Incremental Improvement
I came into AC: Revelations knowing that the gameplay systems were largely unchanged from Brotherhood. With this in mind, I actually came away enjoying the game more than I expected. The game follows several different story threads and can feel pretty disjointed at times, but I found the main narrative of the Byzantine/Ottoman conflict to be more compelling than the stuff with the Borgia in the last game. The progression with Desmond is minimal, and Artair's story bits are disappointingly short.
The combat remains pretty much unchanged, the hook blade adds a bit of variety to the platforming, but not much. Otherwise, new additions like bombs and den defense, while not entirely unsuccessful, certainly aren't game changers either. The core missions were pretty standard fare. Aside from a few cool set piece moments, you've seen this all done before.
Multiplayer still stands as an interesting curiosity, but I have yet to really sink my teeth into it. The added story hooks are nice though, and help flesh out some of the templar backstory.
On the presentation front, voice acting is top notch as always, and the soundtrack is solid. While not a technical marvel, Constantinople is still a wonder to behold. I almost never used fast travel because I found walking around the city so fun, just gawking at the architecture and intricate tapestry that lined the streets. The clothing in particular was incredibly intricate and detailed.
Overall, a solid entry in the series, but the franchise is definitely in need of some new ideas, which AC3 thankfully looks to be delivering on.
