User Review : Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Same as previous instalments but also oddly different at the same time

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the 4th console Assassin's Creed game developed and published by Ubisoft Montreal.

Story: The basic premise for the story is to reveal (see what they did there) and enlighten any doubt and questions you have with the Assassin's Creed series. The story starts off where Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood ended. Desmond Miles is trapped in the Animus (which for those who haven't played Assassin's Creed is a device that extracts memory of relatives through your genetics). He is told by Subject 16 that he must get the Animus to distinguish his memories from Ezio and Altair's memories or he will be trapped in the Animus forever. The main story is about an old Ezio. He is trying to find ancient keys to unlock a chamber that stores vital information in Masyaf. Ezio travels to Constantinople to find these keys. With these keys he can relive some of Altair's memories. Of course there is trouble in paradise which hinders Ezio's mission to find the keys It sounds complicated but the story is told well. Just do not expect massive "O My God" moments throughout the game. The reveals of Altair's past is merely a tool to sum up the story of Altair (closure). Even though going back to Altair is great, it does have an impact on the main Ezio quest. There isn't that many main characters compared to previous games. This isn't so much of a big deal but I was expecting the main quest to be a bit more to it. Desmond again doesn't really have a story. He story is again played out through other people. He does have his back story revealed/explained through collecting data fragments which can be explored through the animus (in the 'safe mode' he is in). The ending for this game is good. It isn't a shocking ending, but more a bringing together all previous Assassin's Creed stories explained in previous games. The doesn't mean it doesn't tell you anything new. It does leave some questions unanswered and asks more. It basically explains Ezio and Altair's journey to get to the situation we are at right now. It also leaves it open to what is going to happen next with Desmond's story. It is a fantastic ending.

Gameplay: This is going to draw some criticism. It is almost identical to previous Assassin's creed games. The way Ezio runs and climbs hasn't changed at all. There are some new gameplay features. The hook blade is a new device which allows you to climb faster and zip down some zip lines to make traversing the city quicker. The hook blade does offer some new combat moves. It allows you to launch yourself off hanging baskets and also lets you do some stylish fighting moves. A new feature is when you string together combos. The game slows down to sow you executing the move. The problem with this is not all the time do the moves actually hit the target. It wouldn't be as obvious if the game was playing at normal speed but slowing it down makes it obvious that you are killing the guy without even touching him. The game still follows the block and then counter move style gameplay. It has been improved though. Enemies are much harder to kill. A lot of enemies dodge and block making countering harder and a longer process. It doesn't mean the counter move is redundant as it is the best way to fight. Another new feature is bombs. They are multiple variates ranging from distractions to assault style bombs. You make the bombs yourself through bomb making stands spread throughout the city. I didn't use them that much but it does become useful to use them when you get into a little bit of trouble. The brotherhood is back (with all its previous perks) but the system has been revamped. You must eliminate the Templars in the region. This is done by killing the leader and then burning the tower (sounds familiar but bare with me). Once taken over you can assign an assassin to the den (must be level 10+). You can now do missions with this Assassin that decreases Templar awareness in the region and also it evolves him as an Assassin. When the Templars become to aware in a region they will attack. This leads to a tower defence style gameplay which you add men to the rooftops to stop waves of men coming. You can build barricades, have riflemen, have Assassins. It is quite varied. This tower defence part though is annoying. I felt it was just out of place in the Assassin'creed feel. The missions you can send your assassin's on has been revamped. You can know make them regain control of other cities which cost you money to maintain control (I will get into money in a moment). You can still send them on other missions to disrupt the Templars and gain experience. The look can be changed of your Assassin's. This is limited to hood up or down and changing colour. Overall the revamp of the system is done well. There is a lot to it which adds to the longevity of the game. The money situations has been improved. No longer do you have endless amounts of money. I found it harder to buy stuff and saving up is a must. This is good because previous games the money side seemed to easy to achieve and it become redundant to save. The voice acting is good in the game. It isn't BAFTA winning performances but it does keep some level of immersion in the game. The map of Constantinople is vast but it felt to similar to previous games. There are notable areas but the back streets looked very similar to past regions in past games just with a few minarets.

Graphics: Too similar to previous games. It is nice to see Altair in better graphics but the whole game looks the same as Brotherhood. It is starting to look dated. It still doesn't look bad but it is noticeable when other games have taken it to the next level. The way the mouths move needs a major upgrade. The sounds doesn't match the mouth movements. It looks very last generation and was the biggest disappointment for me. It is often hard to see who is talking. The expanding views of Constantinople look good but not great.

Online: Before I start I am not a huge fan of the Assassin's creed multiplayer. I felt Brotherhood was refreshing but got boring quickly. I have to say the same has happened here. The problem is it is boring to do it properly (moving slowly through crowds) but it is also stupid to run around removing the stealth aspect. New features/modes keep this part of the game fresh. Capture the flag is fun and a must mode to play. The maps are ok. Nothing special to say about them but they are good size for this type of game. Perks and abilities are available along with deathmatch. More visual options have been added to really give you Assassin some personality. Overall I wasn't a big fan. They have improved this portion of the game but it didn't click with me. It is about the people who play it than the way it was designed.

Conclusions: The multiplayer has improved which a lot of those people who enjoyed Brotherhood's multiplayer would appreciate. The amount of features for me distracts from the main story. There is too much going on at once and the story not being structured with one character leads to all three stories being a bit watered down. The graphics looked dated and the gameplay has had some tweaks but nothing game changing. But despite all this I really did enjoy the game. The ending was, to me, the best way they could have ended Ezio and Altair's story. It revealed and explained a lot. This isn't a bad game (seen by the score). It is a good game and I enjoyed it despite its problems. I would recommend this game to anyone (especially to the Assassin's Creed Fans) but just do not expect a GOTY when you get this game.