When Ubisoft began the
Assassin’s Creed series with the 2007
eponymous release, the promise of lush conspiracy theories, diverse
mission structures, and strong, free-running mechanics seemed lofty to
many. Unfortunately for first title in the franchise, the promises and
hopes ended up being a bit
too lofty to get right on the first
try. The missions were repetitive and tedious, the free running was
average at best, and the conspiracy-centric story never really got it’s
tires out of the mud until the later portions of the game.
Aside from a few new animations and weapons, combat remains largely unchanged.
Continual improvement leads to a better experience
With
Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft Montreal corrected many of
the mistakes made in the first entry. The missions felt meaningful, the
story was an epic tale of conspiracy and betrayal, and the free-running
was industry leading. Those very areas were further improved with
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood,
which proved to be one of the top games of 2010. The title was
considered a spin-off of sorts, opting to continue the story of Ezio
Auditore, rather than shifting focus to another assassin in Desmond’s
lineage.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is a game focused on building upon the successes of
Brotherhood, while working to close out the Ezio story arc. After the traumatic events at the end of
Brotherhood
leave Desmond unconscious and trapped in the Animus, he decides to use
this time to further his knowledge of the life of Ezio. The Ezio
segments see the player handling a much more weathered assassin than has
ever been handled in the series. In the first segment, Ezio has
traveled to the familiar assassin headquarters of Masayf, where Altair
based his operations in the first title. Ezio is dead-set on discovering
Altair’s fabled library, but he soon finds that he’s not the only one
looking for the power found within.
Bombs, whether being placed or crafted, play a big role in Revelations
Stellar cinematography makes up for a slow start
While the opening cinematic – which was already seen months ago at E3 – is
absolutely fantastic, the game doesn’t exactly start off with a bang.
Escaping from Masayf proves to be more of a headache than the epic
cinematic sequence that the developers had hoped for. Sure, it serves to
be a more of a brief tutorial for players than anything else, but the
developers needed to start the game off in better fashion, as those not
devoted to the series may find it easier to turn it off than complete
the opening part. This is particularly pressing during this time of the
year, where Ubisoft is vying for player attention against time-consuming
juggernauts like
Skyrim and
Modern Warfare 3.
After leaving Masayf, Ezio travels to Constantinople to search for
the five keys needed to enter Altair’s library. Luckily, once he arrives
at his destination, the action picks up a all the main characters are
introduced and the different tutorials come to a close. After players
are introduced to mechanics such as bomb crafting, which allows for
hundreds of different creations, and the new hookblade, which enables
players to ride a zipline from rooftop to rooftop, climb with greater
ease, and perform useful enemy takedowns, the storyline starts to take
shape.
The cinematic moments are more frequent this time around.
The story in the final sequences makes up for the slow start,
however, as it focuses on story more than any other title in the series,
and it shows in the ending. The storytelling takes a few cues from the
Uncharted series,
as large scripted cinematic moments find themselves embedded within
climbing sequences. These moments work surprisingly well within the
actual gameplay, as they masterfully set the stage.
With the emphasis on storytelling, as well as wrapping up the Ezio
story arc, Ubisoft does something very interesting: they include an
Altair segment in each of the memory sequences. These segments tell the
tale of the moments following the events of the first
Assassin’s Creed title,
and highlight what happened to lead to the creation of the
aforementioned library that Ezio seeks in the main storyline. The
intertwined storylines are well-executed and fans of the first
Assassin’s Creed title will appreciate the fact that Altair is back in a prominent role.
Altair's back for some closure.
Strong presentation held down by glitches
The presentation in
Revelations is very impressive from a
technical aspect. Constantinople doesn’t have the same number of
recognizable landmarks that Rome had, which lessens the impact of the
exploration within the game itself, but the visuals make the game feel
very much alive. The hustle and bustle within the city is apparent, as
conversations can often be heard as Ezio traverses the area. The
downside to that is that over the course of the game, many of the same
conversations and one-liners are noticeably reused, which can become
laughable as you hear the same conversation about an NPC’s mother within
three minutes of the first time you heard it.
