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It seems like one of the most controversial debates going on throughout this industry these days is the annualization of franchises. Can a series maintain its positive image when bombarding its audience with a new entry every 12 months? Some look to Call of Duty as one of the most egregious offenders with Assassin's Creed not far behind. Unlike Call of Duty however, Assassin's Creed's open-ended formula and inspired fiction has become the backbone of its success. After four entries in little more than 4 years, does Revelations maintain the high standard of quality or is the series finally beginning to reflect the old age of its protagonist?
Assassin's Creed Revelations (Xbox 360)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal + Additional Ubisoft Studios
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: November 15, 2011 (NA)
The short answer to both of these questions is yes. Assassin's Creed Revelations represents the ultimate utilization of the finely tuned mechanics that began to take shape in Assassin's Creed 2. All of the improvements that were made to the combat and storytelling remain intact while little else has been done to allow the series to maintain its forward momentum. Fortunately, the core Assassin's Creed formula has not quite worn out it's welcome.
Since AC2, the success of the franchise has hinged upon 3 major elements: Combat, Traversal, and Storytelling. Last year's brotherhood introduced a beautifully crafted kill chain system that requires patience, careful timing, and skill; an effort that mirrored the successes of the Batman Arkham Asylum combat system and allowed the player to feel like the character they were playing as on-screen. Thanks to the innovations in Brotherhood, players finally have what it takes to feel like a deadly assassin but Revelations doesn't add much to the existing systems.
While combat remains largely unaltered, Ubisoft once again added an additional layer of depth by introducing bomb crafting, an optional but worthy addition to any combat scenario. By stopping at bomb crafting stations littered throughout the city, players can create various types of bombs by combining types of shells, gunpowder, and effects. Players can create everything from smoke bombs to bombs that explode in a shower of distracting, gold coins. The bombs are well varied and allow for combat scenarios to play out in many different ways.
Traversing the world is still done almost entirely on foot, using the simple parkour controls of previous titles. However, Ubisoft has added a useful tool in the form of a hook that works a lot like the hidden blades that have become a staple of the series. The hook will automatically extend and provide additional leverage that Ezio uses to propel himself up the sides of structures, down zip lines, and across wide chasms. It also comes in handy when eluding pursuers by allowing Ezio to disarm and roll over anyone standing in his path. Like most mechanics that have been introduced thus far, this new tool is very much an extension of the character and an afterthought for the player.
For such an established and polished experience, I can't help but question some key choices made by the design team. At this point, it seems like the game is continuously adding new elements but never removing others and as a result, the game feels a bit unfocused. Take for instance, the introduction of the tower defense mini game. After capturing various territories throughout the world, I found myself constantly having to return to these "assassin's dens" to defend against invading troops. The mini-game itself is a shallow and sometimes unbalanced addition that must be repeated over and over. This can be stopped only by leveling one of your assassins to master rank and assigning him to defend the tower. My problem lies in the fact that I rarely spend much time in these games focusing on training my assassins' because there are just too many other things I would rather spend my time doing.
Without scaling back some of the other mechanics, even the assassin training aspects of the game feel a bit unnecessary. Like Brotherhood, assassins' can be sent to far off lands on missions in order improve their rank and call for their assistance in battle. In this case, I feel like that idea worked better as the focus of Brotherhood but has begun to over-stay its welcome in Revelations. With that said, the ability to call for their assistance is an asset that is of great value for some of the more challenging missions.
Revelations once again expands the fiction but at the same time draws some major plot threads, including that of two protagonists, to a close. Ezio, now much older and in search of the truth about his order, travels to Constantinople and uncovers another plot by the templars. Along the way, players are exposed to the final chapter in Ezio's journey as Ubisoft prepares to transition to a new protagonist in future games. Questions are answered along the way but by the end, I did find myself questioning the decision to name the game 'Revelations.'
The biggest departure from past entries comes in the form of linear side missions in which Ezio relives events from the life of Altair (the star of the original game). These short distractions are poignant and serve as some of my favorite moments in the game. They provide a welcomed look at what happened directly following the events of Assassin's Creed and eventually provide the context that the series has lacked since the beginning. Of course, the mystery surrounding Desmond, Abstergo, and Subject 16 are always present to remind players that this universe has far too many questions to answer in one game.
