Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – Review

The most anticipated Assassins Creed game yet. The final chapter of Ezio’s story, and linking both him and Altair to Desmond one last time… and it finally arrived. I was so excited. I was immediately sucked into the story after the ending of the first game years ago. I had no idea what was to come. Yes, I speak like it’s a true event, or a personal experience. This is called being a die-hard fan, my friends. Needless to say the day this game came out, I was at the store getting my already paid copy. Although, I was sickened that it was not a special edition, because I’m weird like that. But enough about me, here’s what you’re looking for.

After the ending of “Brotherhood” I was dreaming of what Ubisoft would provide for us eager fans. Well, they delivered bigger than what I dreamt. From bad-ass zip-line assassinations to defending your den from incoming Templars, this game has got it down. Also Eagle Vision got a big upgrade to Eagle Sense. They tried to pawn it off as “Ezio reaching the summit of his abilities maturing as an assassin” but really its a new feature. This helps you track enemy movements and plan strategies. I didn’t use it too much really. But I need to talk about the dens. Remember the turf wars on GTA: San Andreas? It’s that with swords. You have waves of templars coming at you, and you stand atop the building, commanding a variety of soldiers and weaponry.
I’m sure you all know about the latest upgrade to the walking Tank that is Ezio? The hookblade? Well, it makes the zip-line possible, and for faster and higher climbing. It even helps morbidly destroy your foes, tripping them, or just slipping past them (or over them) with speed.
Oh wait… I almost forgot the other huge addition to your arsenal – BOMBS! That’s right, homemade grenades. Not just your simple bang and shrapnel, although that does exist. There is an exotic variety, like thicker smoke bombs. Tripwire bombs, and bombs that stick to people. All with devastating explosions or slow poisonous deaths, or whatever you want to create.
As usual there are customizations like dying your robes, buying armour and weapons and of course unlocking the best armour by collecting items. I think there needed to be more purchasable armour, as there were only a few sets that are unlocked slowly though sequences. But the robes had so many designs to choose from. I literally spent 20 minutes trying to decide what to have, and tonnes of cash on trying them out. I eventually favoured three of them. The classic White Robes. The Red/Black/White Robes. and Blue and Gold Robes. Yes, I’m a sucker for customization. I like games my way, or with my own personalisation. I didn’t think much of the Unbeatable Armour in this game. I preferred the Armour of Brutus over them all. But hey, that’s just me.

The setting is truly stunning. Then I put in a HDMI cable and it went from “stunning” to “realistic”. The graphics seem enhanced in this game, and the HD works wonders for the vibrant colours of Turkish clothes, showing every sewn in detail and rich colour. Constantinople is a crossroad of the world, and it is a hybrid of Europe and Asia. So you can be free running through the streets and embrace many different cultures. Ezio even learns some local speal. It has tall skylines making good use of the parachute, and low buildings for the quick escape from the street. Zip-lines are everywhere and are extremely handy for a quick transfer from buildings. But before we ever get to this glorious setting… we get to go back to good ol’ Masyaf. I watched every trailer, but nothing compared to the nostalgia I felt when walking through the Fort, my mind jolting back to a time when I hoped for some way of jumping higher when climbing the front of the Headquarters, or how devastating a second hidden blade would be fighting Al Mualim. So to pass though the map of the first game seemed a great addition, and I bet every fan got the same, uncontrollable smile I did.
The Story is jaw-dropping. There are two sets of stories you follow for Ezio, beside the Altair moments. There are moments of rage, excitement, awe and frustration. Just like a good game needs. It didn’t seem like a repeat of the previous games at all, and it certainly didn’t dismiss the action because of Ezio’s age. The cut scenes are just amazing it’s actually like watching a movie. Unfortunately, the story is SO good, you can end up doing what I did and skip every side mission, Templar Den and Assassin Mission so you know what happens in the story. So here’s my advice – DO NOT DO THAT. I had to play through again until I covered everything before I wrote this review and I still probably missed more. Besides, the game is way more fun covering the other things first. Think about it, Assassin’s Creed III isn’t out until late this year, so take your time on this one.

So how do I sum this up? Personally it was the second best game to come out in 2011. Barely surpassing Skyrim and just barely behind CoD: Modern Warfare 3. It offers days of entertainment, even weeks. You will marvel at the quality of what you see. You will even grow calm to the soothing soundtrack of the game. Assassin’s Creed Revelations is Brotherhood’s big bad-ass cousin… with a hookblade.

Thanks for Readin’!