Assassin's Creed promises to truly shake up the platformer genre

Man I can't wait for this amazing game. The setting, the graphics, and the wide open nature just sounds like so much fun.

For those who don't know, the game takes place in the year 1192 during the third crusade. Basically, The Knights Templar are making war and the original Assassins Clan want it to stop.
You control a Master Assassin, Altair, in his quest to free his country. The Assassins don't want to kill members of the Knights Templar but, it is necessary for them to survive. In a trailer Altair even shows regret for his actions by closing his victims eyes before running from the guards.

The vast cities are full of life from guards to beggars to even the people your hunting.
And they all react accordingly to your actions. The guards don't attack you unless you do something to give them a reason. And if you help people out they will help you in return.
Give to the church and they'll let you blend in with them when your running from the law.
Help the beggars and they will be more likely to block the path of your enemies you're hunting. On the flip side if your rude and pick fights, villagers will be more then happy to turn you in.

Almost everything in three authentic looking cities in the game can be climbed and throughly explored. If you can climb it in real life then more then likely it can be climbed in Assassin's Creed. Due to a unique control setup scaling tall buildings has never been more enjoyable. The face buttons represent your head, free hand, weapon hand, and feet. This mean that obstacles can even be climbed in multiple ways. Press down and then release the "feet" button when approaching a low wall, for instance, and Altair will jump over it. Press the free hand button instead and he'll vault over it. Combat controls in a similar manner.

One of the more exciting things I heard about this game is the promise that what you do has an impact on the future somehow. Hmm... Alternate Endings?