Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles (DS)

A decent DS platformer set in the Assassin's Creed universe.
2/28/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

If you're expecting a Prince of Persia-meets-Splinter Cell experience -- just like its console brethren -- players will have a good time exploring a late-12th century Middle East in Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles for the Nintendo DS.

Gameloft's portable prequel does a good job capturing the sights and sounds of this exotic time period, not to mention introduce a number of unsavory characters and situations, but while the gameplay is gratifying for the most part, some technical troubles taint the overall experience.

As with the successful Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 adventure, players once again play as a hooded Altaïr, a skilled assassin during the Crusades, who must roam through (and to some extent, underneath) four 3-D rendered cities to retrieve a mystical chalice said to grant power to whomever possesses it.

This mission-based game is basically divided into three parts:

The first is Prince of Persia-influenced platforming, where Altaïr must jump across rooftops, run along walls, shimmy across ledges, avoid obstacles (such as spikes, blades and hissing snakes), balance on beams, swing on ropes, crouch under ledges, sprint across tarred surfaces, and figure out location-based puzzles such as pushing heavy crates onto pressure plates in order to open a passage (yes, we've seen this a million times in videogames). The directional gamepad and a couple of face and shoulder buttons are used to maneuver the agile and acrobatic Altaïr, which works well for the most part. You'll also gain access to a grappling hook that can also be used to get you out of tricky situations. The animation is smooth and lifelike, while the cities are realized with people who go about their business, walk to shops, and talk with one another. The excellent Middle Eastern music and many sound effects add to the suspension of disbelief.

Next up are the action sequences, which -- just like the console version -- isn't terribly gratifying. Fighting enemies with your sword is as easy as pressing the X and Y buttons for light and heavy attacks, respectively. Combo moves can be performed by pressing a correct sequence of buttons, but they're not necessary to win the game. In fact, while you're hacking and slashing one enemy by button-mashing (and watching as their health bar dips from green to red), the other three or so simply watch until you've defeated their associate. Some tougher boss fights add to the fun, though. Collect enough blue orbs and you can upgrade your weapons to better swords and throwing daggers, as well as explosives required for later missions. You can also upgrade your health bar to resist more damage. The Splinter Cell element is in this game's stealth component, where you're taught to sneak past unsuspecting baddies by tiptoeing behind them and pressing the A button to finish them (which the game's artificial intelligence does for you).

The third main gameplay component lies in the mini-games, which utilize the Nintendo DS' touch-sensitive bottom screen. A pickpocketing mini-game challenges you to press and hold an item in the victim's leather satchel, such as a key, and then use the stylus to guide it around other items so you can take it out without touching anything else -- all within a predetermined amount of time. In other words, think of this game as a variation on the Operation board game. Another mini-game involves applying pressure points to an enemy's back in order to get them to talk. To successfully torture someone, you must use the stylus pen to tap the inside of shrinking circles in the right order (perhaps influenced by the Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero rhythm games). During the main platforming and action sequences, the bottom touch-screen shows a map of the city and where NPCs and enemies are.