As you can see, my topic about Assassin's Creed: Revelations fallen off my mind even the slightest... well maybe during the New Year but this time, just like my previous ACR blog, I would like to talk about the issues that I felt were problems and how they could be improved. I know that many people enjoyed the game despite my slight unenjoyable experience which is what I understand was common amongst many of my friends and for many, there may even be barely any problems. It could a masterpiece of the series but from my distinct standpoint, I believed that the biggest downfalls of the game were mostly due to the setting and characters involved which could have outweighed and converted many of the gameplay mechanics in to a possible new fashion which I will talk about today. I am not trying to introduce a rant of any kind but even if you did love the game, there may be some of my points that you might like so don't turn away just yet... unless you've gone to get Popcorn of course. 
When we play games that we didn't enjoy, it's only reasonable to figure out what the problems were and what would have made it not only better but a 10/10 game for ourselves. So for this piece of writing, I will talk about a few of my ideas that I think would have made the final Altair and Ezio game more intriguing. Enjoy! 
Altair
So this is really the obvious character in my eyes that I believe should have at least have taken a much larger proportion of the Revelations game to an extent of maybe half the gameplay and screen time... if not more! Lets just take a peek at what the series was overall prior to the release of Assassin's Creed 3 game and the other mediums like comic books. Altair really only had one main game with a tad bit of gameplay implementation in the games that followed. Sure! It was great to see Altair back and kicking in Revelations but also it was a little bit of a side note to consider that a majority of the focus in the previous games had been on Ezio in the spotlight ever since his introduction to the franchise and that after all the possibilities of Altair storylines, it was time to say goodbye in such a short space of time.
Altair, a character who saved the order and the Middle Eastern lands from tyranny and potential magical powers where much of his life after his 20s appears to be shrouded in mystery and with his role as a master assassin, it left many pondering whether there would ever be another game. Ezio, a character brought in with much love from the people around him and much more outspoken who is driven by vengeance to become an assassin. Now, since Ezio had 2 full games already as well if you include the many small films and I can see why. The Ezio series brought a wide range of characters probably larger than the number of planets in Star Wars however was this potential used? Yes in some respects as Brotherhood was able to show us the return of at least half the amount of characters we saw in AC2 especially when considering the side missions that showed many frames of Ezio's life but I believe much of it just came down to the reason that Ubisoft could do it.
Since Ezio was such a popular character, winning multiple awards in 2009, it was much easier to make a direct sequel on the character and it would prove well as it would be something new for Ubisoft especially since they could things in that they could reveal such as one large city to explore in the open world or the multiplayer component. So in some ways I do agree that Altair should have had fewer games and screentime because he was more of the mysterious assassin. The original and true assassin if you will. However giving the character less involvement in the storyline didn't feel the same as Altair had much potential in the series and even he could have delivered more of an influence on the modern day storyline.
So now that I've just written a bit of text that might make people drowsy, why did Revelations need more of the Altair character? Well even if he wasn't well known to people (or even to the characters), I believe he very much deserved a game which would connect both the Altair and Ezio storylines efficiently and maybe with Altair in Constantinople instead of Ezio, it might have become more based on discovery than what Revelations achieved as both the characters would probably be searching for something especially within the mystical city which would easily suit Altair's attributes.
A continuation to Altair's story was something many AC fans were craving but there were many things that distanced the player including the lack of what happened to the fellow Levantine Assassins such as Malik or Altair's development as he wrote the codex which could have easily replaced the scenes of Ezio writing to his sister.
Alas, it's unlikely we'll see Altair return. I do believe he had potential and still does maybe with stories involving his childhood or the Mongolian Empire but Ubisoft has put this as final. In a way, I would have rathered his story remain a mystery than end his story in Revelations but the possibility of a future Altair game still remains unknown.
Locations from the multiplayer
If there's one thing I know about multiplayer, is that the setting always seem vastly varied in the games I play and it may be the same for you. Even enough for me to try and find a second controller so I could try and free roam in a Goldeneye: Rogue Agent map. Sometimes it makes me wonder why many of these designs aren't utilised for the single player component. AC: Brotherhood on the other hand did show us a brand new insight in to small villages specialised mainly in the war machine missions where there would be a simple objective but sometimes, I would always try to stay around as long as possible and just attempt free roaming which was difficult if the mission was on a timer.
