Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Producer: Ubisoft
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
Rating: Mature
Genre: Action-Adventure
Revisiting History
Written by Ronnie Schroeder
While Assassin’s Creed has always been a unique series when set beside its peers, the annual franchise has never pushed itself much out of its comfort zone. But that’s not such a bad thing when speaking about this juggernaut of a series. For those new to the series, Assassin’s Creed implements mechanics of parkour platforming, swordplay, stealth, and strong story-telling, while Revelationsintroduces us to pieces of tower defense, bomb-crafting, and even some surreal first-person puzzling.
The tale that has been unraveling throughout the canon is a strange one, and one that need not be delved into too heavily here to save the unfamiliar from unnecessary spoilers, but you will once again assume the shoes of Desmond as he is placed within the Animus, a machine that essentially unlocks the history and memories of its subject’s lineage. For Desmond, that lineage is one of mystical, influential, and deadly traits. While Desmond and the original game’s Altair will be encountered sparingly throughout the game, our main protagonist here is the now-aging Ezio, tapped into through Desmond’s genetic coding via the Animus. And it is with Ezio that you will be traversing throughout Constantinople of 1511 AD in search of an ancient artifact to end the seemingly incessant war between the Templars and assassins.
Never succumbing to monotony, Revelations will expose you to quite a few different areas of interaction. Traversing is an absolute joy, as you swiftly scale, swing, and leap your way across the maps, especially when given your new hook device that allows you to glide across zip-lines or grapple onto walls to prevent fatal falls. All of this is done very practically, as your character is never clinging to some phantom object, but an actual ledge, crease, or protrusion of the world’s glorious architecture. In an omission, players are no longer provided with horses to mount, though there is not much space within Constantinople to do so anyway.
Swordplay still performs with absolute fluidity, requiring a bit of finesse but never becoming punishing. The implementation of bombs and crafting a wide variety of them can be used to shake things up a bit, but combat never seems to require use of these. Additionally, you are now often faced with gunners not within immediate reach or sight, often stripping away your health within seconds, but this will prove to be nothing that your ranged arsenal cannot handle.
Sections of tower defense, carriage-combat, and first-person puzzles all provide an interesting distraction from the typical pace, yet none are notably entertaining. Recruitment and contracts to increase assassin presence and diminish Templars, as well as earning companions for your assignments, returns and provides some extra depth that proves exciting. The multiplayer mode returns with its unique deathmatch and capture-the-flag variants, but doesn’t provide the amount of tension expected in competitive gaming and ultimately falls a little flat.
To set about the scenery is a visual feast, as you whisk about historical landmarks and gorgeous horizons interspersed with deliberate technological forming and glitches. The Italian and Middle Eastern dialogues are superb, adding a true element of realism and the clashing of blades sounds visceral. The Renaissance-inspired score is truly moving at times, whether it is ascending to intensity or softening into ambiance. While they could have done without the seemingly stitched-in tower defense, Revelations should find both newcomers and veterans of the series dropping excitably into the pristine world and graceful adventuring. A must own for the completionist die-hards and a must-play for simply everyone.