Assassin's Creed: Revelations

"Bring me the answers and the road that leads to the truth. Reveal to me once and for all, how all of this will end."

- Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Assassin's Creed: Revelations Teaser.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations was a game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. A direct sequel to 2010's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Revelations was the fourth main installment, and direct follow up of Brotherhood in the video game series.

A sequel for Revelations was announced in March 2012, entitled Assassin's Creed III, and is due for release in October of the same year.

Gameplay
The gameplay system from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood wass the basis for Revelations, though Ezio's free-running and combat skills had been upgraded with new features. Recruits and Desmond gameplay had been further expanded, though not all desired features were implemented, as the developer interviews indicated.

Equipment
Ezio's equipment was significantly revamped. One of the primary new features was the Hookblade. An extension to the usual Hidden Blade in combat, the Hookblade allowed for grappling, throws, and new evasive maneuvers. Outside of combat, the Hookblade accelerated climbing and allowed Ezio to make use of the Ziplines placed around Constantinople. Despite the city being larger than Rome, Ezio could cross more ground easily. Also new to Revelations were Bombs. With a component-based crafting system, Ezio could make bombs for any purpose to aid in his missions. Ezio could also use multiple parachutes in a jump, and the control system now featured a second weapon wheel for secondary weapons.

Eagle Vision had been modified into Eagle Sense, which could allow the player to focus on a character and determine the route they had taken. This would thus give the player an estimation of where they would go, which would be useful for ambushes or locating a secluded place to strike a target.

Recruits
The Assassin recruit system had also been revised. While recruiting process had been expanded with new mission types, seven recruits could also be raised to 15th rank and made masters of Assassin Dens. Recruiting missions had also been revamped to be far more detailed than before, requiring Ezio to aid citizens or complete a race challenge before the recruit joined Ezio's cause.

Assassin Dens
The concept of Borgia towers had been expanded, and in order to neutralize the Templar presence, various assault scenarios had to be completed. The liberated buildings would be known as Assassin Dens, though control over them may be lost to a Templar assault. These attacks would be triggered when the player's notoriety increases.

Controlling a den and its surrounding region allowed the player to upgrade all the shops and buildings in that area, including the den itself, which would provide more navigation options (like additional ziplines for the hookblade) in that part of the city. As an added benefit, controlling a den changed the character of the surrounding guards. Regular Ottoman patrols would continue to monitor the regions under control and would still halt if illegal activities were committed but wouldn't be overly hostile.

Assassin's Dens could be protected by either the player or by an assigned Master Assassin, who would ensure the prevention of any further Templar attacks on the building.

The Black Room
Subject 16's puzzles were also been replaced with the Black Room. The Black Room was a dialog between Desmond's consciousness and Subject 16's as it had been recorded into the Animus. Before he died, Subject 16 loaded his personality into the Animus's memory, and Desmond's fractured state allowed him to converse with Subject 16.

Developer's Notes
Instead of only featuring normal secondary memories, Ubisoft added new Random Events. These were intended to be more extensive, with Ezio finding a store owner being robbed or a child in need of help. In the game, Ezio was merely challenged to brawls or asked to help carry boxes to a dock.

During a recent interview with gameplanet.com (a New Zealand based gaming website), Darby McDevitt stated that the majority of Desmond's gameplay was to be within the Animus and indicated that there may have been a very small portion in a different context. The Desmond gameplay would be similar, in a way, to the Secret Locations that were seen in previous games. To quote Alexandre Breault: "The majority of the game-play in these Animus section focuses on movement, timing, and precision, but we also include some illusion based puzzles inspired by the work of Rene Magritte and Roger Penrose. The main goal here is to encourage the player to think and engage with the environment, not simply pass it by."

The game would also make updates to crowd mechanics, adding stalkers who would run up to Ezio and attack him, preceeded by whispers, similar to Brotherhood's multiplayer. In the same vein of making the gameplay seem more real, mission givers would no longer stand motionless, ready to give Ezio a task – They would be real people, performing tasks of their own until Ezio approached and talked to them.

