name of the game

The Original Assassins

Travel back to 12th-century Jerusalem for Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed

PC, PS3, X360
In 12th-century Jerusalem, a hooded figure moves quietly through a market square filled with traders, shoppers, layabouts and soldiers. As a knight loudly addresses the gathering crowd, the figure slips toward the front. Shoving bystanders aside, he suddenly hurls a dagger at the nearby guard, and leaps toward the knight, plunging a spring-loaded wrist blade into his neck.

Shocked, men-at-arms pursue the hooded killer through the narrow alleys, until he scales a wall and jumps from rooftop to rooftop, eventually blending back into the city many blocks away. Altair has struck again.

No grubby mob hitman, Altair is a master assassin of the mysterious (and real) medieval clan Hashshashin, and he and his brethren are trying to end the Third Crusade, currently ravaging the Holy Lands. The plan: assassinate nine key leaders on both sides of the conflict who are perpetuating the bloodshed for profit and glory.

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), the heart of Assassin’s Creed is in the living, breathing, historically accurate sites of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre. With more than 300 distinct characters and hundreds of buildings, you’re not directed along any set path. Instead you can talk to, shove or kill anyone, run down any street and climb any wall. But be careful. Killing a beggar might turn a mob against you, and climbing in plain view can attract suspicious lawmen. So, like a real assassin, you’ll have to learn your territory, stalk your prey, and plan a daring escape.

Expect plenty of acrobatic, yet realistic, platforming action, plus hand-to-hand grappling and swordplay. And there are a few surprises as Altair tracks down his targets, including a conspiracy with implications stretching to modern times. But as immersive as the game is we don’t recommend completing the full Hashshashin initiation — lopping off your left ring finger — if only because you’ll need it to play.

Mass Effect

X360
Now two years old, the Xbox 360 has a strong software lineup except for its positively feeble selection of role-playing games (RPGs). Those dark times are now over thanks to BioWare, the Edmonton company behind revered RPGs like Jade Empire and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

In Mass Effect, the dark times are just beginning. Set 200 years in the future, intergalactic travel and alien races are commonplace, but a rising malevolent power could destroy them all. As Commander Sheppard, you’ll pursue complex missions across the universe, building up your skill and knowledge while making decisions both large (picking Sheppard’s gender and uniform) and small (negotiate peace or launch a genocide).

Trauma Center: New Blood

Wii
You might think you’re a hotshot Wii player because you can bowl 300 or kill zombies in Resident Evil with a single headshot. But are your hands steady enough to tie off an artery or repair a child’s eyeball? Yep, the latest Wii challenge is surgery.

The first version of Trauma Center designed just for Wii, New Blood has added a storyline — young doctor drafted by top-secret facility — and co-op play, but the real fun is using the motion-sensing Wiimote and nunchuck as a scalpel, forceps and rib-spreaders. Disclaimer: high scores are not equivalent to med school.