Despite how technically impressive the game is, it is not without its flaws. When the camera pans a busy area,
Revelations
can experience some minor screen-tearing, or insignificant slowdown.
While the game is efficient in displaying many structures, people, and
items on screen at once, there are times when pop in becomes an issue as
the game struggles to keep up with the enormousness of the city. There
are also several examples where AI characters fall through the roof of a
building, or get stuck inside of objects such as trees. Characters
(player controlled and otherwise) also seem to have issues handling
slanted or uneven footing while engaging in combat.
The game may have its glitches, but make no mistake: Revelations is technically impressive
Gameplay isn’t exactly a ‘revelation’ in this title
The gameplay is largely unchanged in both single and multiplayer.
Combat feels identical to that found in the previous two entries, and,
aside from the hookblade, traveling throughout the city is the same as
well. The overtly simple climbing mechanics remain in place and bring
with them the same highs and lows as before (though it is now quicker
thanks to the hookblade). Climbing can still mean an easy ascent to the
top of the tower, but there’s also the chance that Ezio will jump the
opposite direction and plummet to his death, much to the chagrin of the
player.
The stealth system that was competent two years ago now feels more
aged and weathered than Ezio himself. After playing titles like
Arkham City and
Uncharted 3,
it has become apparent that the stealth controls, as well as the way
the AI reacts to stealth situations, need to be updated in order for
this element of
Assassin’s Creed to remain relevant.
Multiplayer will not surprise anybody that spent any amount of time in the Animus in
Brotherhood.
Again, this is a section of the game that Ubisoft decided to play it
safe and build upon successes rather than try to innovate. The
multiplayer matches can become quite hectic, but there is no greater
feeling than finally learning the ropes and sniffing out your first
target as they desperately try to lose you in the crowd.
The hookblade is the closest thing the gameplay gets to a 'revelation.'
The art of subtraction through addition
Fans of the
Assassin’s Creed series will find that the features for
Revelations remain very much the same as what was presented in
Brotherhood,
but that doesn’t mean that Ubisoft didn’t try to innovate within the
proven formula. Unfortunately, the innovations are bigger failures than
successes. The most anticipated feature was the introduction of tower defense elements
in the defense of Assassin Dens. The feature sees Ezio commanding a
team of assassins against waves of Templars, and while it has moments of
promise, overall, the Den Defense mini-game falls flat. Tower defense
should be about digging in and slowly upgrading units as the waves of
enemies become tougher and tougher. In Den Defense, however, the
controls are repetitive, and the waves expire before things really get
rolling, leading players to feel the mode is anything more than
pointless.
The other new feature added actually involves Desmond, rather than
Ezio. When not controlling Ezio or Altair, Desmond’s consciousness is
housed in “Animus Island.” While there isn’t much to do in this virtual
world, there are five passageways that lead to first person segments
that recount pivotal moments in Desmond’s life. These moments are
presented through platforming puzzles that very much resemble what
Portal 2
might look like if the Portal Gun were taken out of the equation. The
puzzles are, at times, quite clever, but overall the sequences end up
being less than memorable, and the information revealed doesn’t quite
feel like enough to justify plowing through the segments instead of
spending that same time advancing the main story.
New allies and new locations breathe a bit of life into the Ezio trilogy.
The bottom line
Overall,
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is a great entry into
the series. Sure, the story stumbles early on, and the new additions do
little to improve the experience, but the complete package is still a
very solid one. The story wraps up nicely, and the gameplay feels as
good as ever, if not a bit aged. Fans of
Brotherhood will find a
lot to like once things get rolling, but those that are looking to get
into the series for the first time may want to start with
Assassin’s Creed II and work their way forward through the outstanding
Brotherhood prior to playing
Revelations.
Either way,
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is a more than worthy finale to the Ezio story, and the title does an excellent job leaving the player wanting more.
