Review: Assassins Creed Revelations

Since 2009 I've followed the life of Ezio Auditore da Firenze and grew a real attachment to him as I witnessed him grow from a bratty teen to a disciplined master assassin. Now our journey together has come to an end and it has been one hell of a ride. Not only have my questions been answered, but I know what to expect in next years Assassins Creed title. But a game can't be successful just on story alone, and while Revelations still uses the same formula as II and Brotherhood it adds a whole bunch of new game changers that keep it a fresh and most enjoyable experience. Welcome to Constantinople, the crossroads of the world.


The Good
-New gadgets and abilities are fun and keep the experience fresh
-Constantinople is beautiful and amazing to explore around
-Desmond sequences are unique
-All our questions are finally answered
-Secret locations are even funner than before
-Assassin brotherhood system is more advanced and fun
The Bad
-No horseback riding
-Den defense can get a bit repetitive
-New controls need some getting used to
The Ugly
-The poor begging woman makes her unwanted return...

Story

Three Assassins. Three different stories. As you progress through the game you learn more of Desmond's past, Ezio's present and Altairs future. The last two titles have made us ask so many questions and kept us hanging until now. All the mysteries concerning the first civilization, Subject 16's true identity, or even What happened to Altair after the events of Assassin's Creed, they're all there.
The story starts off with Desmond waking up in this limbo type area of the Animus known as the Island where fragmented data is sent. There he meets subject 16 himself, or at least the mind of 16 and helps Desmond restore his mind by separating his memories with Altair's and Ezio's. While you explore Constantinople as Ezio you will find data fragments hidden throughout the city. As you collect more you unlock key memories where you explore mazes in first person view as Desmond remembers key moments of his life.


The year is 1511, Ezio is now 50 years old and after three decades of fighting the Templars he wonders if he had a choice after all to live a normal life. Now he sets to Masayaf, where the Assassin Order was born, to learn the secrets of the brotherhood from the secret keys of Altair. However, Templars have gained control of the temple and already posses of one of the five keys. After this slight speed bump he travels East towards Constantinople to search for the remaining keys and to help the Constantine Assassins fight the Byzatine and Templars who are struggling to control the city. During his journey he meets Sofia Sartor, a Venetian bookseller who has caught the attention of our Master Assassin. With her vast knowledge of code encrypting, she aids Ezio in finding the keys, unbeknownst of what purpose they serve. While Ezio's attachment to her grows every day, he dares not tell her of his true purposes to keep her out of harms way, making him question his life even more.

At the end of Assassins Creed Altair has killen his teacher and leader Al-Mualim for using the apple of eden to control the minds of the people of Masayaf, what the Assassin Order stands against most of all. After his funeral Altair stands up to take the role as Mentor, keeper of the orders secrets and knowledge and leader.

Altair burns his body to make sure Al-Mualim is dead after seeing what the apple can do.

However an assassin named Abbas is not happy about Altairs decision. He believes that Altair is on a power trip and killed Al-Mualim to gain the role as Mentor, while he tries to convince him otherwise Abbas does not believe him. So the struggle for control of the Assassin Order immerses.

Each of the three assassins stories comes with major events and twists that the end that truly get you excited for what Ubisoft is planning next. But it was also its use of tying major historical figures with the Assassin vs. Templar element and rich character development that this series is famous for that made this possibly the best story in the series so far.

Story Grade: A+

Graphics

The Assassins Creed Series always had beautiful environments and well detailed and animated character models and that remains today. While renaissance Italy was always a sight to behold in II and Brotherhood, Constantinople was a fresh breath of air to the series. And although the city was a very closed in environment it was still full of life and very fun to move around. The only problem was this made horseback riding obsolete which will certainly sadden people but it doesn't ruin the experience.

A Kodak moment on every corner

But we don't only get to see the beauty that is Constantinople, around three quarters through the game Ezio travels to the underground city of Cappadocia. The massive cave houses thousands of people with flickering lamposts beautifully giving life to the would be dim city. The perfect example of Ubisofts ability to recapture history and bring it to life in the series.

Even the concept art doesn't do it justice

Graphics Grade: A

Sound

Revelations has a beautifully orchestrated soundtrack that fits into the world of Constantinople. Whether you're just exploring the rooftops, fighting guards or even running away from them, Ubisoft has crafted music that fits into every moment of the game while you can also hear the bustling life of the city.

