Alright, so WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE? You know it takes just one bad apple, or one bad bite of an apple to really make you appreciate what you got before.
To be clear, Assassin's Creed Revelations isn't a total failure. It's not even that bad a game. It has all the hallmarks of an Assassin's Creed title; animus, parkour, assassinations, action, weapons, an even deeper brotherhood mechanic, bombs even, and a brand new city and environment to explore! All the things I would expect, all, but one. Story telling.
Playing the first few minutes of ACII, AC Brotherhood, and even ACIII demonstrates a completely distinct flare for narrative. Characters and dialog feel natural, appropriate for both period and locale. Reflecting back on it, you feel as though someone took time, care, and love for their script. However, playing through Revelations feels like watching someone stumbling through their first playscript. Ezio's dialog feels stilted and disjoint, Yusuf is merely a teaching mechanic, every bad guy is just cardboard cut-out, and Altair is just cruel-caricature of the man I remember leaving behind in the original Assassin's Creed.
I feel the narrative quality is so poor that I sometimes wonder if I am playing a proper AAA instalment of the series. Then a quick reminder that I am running through entirely new assets, custom maps, and new mechanics reminds me that Ubisoft did invest a lot into this vehicle. I cannot understate the severity, the impact, the detrimental effect that poor writing has on an otherwise well designed and implemented game.
I find this all very odd considering a recent article on Ubisoft's Alice.
Looking forward to wrapping this one up quickly and moving back on to ACIII
