Assassin's Creed Revelations Xbox 360 Review - PAGE 1

Few could have imagined how far Assassin’s Creed would go based solely on the first game. Four years, four installments, sans the various spin-offs on handheld, and who could have predicted where the story would lead us? From Desmond to Altair, and then to the Italian noble Ezio Auditore, whose personal quest uncovered some pretty wild revelations that turned out to be the primary plot behind the entire Assassin’s Creed series. Remember when Juno suddenly turned and stared into the camera, completely breaking through the fourth wall between Desmond and his memories? How about when Ezio fought a magic-imbued Pope? Yeah, it’s been a crazy ride.

If you said “no” to both questions, however, Assassin’s Creed Revelations might just lead to more confusion than clarity. This final installment in Ezio’s trilogy promises to wrap up the Master Assassin’s story, and it does so successfully. Yet given how much attention Ubisoft placed on attracting new players through accessibility – particularly with Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – the direction they’ve taken with Revelations comes as a surprise. 

In terms of story, Revelations occurs right after Brotherhood and never hesitates to throw in names or bits of pre-established lore without any explanation. This isn’t an issue for long-time fans, but newcomers hoping to jump the Assassin’s Creed bandwagon should probably start elsewhere. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing.

As for gameplay, Revelations is an amalgam of familiar elements first introduced and refined in previous Assassin’s Creed games, with a few new additions tossed in – just nothing revolutionary. The focus is clearly on storytelling this time around, split three ways between Altair, Ezio, and Desmond. Each character’s tale is wrapped snugly within another’s, like a Russian nesting doll.

Welcome to Constantinople

At the start of Revelations, we are introduced to a much older Ezio as he arrives at Masyaf, the former Assassins stronghold, in search of a library left behind by his ancestor, Altair Ibn-La’Ahad. Since nothing ever goes as planned, Ezio finds the place overrun with Templars seeking the same knowledge as he, though the intent behind their actions remains nebulous. After cutting down a few guards and acquiring Altair’s journal, the old Assassin heads for Constantinople, the Crossroads of the World. 

Revelations follows the same basic structure as Brotherhood. Ezio’s search for knowledge lands him far from home in Constantinople, where the alien surroundings yield a familiar story. The city is falling under Templar – or Byzantine – influence, which the native Assassins are struggling to combat. To help their cause, Ezio must take the city back one district at a time and recruit new Assassins to bolster their numbers. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? No Borgia here, but it’s the same song and dance in Istanbul. Once a district is freed from Templar control, its landmarks and shops are made available for purchase. Vendor types remain unchanged, with the exception of art merchants being replaced by bookstores. 

Amidst all this, Ezio’s search for answers takes him through more dungeons, though this portion has been made a mandatory part of the main quest. As a result, the number of dungeons in Revelations has been cut down significantly. At the end of each dungeon is another artifact left by Altair, and taking these ancient discs (They really look like CDs.) back to the Hideout triggers another Altair sequence, allowing Ezio to relive his ancestor’s key memories… as Desmond is reliving Ezio’s. 

The Templars of Constantinople are evidently more aggressive than the ones in Europe, and the local Assassins must be prepared to defend their homes when the need arises. If Ezio isn’t careful and racks up too much notoriety, he raises Templar awareness of Assassin activities. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? Actually, notoriety is significantly easier to accumulate and tougher to get rid of in Revelations. In addition to your typical illegal activities like picking pockets and murdering guards in plain sight, purchasing shops will result in large notoriety spikes. The only way to get rid of a high rating is to visit the tailor, kill officials, bribe heralds or tear down scaffoldings. You have options, sure, but the notoriety reduction per action is relatively small, and you’re going to have to be much more careful with your actions.

If notoriety isn’t lowered, the Templars will lay siege to an Assassin Den, triggering a tower defense mini-game. The enemy arrives in waves, growing in number and difficulty over time. At Ezio’s disposal are various Assassin units, barricades, and cannons, all of which cost Morale, the currency during Den Defense.   Completing more defenses will unlock new units for the next event, but every instance gets progressively harder, as enemy waves grow in size and siege weapons gain more armor. Despite my personal affinity for strategic gameplay, the tower defense portion does feel somewhat out of place in Revelations, and not everyone will enjoy the variety it brings. On the bright side, it is avoidable, so long as you keep Ezio’s infamy below a certain threshold. 

Leveling the new Assassins is still pretty straightforward. Different uniforms – and masks – throw in a little customization, and quests in the Mediterranean Defense (overseas missions) sometimes require Assassins with specific weapon proficiencies. One thing to keep in mind is that these recruits are randomly generated, so it’s entirely possible to wind up with an army of mostly clones, as was the case with my female recruits. Fortunately, the hoods and masks help out a little.

Thieves and Mercenaries have returned as trusted allies to the Assassins, with the addition of Romanies (gypsies), who have replaced the Courtesans of Renaissance Italy. As before, factions will lend their services to Ezio for a fee, and vacant buildings around the city can be made into faction outposts. Faction challenges have also returned, and completing these optional challenges unlocks special abilities for the faction associated with them.