By Jason Nimer
I had the pleasure of reviewing the original Assassin's Creed when it hit
consoles a while back, and aside from the beyond ridiculous story (DNA utilized
to explore memories from past lives? Even Shirley Maclaine would have a hard
time believing that) and sometime repetitive and boring tasks, I had a good bit
of fun with the game. A little while later, a spin-off prequel made its way to
the Nintendo DS, but I passed on it after reading reviews complaining about
boring touch screen mini games and a poor control scheme. Somewhere along the
line, Ubisoft and Gameloft decided to revamp/remake that DS game into an iPhone
adventure, and after finishing the game, I'm glad they did. Being back in the
assassin's shoes was a short, but amazingly detailed and fun jaunt, and it is
yet another bit of proof that in the right hands, the iPhone is on its way to
being a full-fledged gaming platform, right up there with Nintendo's DS and
Sony's PSP. I've spent a lot of time with the iPhone and its game library, but
Assassin's Creed marks only the second time I've been impressed with how much
the little machine is truly capable of (the first time was with Gameloft's Hero
of Sparta), and for under $10, you simply can't go wrong.
High-end production values and an easy to love control scheme are Assassin's
Creed's two major selling points. We all know that if a game is fun, it can be
ugly as sin and still be worth it, but Altair's first iPhone adventure is both
pretty and very entertaining. Best described as a 2.5D game (not quite 3D),
Altair's Chronicles plays like a normal side-scroller, with hints of stealth and
some hit-or-miss touch screen mini games tossed in for good measure. Each stage
will have you running across rooftops, sword fighting and (duh) assassinating in
a lower-tech facsimile of its console big brother. And through all this, the
presentation doesn't miss a beat. There is a little slowdown when the action
heats up and some of the load times are unreasonably long, but beyond that,
everything looks and sounds fantastic. All the characters on-screen are fully
rendered in 3D, and the backgrounds sparkling behind them look almost as good.
Fire effects, music, sound and believe it or not a large amount of
voice-acting show that this game isn't a half-assed DS port. In fact, after
beating this version, I checked out the DS original (thanks, Gamefly) and found
that the iPhone version is superior in every imaginable way. An iPhone game
better than a DS game?! If you told me a year ago I'd be writing that, I would
have laughed in your face. And yet, here we are an iPhone game better than its
DS counterpart. Wow.
Also like Hero of Sparta, Altair's Chronicles nails the concept of an action
game on a platform that doesn't have a d-pad or even a single button. In both
games, movement is accomplished with a touch screen analog stick and
attack/jump/interact are mapped to touch screen buttons. It doesn't seem like
that could work when spelled out, but surprisingly, it does. Altair's other
actions are handled by touch-screen buttons as well, from changing inventory
items to a series of clever mini games. It can be a little weird to play a game
with "virtual buttons" after years and years of holding physical controllers,
but after the first sword fight, you'll be amazed that you took to the concept
so effortlessly.
As impressive an effort as Altair's Chronicles is, it isn't without its share
of annoying faults. I mentioned the minor slowdown and too long loads, but the
issues don't stop there. Every so often, the virtual analog stick won't work
like it should, and it will more often than not end up with you falling from a
building. This doesn't happen enough to break the spell cast by the
implementation of the controls, but it is extremely annoying every single time
it happens. Lastly, just like the console versions, the little tasks you'll need
to accomplish tend to grate on the player's nerves after a bit. Using your
finger to quietly slip an item out of someone's pocket is cool at first, but the
novelty doesn't last. All minor complaints to be sure.
If you have an iPhone and $10, Altair's Chronicles can be a great choice.
Sure, it has some problems and if you played the DS version, there isn't enough
to justify the expenditure, but it is easily one of the iPhone's most polished
and fun games. And hey, if you don't like it, you can use your DNA's memories to
go back and tell yourself not to spend the cash. See how stupid that sounds?
Final Rating: 89%
