Assassin's Creed Revelations - Does It Deliver...? [Non-Story Review]

Assassin’s Creed has not only introduced the world to the incredible potential of next-gen gaming, but also to the visually spectacular work that can be produced under strict timeframes. It goes without saying that the AC franchise hit the ground running after unveiling Altair’s saga in November of 2007. However, as of 5 years ago, we as core gamers have come to expect more from the franchise. Some of our expectations include: less linear gameplay, a larger variety of side missions, better and smarter AI/NPCs, and much less diluted and more ‘eye-poppingly’ accurate environments that beg you to free-run through them.

The Good

Fortunately, Revelations has all of that and MORE! That’s right, Ubisoft’s latest instalment in the Ezio storyline has so much to offer that you’ll find yourself glued to your TV for hours on end. With little bits and pieces here and there that cap the long-awaited return of Altair, Desmond goes out of his way in search of answers donning his seemingly older-looking ancestor, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. 

Gorgeous!

Ubisoft’s Anvil Engine is capable of rendering beautiful crowds of 100s at a moment. Needless to say that this is indeed an improvement to Scimitar – used in the first AC. Anvil was also used in the second game, but I suspect that Revelations pushed the engine to its limits; adding a noticeably improved day and night cycle – softer shadows with smoother shift (unlike Assassin’s Creed 2), more vibrant vegetation (bushes and gardens look utterly stunning - haystacks not included), and far better cloth physics - the joys of gliding through the air under a parachute after jumping off a minaret have yet to be realized! Oh and whizzing past Templar guards on rooftops on your zip line with your new hookblade is also boat loads of fun.

Istanbul is huge!

For one, I found it puzzling why you only got to explore Istanbul (for the most part), but it plays into the hours you spend grinding through the game. The city of Constantinople is literally bursting with gorgeous architecture with no apparent texture pop-ups. The amount of time spent polishing the game is evident as it probably took concept artists several trips to museums, historians, piles of reference images and of course, Turkey itself.  

All in all, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations makes for some pretty fun gameplay and delivers on its hype. I haven’t had a chance to experience the multiplayer completely as of yet, so more on it’s possible bugs and fixes in another review coming up! So, what’re you waiting for? Go! Go out and buy it!

The Bad

One point only: TOO DAMN SHORT! :(