Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Review (PC)

I liked the original Assassin’s Creed, was amazed by Assassin’s Creed II, and loved Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Now, Ubisoft and its array of studios have come up with Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the game that promises to close the loose trilogy of games that focused on Italian assassin Ezio Auditore, while answering questions about the protagonist of first one, Altair, and moving forward the narrative of Desmond, our current day protagonist.

While that goal already seems quite daunting, the seven (!) studios working on the game had to do this in a single year, while already preparing for the massive installment that will be 2012’s Assassin’s Creed III.

So, did the French company and its multiple teams manage to bring enough new things to Revelations in order to make it stand out from II and Brotherhood or is this a step backwards for the action adventure series? Let’s find out.

Explore the city of Constantinople	... and make some new friends

Story

While their gameplay always impressed, Assassin’s Creed games became famous for their stories, which always managed to mesmerize gamers, showcasing the never-ending conflict between the brotherhood of Assassins and the evil Knights Templar.

After we delved deeper and deeper into this conflict in the last games, Revelations arrives to try and shed some light, answering the huge variety of questions that appeared up until now, while ending the saga of Ezio Auditore, the main protagonist in the last two titles.

After going through the game, however, you’re left with mixed feelings. In terms of Ezio’s storyline, you now get to guide him at the end of his assassin career, acting more as a mentor, who just wants to make sense of the variety of supernatural stuff he’s seen and done in the last two titles.

You also get to experience some new adventures of Altair, the hero from the first game, this time after he takes over for Al Mualim as the leader of the brotherhood of assassins. These segments are thrilling, especially since they aren’t that numerous and players can truly enjoy them.

Besides these characters, the storyline of Desmond Miles, their current-day ancestor, is also continued, after the cliffhanger ending from last year’s Brotherhood. He’s now stuck on a sort of virtual island in the Animus and he needs to resolve any lingering memories of his ancestors before he can actually come back to real life. He’s helped by the infamous Subject Sixteen who, sadly, after being constantly teased and hinted at in the last games, just ends up feeling like a disappointment.

After the stunning second and third games, Revelations doesn’t have that same memorable feel, at least in terms of narrative. While Ezio is the same great guy we know and love, his supporting cast, with a few minor exceptions, like Constantinople Assassin leader Yusuf, isn’t that fleshed out. You no longer have the cruel Machiavelli or the quirky Leonardo da Vinci. You do get to rub shoulders with existing or future sultans of the Ottoman Empire, but these encounters only impress history fans.

You will have fun throughout the story, however, and you will get quite a lot of answers, but Revelations, in the end, just feels like a necessary justification to clear things up before the bigger Assassin’s Creed III appears next year.



Gameplay

In terms of gameplay, once again Revelations delivers a mixed experience. While it still bears the polish and balance of previous iterations, it has just a few new things and even those are a bit hit and miss in terms of usefulness.

You’re still in control of Ezio, most of the times, who is now trying to find hidden keys throughout Constantinople before the Templars get to unlock a hidden library set up by his ancestor, Altair. In order to do this, you now need to guide the existing brotherhood of assassins in the Turkish city, help eliminate the Templar influence that is still supporting the older Byzantine empire, while trying to prevent the existing Ottoman empire, who now rules Istanbul, from breaking apart.

Ezio, together with the player, has his work cut out for himself and, while the story doesn’t keep a consistent pace, there are quite a few moments where you’ll be thoroughly impressed with what’s happening on your screen. Couple this with the great sequences where you control Altair and the quirky levels in which Desmond takes center stage, and you’ll have a pretty good time with the game.

The Italian assassin once again needs to make use of his impressive skills, which range from managing to stick a hidden blade in your foe to running around on the roofs of Constantinople. Besides the tricks he learned from previous games, he also learns a few new ones, like bomb making or strategy ones for the all-new tower defense gameplay. He also wields a special Hookblade, that helps him climb buildings faster and is essential to use the zip lines scattered throughout Constantinople.

First up, let’s talk about the surprisingly complex bomb crafting system. This time, instead of finding items that you can sell to shops, you know gain all sorts of materials that can be used to make bombs. From regular explosives to fake golden coins, every single thing you can combine into a bomb that can help you distract guards, take them out completely, draw a crowd into the immediate location, or just have some pure fun.