The people of Constantina also have their own sound as well. Instead of just stick the old audio file from Assassins Creed, the city and its inhabitants have their own sounds and voices, a smart but expected move from Ubisoft. And all the noises of the world and your gadgets are unique. For example Ezio's hidden pistol creates a loud bang that just snaps at your ears and creates an echo that can be heard from possibly miles.

The voice acting is also brilliantly well done. The new characters have done great performances and really fit their personality. Roger Craig Smith delivers another amazing performance as Ezio Auditore. He truly created the feeling of how far he has aged from the slight rasp when he talks to making a loud grunt of pain after falling only a few feet. Altair has received a new voice actor but does an amazing job of giving him an actual Syrian accent that still seems reminiscent of his old voice from the first game.

Sound Grade: B+

Gameplay

Most game developers use the term "If it aint broke, don't fix it", however it doesn't hurt to add some new features to keep things fresh. And not only did Ubisoft did that, these new features help make the game feel like a whole new experience.

The biggest game changer is Ezio's latest weapon, the Hookblade. This weapon allows Ezio to traverse the environment and amazing speed whether you are zip-lining across buildings, scaling a massive tower or even using hanging lamps to use a long jump. But it also makes him more effective in combat. You can run towards an enemy and hold the grab button to spin on his back, toss him to the ground and continue a kill chain combo from there on. It also allows him to assassinate enemies from a far ledge, something Ezio could never do before.

Ezio ages like wine. He only gets better with age.

The control scheme has changed this time around and while it wasn't to drastic it did take a while to get accustomed to it. The biggest one is that the 'Y' button (triangle on PS3) now uses Ezio's secondary weapon while 'X' (square) is his primary. This means a new button was to be needed for Ezio's Eagle Vision. However this has also gotten a major upgrade as well. The newly titled Eagle Sense can be activated by pressing the left stick (both controllers), this allows Ezio to discern his enemies, hiding spots, his assassination targets and allies just like before. But now he can see the travel pattern of enemy guards, see where his target has been and where he/she is going or even spot out targets when they're hiding in a group.

Den Defense is a tower defense type mini-game where you command you assassin troops to defend an Assassin Den you captured from the Templars. You can summon a variety of assassins and blockades that can be upgraded to fight off swarms of Templar invaders until the last wave which is usually a mini boss. While it is simple and fun at first it doesn't really evolve much afterwards and gets old quickly, however these are optional as you can just send one of your assassin students to take care of it for you.

Desmond has his own gameplay as well and while it is simple, the setup, difficulty and art direction makes it very fun to play. During his sequences you go into first person view and travel through M.C. Escher style like mazes with only two tools: a flat platform and a slanting one. You can place them to help you go though obstacles you normally can't traverse. While it is simple the puzzles vary from multiple objectives and can get really challenging but in a good way.

I don't think were in Kansas anymore...

Sadly Altair's gameplay hasn't really changed since the first except it played more like II, and the missions were pretty bland and boring as you only stayed in Masyaf during these event's. However what kept them even mildly interesting was learning about Altairs life after the event's of the first game and his spin-offs. But the rest of the game was superb in the field of playability so it did not suffer.

Gameplay Grade: A-

I do want to make a note here that I have NOT played the multiplayer so it did not effect my final grading of the overall gameplay.

Replay

While the first two barely had any replay value other than finding the hidden collectibles (flags and feathers) Brotherhood and Revelations has done some things to keep you hooked after beating the story (no pun intended). We are again given the ability to replay any mission we can and have the extra challenge of getting full synchronization if you failed to do so before. And there are hidden locations that you can return to in case you missed them.

Although multiplayer was introduced in Brotherhood, Ubisoft did much more than add a new mode and maps. Now characters are even more customizable as you can change their appearance, weapons and colors to match you're preferred taste. Abilities and Perks can be purchased and upgraded every time you level up and progress. Revelations will keep you playing for a while.

Replay Grade: C+

Ubisoft so far has been doing a very good job of releasing a yearly Assassins Creed title and keeping the original formula fresh with tons of new tweaks and upgrades. With the conclusion to the Assassins Creed trilogy only a year away, one should not play it until they have already have played Revelations. And this one a certain buy for any fan of the series who want their questions finally answered but want to have a blast while doing so.

Final Grade: A-