Game reviews: Assassin's Creed Revelations

Platform: PS 3
Single Player / Online Multiplayer
Rs 2,699

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is Ubisoft's latest iteration in its hit historical stealth seriesu00a0 which is now an annual affair. Like Brotherhood before it, Revelations is all about building on an established foundation and offers little that is revolutionary.



The single player campaign attempts to tie in the intricate plot threads set up in previous games that span centuries. It succeeds somewhatu00a0-- giving closure to two beloved Heroes of the franchise.

The campaign follows an aging Ezio Auditore, the protagonist of AC 2 and Brotherhood, as he makes his way through renaissance era Constantinople. He is hunting for 'keys' left behind by his ancestor Altair Ibn-La'had, one of the original assassins and the protagonist of the first game, to unlock a secret which may save the world. All the while Desmond, their common descendant in the modern day struggles to keep his sanity. There are moments of Inception-like dream within a dream weirdness, but most of the time you are focussed on Ezio whose personal story is well executed, with some noteworthy character moments.



Core gameplay remains the addictive stealth-action hybrid but with a few changes. Ezio now has a hooked blade which makes scaling walls easier and also allows him to zip line across cables to travel faster. You can also build and use grenades that come in lethal and non-lethal variants which you can use to distract guards or cover a hasty retreat.

I personally feel these additions detracted from the stealth-assassin feel of the game. The cables which exist solely for Ezio to slide across them stuck out in an otherwise pitch-perfect reproduction of historical Constantinople. You can also choose to train assistant assassins and even send them on missions to level them up. There is also a new tower defence mechanic that feels tacked onu00a0-- and distracts from the core experience.

These new abilities however speed up the multiplayer which is the highlight of the titleu00a0-- providing many hours of nailbiting cat and mouse contests. Graphics and sound are top notch, though levels focussed on Desmond feel a little rushed.u00a0

Revelations is a good game but is difficult to recommend when it doesn't do enough differently or noticeably better than its
predecessors.

Quick Take
Graphics: Gorgeous, the world is alive
Gameplay: Solid, with a few kinks
Worth it: For fans of the series. Others can wait till next year.
Final Rating: 3.5 / 5