Modern-day Intro
Present-day protagonist Desmond Miles had fallen into a coma from the previous events of the previous games, and to save Desmond's mind, the Assassins had put him into a specialized safe area of the Animus, called The Black Room. Upon awakening inside the Animus, Desmond met the consciousness of Subject 16, who occupied the Animus before him. Sixteen explained that Desmond's mind was fragmented, and that the only way for him to separate the pieces of himself from those of his ancestors was to continue to play out their stories until there was nothing left for them to show Desmond, known as a Synch Nexus. Once he reached that point, the Animus would be able to separate the three individual's memories.

Into the Past
Desmond entered the Black Room's memory corridor, which once again placed him in the perspective of Ezio Auditore. Ezio had traveled to Masyaf to attempt to unlock the secrets that Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad had previously discovered and to find his true purpose in the struggle between the Assassins and the Templars. Upon arriving, he found the stronghold overrun by the Templars, who captured him and planned his execution.

Ezio escaped to the bowels of the fortress where he discovered the entrance to Altaïr's library. He learned that five keys were required to unlock the door, that the Templars had the first, and that Niccolò Polo's journal would lead them to the rest. Ezio pursued a Templar captain, Leandros, to the Atlas village and recovered the journal from him. He learned that the remaining keys lie hidden in Constantinople, and that the Templars hoped to find the location of the Grand Temple in the library.

Upon arriving in Constantinople, Ezio was greeted by Yusuf Tazim, the leader of the local Assassins Guild, and befriended a young student. While searching for Niccolò 's old trading post, Ezio came across and befriended Sofia Sartor, a young Italian traveler and book collector, and quickly became infatuated with her. Having recovered his first key and an encoded map from the Yerebatan Cistern, which would lead Ezio to the keys, he learned that each one was encoded with Altaïr's memories. Each key allowed Ezio to have an Animus-like experience in which he relived key moments of Altaïr's life.

Altaïr's Keys
With the first key in his possession, Ezio managed to witness Altaïr's life two years prior to the events in Solomon's Temple, during a Crusader attack on Masyaf. With the help of a traitor, Haras, they managed to capture Al Mualim, but Altaïr arrived in time to save him. After he had emerged from the memories, Ezio asked Sofia to help him track down the locations of the remaining four keys while keeping his true intentions secret.

The second key showed Ezio the events that transpired after Altaïr killed Al-Mualim. Altaïr took possession of the Apple of Eden and assumed the leadership of the Assassins. However, one of the Assassins, Abbas, who held grudge against Altaïr for spreading supposed lies about his family, suspected the death of Al Mualim to be a coup and that Altaïr had killed him just to attain more power at any cost. After a short conflict between Altaïr and Abbas' supporters, Abbas managed to steal the Apple from Al Mualim's study, but it proved too much for him to control. The Apple began to over-charge, slowly draining him of life in the process. Altaïr managed to deactivate the artifact and save Abbas in time.

The third key showed Altaïr and his wife, Maria Thorpe when they returned to Masyaf, after ten years of struggle repelling the Mongol invasion. They had learned that Abbas staged a coup, seizing control of the Assassins and executing their youngest son Sef, while Templars managed to retake their archive on Cyprus, as Abbas had sent no reinforcements there. Altaïr demanded answers from Abbas, and it was revealed that Swami, one of Abbas' supporters, killed Sef. Enraged, Altaïr used the Apple to make Swami cut his own throat, but Maria attempted to stop him. In the brief moment of control, Swami stabbed Maria through the back before being killed by Altaïr. Altaïr was then forced to flee with his older son, Darim, and go into exile, where he remained for the next twenty years.

The fourth key showed Altaïr finally returning to Masyaf, decaying after the twenty years of Abbas' rule., Abbas's paranoia and madness had weakened the Assassins and undone most of the advantage the Order once had over the Templars. Altaïr managed to convince the Assassins to turn against Abbas, killing his captains on the way to the fortress, as they had betrayed the Creed. Reaching the castle, Altaïr killed Abbas with the Hidden Gun and took back his rightful place as the leader of the Assassins.