With Ubisoft already very forthcoming about the release of a major entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise coming in 2012, there is no end in sight for the franchise. My only hope now is that Ubisoft can effectively reboot the series by introducing a new hero, new locale/time period, and of course a slew of new mechanics to match. The game they have built serves as an effective conclusion to Assassin's Creed 2 but has ended just in time to avoid over-staying its welcome. Goodbye Ezio. It's been fun.
Score: 87%
80-89%: Great - Only very minor issues get in the way of greatness.
Comments
12 years, 5 months ago
I stopped playing the series halfway through 2. I just don't like Ezio that much. I found his character to be a little grating. Now that Altair is back in the picture, I may have to pick this series up again.
12 years, 5 months ago
I never finished Brotherhood so I'm a bit hesitant about Revelations. I do want to find out what happens to Ezio though, never really cared much for Desmond. I think you put it well when you said that they just keep adding new elements in without taking anything out. In Brotherhood, I ended up feeling overwhelmed with the amount of tasks I was given to do.
Did you try out the multiplayer? I heard Nolan talk a little about it on the show and wanted to get a second opinion on it.
12 years, 5 months ago
This is my favorite video game series since Jak and Daxter and I have to say I was a little put-off by the ending. I feel that the hook blade really only served a purpose in the traversal aspect of Revelations. The run and hook really didn't seem necessary to me. The Den Defense sucked ass ( pardon the vulgarity), Assassin training now that I think of it seemed a little old, and they took away my courtesans :(. But despite the over done and unnecessary quirks I still liked this game and would recommend to someone if they were into stealth and story. Good review Nick!
12 years, 5 months ago
I still have to bother finishing Brotherhood, which is a game I managed to burrow myself into a deep hole with. I got too invested in side missions and collecting doodads, which lead to a lack of momentum to continue. Yet each time I make an attempt to play it again, I keep getting bogged down by the desire to side-quest, which leads to me quitting again for another several months. I might grab Revelations on PC at some point in the future when it is cheap.
12 years, 5 months ago
Picked this up on black friday for $34.99, definitely worth that price, but much like a lot of other people the fatigue has really hit me hard with the series. Basically just to echo what you said in your review...I really, REALLY hope they reboot the series drastically because they have really milked every last bit of out the Ezio/Renaissance Europe cash cow.
12 years, 5 months ago
I was initially disappointed when they announced this game, as I felt it was time for a fresh change in the series rather than another quick installment. But then, I'd had similar feelings about Brotherhood yet ended up enjoying it, so decided to give Revelations a chance. As time went on I've warmed to the idea a lot more and have really ended up looking forward to it.
I still haven't actually played it yet! (going through Saints Row The Third still) But the general flavour of the reviews, including this one, seem to confirm that feeling of an engine that runs as smooth as it can yet a storyline and inspiration that's been pretty damn mined out now.
I'm sure I'll enjoy Revelations and will be happy to have played it. I just hope there's a really thorough reimagining of the next installment, from the nuts 'n' bolts level as well as the setting. Time to take a bit of a risk again - it's not like they don't have the money from the AC success to do that, right?
12 years, 5 months ago
It was almost scripted when I felt the fatigue in this game and that just made me want to play more. I don't usually get so pumped for a game this early but I honestly cannot wait for AC3. I expect some pretty major changes just to fit into the vision I have for the game but it's hard to speculate when there isn't much to build off of. Ugh love these games
Oh yeah multiplayer I guess I should play that eventually...
12 years, 5 months ago
From what I've read most of Altair's plot points had already been covered in other AC media, mostly the handheld titles. So I'm not sure how much is genuine addition or "Hey, let's make sure the console people know this happened."
Overall, I'm not too impressed by Revelations. I felt like the narrative wasn't as strong, with only about three important characters; Yusuf, Suleiman, and Sofia. Brotherhood at least kept it up with La Vulpe, Machiavelli, that crazy mofugga with the broadsword, and even Cesare and the rest of the Borgia family. This game had a lack of allies and nemeses. Most of the game is "Templars, BAAAAAD!" without really knowing who they are. And that's not too bad on its own, but I felt like most of the time is was killing them solely because they're Templars. There wasn't really a build up, just "HE'S A BAD GUY".
