Does Ezio’s final chapter end with a bang?
We last left Desmond Miles in quite a dilemma, he couldn’t control himself and killed Lucy then slipped into a coma. Revelations picks up after this and Desmond finds himself in a place called Animus Island, which is essentially a safe zone for his mind, but he also finally meets Subject 16 who only exists inside the Animus now. Subject 16 explains that Desmond needs to finish Ezio’s and Altair’s stories to bring him out of his coma, so once more unto the breach he goes and we’re back following Ezio as he makes his way to enter Altair’s library.
But of course, it isn’t simple. You need to find the keys to open it, but you are also distracted from your task when you reach Constantinople as the Brotherhood is in a war with the Templars and the Ottoman Empire. There are some truly great moments for the fans and it ends strongly, perhaps the best game in the series when it comes to plot. Gameplay is starting to show its age though as the missions aren’t as varied as they once were, even with new gadgets like the hookblade, I can’t help feeling like I’ve been there, done that.
There are some new elements though, including a Tower Defence style game that happens as you try and take control of sections of the city, you place as many defences and assassins along the walls as you can afford while holding off wave after wave, it’s good…but it feels out of place in the AC universe, Ezio is used to fighting…not dishing out orders like a General. But he has definitely aged a lot since Brotherhood; he’s almost unrecognisable from the young rogue we first met in AC2.
As with the past 2 games, you get money way too easily and can spend it on buying shops, which in turn gets you even more money over time. Combat remains more or less the same, but you get some new weapons and tools at your disposal, to be fair it’s probably the hardest in terms of fighting…but it’s still fairly easy. One trophy requires you to 100% sync your missions, which is pretty tricky when one is to kill a captain and not engage in a fight, but as with Brotherhood, they can be overcome with patience and tactics.
The campaign is pretty short, which is a shame…but it does just enough to succeed in closing Ezio’s story in a memorable way. Multiplayer also returns and it too feels pretty familiar, you can play solo or in groups hunting for individual targets, it’s still pretty random and there isn’t a lot of skill involved…but it can be fun for short periods, yet it does feel unnecessary in the great scheme of things.
When Assassin’s Creed 2 came out, I was really impressed with the visuals. 2 years on and they are starting to look incredibly dated, textures look average, load times are long and the character models don’t look as smooth as they once did. It’s still a nice looking game, but time has shown just how a good looking game can look average in 18-24 months. Voice-acting is the strongest point of the presentation and the script is golden, the music is also epic and memorable.
The Verdict
Assassin’s Creed Revelations does well in closing Ezio’s story arc, but I do feel that the games have come out to quickly and the quality has suffered as a result. Revelations is short and more of the same, which is fine if you love it…but it’s starting to get a little dated and repetitive now, I just hope the next game mixes things up a bit more…