The fifth key showed Altaïr as a Mentor of the Levantine Assassins. Having seen the future through the Apple of Eden, he encoded his memories into the keys and entrusted them to Niccolò Polo and his brother Maffeo, instructing them to hide the artifacts. Altaïr and Darim escorted the brothers through the village with the power of the Apple to help repel the Mongol attackers.

Chaos in Kostantiniyye
Meanwhile, Constantinople was in chaos due to conflicts between Prince Ahmet and his brother Selim, who were quarreling over who would inherit the Sultanate. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Suleiman revealed to Ezio that he was an Ottoman prince and that he suspected the Templars are behind Ahmet and Selim's feud.

Suleiman asked Ezio to investigate the possible involvement of a Janissary captain, Tarik Barleti, in the plot against the Ottomans. Ezio uncovered evidence that Manuel Palaiologos, with Templar support, was attempting to raise an army to overthrow the Ottomans and reestablish the Byzantine Empire and that Tarik had been providing him with a shipment of weapons.

Upon disclosing his findings to Suleiman, he asked Ezio to kill Tarik on the count of treason. Ezio agreed to do it, but, with his dying breaths, Tarik revealed he had attempted to lure the Templars out and learn their location. Ezio once again met with Suleiman and presented the information that the Templars were based out in Cappadocia and that is where Manuel fled. Suleiman provided Ezio with a ship to Cappadocia. Ezio set sail in pursuit of Palaiologos but not before destroying the Great Chain that the Janissaries had raised across the Golden Horn to prevent Ezio's escape after Tarik's murder.

Once in Cappadocia, Ezio met one of Tarik's spies, Dilara, and, after rescuing her comrades from Shahkulu, learned that the firearms Tarik sold to Manuel were defunct, but he had had to provide real gunpowder. Ezio then destroyed the entire supply with a bomb and hunted Manuel in the ensuing chaos. He recovered the final key, only to discover that Ahmet was the true mastermind of the Templar plot to discover the secrets of Altaïr's library. Realizing that Ahmet knew about Sofia, Ezio raced back to Constantinople.

Into the Black
Meanwhile, inside the Animus, the entire environment of the Black Room began breaking down as the Animus started deleting unnecessary data. Subject 16 pushed Desmond through the memory portal, sacrificing himself to prevent Desmond from being deleted.

Final Revelation
Ezio discovered that Ahmet had killed Yusuf and kidnapped Sofia. Ezio and the Assassins assaulted the Arsenal where Ahmet had fled with his forces, and he proposed an exchange, the keys for Sofia's life. Ezio agreed to the trade but immediately gave chase to Ahmet after he ensured that Sofia was safe. Ezio recovered the keys, after a lengthy chase through the countryside, but before he could deal with Ahmet, Selim arrived with his armies. Informing his brother that Sultan Bayezid named Selim as his successor, he strangled Ahmet and threw him off a cliff to his death. Because Ezio was a personal friend of Suleiman, Selim decides to spare Ezio's life but warns him to leave Constantinople and never return.

Together, both Ezio and Sofia returned to Masyaf, where Ezio explained the true meaning of the Assassin's Creed and used the keys to unlock Altaïr's library hidden underneath the castle. Leaving Sofia at the gate, Ezio found the library empty except for Altaïr's skeleton, holding the sixth key. Taking it, Ezio relived yet another memory, of Altaïr sending his son Darim away with the books and sealing himself inside the library with the Apple, until it could be discovered by the proper person. Ezio decided to leave the Apple in the library, along with his blades and sword, and began speaking directly to Desmond, telling of his intention to finally retire from the life of an Assassin, believing that he had served his purpose. He expressed his hope that Desmond would be able to find the answers to the questions that he and Altaïr had suffered so much to uncover.

Desmond was then approached by Jupiter, another projection of a member of the First Civilization, similar to Juno and Minerva. He explained to Desmond that the First Civilization built numerous underground vaults that would independently study various methods to save the planet from destruction, with all of the data being transmitted to a central vault where he, Juno, and Minerva tested them. Six most prominent were chosen in the end. None of them were effective, and they failed to stop the solar flare that destroyed the Earth.

