His Review with Ian
ACR is a powerful attempt to desecrate the memory of and undo an innovative games franchise that has three previously successful titles in its back pocket. Each of which took huge strides forward in the development of characters, the worlds they inhabited, the mechanisms of play and how you interacted with them. In one foul swoop, the fifty three Ubisoft studios (only a slight exaggeration) behind the game have created a fragmented, disjointed, thin and unsatisfactory experience in which to witness the end of the worlds of Altaïr and Ezio. It’s a powerful reaction, but one reflects the depth of my feeling towards this offering.
There are a series of new additions that were meant to enhance and freshen the experience (the crafting of bombs, some dreadful chariot racing scenes and a series of den defences) but instead age the game and show little thought with how they integrate with the bigger picture. It’s painfully obvious that the construction of the game was: one part was made in Montreal, one part in Hungary, one part in France etc. There’s no cohesion, no glue and no consistency. Ubisoft are trying to join parts of a whole that simply do not fit together. Even the environmental aesthetic, faces, proportions of bodies and colour palettes appear to be in conflict with each other depending if you’re in a den defence round, exploring Constantinople or back on the la la land of Desmond aka Animus Island.
I like the fact that we are seeing the aging of both Ezio and Altaïr in the game. It’s interesting to see how the physicality of time has affected Altaïr (who you get to play as in a series of five small acts after you find each of the Masyaf keys) who reaches his early nineties - he’s now huffling and shuffling along, unable to sprint or even run fast to progress through the game. This in turn poses a question of how we represent time and age in games – I think it would be interesting to see Link, Mario or Sonic age in real time since their births 20+ years ago as it would give an authenticity of experience. We see actors age in films, musicians age in bands, yet games refuse to let characters age – why is this?
However, Ezio, 52 from Hartlepool, with his visibly aging chin adorned with grey goatee is doing all the same things and more that his younger incarnation did - including: crashing into buildings on a parachute, chasing boats in slimy caves, parkouring from ridge to ledge and generally acting like a man half his age. This creates a huge disconnection to him, the story and the game as he’s no longer credible. He could have been slightly hesitant in his leaps or not been able to jump wider chasms but in fact with the addition of the hook blade he can actually make longer jumps, previously out of reach.
The separation continues with poor lip syncing – in the cut scenes he looks like he’s either whistling or showing his teeth (PS Altaïr has had some work done, his teggies made Simon Cowell’s look like a street urchin) and the scenes where he tells us the story through a series of descriptive letters to his sister (in case you’d missed the plot of Byzantines and libraries), his quill doesn’t even touch the page. There’s also a side quest where the master assassin, who wreaks fear into the heart of all, has to go and pick white tulips, three white tulips – yet when he presents them to Sofia (our buxom library mistress and love interest), they’ve magically multiplied in number.
Jesper Kyd on soundtrack duties and the entire audio design team has once again come up trumps successfully reflecting the worlds of a bustling bazaar, a romany camp and even a miniature armada being sunk - this create the only flickers of emotion left in the game.
Constantinople is an interesting place to look at, full of domes that brush the horizon and turrets which penetrate the night sky, but it isn’t that fun to explore. The climbing and scaling of buildings has been repeated in all four games and where once that first viewpoint overlooking Damascus, Jerusalem or Rome took your breath away, here I just shrugged and lumbered my way through to the end, which is so deeply unsatisfying, that to reward my 100+ hours spent so far with Ezio, Altaïr and Desmond is cheap, very cheap.
Even the multiplayer has a menu and interface that’s surprisingly clunky to navigate. The different modes introduced in Brotherhood have been joined by Deathmatch (gotta kill your target before someone else does) and Artefact Assault (Capture the Flag anyone?). There have also been several attempts at customisation of character, emblem and pattern of cape but these make little or no impact into the actual game. However, the reward for stealth and constant invisibility with high point kills and the uneasy paradox between being the hunter and the hunted ensures it is the only must play part of the game.
Ubisoft have made me sad. They have sullied the memory of the Assassins by releasing a title which dilutes the impact, shows little care and crafting skill and does not have the seal of quality and giant strides forward we have come to expect from a title bearing the name of Assassin’s Creed. I can only hope that next years effort, already announced, will be a marked improvement on this attempt.
Her Review with Tracey
Four years in training. I’ve chopped my middle finger off, infiltrated the Vatican, and learnt how to swim whilst stabbing, poisoning, bombing and parachuting my way through hundreds of murders – sorry, “necessary assassinations”. Each kill equalled one step closer to uncovering the secret of the Apple and finally understanding the truth behind millennia of conspiracy theories and control. It’s been a journey as seen through Desmond’s historical DNA whilst he’s been strapped into the Animus. If I spent an afternoon in the Animus, it would be incredibly boring following my servant/coal mining/shopkeeper northern ancestors. Thankfully, Desmond comes from an illustrious line of Assassin stock who have sworn to never let the Apple fall into the Templar’s greedy hands. The threat, the thrill of the race, the kill or be killed, the power of duty, heck – the task of preventing the whole world from falling completely under ruthless Templar rule has rested on us Assassin’s.
