29 Aug, 2011
It was a blazing hot Friday evening in Seattle, and standing in line outside was torture. Once the sun started to set, we caught sight of Altair climbing a…tank? That was only the beginning of it as hundreds of eager fans of Assassin’s Creed filed into The Paramount theater, the epicenter of awesome for the next hour.
We were all ushered inside and rolled together like a tiny little tin of sardines, but all the pain was worth it. Creative Director Alex Amancio took to the stage and gave us a welcome before tossing us a recap of the latest trailer of Revelations that arrived out of Gamescom.
Amancio then addressed the massive panel. Why choose history, and why not something more fantastical? The winners always wrote it, and we will never know what really happened back in the day, said Amancio. The mysticism surrounding the past provided the basis for something great, and the creative team wanted to delve even deeper into it.
Revelations will be all about the past, from an objective historical timeline, down to the personal histories and intertwining of stories between Ezio and Altair. The main story of Revelations will be Ezio’s spiritual journey back to Masyaf, said Amancio. His ancestor, the great Altair, left behind 5 keys, of which are to find a secret hidden underneath the assassin stronghold of Masyaf.
It won’t be a cake walk for Ezio to go and retrieve this treasure. Masyaf has now been overrun by Templars, and they already have a leg up on the competition. As the demo began, Amancio explained that Ezio discovers that the Templars already have a key in their possession, and have been actively searching for the remainder.
We’re treated to a massive carriage race across a snowy landscape in the dead of night. As arrows, knights, and bombs go off, Amancio calmly explained that Revelations features a wiser Ezio, not the wild young thing of the second Assassin’s Creed. As a result, the combat is more fluid and will have much more finesse. Power and impact is translated by strategically placed slow-motion sequences during executions, and also through dramatic “cinematic cameras” — cameras set at an off-kilter angle to demonstrate that Ezio is wounded, for example.
Eagle Vision also becomes something more powerful, and more relevant, now called Eagle Sense. Entering Eagle Sense gives Ezio the ability to see a ghostly figure, which notifies the player of potential enemy movements and actions by their key target.
Not to be outdone is Ezio’s vast armory. He’s getting old, so he needs all the help he can get to take out multiple targets. Among his new toys is a tripwire, which Amancio gleefully announced. Laying a body in an open street is good and well to attract attention, but it just gets more fun when a little tripwire is nearby. Boom and you’re good to go.
A key addition to Ezio’s tricks is bombs. Specifically, the ability to make bombs. With certain raw materials that can be found by looting bodies, containers, and treasure chests, players can create bombs by using different kinds of fuses, powder, and other materials. Amancio’s favorite was cow patties, and he wasn’t referring to delicious burgers.
After creating a diversion using a simple smoke bomb, Amancio demonstrated the explosive cow patties. If knifing people isn’t your thing, go ahead and toss a face full of…cow patty bombs at them. It’s great fun, and makes for some cheap entertainment (historically accurate, too). We kid you not!
A few burger bombs later and a roof top assassination, we are finally introduced to one of the 5 keys left behind by Altair. These keys are ancient artifacts belonging to the old civilizations, and are so ancient that they are the predecessors to the Apples of Eden, said Amancio. They serve as memory recorders for their owners, and of course the 5 keys that Ezio are chasing after belonged to Altair.
Upon reaching the key, Amancio explained that these objects have you relive Altair’s memories, memories that predate the events of the very first Assassin’s Creed. We were then given a glimpse of Altair, before he was a master assassin, saving Al Mualim from a Templar assault outside the gates of Masyaf. It left us hungering for more as the lights came back on.
Revelations is definitely proving itself to be everything and more of what we want out of Assassin’s Creed. With fluid action sequences, immersive cinematics, and a strong narrative, Ezio’s final journey is shaping up to be the best one yet.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will be leaping off the rooftops on November 15th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
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