The last chapter in the stories of both Ezio Auditore and Altair Ibn Al’Ahad is finally here. It may have come late but Pinoy Gaming Network brings you this review as a primer to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed 3 coming in October. So join us in this little romp through Istanbul as Desmond discovers the last pieces of memory from both his ancestors.
Assassin’s Creed Revelations is the 4th title released under the same IP from Ubisoft. It brings to full circle the stories of both Altair and Ezio. As usual the story is both intriguing and very exciting. And again, you need to wait for the next title for all your questions to be answered unless Ubisoft pulls a Mass Effect 3 ending on us. To catch you up, Desmond has his brains fried in Brotherhood and he’s stuck in the Animus until he can figure out a way to isolate his memories from Ezio’s and Altair’s. All the while running and hiding from the templars hunting them down.
Gameplay wise Revelations still plays like the other Assassin Creed titles complete with AI that simply are too dumb. Ezio, although older, still plays exactly the same as he did back in Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed 2 (naggygym ata ito, 50 na pero aakyat parin ng tore). You do get a new weapon from your standard myriad of Assassin friendly gear, although it’s basically just another gameplay mechanic. They call it the hookblade. Basically its an extension of your reach that you can use to grab on to things so you don’t miss those harder jumps ingame. Stealth and swordplay still come as standard as well as the timed runs in dungeons. The goal of the entire game is actually to use Ezio to uncover the Keys to the Masyaf vault, given by Altair to Marco Polo’s father (yeah, you read it right lol). Everything else ingame are merely fillers. Nag-aksaya ako ng sandamakmak na oras kakaremodel ng Istanbul bili ng bili ng Blacksmith shops, Tailoring shops at bookstore pero pera lang pala bigay. Later you’ll find that the money wasn’t all that necessary. Basically Assassin’s Creed Revelations brings nothing new to the franchise, it still comes with the standard fillers.
They did add a tower defense mechanic in protecting areas you’ve already taken from the templars but its basically very shallow gameplay. All in all in terms of innovation, this is not the game for that. Parang filler lang hanggang ma release ang Assassin’s Creed 3. They also added Desmond’s background story in the form of an independent platformer that gets more frustrating than it does fun.
Graphically speaking I don’t notice the difference between this one and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Don’t get me wrong, it still looks awesome and Istanbul looks very alive with all the colors splashed here and there. Running through the city streets still feels gritty and very real as you try to escape from your pursuers. With the addition of the hook blade, you get to climb faster and higher now so you can marvel more at the magnificently rendered views.
Assassin’s Creed Revelations still sounds as awesome as the previous titles. Going into combat as the music pumps through your speakers keeps your adrenaline flowing like crazy, especially if you’re being chased. Although chases end very abruptly since the AI are REALLY REALLY incredibly stupid. I do however like how they blend dialogue with the ambient sound. Sounds very hightech and still remains believable especially during the Desmond’s Journey parts.
As for replay value, there is a more robust Multiplayer mode. You can play online with your friends in death matches or in spy vs. spy like hunter hunted gameplay. It does get old fast as people stop playing like Assassins and go fencing on top of a rooftop akin to scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean. There are unlockables in singleplayer mode too. You can find pages of a memoir from a legendary assassin which will lead you to his armor set. You can also collect fragments of the animus to unlock Desmond’s Journey and try to go for 100% completion (at magsayang ng isang linggo sa kakalaro).
All in all, if you’re after gameplay, Revelations offers nothing new but if you’re after the story, this reveals much but not as much as you would like.
Graphics – 8
Sound – 8
Gameplay – 8
Replayability – 8