And I'm also getting a bit tired of all these additions. With Ezio, we've seen parachutes, bombs, and a hookblade. If the next game takes place after 1511, I don't see how they're going to implement these. I'm thinking the developers will just end up cutting a few of these.
12 years, 5 months ago
Good review Nick.
12 years, 5 months ago
You should watch AC: Embers to complete the Ezio story.
12 years, 5 months ago
I hate to be 'that guy,' but... I'm going to. 'Assassin's' is a possessive. 'Assassins' is the multiple of 'assassin.'
12 years, 5 months ago
I started having an interest in this series. I'm now playing through AC2 to get started and see what goes from there.
12 years, 5 months ago
I feel the same way.
12 years, 5 months ago
Assassin's Creed is like Call of Duty in that it's almost the same as the one before it, but is that really a bad thing? I love the way the game is now.
12 years, 5 months ago
I am definitely picking this up because Assassin's Creed is a pretty damn unique series.
12 years, 5 months ago
I found myself rushing through the game just to finish the plot, I love every AC, especially Brotherhood because there was so much interesting stuff to do besides just the main story, but Revelations just didn't have the pacing and didn't have the amount of side missions I was expecting, and the side missions I did do didn't seem nearly as fun as in past games. Surprisingly I enjoyed the Desmond memory reconstruction stages and found myself legitimately interested in Desmond's past. For me the main story, It finally felt like it started picking up the pace In the act were you {{{MINOR SPOILER??}}}>> dress up as a Romani musician to distract the crowds at the Sultans party. After that is when the game seemed to redeem itself for it's lackluster beginning. I am however still excited for the next AC, especially because of my new found interest in Desmond's character.
12 years, 5 months ago
I really liked this review, and agree with all of your points especially 'I did find myself questioning the decision to name the game ‘Revelations.’ Gah. Assassin's Creed is my favourite game series, so I was SO looking forward to this and I wasn't disappointed!
However one of the main things I felt while playing it was just that it didn't seem as epic as the previous games. I mean in the way that the last two games really built the tension and suspense right up until that last assassination, and in this game it just felt like Ezio wasn't really important. Not to say that I didn't love Revelations to pieces because I did, but the atmosphere in the story was kind of laid back. This might have been a choice made because Ezio is older now and I understand that but...ah I don't know.
I really liked a lot of the in game 'events' much like the ones Uncharted has, where you control while Ezio is fighting someone while falling and things like that. I love when a game gives you control during things that other games might just have as cutscenes!
And thank god they added bomb crafting, I tried to complete the game with 100% synchronisation and the bombs were a huge help! As well as the hook blade, and I love that in the multiplayer you have the hook blade too.
Anyway I got the Animus Edition of Revelations and I wasn't disappointed. Still an amazing game! But I'm awfully worried about next years game, I know there was a location revealed in the end cutscene when it showed a map but I didn't catch on to what location it was showing us. Is the next game going to be about Desmond and in his time period? I'm not sure how that will love up to the settings of places like Venice and Rome back in the day. Hope to hear your thoughts on this!
(And anyway what the hell was up with the ending?! It gave more questions than answering them in all honesty!)
12 years, 5 months ago
I agree with an above poster who said the series needs a big reboot. Bring more of the "Assassin" back into Assassin's Creed. Seriously, tower defense? But don't worry people, Ubisoft released a poll asking which setting you want to see next, and there were some very cool ones like Feudal Japan and American Revolution.
Number one had it down a little bit better than the rest of the series. No bullshit(kinda), very straight forward. You're an Assassin, and you have to infiltrate interesting places to kill your target. Delivery was great, just everything before it was boring and dull.
While Assassin's Creed 2 was a much better game, it really didn't get the memo and was almost even more slowpaced.
I recently replayed 2 and I was thinking the whole time just how much better it could be if it tried.
12 years, 5 months ago
[...] Nick’s Review of Assassin’s Creed Revelations [...]
12 years, 4 months ago
my problem with the assassins creed series is that the games are getting way to easy, at least for me. i would have enjoyed assassins creed brotherhood more if it weren't so easy, but i love brotherhood for its multiplayer.
12 years, 4 months ago
i agree wit terror teddy
this game is way to easy.. its like that made this a click adventure game n ur unstoppable if u keep left clicking.
wtf kinda baby game did they come up with.
dumb whores.