[Timgt5]

Assassin’s Creed, Revelations, A Review by Timgt5

Once more Ubisoft pulls us into the shadowy war of Assassins and Templers. Does this latest game live up to its name? Read on…

Assassins’ Creed Revelations
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal (in conjunction with several other studios)
Publisher Ubisoft
Released: November 2011
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Type: Single and Multiplayer Open world Action/Adventure
Genre: Historic/Science Fiction

Highs: Wonderful Narrative, great graphics, solid mechanics, excellent soundtrack, great voicework and unique multiplayer fun.

Lows: Occasionally sluggish control responses, clumsy real time strategy elements, “play it safe” design.

Background: The narrative of the series is extensive (in fact it would make for a good novel), but I will try to write a reasonable recap of events leading to this game.

In Assassin’s Creed we meet the first two major characters. The first is Desmond Miles a bartender who is being held by multinational conglomerate Abstergo. Abstergo acts as a front organization for what was once thought the defunct order of the Knights Templar. Desmond is the Templar’s prisoner because he is descended from two significant figures of their arch enemies, the Brotherhood of the Assassins, who have been waging a shadowy war against the Templers and their various incarnations for a number of centuries. Using a device called the Animus the Abstergo researchers are able to allow the subject to tap into memories of their ancestors held deep inside their own DNA. The information can then be viewed by an observer. The Templars are looking for the locations to a key artifact which they believe will help them to dominate the world.

The first ancestor of Desmond’s we meet is Altaïr ibn La-Ahad an Assassin living during the Third Crusade. Skilled but arrogant, Altair is sent on a mission which brings he and his team in direct conflict with a Templar knight, Robert de Sable. In the process Altair breaks the three tenets of the Assassins’ creed. His leader Al Mualim is angered at Altair’s recklessness and strips him of rank and equipment. Altair must now earn back his place in the order, by investigating and terminating nine individuals whose continued presence is a threat to the uneasy piece between Christians and Muslims.

As Altair progresses he begins to learn about a key artifact, “a piece of Eden” which Al Mualim refers to as “The Apple” The apple is device that possesses dangerous power. Upon killing De Sable late in the game, Altair learns that his master Al Mualim is in fact a Templar that had infiltrated the Assassin Brotherhood and used Altair’s mission to eliminate his co-conspirators and cover his tracks.

Altair ultimately confronts Al Mualim, who reveals everything, believing that the artifact has made him invincible. Ultimately Altair is able to defeat Al Mualim and gain the apple. At the end of Assassins’ Creed Altair finds out that the apple contains a map to other artifacts and takes leadership of the Brotherhood.

In Assassins’ Creed II, Desmond’s life is now in danger as Abstergo determines he is of no further use to them and makes plans to dispose of him. Fortunately one of the lab assistants, Lucy Stillman, turns out to be an Assassin who infiltrated Abstergo with the purpose of retrieving Desmond. Shortly before escaping the Abstergo facility, Lucy downloads the memories of another of Desmond’s ancestors, Ezio Auditore. Secured in a secret location by the Assassin Brotherhood; Desmond is placed into a second animus machine and begins to relive the life and times of Ezio.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze was a young Italian noble living in Florence Italy, during the Renaissance, his story begins in 1474. Ezio, a handsome, athletic and carefree teenager has lived a good life, unaware of the true nature of his family tree. His father and brothers are murdered as part of what looks to be a political conspiracy. Ezio at first wishes to flee with his mother and sister, but then encounters his uncle Mario Auditore.

Mario informs Ezio of his and his father’s participation in the Assassin Brotherhood and their continuing conflict with the Knights Templar. Eventually Mario takes Ezio under his wing and trains him in the ways of the Assassins. Ezio learns that Rodrigo Borgia was behind the murder of his father. One by one, Ezio takes down Borgia’s allies finally confronting Rodrigo himself (at this point Rodrigo has gotten himself into the Papacy). The artifact, the Apple was being held by the corrupt Pope. He believed it would grant him ultimate power. Ezio defeats Rodrigo (but spares his life, believing that gaining revenge will not return his dead family members to him) and descends into the vault underneath the Vatican.

