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 E3 Teaser.

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

Gameplay
The gameplay system from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is the basis for Revelations, though Ezio's free-running and combat skills have been upgraded with new features.

Plot
Upon being forced to stab his ally Lucy Stillman, Desmond Miles has fallen into a coma, and has been returned to the Animus to maintain his consciousness. There, he falls into an Animus back door called the Black Room, where he hopes to reassemble his shattered mind with the help of Subject 16, a mysterious man who is trapped in the black room because his body was buried before he had a chance to unite his memories to return - and he hopes that it will therefore help him reawaken from his coma - by locating a key memory connecting himself, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze together.

To do so, he begins reliving the later memories of Ezio. After having freed Italy from the Templar threat, the new leader of the Italian Assassins questions his life as an Assassin, wondering how it would have been if he had never been one. Ezio thus sets out on a pilgrimage to his predecessor's homeland of Masyaf, which he discovers has been overrun by the Templars.

There, he finds an ancient artifact, which is locked away, and can only be opened with five keys. The search for these seals takes him to Constantinople, where he finds out that there is an army of Templars forming in the city, threatening to destabilize the region. Ezio must follow in the footsteps of his spiritual mentor Altaïr - footsteps which will lead him to discovery and revelation.

Revelations will be the final Assassin's Creed game to depict Altaïr and Ezio as main characters, as Assassin's Creed III will introduce a new protagonist.

Weapons
A new weapon called the hookblade will be introduced, which will allow Ezio to use ziplines throughout the city, speeding up navigation by around 30%. Additionally, a crafting system will allow the creation of bombs, with options for up to 300 different types.

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

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

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

Others
The cap for the Apprentice leveling system has been raised to 15.

Instead of only featuring normal secondary memories, Ubisoft has added new "Random Quests". For example, you can find a store owner being robbed or a child in need of help.

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

Ezio will be searching for the seals containing Altaïr's memories, thus allowing the player to control Altaïr.

The modern day aspect of the game has also been upgraded with a new feature labeled "revolutionary gameplay," in which Desmond Miles needs to change the construct of his ancestors' memories and, in the process, unravel the future.

To do this, Desmond will enter the Animus and find a safe-mode called the "Black Room," where he will reintegrate the splintered layers of his subconscious. Here, a great deal more about Desmond's own past will be revealed.

During a recent interview with gameplanet.com (a New Zealand based gaming website), Darby McDevitt stated that the majority of Desmond's gameplay will be within the Animus and indicated that there may be a very small portion in a different context.

The Desmond gameplay will 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 will also make updates to crowd mechanics, adding "stalkers" who 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 will no longer stand motionless, ready to give Ezio a task – They will be real people, performing tasks of their own until Ezio approaches, and talks to them.

Multiplayer
Like its predecessor, Revelations comes with a multiplayer mode. It features new modes, maps and characters (with facial animations and expressions) to refine the experience.

Additionally, it has improved story and customization features, allowing the player to choose their own weapon (As well as a secondary weapon, which initially starts out as a hidden blade) and change their appearance, as well as edit clothes and other minor features.

Changes have been made from Brotherhood. No more skin replicates to make players rely more on their observation skills (Deathmatch is the only confirmed gametype to have this change). In a new mode called Deathmatch there is no compass, forcing players to carefully observe their surroundings in search of their targets. Another change is that the line of sight indicator is now the target's portrait and when their portrait outline turns blue it means they are within sight. A contested kill bonus will also be introduced which, is earned when stun and kill actions occur at the same time.

Like in Brotherhood, the Assassin always wins against their stunner when their actions occurred at the same time but, unlike Brotherhood, the Assassin will earn a 100 point bonus though he/she will also be penalized. The failed stunner will also earn a 100 point called Honorable Death. Abstergo credits will also be awarded to player after a match which, can be used to buy items in the shop. A breaker ability will also be featured, its function is to close chase breakers preventing a target from escaping or delay an assassin.

A new mode called Artifact Assault will also be featured in which the objective is to steal the enemy team's artifact and bring back to your team's base. Keeping track on multiple targets will also be easier as now there will be small target portraits next to your primary target's portrait, and since there are multiple target portraits out there, there is no real need to switch between targets like in Brotherhood. In team modes, teammates can revive other teammates who were stunned by an enemy teammate.

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, nineteen multiplayer characters have been revealed though only 16 feature in the actual game the rest coming in a DLC: the Sentinel, the Guardian, the Bombardier, the Vanguard, the Crusader, the Deacon, the Ottoman Jester, the Ottoman Doctor, the Thespian, the Charlatan, the Vizier, the Trickster, the Renegade, the Champion, the Count, the Corsair, the Privateer, the Brigand and the Gladiator.

Special Edition
Note: This edition is sold exclusive by Game in Europe and Australia.
 * 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 can only be obtained by pre-ordering Assassin's Creed: Revelations from GameStop in North America.
 * A copy of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * 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
Note: This edition can only be pre-ordered online from GameStop's United States website, and is 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 da Vinci's flying machine, for use with the Ezio action figure.

Ultimate Edition
Note: This edition can only be pre-ordered online from GameStop's Canadian website, and is 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, Crusader and the Ottoman Jester.
 * 'Ezio in Altaïr's outfit' in-game skin.

Templar Collector Edition
Note: This edition is 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 (+3).
 * An exclusive customization item.
 * Altaïr's Skin (Pre Order or Purchased at EB Games Australia)

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