We've played it, and it's damned good. Over three hours of gameplay detailed!
Click got an early look at a massive chunk of the single player campaign for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations in London last week and we’re ready to tell all in our hands on preview.
And check out our interview with writer Darby McDevitt.
After an attractive but limp first entry back in 2007, Assassin’s Creed made a quantum leap in complexity and story-telling in its second iteration which introduced the story of Ezio Auditore and the interwoven thread of Desmond’s modern tale. And while 2010’s Brotherhood was initially discounted as little more than an add-on, it improved on the formula once more with greater functionality, an intimate story and genre leading multiplayer.
A mere four years on from the beginning of the IP, there’s little doubt that Assassin’s Creed has become one of the most significant cross-platform action franchises and Revelations is set to firmly cement that reputation. Let's get in the mood with some CG Revelations goodness, to the tune of Woodkid's Iron...
Assassins Creed: Revelations once more keeps Ezio front and centre but also furthers Desmond’s story while punctuating the narrative with discrete scenes from the life of Altair – the main character from the first game and the assassin ancestor of both later characters. It’s all tied together by the main plot which sees an aging Ezio travel to Constantinople in the 16th century, in search of a series of keys which will open a hidden chamber in Altair’s fortress at Masyaf that contains the ultimate weapon against the Templars.
We sat down to around three hours of assassinating action on Xbox 360 which began with the grizzled (but still plenty horny) Ezio arriving in Constantinople in the company of a young scholar called Suleiman, who will play a significant part in the game. It’s not long before the master Assassin meets up with a local contact and gets some vital help in his quest for Altair’s keys. The recent story trailer features several familar sights from our playthrough.
As before, Revelations is carved into chunks of memory from Ezio’s life and we got to play through several early parts of the game from sequences 2, 4 and 5. Sequence 2 in this case means a tutorial, which makes us imagine sequence 1 is plot heavy and focuses, perhaps, on Desmond’s plight.
The game mechanics remain pretty much identical to previous titles, mixing exploration and combat to create a fluid experience that lets you move around the remarkably detailed open world with ease. The Assassin’s Creed series has evolved more than most over time to include many subtle RPG touches and light RTS elements which are bolstered further here. But the first major addition comes in the form of the hookblade.
Surprisingly enough, it’s an arm accessory that combines a hook and a blade which allows it to be used for exploration and combat in a variety of ways. It may seem like an incidental upgrade but the addition of the hookblade makes a dramatic difference, vastly improving your climbing speed and the length of your reach, making clambering around the levels smoother and faster than ever. Those sometimes frustrated by the pace of movement around Assassin’s Creeds massive levels will find it a godsend. In combat, it doubles as a particularly nasty weapon and can also be used for some interesting counters. Early on, we were taught a parkour inspired move that saw Ezio run at an enemy before flipping over their back for a new angle of attack. It looks cool but, honestly, we never used it again.
The hookblade can also be used to traverse the many ziplines which pepper the levels, making for much more rapid transit. Naturally, this is just the most basic implementation of these mechanics – you can assassinate from wires and even dismount and use your parachute for a monumentally cool kill. Later, during an underground quest for one of Altair’s seals, these new traversal options really came into their own as we chased a boatful of trigger-happy Templars through a crumbling ruin. The sense of speed coupled with the series’ patented light footed movement controls made for one of the most exciting set pieces we’ve played in a game this year.
Ziplining...
Ezio’s time in Constantinople is far from placid, as the Byzantine forces are set on rooting out Assassin influence in the area. This comes to a head in a special Den Defense mission which, more than any other gameplay element we saw, demonstrates the franchises’ willingness to try new things in order to remain fresh. Essentially a Tower Defence style mini game, you are charged with giving orders to stop waves of enemies from breaching your hideout. You can assign commanders to liberated rooftops which can then be supplemented with bow or rifle men while the defences in the street below can be bolstered by upgradeable walls which can also be manned. Ezio himself can get stuck in via bombs and his gun, allowing you to pinpoint fire when your allies just aren’t getting the job done.
