Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is the latest release in the Assassin’s Creed franchise developed by Ubisoft. Following on directly from the events in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Revelations once again thrusts you into the Animus, in an assassin filled adventure featuring Desmond Miles, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Altaïr ibn La-Ahad.

Deep in a coma, Desmond “awakens” to find himself trapped inside a hidden section of the Animus. Within this “black room,” Desmond quickly discovers that his only chance to escape rests in reconstructing a series of memory fragments that link him to the past actions of both Altaïr, and Ezio.

The “black room,” a digital island within the Animus, serves as a hub world which allows the player to jump in and out of Ezio’s memories, as well as discover more about Desmond’s past through unlockable memories. These memories, presented in a first person perspective, tell the tale of Desmond’s life, and the events leading up to the beginning of the first Assassin’s Creed game.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations mostly takes place within the memories of Ezio, focusing around his quest to open Altaïr’s hidden library using keys located in the city of Constantinople. These memories are interlaced with key moments from Altaïr’s life, which depict events after Assassin’s Creed, ultimately revealing Altaïr’s fate.

While improvements and changes have been made to the series with each new title, the gameplay of Revelations will be instantly familiar to fans of the series. Assassinate targets, build up a new brotherhood of assassins, and reclaim & rebuild the city of Constantinople; all while working your way through the various carefully crafted missions/memories that represent the single player campaign.

New to this instalment are a host of new weapons and abilities for Ezio, including a variety of bombs that can be crafted, and a hookblade which allows Ezio to travel across zipwires, and assists in climbing the various structure within Constantinople. Another new addition is a tower defence style mini game, that is brought into play when one of your assassin hideouts is under attack. In this mode, Ezio stands on a rooftop overlooking the main avenue of attack. From here, units and orders can be issued in an attempt to push back to enemy forces and secure the area. Success or failure rests squarely on choosing the right units for the right job, and in sufficient numbers.

Returning once again is the intense, and highly addictive multiplayer mode that was introduced with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Placing you in the shoes of Templar agent, it’s a cat and mouse game where everyone is both the hunter and the prey, and you’re never sure of where the next threat will present itself. Thankfully death is only virtual, but only those with quick thinking and an ability to blend in with their environment will survive and thrive.

Improving on the tried and tested formula from previous instalments, it’s hard to find faults with Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. The only criticism I can level at the title is that there is simply so much to do, that I often felt that I was neglecting the campaign story in favour of tackling the abundance of secondary (optional) objectives. However, even that statement is a true indicator to the appeal of Revelations; I didn’t want to rush through, I didn’t want my experience to end. Sadly, as Ezio’s final AC chapter concludes, I can only wonder how Ubisoft will top their latest creation.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is by far the best game of the franchise to date, offering something for everyone with its layers upon layers of gameplay. With both a solid single player and multiplayer experience, this is one title that deserves to be in your collection.

8.5/10

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