subject: Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP Go Game Review - Download Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines For Free! [print this page]
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines doesn't get it. On the surface, it offers many of the features you'd want from an Assassin's Creed game on the PSP. It puts you in control of Altair, the first game's nimble protagonist, and sends you on a mission to assassinate your Templar enemies, who are equally eager to plunge their swords into you. If you delve a little deeper, however, you'll find that Bloodlines skimps on what makes the console games so special.
The joy of rooftop running has been diminished by flawed platforming and smaller environments, bustling cities have been replaced by barren districts on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, and AI problems render the stealthy approach all but irrelevant. Bloodlines still delivers the brief bloody thrills you get from a well-timed counterattack, but on the whole, it is a neutered and unsatisfying adventure.
That doesn't mean Bloodlines is devoid of Assassin's Creed flavor. Altair looks great and is animated extremely well, which makes it a delight to watch him climb towers and leap across alleys. Many of the sound effects are pulled directly from the original game, and they're still fantastic, though it's disappointing that Bloodlines didn't also recycle the fantastic music of the tower top synchronizations.
The game also captures some of the visual delights, like suspended platforms, crisscrossing beams, and nice lighting. It isn't quite the looker you may have expected, however. Plain environments, seams between geometry, and bland colors prevent Bloodlines from looking as good as its PSP competition.
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines features a basic level-up mechanic in which you can spend the coins you find scattered about the world on upgrades like extending your synchronization bar or increasing your chances of a critical hit. But this feature is poorly implemented, forcing you to leave the game and return to the main menu if you want to spend the coins outside of the predesignated intermissions.
It's just one more clumsy element that makes Bloodlines feel like a by-the-numbers spin-off that not only fails to deliver an experience worthy of the franchise, but also fails to be very good on its own terms. If you were hoping for a bustling world of agile assassins and testy Templars to fit in your pocket, Bloodlines will disappoint you.
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP Go Game Review - Download Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines For Free!