Den Defence isn’t perfect, it’s a little unwieldy to control and Ezio’s immobility feels strange considering how spry he usually is, but it is fun and is the logical extension of the mentoring mechanic from Brotherhood. That mode too is expanded here, in the form of Mediterranean Defence which allows you to send fledgling Assassins out on missions. This time, once they reach level 10, you’ll be able to head out on a unique side mission with them and even assign them to their own den.
Our story continued as Ezio and his new pals are forced to infiltrate a lavish party, firstly by knocking out some minstrels (with great satisfaction, I might add) before pilfering their garb and sneaking inside. There, Ezio is forced to play his lute (with the face keys for different tunes) in order to distract the crowds while his companions stealthily take out a number of hired killers who are set on taking out Prince Suleiman. It’s an impressively layered piece of gameplay, forcing you out of the stalk and kill attitude of the normal game and just one more indication of the kind of variety you can expect in Revelations.
When you find one of Altair seals in Revelations, Ezio returns to his den to contemplate the history of his ancestor, which leads to a playable interlude ripped from the memories of Altair. The first took place in 1196 in Masyaf, and returns to the 26 year old Altair mere moments after the end of the first game. Our hero is set on burning the remains of Al Mualim, who has been corrupted by the Apple of Eden. A confrontation ensues which reveals the power, and dangers, of the Apple. We also got a chance to return to this character later in life, to see a man grown old trying to keep the Apple safe. To reveal the events of this part of the story would be too much of a spoiler but suffice to say it leads to Altair fleeing for his life from Masyaf, pursued by dozens of Assassin’s hell bent on his death.
Altair in a quiter moment...
These slices of gameplay featuring Altair, as well as the promise of interludes in an Animus abyss with Desmond, mean that Revelations is set to have the most complex narrative yet seen in an Assassin’s Creed game. But the focus remains firmly on Ezio, as the strands of plot come together to illustrate his past and future, ultimately bringing his part in the Assassin’s Creed mythology to an end.
Revelations has taken great pains to make exploration more fluid, layering in more complex movements in a way that makes for a perfect learning curve. This iterative growth and change can also be seen in the combat. We all love the counter-heavy, balletic death of the previous entries in the series, but there was a sense of invulnerability in the dodge, parry and slay pattern of the battles. Pike-wielding foes made a bit of a difference in Brotherhood but Revelations steps things up a gear with the Janissaries. These heavily armoured enemies form part of the Sultan’s personal bodyguard and force the player to take a very different approach. Square up to one and execute a perfect counter kill and he’ll laugh in your face, before trying to shoot it off. The Janissaries’ health bars are formidable, requiring many hits to take them down, while you are trying to fend off other foes.
Janissaries, we hate you!
It’s just one more element in the continuing evolution of a once basic action series which makes it stand out amongst its peers. And that’s without mentioning the impressive scale and detail of the environments, which span more countries than ever before, the massive narrative (with a script of almost 500 pages) and the impeccable design and animation which has been improving with each iteration in the series. And I’m sure we’ve barely touched on the additions – the bomb crafting alone has over 300 possible combinations, including being able to set mines which release a cloud of poison gas or even blood, terrifying nearby NPC’s.
With Assassin’s Creed: Revelations it’s clear that Ubisoft Montreal has no intention of resting on its laurels, releasing a mere cosmetic refresh every year to keep the publishers wallets full. They are committed to the epic breadth the plot deserves, using the character of Ezio to illuminate not only Desmond’s modern day plight but also tie up the affairs of Altair. With a massive, innovative and compelling single player campaign, a cluster of significant new features and a refinement of the genre defining multiplayer which debuted in Brotherhood, there’s little doubt that Revelations is set to be one of the games of the year.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 on the 14th of November 2011. Read the interview with scriptwriter Darby McDevitt here.