Jupiter told Desmond that he had the power to save the planet from the second solar flare and showed him the location of the central vault. Desmond finally woke up from the Animus to see Rebecca, Shaun, and his father standing over him. They had managed to smuggle him out of Rome and had taken him to America. Desmond's arm started to glow with blue pattern, and upon seeing Ezio's Apple of Eden, he told the other Assassins that he knew what they had to do.

Multiplayer
Like its predecessor, Revelations came with a multiplayer mode. It featured new modes, maps and characters (with facial animations and expressions) to refine the experience. Additionally, it had improved story and customization features, allowing the player to choose their own weapon and secondary weapon, change their appearance, and edit their clothes and other minor features.

Changes had also been made from the mechanics of Brotherhood. In a new mode named Deathmatch, no more skin replicates populated the map to make players rely more on their observation skills, as well as there being no compass, forcing players to carefully observe their surroundings in search of their targets. Another change was that the line of sight indicator was now the target's portrait and, when their portrait outline turns blue, it meant they are within sight. A Contested kill bonus was also introduced, which was earned when stun and kill actions occurred at the same time.

Like in Brotherhood, the Assassin always won against their stunner when their actions coincided with their target's, but, unlike Brotherhood, the Assassin would have their score knocked down to earn a Discreet or lower, as well as dazing them and affecting their movement afterward, as punishment. The failed stunner would earn a 100 point bonus called Honorable Death.

Abstergo credits would also be awarded to player after a match, which could be used to buy items in the Abstergo Store. A chase-breaker ability named Closure was featured, its function being to close chase-breakers and prevent a target from escaping, or to delay an pursuer. Along with Closure, two other new abilities, named Teleport and Bodyguard, made their debut. The former allowed a player to travel a distance in the direction their camera is facing, and the latter allowed a player to turn a nearby NPC into a bodyguard, which would stun a nearby pursuer when they come into the range of the ability, at the cost of the points from the stun.

A new Team mode called Artifact Assault allowed players a mode in which the objective is to steal the enemy team's artifact and bring back to their own team's base. Keeping track on multiple targets would also be easier, as now there would be small target portraits next to the primary target's portrait. In team modes as well, teammates can revive other teammates who were stunned by their targets.

Two new Free for All modes, called Corruption and Steal the Artifact, made an appearance. Corruption worked on the basis of an infection-style mode, with each player earning a standard amount of points over time, which increased with the amount of players corrupted and the proximity of the player to an corrupted player. For Corrupted players, they had to hunt down and kill their uncorrupted targets, until the round ended or all uncorrupted targets were slain. Steal the Artifact worked on the basis of each player striving to obtain an artifact for themselves, with only one or two being available for them to take. After a player obtained an artifact, they had to secure the chest for up to two minutes, while the other players in the match hunted them down to kill them and take the artifact for themselves.

PlayStation Exclusive Multiplayer Beta
On September 3, 2011 PlayStation Plus members and PlayStation Uplay members were able to try the game's multiplayer portion, which ran until September 17, 2011. All PlayStation Network users were able to access the beta on September the 8th. During the beta, players could play as nine new characters (Bombardier, Champion, Deacon, Guardian, Sentinel, Thespian, Trickster, Vanguard and Vizier); on three multiplayer maps: Knight's Hospital, Antioch and Galata; through four game modes: Deathmatch, Wanted, Manhunt and Artifact Assault. Two introductory tutorials were available that introduced Deathmatch, and taught the concepts of stunning and escaping a pursuer.

Characters
So far, twenty multiplayer characters had been revealed, though only 16 initially featured in the actual game, with the rest appearing in a DLC. These original 16 characters were:
 * Sentinel
 * Guardian
 * Bombardier
 * Vanguard
 * Deacon
 * Thespian
 * Vizier
 * Trickster
 * Renegade
 * Champion
 * Count
 * Ottoman Doctor
 * Ottoman Jester
 * Crusader
 * Courtesan (reintroduced)
 * Knight (reintroduced)

As of December 12, 2011, the Ancestors Character Pack was released, giving people access to:
 * Corsair
 * Privateer
 * Brigand
 * Gladiator

Special Edition

 * A copy of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * A copy of the game's soundtrack.
 * Two multiplayer characters, the Crusader and the Ottoman Doctor.
 * Turkish Assassin Armor for use in single-player.