This system is a bit of a gamble, as there will be some players who prefer to do things the old fashioned way, but, except some scripted sequences, Ezio isn’t particularly forced by the game to use his bombs. Still, they add a great addition to the game and, if you take the time to master their creation, can make some situations a lot easier, although you need to fumble through your inventory every time you want to select a different type of bomb.

Ezio also engages in tower defense mini-games, as he needs to take over Templar Dens, Revelations’ version of the Borgia Towers from Brotherhood, and turn them into Assassin Dens. As such, he sits on a rooftop, overlooking an alley below, and organizes his defenses in front of the Templar forces that want to win back their territory.

This is another complex activity, as Ezio first needs to set up Assassin leaders on rooftops and then place actual units on them to rain arrows and fire upon your enemies. You also get to set up and upgrade fortifications, and it gets more challenging with each wave. Sadly, the novelty factor tends to disappear pretty fast, although you can get involved in the fights by firing your special pistol or summoning canon volleys.

Besides these few new things, Revelations’ core gameplay isn’t all that different from previous. You once again can recruit new assassins, train them by sending on missions around the Mediterranean, and even get them up to level 15, turning them into Master Assassins, which allows them to command a Den and successfully defend it in front of enemies, making Ezio’s life in Constantinople that much easier.

You’re also assaulted with side challenges, from various goals to reach 100 percent synchronization during missions, to tasks like sending your assassin brothers to take out enemies while you watch from afar.

Constantinople also feels pretty good, thanks to the architecture that’s much more different than Brotherhood’s Rome, but its design is a bit too complex for its own good. After spending quite a few hours travelling through it, however, you begin to know its ins and outs like the back of your hand, but you can still get lost in its back alleys, especially once you’re assaulted by beggars.

You’re not controlling just Ezio, however, as there are quite a few missions with Altair that are probably some of the best in the game. There are also sequences in which you guide Desmond through some quirky first person platforming rooms, similar to Portal, but they might not be to everyone’s liking.

I could go on and on about Revelations’ gameplay but the bottom line is that if you loved II or Brotherhood, you’re going to like what’s here. While it may not bring that many new things, there’s plenty of content to go through.

Ezio learns some new tricks ...	... and goes through great adventures

Multiplayer

Once you’re done with the single-player campaign, you’re now confronted with an overhauled multiplayer mode which is a much more complex and rewarding experience than the one in Brotherhood.

While the last game definitely had the right ideas with its online mode, Revelations blows it out of the water with added depth and complexity that makes the whole experience feel like a breath of fresh air amongst the first person shooters that dominate online activity.

The multiplayer is now filled with new characters, each supporting further customization, and players, which are Templar agents in training, can now group up into guilds while they move up the ranks of the fictional Abstergo Industries corporation.

As they progress, they get Abstergo points which can be used to unlock new perks and abilities, making the whole experience that much more rewarding.

You also get new modes, including oft requested once like Capture the Flag, called Artifact Assault, or a few varieties on Deathmatch, where you just need to eliminate certain targets, without the help of the special compass found in traditional matches of Wanted, where you hunt down your target while being as inconspicuous as possible in order to avoid being caught by your own enemy.

What’s more, as you progress through the levels, you also get extra information on the Templar order, of which you are a part of, and Abstergo Industries, details that are certain to attract those interested in the Assassin’s Creed mythos.



Visuals and Audio

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations retains its great visuals, although you won’t notice that much of an improvement over last year’s Brotherhood. Still, the game looks great, characters animations and models have received an upgrade, which is evident especially when up close during in-game cut scenes.

While most of the times you’ll be focused on your targets and goals, it’s worth it to just relax from time to time, climb a tall tower and just breathe in the majesty of Constantinople. It’s a large city, filled with life, especially once you start walking on the ground, in between all the different crowds throughout its various neighborhoods.

Sound-wise, Revelations keeps things subdued but, during critical missions, your actions will be complimented with some stunning orchestral music. Once you just explore the city however, you’re treated with oriental themes and influences that make it clear you’re at a the intersection of Europe and Asia. Voice acting is once again top notch, with Ezio showing his age from time to time, while the Turkish characters have great and realistic accents that make them believable.

Defeat enemies in the story ...	... and battle with others in multiplayer

Conclusion

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is a good game that’s certain to delight fans of the series. It answers questions, sets up events for next year’s game, but doesn’t bring that many new things over its predecessors. While the single-player is decent, the multiplayer is bound to make you keep playing well after you complete Ezio’s adventures.