Having just finished playing a marathon session of Grand Theft Horsie, I have to declare the following:
I HATE PLATFORM GAMES WITH A VENGEANCE!
There, got that off my chest. I can't fully explain what it was about platform games, but I just never liked them... Especially the iso-3D ones (apart from Get Dexter... Bouncing on a bed beneath a ceiling fan was so much fun!
However that is getting off on a tangent.
I would just like to say that, finally, i feel that the era of the next-gen consoles is finally upon us. And GTH is the first of the new breed of uber-game!
Just to stop any confusion, Grand Theft Horsie is my pet name for Assassin's Creed. and I would just like to say that I feel that it really is a wonderful experience.
The graphics are beautiful, not Heavenly Sword beautiful, but truly authentically beautiful. Very immersive, and seemingly well researched, the game's visual cornucopia is a wonder to behold. And it has every right to be proud of its looks. Certainly Ubisoft can be proud, and it shows in the fact that the television adverts showed actual in-game footage.
The sound is great, with passers-by commenting about your strange antics as you perform various antics, the guards chasing you across the city, hiding places to find and very surprising moments, and potentially hilarious moments.
Accidentally (on purpose) bumping into a guard standing on the egde of a cliff could have very interesting repurcussions. The crowds reacting the way they do to your actions and responding in a highly believable manner to your every move is a wonderful sensation.
It looks like a huge game, with lots to keep people going until GTA comes out, and certainly bodes very well for a new PoP game.
I would say more, but to do so would possibly give away the plot a little, and, more importantly, every word I type is time spent NOT playing the game.
If you got a PS3, I heartily recommend this. If you got a 360, then all I can say is that I imagine the game quality is on a par, and should also be high on your list of games worth trying.
Some of the graphic effects are a bit odd, and it is hard to know if it is a part of the game, or just an oddity with the game. Have only had one problem with the game freezing (well the action stopped, but you could still pan the camera round and the buttons responded...) but that is just the once, so hopefully it was just one of those moments (I tend to get them a lot with Tiger Woods 08). But other than that, the game is a superb advert for next-gen gaming (and not just next-gen graphics)
Overall score: 9.5/10