NOKIA 5800 EXPRESS MUSIC

When we visited the Ovi store recently, major applications and games have sprouted out. One of the most noticeable in the roster is a game title I would not have thought would be dipping its fingers in the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic realm. Today, we talk about Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed.

What is Assassin’s Creed?

Assassin's Creed is a third-person action-adventure video game created and developed by Ubisoft and was released worldwide on different gaming platforms such as the Playstation and Xbox 360. In the game, you take the role of Altaïr as experienced by Desmond. You are a trained assassin and are given different missions to kill different people of influence in the city.

You will be going from different stages, jumping across obstacles and walls, obtaining items along the way and solving some puzzles. You are armed with a sword, which you use to veer away your enemies.

To navigate your character in the game, there is a typical gamepad placed on the lower left corner of the screen. Then, the action button is found on the lower left corner of the screen. At the upper left corner, you will see your life meter and the type of weapon you are using currently. Opposite this (the upper right corner), you will find the universal symbol for “Home”, which will take you to different optionsin the game such as quitting or adjusting the sound.

My Take on Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed truly blew away everyone when it first came out and I was excited to try this game on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone.

Don’t expect 3D graphics here. Unfortunately, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone does not have the 3D capabilities of a Playstation Portable. So Ubisoft went for the traditional 2D sideways reminiscent of the old game portals such as Nintendo Super Family Computer. Graphics are quite jagged but it does try to do it’s best to bring the fluidity of the game into the phone.

The sound is pretty much 8-bit style. Frankly, you do feel like playing an old-school game but with the new generation titles.

I do have some problems with the control system. Since the game displays the controls on the Nokia 5800’s flat surface, it doesn’t feel as responsive as I had hope it would me. The control keys are small and sometimes your character does not follow your commands because you touched the wrong direction button. Plus, I was quite cautious because I might be putting too much pressure on the screen and it might break. It does take some getting used to and you will take some retrials before you get the hang of it.

Get instructions from your master.

Game play wise is pretty basic but admirable. It has a mixture of puzzles to solve, enemies to battle and walls and chains to climb. It’s not just a hack-and-slash game buta game it does require some skill and some common sense. I like games like this.

My Verdict on Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed is a wonderful addition to your game roster. Just make sure you take it easy on the controls because you might break your Nokia 5800 screen from too much intense playing. Though it is FREE to download, one cannot but help to think if this is just a demo or a full game. I have played about three levels and I have not received any hints of a demo.

The Assassin’s Creed game can be downloaded for FREE at the Ovi Store (http://store.ovi.com). Just register to access the site. You can also download this application straight to your Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone by installing the Ovi Store Application.