My rating is not for the game itself- it's for how the game should be played. To begin, the game's mechanics are average-good for its time. The fighting is... Well, it feels like clubbing a baby seal sometimes, and like fighting a rhino using only a toothpick other times. The plot and feel of the game get repetitive after a few missions, and things start to get stale if you play the game like it is presented. However... Enter "just for fun" land in AC1, and it has a new lease on life. No longer are you saving citizens only to have them thank you in annoying voices. No longer are you performing a "by the numbers" assassination on every random person you meet. Take Altair's life into your own hands: tackle civilians into food stands, use enemy archers to slay your enemies, or tick off 20 guards before luring them to the top of a building and bopping them off cartoon style. Tackle archers off of tall buildings. Beat up your assassin friends until they die. Use throwing knives on assassination targets and watch Altair fly over to them and stab them in the neck afterwards! Stab those saved citizens around Acre in the gut, like their voice deserves! In short, have fun with it. Mess around with the mechanics, look for random glitches (tackling people near a raised surface- they go flying!), and just do whatever is most pleasing at any given moment. Take it slow, play in snippets and remember, no one is innocent.
