Cert: 18
Platform: S3, XBox 360, PC
Genre: 3rd Person Action Adventure, Sandbox
Watch the Trailer
So another chance to play as Ezio and Altair, as Desmond must once again explore the genetic memories of his ancestors in order to save everyone in the present. That probably will not make much sense to anyone new to the series and I would not recommend this as a starting point as it is rather bogged down in its increasingly convoluted plot.
The game is primarily a third person action adventure in which you move through early 16th Century Istanbul by means of roof top gymnastics, stealthing through crowds or franticly racing from the city guards. If you have played a previous instalment, you should be quite familiar with the gameplay mechanics, as little has changed. The main story features key events in the assassins lives focusing on exploration for ancient keys, infiltration into enemy strong holds, sneaky assassination's of key bad guys, some open combat and a few chases for good measure. The sheer spectacle of the game is its major selling point. While it will not beat Uncharted 3 in terms of visuals, scaling the tallest building, scanning all below before taking a leap of faith all the way down into a convenient pile of hay on the street never loses its appeal. Another factor drawing me in was a strong supporting cast and likeable lead that made me want to continue just to find out what would happen to them next. Multiplayer returns with some improvements. Hunt down your target whilst avoiding those hunting you. It does not have the depth to keep you invested too long but I found it surprisingly inclusive to new players. I lost my first round badly but not to the point of discouragement and was soon competing for first place.
With so little change though, the series main flaws remain. Running and climbing, while impressive visually, is so automated that it is hard to argue that you are fully in control. Combat often comes down to repeatedly waiting for an opponent to attack and countering. Also it can be difficult to get out of combat mode once initiated - making retreats problematic. Finances remains extremely broken, as Ezio can use his profits to invest in shops which in turn make more money. Soon you will own vast sways of Istanbul, have bought every item, never have to worry about any expenses and I wonder if Ireland would have been better of inviting assassins to live in Dublin than take the bailout.
Assassin's Creed Revelations is good but that is little surprise as so little has changed. The yearly grind is taking it's toll though. As the next game apparently brings some closure, I can't fault Ubisoft too much for this but instead of two re-treads between AC 2 and 3, time could have been invested into making a classic. I was tired of the series when I started this game but was won over once more after a few hours play. I don't know if that will work again if the series doesn't develop more for the next instalment.
Rent or Buy: Buy
Graphics: 4/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replay: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Reviewed by: JP Gallagher.
