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Ken Stuart
United States
Patrick AFB
Florida
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Warning: this review may contain spoilers.
This review is based upon the US PS3 release.
First some background:
I played ACI shortly after it came out and was not impressed, so I didn't actually finish the game. I had no intention of continuing the story until a friend recommended I play ACII. I thought ACII was AMAZING and felt I had to continue the series from there.
Campaign/Story - 4/10
This game introduces Ezio's love life so that you can know that he does indeed find someone with whom to procreate, giving us Desmond way down the line. You also learn about Desmond's background, which is the real bonus here. Unfortunately, all of Desmond's story is contained within 5 mini-levels that take less than 20 minutes each. AC:R also includes some flashbacks to Altair, though they don't really add anything to the story. Altair grew old, had kids, died.
The biggest disappointment in the story is the cliffhanger at the end. The series isn't over yet! You just played an entire game, learned very little about the characters, and now you get to spend another $50+ on AC5.
Multiplayer - 8/10
The multiplayer has been vastly improved from AC:B. The ability sets offer more customization to suit your style of killing people. There are now many more game modes so you can change your style of play if you get bored. You even get bonus credits for playing daily which allows you to unlock weapons and other content faster.
Unfortunately, the matchmaking is flawed. I often found myself paired with lvl 50 players when I was still in the single digits. You're going to die. A Lot. That being said, I still had fun. You'll be upset when someone shoots you long before you even unlock the gun, but you'll earn your abilities as you level up.
Gameplay - 6/10
I glitched this game far too often. It was not uncommon for me to be stuck against a wall unable to force Ezio to move. I even had to restart an assassination mission when I somehow "fell" into a building that you are not supposed to be able to enter. I have the feeling this game was released before playtesting was fully completed. Ubisoft must've wanted to meet a November release date to keep with the trend of one game each November.
The guild challenges are slightly improved from AC:B. Rather than waiting until you talk to the guilds, AC:R records the challenges you complete when you start the game. I found that the game was too short to actually complete the challenges without veering far from the campaign. You'll have to spend a lot of extra time to successfully complete everything.
AC:R puts a lot of emphasis on bombs. Bombs make killing people too easy since you can just throw a cherry bomb to distract guards and then throw a lethal bomb to kill a group.
You again get to renovate the city, but this time you gain "Templar Awareness" (which replaced notoriety) every time you renovate something. You will feel like you're playing AC:B all over again as you go through the game. You can either renovate regardless and risk your Assassins' Den being attacked, or you can go painfully slow with your renovations and end up renovating only about 70% of Constantinople by the time you finish the game.
If you do choose to risk being attacked, you may initiate the Den Defense Mini-game in which you position assassin's to defeat a Templar invasion on your Assassins' Den. This is an interesting addition to the AC game, but mostly pointless.
Den Defense (Xbox), uploaded by user: Double B
Graphics - 9/10
Simply put, this game looks good. I can tell a lot of work was put into the graphics of this game. Animus Island, not so much, but when you play with Ezio, the graphics are some of the best I've seen.
Desmond at Animus Island, uploaded by user: Double B
Bonus Content - 8/10
The PS3 version includes ACI, which is a great addition since I didn't own the game (remember I didn't like it). I played through it just for a feeling of completion.
Uplay has also offered bonus content you can unlock. Most of the bonus content isn't fantastic, but there is usually one unlockable that is worth having: in this game, the weapon and medicine pack upgrade. You can unlock everything if you want since you earn enough Uplay points just by playing through the game.
The in-game unlockables include weapons, armor, and outfits. Completing the Desmond Memory Sequences unlocks the Desmond Outfit but the outfit does not change Ezio's voice. Watching Desmond sweet-talk Sofia using Ezio's voice is quite entertaining.
Summary
Campaign/Story: 4/10
Multiplayer: 8/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Graphics: 9/10
Bonus Content: 8/10
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
Although this game doesn't really add much to the AC storyline, it is still worth playing through once. You'll learn a few bits of information about Altair, Ezio, and Desmond's life which are a necessity for the die-hard AC fans. The multiplayer alone is worth playing if you prefer the Assassin's style play over the popular shooting and zombie-killing available in other games.
A must-buy? Not really.
A must-buy for AC fans? Probably yes.
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Charles the Dragon
United States
Missouri
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Great review. I won't spend the time trying to disagree with some of the things you said, mainly because I fit into the "AC fan" category which makes my opinion skewed.
 (This is why I don't write reviews)
I haven't finished AC:Revelations yet simply because I'm being way too distracted playing the likes of Thunderstone: Dragonspire among other things. Regardless, I love the game so far and consider it a must-buy 
BTW, make your Spoiler warning bigger 
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Ken Stuart
United States
Patrick AFB
Florida
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I'm an AC fan too, so it was a must-buy for me too, as will AC5 when it comes out. All I have to say is Ubisoft better conclude the series with the next game!! Or else!!!
or else I'll end up spending more money on this series
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James Smith
Australia
Ashburton
Victoria
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I have to agree with you that it is mostly useless. I loved AC2 which was the pick of the bunch. AC:R I played until I got 3 of the keys and then stopped playing, there just wasn't enough to keep me going.
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Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:49 pm