At the end of the game he encounters an illusion of Minerva. She refers to herself as one of the “First” People, an ancient race that proceeded mankind on Earth. Humans were created by the First People as slaves, but after a cataclysmic disaster, humanity rose up against its masters and killed them all. The First People’s existence is remembered through myth and superstition. Through Ezio they call out to Desmond predicting a similar end to civilization in 2012.

Assassins’ Creed Brotherhood takes place several years later. Ezio now has the Apple, and has rebuilt his Uncle’s estate. Rodrigo Borgia remains alive but a broken man. Rodrigo’s son the ambitious general, Cesare Borgia, launches an attack on the villa, capturing and then executing Ezio’s uncle Mario. Cesare also takes the Apple and heads off to Rome. Ezio having barely survived the attack eventually makes his way to Rome with the help of associate Machiavelli.

Over the next 4 years Ezio works with other Assassins, thieves, courtesans and mercenaries to take down Cesare’s power base in Rome, liberating and restoring areas neglected under Borgia rule. He also spreads good will among the citizenry, inciting several to join up with him, increasing the ranks of the Brotherhood in Rome. In the end Ezio breaks Cesare’s hold over Rome and finally confronts him sometime later in Spain, where he ends Cesare’s life.

In the modern world another image of the First People, Juno appears to Desmond and delivers a cryptic message. Desmond suddenly loses control of his own body and stabs Lucy, killing her and falling into a coma.

The Plot: In the modern world Desmond Miles is in a coma, being kept alive by the Animus machine. His mind is now in a nether region of the machine’s programming. There he encounters the mysterious subject 16, his predecessor and a sort of ghost that had been haunting Desmond’s memories. Subject 16 advise Desmond that he must complete the memories of Ezio and Altair in order to return to consciousness.

Meanwhile in 1510, Ezio discovers a letter written by his father shortly before Ezio’s birth. The letter contains information regarding the vault at Masayf, the stronghold of the Assassins during the age of Altair. Ezio sails there to find and recover the knowledge that lay within.

When he arrives at the long abandoned fortress, there are Templers waiting for him. After battling the Templar force stationed there, Ezio discovers that there are five keys needed to open the vault, and that the keys were given to a man called Niccolo Polo (father of explorer Marco Polo) and then hidden throughout Constantinople (modern day Istanbul)

Ezio heads to great city and links up with local Assassin Brotherhood stationed there. He then becomes involved in the local conflict with a group of Templers attempting to restore the old Byzantine rule back to the city. In the process of recovering the keys, Ezio gets to relive the later parts of Altair’s life, that occur after the first Assassins’ Creed titles (think of Inception a dream within a dream).

The story here as with its predecessors is very well written. There are nicely woven narrative threads and rich characters. Many of the prior titles’ questions are answered in this game, with a couple of new ones brought up as well.

A word of caution, if one has not played any of the prior games; it would best to either buy them and play through them or read a good detailed synopsis before starting this title.

Game Play: For those who have played prior titles, the game play will be mostly familiar. Ezio can for the most part move freely throughout the environment. The platforming over all is very solid with a realistic Parkour style feel. One enhancement is the “Hook” Blade which Ezio acquires early in the game. The hook allows Ezio to use “zip” lines and to catch himself when jumping over large gaps. The new item is implemented smoothly and does speed up roof top navigation considerably. One minus here is that because Constantinople is much denser in building placement than Rome, the horses can no longer be used at ground level to navigate the city.

Ezio’s combat options are similar to AC Brotherhood’s. As the game progresses he can purchase various swords, knives and range weapons such as the crossbow. The hookblade can be used to lethal effect. An addition that has been much hyped is the ability of Ezio to craft and use bombs. In the prior games he could use smoke bombs to blind and confuse enemies. The bomb possibilities are greatly expanded here as Ezio can gather elements to make lethal, distraction, and confusion bombs (there are many possible combinations). I did not really care for this addition and found crafting and using the bombs to be cumbersome. I found it more efficient to use of longer range weapons like the pistol and crossbow for taking out distant targets. Once Ezio recruits a sufficient number of civilians to become assassins in training he can call on them for backup during combat or to quietly take down a group of guards with a hail of arrows.

