Awesome! Awesome! Awesome... awesome... over and over... and over...

Assassin's Creed was a hugely anticipated title for the 2007 holiday season. Xbox 360 fans - or really, those who still had functional consoles - were giddy for months.
Having had ample time for play-through and review, I'll be honest and say that this is a game that really does deliver on every promise that it dared to make in the months before release - but it's playability suffers from a classic case of "too much of a good thing."

When playing video games, non-gamers will occasionally point out that games like "Halo" and "World of Warcraft" are the same processes over and over: slash, shoot, kill, repeat. In a sense, they're right - it is the challenge of a developer, then, to create an experience that is fun after the hundredth time. Assassin's Creed is a fantastic example of how a new game can still be innovative (and make you feel like a ninja, even though you're in pajamas in the basement) and work well. It's flaws, however, become rather obvious after your third or fourth big kill.
The structure of the game is as follows: You, Altair, are an assassin living during the Third Crusades. To regain your honor, you must find and kill nine "enemies of peace."
Each kill sends you to one of three vaguely-identical cities to find observation points, which highlight places on your map to eavesdrop, pickpocket, and interrogate until you have enough information on your target to discretely dispose of him.
The assassinations are brilliant to play. Patience like I've never before had to demonstrate in a game is necessary here - and, believe it or not, is almost always fun. When is the perfect time to strike? How should I approach? Will I need to fight my way out? Truly, the moments just before the blade falls are second only to the frantic few seconds after.
However, though each assassination target is different, the investigation process remains exactly the same. Plus, bonus side missions are almost strictly saving citizens from corrupt guards. The opportunity for stealth is absent here, and the combat is surprisingly easy. You'll master Altair's counter-attack in minutes, and after an hour, you can easily use it to dispatch a hundred guards in a row.

Free-running, however, is a joy that just needs to be experienced. I wish every other game let you move like Altair - hell, I wish that I could move like Altair. He can jump from rooftop to rooftop - leap off of walls - scale gigantic towers - and dive safely into hay from the many vantage points in each city. There's something beautiful about jumping from the highest point of an obsessively-detailed cathedral and falling hundreds of feet in High Definition.

If not anything else, Assassin's Creed is worth a rent. You need to experience this game - it is, unmistakably, art and innovative perfection - but you shouldn't shell out $60 for it. If I were you, I'd wait until it was a little bit cheaper.

Let's hope the inevitable sequel polishes the mechanics further and opens up some new gameplay options. That would be a perfect Creed indeed.