Joining Master Assassin Ezio, now in his 50’s and clearly having had some work done by Dr. Wildenstein; the search for the library of original assassin, Altaïr, is on. Typically, hundreds of greedy Templars are also hunting for the library and have already obtained one of 5 Maysaf Keys needed to gain access. Swinging and sprinting through an underground network of soggy tunnels within a certain time limit or racing against a boat full of Templars and gunpower kegs shows off and utilises Ezio’s skills to the max and for me were the most interesting parts of the game but were tragically short. This quest is supposed to be the most important mission in Ezio’s life! Yet the reason he has given up his homeland, his family, love life and razor blades turned out to be an underwhelming exercise with each key taking less than 10 minutes to obtain whilst the game’s final scenes were decidedly emotionless. I guess looking for a library just isn’t as thrilling as liberating the people of Rome from the poverty and brutality imposed by the powerfully corrupt Borgia. Yes, Ubisoft give us a little bit more info about the creators of the Apple but those looking for closure can look elsewhere as we’re served up yet another agonising cliff hanger, worthy of Eastenders drums.
As Ian points out, the sum of the composite parts that is Revelations makes for a distinctly average experience. As it gives with one hand, so it takes away with the other resulting in a contradictory, grating mess. The AI guards are super vigilant and will raise the alarm if they so much as get a whiff of your Italian cologne but they’re easily dodged thanks to a wealth of hiding places, a city easy to navigate through and improved Eagle vision that allows you to see the potential routes of the guards. Your impressive arsenal of swords, knives and axes for the majority of the game remain sheathed as you’re usually required to remain undetected in order to fully sync. There’s a constant imbalance of having the tools and desire to do one thing and being asked to do completely the opposite. Arousing Templar suspicion as you go about your business will result in any assassin controlled dens being attacked and in kicks the most tedious and unengaging roof top defence game ever. However, you can avoid this ever happening by constantly bribing heralds to keep suspicion down. The ability to indulge in my preferred style of play is stripped away by the demands of the game as most of it has been designed to coerce the player into behaving or using items in a certain way, often with no real lasting consequence or impact on the overall game. Going though the motions, I kept wondering; what was the point?
Joining forces with the local branch of Assassin’s R Us, led by young whippersnapper Yusuf, Ezio is proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks. It raises the question of “who is the mentor here?” as Yusuf comes with DIY bombs including my favourite; the sticky bomb which you can discreetly attach to a guard from a distance then watch as in confusion, he blows up. The opportunity to experiment with different bomb components is interesting but with three categories (lethal, tactical and diversionary), even this wears thin as many are fancy but impractical plus you can only carry 3 of each type at one time. Yusuf also pimps Ezio’s hidden blade to a Hookblade which allows you to cover greater distances via ziplines or bigger jumps with added speed. Adapting ideas is welcome but unnecessary and often diminishes the difficulty level.
If there’s one thing that Ubisoft are experts at, it’s city locations and though it might lack the majestic diversity of Rome, as hazy lilac twilight falls and the warm glow of candles filters through stained glass windows, Constantinople is breathtakingly beautiful. Elsewhere, Desmond is stranded on Animus Island. His new companion, the spooky, holographic Subject 16 gleefully informs him that after spending too much time delving into his past, Desmond’s brain is frazzled and he must find himself in order to rejoin his body in the physical, real world or risk being trapped within the Animus forever. Crucially bad timing, it’s a cracking twist to the overall Creed story arc. The first person obstacle course/trials that Desmond must go through are optional and again have no bearing on the outcome of the game but do flesh out his back story. In fact, Ian ignored them completely as he found the five, predominately beige levels of block building excruciatingly boring. The first two levels are perhaps a little stagnant but Nolan North delivers an exceptional and emotive vocal performance which keeps you engaged. Negotiating through the latter sections with cross currents, moving platforms, neon lights and club soundtrack are genuinely compelling and challenging.
Having made one incredible game after another, creating believable characters and weaving together meticulously researched locations and events into a twisting technological plot, it was always going to be hard for Ubisoft to deliver the exact same standards year on year. I find it curious that the focus here was to tie up Ezio & Altaïr’s stories when the very nature of the Animus means we can dip in and out of Desmond’s timeline, gleaning whatever info we need to without the need for closure. The leap from Maysaf to Rome worked brilliantly after the original game combined with improved mechanics, items and abilities. The demands and constructive criticism from fans and journalists were met through Ezio’s story but here I find it hard to find that same level of awe or satisfaction. Yusuf was by the far the freshest, most dynamic character in this outing so why do we continue to play as Super Mentor Ezio? Gadding about like 20 year old, completing tasks like carrying crates down a flight of stairs for a fatty, pig lazy merchant or picking flowers, the relationship between Ezio and Yusuf becomes superficial. This contradiction in character roles as well as so many other elements meant that ironically, Revelations left me with so many unanswered questions. Sadly, I feel the lack lustre sequel many were expecting but didn’t get from Brotherhood has finally arrived. For those following the Creed, you’ll have to get through this game in order to prepare for the next where hopefully, everything will become clearer. It’s not quite Requiescat In Pace for the series but the next had better be a lot better than this effort.
Assassin's Creed Revelation is available now on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC (December 2nd 2011)
