by simply climbing up a building is beyond me.) Regardless, turning Altaïr into a medieval Spider-Man in order to reach high points is one of the best parts about the game.

Or at least until you get sick of it -- which will likely happen very quickly. The fault of Creed's game structure isn't what you do -- gathering intel and conducting hits is actually pretty sweet. The repetition of these actions, however, is severely bitter. I kept waiting for a changeup of the objectives, and, well, that never happened. From the first hit to the last, you go through the same motions over and over and over...find the viewpoints, do the investigation missions, and take out the final target.