As with Brotherhood, Ezio must build bases of operation by taking down Templar Dens (Assassinating the Captain and lighting the signal fire, which prompts the Templers to withdraw from the area) Once a den has been converted Ezio can use local shops to restock supplies and gain income. From a secured Den Ezio can begin recruiting local citizens to become Assassins. Each recruit can be upgraded by having them successfully complete missions in various parts of the Middle East.

All of this existed in Brotherhood, but Ubisoft added an additional component. If Ezio’s notoriety gets too high (too much public presence) the Templers will try to take one of the Dens back by force. The surrounding resources are no longer available to Ezio and he must defend the Den, which brings on the game’s biggest let down.

When the Templers assault an Assassin Den Ezio must use Real Time Strategy to defeat them, in what could be described as “tower defense” This part of the game is very clumsy and frustrating, more of an irritant and disruption than enjoyable to play through. Brutal Legend, which came out back in 2009 handles this type of mini game much better. My recommendation to Ubisoft Montreal is to either re-think this for the next game or leave it out altogether.

Fortunately for Ezio, successful defense of a Den, gains many experience points which can be used to upgrade the capabilities of his recruits. Once a recruit becomes a level 10 Assassin, he or she can be assigned to a Den to handle its defense without Ezio’s direction.

The game’s “catch as catch can” style multiplayer returns as well. This is a refreshing break from the usual “fragging fests” that dominate the category. The basic element is a sophisticated game of cat and mouse that involves players stalking each other and then picking the most opportune time to strike. Overall it is fun, but the menu used is burdensome and needs to be revamped.

Sights and Sounds: Assassins Creed Revelations overall, looks very good. There is nothing radical here, but rather a subtle expansion of already established visuals from II and Brotherhood. The city of Constantinople is a vast, painstakingly rendered environment that serves as a beautiful backdrop where Ezio will spend most of his time. Some of the game’s other areas are not as convincing. The character models are mostly the same as Brotherhoods, although some of the enemy AI wears fairly elaborate outfits. The texture mapping and particle effects are also well done. The finishing move animations have been enhanced from the previous titles, the kills are bit more bloody and gruesome than before, though no where near as brutal as God of War III (which is still arguably the most violent game ever made).

The sound effects are solid and well mixed. The soundtrack has a great blend of classical and rock elements and it is pitched perfectly with both the narrative and action. The voice acting for the most part is well done.

Kids Corner: Assassins’ Creed Revelations is Rated M (Mature) as the game has a fair amount of violence and some bloodshed. Language is not an issue here if the subtitles are turned off as all of the “naughty” speech is either in Turkish or Italian. There is no nudity or sexual acts depicted anywhere in the game. The plotline would likely be difficult for preteens to fully grasp.

In Summary: Assassins’ Creed Revelations continues Ubisoft Montreal’s commitment to making a really great story driven action series. Revelations is more of a lateral evolution of the series rather than forward progression. It adds little new in terms of game play but it does a fine job of bringing both Ezio’s and Altair’s tales to a satisfying conclusion, while setting up the next title. Considering the tight development schedule the developer did a great all around job, despite a making a few missteps.

I recommend this one to anyone who likes the series, but it would be best bought after the first inevitable price drop.

Some footage below:

[madisgram]

um tim, u seem excited re the new game out...maybe???
jk but seriously i love your enthusiasm.

[whiteNight]

I own and play them all and I feel they did add a lot to Revelations compaired to Brotherhood. The hookblade, cutscenes enhanced vision, and some of the missions they added. Highlights include one of the underground missions that went to cutscenes when things began to fall apart, the mission that has you riding the flying device being pulled in the air with bad guys on horses under you.

If the main campain was not enough, the multiplayer has been improved and adds more to the game.

I am looking forward to a new main character and more memories to unlock.