Review This! Assassin's Creed Revelations

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is an open world action adventure game following the adventures of Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he travels to Constantinople to search for keys left behind by his ancestor Altaïr ibn La-Ahad and also follows Desmond Miles during modern day. The game features action, platforming and stealth elements as the player guides Ezio in his battle against the Templars.

The core of the game takes place directly after Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, following Ezio Auditore's travels in Constantiople in 1511 AD.

The core gameplay of Assassin's Creed: Revelations shares a lot of similarity to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Returning mechanics include assassin recruits, Templar towers, city renovation, collectables and the series signature parkour and adventure elements. Players will climb, fight and sneak their way through the city as they work to complete missions in their search for the keys left behind by Ezio's ancestor. Occasional sequences allow the player to take control of Altaïr when Ezio finds a key that allows him to relive Altaïr's memories. Also returning are optional objectives in missions. By performing a mission the way that Ezio did, the player can improve Desmond's sync with Ezio.

Zip lines make for quick travel. And sometimes a swift death.

A new addition to the game is the hook blade. The hook blade is a welcome addition, aiding the player in speeding up their movement around the city by extending Ezio's reach and mobility while scaling walls and allowing for new maneuvers such as the long jump, where a player can launch themselves off hanging pots rather than using them to swing around corners. Scattered around the city are zip lines which the player is able to utilize by simply running up to and jumping toward them. The hook blade also has combat utility, allowing players to hook their enemies to either draw them in or slip by quickly.

They never give up, do they?

A returning element, the Templar towers, has been updated. When a player takes over a tower and makes it into an Assassin's den, it is no longer simply a done deal. From time to time, the Templars will attempt to reclaim these towers. Should the player choose to defend the tower, a tower defense mini game is initiated where Ezio is the commander of a group of assassins on rooftops. The player places leaders, units and barricades around the street to counter the oncoming Templars. The player also has the choice to shoot Templars (which directs his units to focus fire) with their gun or use a cannon to destroy small groups of Templars. If the player does not wish to deal with the tower defense aspect, they can choose to place a master assassin at the tower who will take care of its defense automatically.

If only it were really this easy...

Players are also given the choice to craft bombs. Components are scattered around the city or found on the corpses of dead guards. The player can they use these components to create a wide selection of bomb types. Crafted bombs can perform a wide variety of tasks, such as distracting guards and civilians, creating a cover of smoke or outright killing those caught within the blast radius. A bomb is crafted from three components: a shell, which determines how the bomb is triggered; gunpowder, which determines the size of the explosion; and finally, an ingredient which determines the effect of the bomb. Bombs have a variety of uses and players are encouraged to experiment with bombs to discover what best suits their play style.

From time to time, players will hear soft whispers in the background. If the player simply ignores them, they will find themselves attacked by a stalker. Stalkers are new to Assassin's Creed: Revelations. They are people hired to kill Ezio and will do their best to sneak up on him and stab him while he is not paying attention. They do a large amount of damage, but are easily thwarted by spotting them in the crowd or leading them to secluded areas where they can be dealt with.