I’m Playing…Assassin’s Creed Revelations

Assassin’s Creed Revelations is the fourth game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Usually, I wait for the price to drop on these games, so I’ve been a year behind each launch. Last December, while wandering around Best Buy, I saw the game for half off and jumped at the opportunity to buy it. Now, nine months after buying it, I’ve finally had a chance to play the game.

At the Animus Door of Assassin’s Creed Revelations where Desmond meets Subject 13

Two things kept me from playing Assassin’s Creed Revelations for so long. First, I was trying to graduate college and didn’t play more than two or three hours of video games each week while dealing with final projects.

Worse than school, though, was a spoiler from Game Informer. Early in the year, while I was playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Game Informer magazine ran an interview, discussing the endings of Brotherhood and Revelations. I continued playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood but decided to wait before playing Assassin’s Creed Revelations.

Finally, last month, I decided to throw the game in my PlayStation 3 and do my best not to remember what I had read about the story.

This image is familiar to some, as it shows the return of Masayaf’s Assassin’s castle

For all of the Assassin’s Creed games, story means everything. For a franchise that never deserved a sequel, these games have continued to build a story line, partly discussing a Da Vinci Code-esque view of history while offering one more 2012 Doomsday theory.

Fortunately, Assassin’s Creed Revelations continues to impress with its story. But while the story will have you on the edge of your seat, at the end of the experience, I didn’t feel like it really added anything important to the franchise at a whole. At the very end, the game reminds the player that this game is part of a larger story with a beautiful cut scene.

But not all was well. The gameplay itself failed to impress me. Like many sequels, Assassin’s Creed Revelations suffers from the Metroid Effect. Early in the game, Ezio loses all of his weapons and equipment and must slowly rebuild it. I get bored with this gameplay standard, and early in the game, I almost quit playing. In the first two days, I almost quit and wrote a scathing review. But, as a fan of the franchise, I continued to play.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations image of Ezio meeting the Assassins of Constantinople

Now that I’ve finished the single-player game, I can easily say that this is the second-worse entry in the franchise. While the story is solid, I never felt wowed by the gameplay. Istanbul is a massive city, and the dungeons offer huge set-piece moments, but the play in the open world never feels important or necessary.

The game features an improved multiplayer from Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, but while I was playing, I could not find a game to join. After finishing the game I’m playing now, I’ll try to hop online once more to see if I enjoy it, but for now, all I’ve seen is the single player portion of Assassin’s Creed Revelations.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations image shows Ezio’s ship arriving at Cappadocia

If you’re a fan of the series, this game will impress you more than the original Assassin’s Creed, and if you’re new to the franchise, this game stands alone for most of the experience, with exception to the very beginning and end of the game.

Easily, though, Assassin’s Creed II is still the best game in the franchise.

What did you think of Assassin’s Creed Revelations? Leave a comment below, and look forward to the next “I’m Playing…” with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations image of Constantinople.