Back when I first got my Xbox 360, I really didn't know what games I wanted. I mean there were a few that caught my eye, but others I was unsure of -- Assassin's Creed was one of those games. I had seen it in stores when it first came out, and I had seen some trailers, but it was one of those games I figured I'd never play as I didn't own a console to play it on. Well, things changed, and after looking at some gameplay videos of it online I was actually impressed. Graphics looked amazing (for the time), the huge open cities looked great, and I loved the whole climbing aspect (as in, being able to climb up buildings and what not). It looked like a lot of fun, but I still wasn't sure. Then, my computer was hit by lightning, the PSU was fried, and I found myself at Best Buy waiting for Geek Squad to repair it. That's when I saw Assassin's Creed on sale, and I decided to go ahead and buy it.
Really I did like the game to an extent. It became repetitive, and you didn't have much control over your equipment, but I liked it for what it was. It was a great early 360 title, and I did enjoy the story; it just had some issues that annoyed me, and kept it from being one of my better games. Then, Assassin's Creed II was announced, and the hype began. AC2 seemingly fixed nearly everything I didn't like about the first. You could swim, there was a real armor and equipment system, the story was more personal, and the gameplay and weapons were greatly refined. This was a game I couldn't wait to play, but sadly it wasn't going to be released for quite awhile so I had to wait... And wait...
The day Assassin's Creed II came out I was in my first year of college, and I remember sitting in my Drafting class listening to others talk about it. There were quite a few people in there hyping about it just as much as I was, and it only made my wait for the game harder. It was only around 8 AM at the time, and it wouldn't be until close to 4 PM that I'd finally get to buy it (not counting the hour drive home). That day seemed to drag on forever, but the moment I was able to I headed right over to GameStop and picked it up. It was actually kind of funny once I got there. Since my dad and I rode together (as he worked down the street), he walked into the mall with me, and the GameStop employee assumed I was a kid bringing in a parent to play it. He explained why the game was rated M to my dad, as I stood there holding my ID.
When I finally got home, I was all set. I didn't have class the next day, and I was ready to play the game non stop (and so I did). That night I ran through most of the intro chapters, and the following day I worked my way through the main story. By the weekend I was nearly finished, and by that next week I was wrapping things up. I'd talk to friends on XBL party (whom were also playing it), and slowly make my way towards the different hidden chests and caves to unlock the final set of armor. These memories were some of the best that came from my Xbox 360, and once I finished the game I still wasn't ready to stop. Putting aside the ending, I wanted more, and I wasn't ready to stop playing just yet. So, after seeing people online posting about getting 1000/1000 achievement points, I decided to go for it as well.
The good news was, I had gotten most from just playing the game, while others were easy ones I actually tried for and had gotten early on. All I had left to do was mostly collection related tasks, and for that I had to spend hours running around the cities collecting feathers... It was frustrating at times, and multiple times I was almost ready to quit, but I stuck in there and accomplished my goal. The final achievement unlocked, I posted online joining those in the 1000/1000 topic, and then sat back looking at what I had accomplished. Here was a game I loved, and for the first time in any game I had gotten all of the achievements. Along the way many memories were made (despite it being such a short time), and I was excited for what was yet to come. I wanted more Assassin's Creed, and I also wanted more games that I would like enough to do everything once again. The funny thing is, I still hope for more games I'll enjoy, but I'd prefer it if AC took a break. Sure, I'll keep buying the games, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing... (If you can even still consider it a good thing.)
Even so, this was the moment achievements started to matter to me, and I began doing all that I could to unlock them. I don't regret a thing.
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