Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles opens with the most wonderful excursion. As with the console editions, you're in control of one of the most lethal assassins in the world. The environments are large, mostly unrestricted, and are overflowing with places to climb, jump, swing, crawl, and roll. You will leap through the land with joyous freedom. Though the game has been scaled down and converted into something different from last November’s 360/PS3 hit, the heart of Assassin's Creed – all that made it an unforgettable classic – is here.

As a prequel, you'll do a lot of killing, potentially more than in the console editions (depending on how you chose to play that game). Since the Nintendo DS is nowhere near the power of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, adjustments had to be made before designing this new adventure. Those changes led to what could be described as a 2D game that's played in a 3D world. Many of your actions involve a series of side-scrolling antics – running, jumping, climbing, etc., that are trapped within the confines of left and right movements. But the environment branches out frequently, allowing you to explore greater depths of the area, similar to (but much more immersive than) Crash Bandicoot.

Cinematic camera angles and stunning graphics add to the game's 3D presence. The interior and exterior designs are out of this world – rarely do players get the chance to see this kind of detail on Nintendo DS (or PSP, for that matter). Buildings are filled with realistic and well-designed rooms. Some indoor areas lead to tunnels and sewers, among other navigational surprises.

Outside you'll have to worm your way in and out of towns, preferably undetected by security. The towns aren't nearly as populated as they were in the console versions but look amazing just the same. This is where the dynamic camera adjustments are most often presented. When swinging across ropes, running along breaking bridges, and sliding down angled structures (without interruption from common flaws and silly traits found within so many of today's games) only one word will come to mind: Wow.

But the party doesn't end there. Altair's Chronicles is like a pinata, and one way another, it's going to be beaten senseless. The only problem is that some players may not care to wait around for the sweet treats to fall out.

Assassination Attempt

Ambition comes at a price. Stellar gameplay and killer graphics weren't perfected on consoles overnight, and it's clear that they aren't going to be perfected in the handheld world any faster. By making any part of Altair's Chronicles three-dimensional, the game was automatically placed in a dynamite zone. And it doesn't take much to light the fuse.

In many of the game's interior areas, you will be shaken and stirred more vigorously than a James Bond martini. Moving platforms are everywhere. Camera changes occur frequently. If you jump in the wrong area, or move too close to a structure, or happen to be doing nothing at all, the game may shift to a view that's anything but comprehensible. Walls leap forward, covering the screen. The only player-controlled camera elements are limited to shifting the screen slightly left or right, a function that is clunky at best since you must hold the crouch button (L) and push the D-pad to make this happen, which also causes your assassin to lunge forward.

Given that you can't manually remove the wall from covering the screen, the only option is to start walking and hope the problem fixes itself. If you're standing on the edge of a platform, this could mean instant doom, as you have no way of knowing exactly where you'll end up.

 
The touch screen lets you pickpocket by dragging keys out of purses.

Platform and ledge hopping, a common and initially joyous gameplay element, are hampered by unclear camera angles, lousy collision detection, and buttons that don't react the way you expect. The jump button (B) works well most of the time. But when it doesn't work, you could spend 5-10 minutes fumbling with the same group of platforms. It's a sad realization, especially when you just spent the previous 10 minutes breezing through platforms as if you were an expert and had been doing this your entire life.

The checkpoint system doesn't help. They're shown as blue highlights that circle the checkpoint area – an image also shared by the game's "go here" signs. You never know if a highlight is going to be a checkpoint until you walk up and touch it. If it's not, you don't need to bother – it's merely a guide to stay on course.

This would have been forgivable if it weren't for what happened at the end. Toward the last few levels, a series of checkpoints are offered in a very simple area. All you have to do is run around a square structure. Do this a few times and you're done. There aren't any great traps to trip you up – nothing to make your life miserable. And yet, what did I find around every corner? A checkpoint. But what did I find when I needed a checkpoint most? A "go here" image.

I suppose the game could have been seamless all the way through had the platform/block-moving/switch-flipping puzzles not been included. Half are decent and fun; the other half is a frustrating mess. Dodging circular blades (that sway in your direction) is a traditional and entertaining gameplay element. However, jumping and missing a platform because of a camera, collision detection, and/or button issue, is just plain torture.

But without these puzzles, you'd have a short game that's even shorter. Altair's Chronicles can be finished in 5 or 6 hours – frustrations, unnecessary deaths and additional exploration included. Without all that, the game would be over in a blink.

Gameplay: 7.0
Exhilarating. Exasperating. Joyous. Torturous. Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles is a lot of things. Perfection isn’t one of them.

Graphics: 8.8
Gorgeous. The Nintendo DS rarely sees 3D architecture that looks this good.

Sound: 5.0
Considering the gameplay and graphical content, you’d expect a soundtrack and sound effects collection that contained more than bland music and groaning enemies.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Mostly easy, with a lot of frustration thrown in for… uhh, why was it thrown in again?

Concept: 9.0
Outstanding. Altair's Chronicles captures the essence of Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia. The execution is far from perfection in all areas but the ideas – even the puzzles damaged by clunky camera and control issues – are excellent.

Overall: 7.0
Worth playing but proceed with caution. There are also times when you’ll wonder, “Is it worth throwing out a window?”