To explain the entire storytelling spectacle would be to serve a distinct injustice to those who’ve not yet played Assassin’s Creed, and since Ubisoft has worked so hard to tease gamers with just the right amount of information to grab out attention and begin building the wonderful mythos of this handsomely realised ancient world, it’s not for us to ruin here.

What you do know about Assassin’s Creed is where we’ll begin – in the cloud-stepping shoes of a mysterious assassin during the Third Crusade. There’s little in the way of comparison to Assassin’s Creed, so holding it against the recently re-engineered Tomb Raider, or the excellent, yet gratuitously repetitive Tenchu Z simple does no service to any of the games.

Assassin’s Creed is a world – not a game. I say this not to be melodramatic or cryptic, but simply to attempt to convey the majesty this game genuinely delivers. We’re transported to the Holy Land and into a time of turmoil, upheaval and incredible social expansion. These things, that seem so distant when discussing gameplay, are the solid foundations upon which the glittering, grandiose tower of Assassin’s Creed is built, so appreciating the sheer depth of enormity and greatness that’s fundamental to this game helps to convey the initial (and lasting) impressions gamers will feel when transforming into the disgraced assassin, Altair.

Initially, it seems appropriate to examine the gameplay points Ubisoft have used to build the tension on the journey to Assassin’s Creed. The free-running nature of the main character’s abilities were, as you’ve already seen in this very review, inevitably going to be compared to Tomb Raider, and in that respect they shame Lara’s cartoonish endeavours that last week seemed so capable and exciting. Altair has the ancient cities of Damascus, Acre and Jerusalem as his assault courses, rather than the playground of obvious ledges and convenient rope swings Ms. Croft toyed with. Altair moves with realistic, palpable danger from the toe-curling heights of soaring lookout points – sharing the blistering Eastern sky with circling eagles – to the dark, narrow streets filled with market traders, guards, beggars and civilians. Twisting through the labyrinthine avenues of the ancient city while running from guards or blending in with a crowd as you steal gravely toward an assassination target is just as invigorating as taking a soaring leap of faith from the highest tower in Jerusalem as a shrill cry of an eagle announces the approach of your terrible abilities to the crowd filled streets below.

Not even the awesome art-deco gravity of BioShock has succeeded in permeating a game with such intense atmosphere, and it’s entering – and being a significant part of – this awe-inspiring world that is the real heart of Assassins’ Creed, and even a gamer who never takes to the play mechanics would find a wealth of entertainment in simple exploration of the Holy Land.

One thing that’s worth making mention of, and should certainly not be taken as criticism (quite the opposite), is Assassin’s Creed is not a fast game. It’s one of consideration, stealth, patience and exploration. While the central assassin theme is beautifully realised, it happens rarely enough to add solemn severity to the act and builds wonderful tension through scarcity. Ubisoft were wise to keep this deadly aspect to the game to a minimum, allowing players to feel a sense of great achievement with every fatal deed.

The expansive crowds of the ancient cities feel a likeminded, and distinctly civilised approach, toward rampant murder – and their reactions are a huge part of Assassin’s Creed’s revolutionary new gaming concepts. Every member of society has an opinion and a purpose. The cities live and breath, and Altair does not go unnoticed easily. Killing a guard at random or running up a wall and swinging to the rooftops gathers attention from the crowds, and leads to a quick and deadly exposure of the assassin – a mistake which can and will cause Altair to fail in his missions and often cost him his life.

Blending in with the crowd is a vital commodity in the assassin’s arsenal, and one the game places great emphasis on. This is where the speed and intensity of Assassin’s Creed slows – delivering the genuine feeling of participation that draws gamers into the storyline so emphatically. Gamer’s will regularly find themselves holding their breath as they pickpocket an NPC, surreptitiously listen into a conversion in the market place to gather information or stalk their prey through a ring of armed guards – far more often than they’ll feel the intensity of a roof top chase or open battle.

Both these aspects, of course, are equally well developed. Guards will give relentless chase, and it’s up to Altair to break their line of sight and blend back into the crowd or hide until the heat’s off. Once battle does commence, Altair’s professional abilities come back into play quite superbly. A forceful offensive seldom works, while the parry and counter of a skilled defence is a vital tactic, and one a skilled assassin can excel at.

Assassin’s Creed will not slake the violent thirst of a gamer looking for nonstop action, nor will it provide the instanced puzzle solving of a platform fan. This is a title for someone who wants to test their abilities as an intelligent gamer, for someone who demands cerebral challenge from their entertainment, those who find beauty and art in the lethal dance of an invisible warrior through ancient city streets.

Severe critics are digging furiously to uncover faults in Assassin’s Creed, discrediting the slow nature of intelligence gathering, repetition of required assassination elements or the unique control system (whereby buttons are mapped to Altair’s hands, feet and head), but these are not the flaws a button masher attempts to accuse them of. These are the scholastic strengths of a game that refuses to reduce its main character to a wall-running, knife-wielding and ultimately empty vehicle. Altair is rife with humanity, both physical and emotional, and to rob him of these traits for want of meeting unintelligent, action-based demands of the proletariat gamer would reduce Assassin’s Creed to the kind of pigeon-holed mediocrity that’s suffocating the industry.

If you want to see what an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 is really capable of, and what you, as a gamer and an audience, are now entitled to enjoy from your entertainment, Assassin’s Creed is a necessity.