The Rebel Faction

I've been seeing this game advertised increasingly as of late, and I have to say it looks like a pretty cool concept. From what I gather, you're basically an assassin who's hired out to take down targets in a large free-roaming city based in the medieval time period. Apart from wearing bright white (for an assassin? is he colorblind, perhaps?), the concept of the character him self seems pretty standard, with a typical cloak and hood and sneaking boots (etc)... however I am concerned over the seeming lack of alertness guards, and bystanders, have toward seeing the assassin walking along with a small armory of weapons strapped over his back - when clearly no one else in the city really carries any killing devices, as they are all peasants who can barely afford clothing. From the game demo shown in recent media clips, it seems that it can be impressively easy to simply run away from the guards, rush into a church and simply start blending with a group of white robed priests...

None-the-less I think the developers have a creditable source, the game coming from those who made Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia, and I have the feeling that I will definitely try this one - after all, I am all about running around as a sneaky assassin type, ala Thief or Tenchu.

The games premise:

The first game in the Assassin's Creed franchise is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

Some game dynamics suggest that the character, Altair, can scale basically any surface that has a ledge - and that ledge only has to be jutting out to about roughly two inches. This, in itself, says that there could be a very good sense of cat and mouse, as you are chased down by guards following an assassination, as you run through crowded streets before leaping up onto the roof tops with an impressive acrobatic prowess - assuming you are sloppy with your kills and people/guards see you during the act.

Another unique, and potentially dangerous, game dynamic is that you can't physically attack (unlike most games), and kills are triggered by pushing a certain 'action' button when close to your target. How this will affect game play remains to be seen, but hopefully there will be some freedom in who, when and how you kill someone (not necessarily a target, either).

Unfortunately it seems the game is set on a PS3 release, which I hope changes and expands to other platforms, primarily the 360 - as I am biased toward not paying $1000 AUS dollars for a Playstation 3. But, other than that, it looks like it could be an impressive (and quite enjoyable) title, where killing's the game, and you're the best player around... as long as you're careful.

I hear it's coming out for the X360 as well. It should, since a PS3 only release may kill the game.