Signature Edition
Note: This edition could only be obtained by pre-ordering Assassin's Creed: Revelations from GameStop in North America. It was available in Brazil by pre-ordering the game in some stores.
 * A copy of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * A copy of Assassin's Creed.
 * A bonus single-player map, Vlad the Impaler's Prison.
 * Weapon capacity upgrades for the crossbow (+5), pistol (+2), and bombs (+3).
 * A multiplayer character, the Ottoman Jester.
 * A copy of the animated short film Assassin's Creed: Embers.
 * A copy of the game's soundtrack.

Ultimate Bundle (USA)
Note: This edition could only be pre-ordered online from GameStop's United States website, and was only available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
 * The Signature Edition of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * An action figure of Ezio Auditore.
 * A replica of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine, for use with the Ezio action figure.

Ultimate Edition (Canada)
Note: This edition could only be pre-ordered online from GameStop's Canadian website and was only available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
 * The Signature Edition of Assassin's Creed: Revelations
 * The White Edition of the Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia.

Collector's Edition

 * A copy of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * Collectable casing.
 * A 50-page artbook.
 * A DVD of the animated short film Assassin's Creed: Embers.
 * A copy of the game's soundtrack.
 * A bonus single-player map, Vlad the Impaler's Prison.
 * Two multiplayer characters, the Crusader and the Ottoman Jester.
 * 'Altaïr's Robes' in-game skin.

Templar Collector Edition
Note: This edition was only available from OpenGames Italia.
 * A copy of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * Collectable casing.
 * A 50-page art-book.
 * A DVD of the animated short film Assassin's Creed: Embers.
 * A copy of the game's soundtrack.
 * A bonus single-player map, Vlad the Impaler's Prison.
 * Two multiplayer characters, the Crusader and the Ottoman Jester.
 * An 8.5" figurine of Ezio Auditore.

Animus Edition
Note: This edition is only available in Europe and Australia (At EB Games Australia).
 * A copy of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * Animus Content Box.
 * The Black Edition of the Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia.
 * A DVD of the animated short film Assassin's Creed: Embers.
 * A copy of the game's soundtrack.
 * A bonus single-player map, Vlad the Impaler's Prison.
 * Two multiplayer characters, the Crusader and the Ottoman Jester.
 * The Armor of Brutus outfit.
 * Weapon capacity upgrades for the crossbow (+5), pistol (+2), and bombs (+1).
 * An exclusive customization item.
 * Altaïr's Skin (Pre Order or Purchased at EB Games Australia)

Won

 * Spike TV Video Game Awards
 * "GameTrailers.com Trailer of the Year"

Nominated

 * Spike TV Video Game Awards
 * "Best Action/Adventure Game" - Lost to Batman: Arkham City

Videos
Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_E3_2011_Cinematic_Trailer|E3 2011 Cinematic Trailer. Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_-_E3_2011_Teaser_Trailer_HD|E3 2011 Teaser Trailer. Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations Desmond Teaser Trailer|E3 2011 Desmond Trailer. Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations - Gamescom Trailer|Gamescom Trailer Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations Gamescom Walkthrough 2011|Gamescom 2011 Demo Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations E3 2011 Demo|E3 2011 Demo Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations - E3 Trailer Continued|E3 Trailer Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_Hookblade_Trailer|Hookblade Trailer Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_Combat_Trailer|Combat Trailer Video:Assassins Creed Revelations Single Player Story Trailer|Story Trailer Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_-_Making_Bombs_Trailer| Bomb Making Trailer Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations - No Mercy|No Mercy Trailer Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_-_Den_Defense_Trailer|Den Defense Trailer Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_-_Multiplayer_Trailer|Multiplayer Trailer Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations - Life in Constantinople|Life In Constantinople Video:Assassin's_Creed_Revelations_-_Regions_Trailer|Regions Trailer Video:Assassin's Creed Revelations - Launch Trailer|Launch Trailer