However this wasn't just excluded to single player maps and like I said previously, the multiplayer maps, despite including some that have already existed in the form of assassinating characters in the AC: Brotherhood modes, many seemed unique and even though the scale of the maps were about a quater of an average sized city in the franchise, there could have easily been expanded for use as a full game even just the slightest especially if it featured a high quantity of missions. I mean, the Ezio portion of the series was mostly set in Italy and it would have made sense with Constantinople if Ezio was a traveler and already visited the several corners of Europe but this wasn't what Ezio was. He was drawn close to the country he lived in and aside from visiting Masyaf in search of answers, the visitations of Constantinople felt out of place and could have been utilised much greatly if it featured a brand new character since it only seemed to me that Ubisoft was trying to broaden their horizons and find a location with extensive and significant history. If it wasn't for King Solomon, I have a feeling that we may not have seen Constantinople at all but rather only referred to in assassin recruit missions.
With many cities throughout the series, even though they've been pretty close together in terms of both distance and time, they all seem to have their own unique features and terms of layout and I'm not just talking about which area has the most Ice Cream. Say for example Acre in AC1. It seemed to have a gloomy sky and added with the fact of warriors from England and the backround music of a British religious tone just made me think of a game set in a Medieval England and I can't help but think this everytime I step in to the game. How about Forli in AC2? That was a place that was pretty much flooded with crumbling fortresses which was different from the stereotypical Italian city or village at the time. So for this instance, why not feature Ezio adapt to these conditions where he maybe equiped with a hookblade in areas of high buildings whereas others would have allowed Ezio to explore deep underground maybe so just with a few small cities and towns available in the game, there would have been room for innovation and fun which would prevent people from thinking it was just another Ezio game.
Take this AC Brotherhood DLC map which is okay because the map pack was free although being my first DLC I downloaded, I downloaded it about 3 times. It is known as St. Michel and no, I didn't choose this in particular as it has the same sounding as my first name but just as an example, it doesn't look hugely familiar to any Ezio game before. I mean a cathedral provides a religious importance with medieval towers of war and the whole setting is on the side of a cliff? It is set in France but it's the way that everything is made differently to become more unique despite during the same era. In my opinion, this could have been used as the opposite of ACB where there would be multiple areas to explore rather than one huge map and maybe use the proportions of maps we saw in the multiplayer as war machine like missions where we can visit Venice to assassinate a Harlequin maybe.
Areas like Turkey and places around Europe could still have been explored maybe to find the Masyaf keys for certain missions but with Ezio being brought to an age that would usually cause the downfall of anyone living during those ages, I think that it would have been more efficient to focus on securing peace within the small nooks and crannies near his hometown in order to make use of the Italian cities around. I mean lets face it. We're never going to have another game set in the Italian Renaissance, at least for a very long time and next gen versions of current gen games don't count. This could have been a great chance to use the potential that was remaining in such a beautiful place especially if Revelations was to become a portable game which it was originally planned to be in the form of Lost Legacy. If Lost Legacy did exist, we may still be offered yet another Altair and Ezio game or just another setting but nonetheless, it would explain many things such as the lack of epilogues.
Assassin Recruits
This would be more applied to the story aspect and possibly discount Altair's story since Altair could have his own game with this being more of a fitting end for Ezio. Rather than looking around for secrets for a majority of the game, why not train the Assassins up in a more closer fashion? I mean, the game has just passed Brotherhood. Ezio is now a trained Assassin and can destroy a wave a Templars in the blink of an eye. In other words, repeated strokes of the R1 and square buttons. However for his order to survive, he will have needed his order to become strong so that the Templars wouldn't just pop in Italy by the time Ezio went through his passing which would involve training the Assassins up to leave a legacy behind.
In a way, it would have provided a more close connection with brand new characters and the order and the vast expanse of their operations around the continent. The Assassin recruitment system was introduced in Brotherhood and was adapted in some ways in Revelations and AC3 especially with the storyline but sometimes it feels like unrecognised and maybe the reason why people see Brotherhood as the final game of the series. By that I mean, the most interesting and I can see why. In Revelations, it would all of a sudden show parts of the Brotherhood at the very beginning and the end but basically nothing inbetween. In Brotherhood, we had to visit the Assassins hideout and it would have been great in the Brotherhood sequel to converse with more with Assassins close to the character. Ones that wouldn't die and would drive the story forwards whereas others would fall and it would allow the Assassins to become who they are and understand that there will be fellow Assassins that will fall but they will learn from Ezio's personal experience not to pursue the journey of vengeance. It would have really have pushed Ezio's evolution onwards as a more memorable figure. Maybe this could have been the place show a more expansive route of other character's lives via side missions and even applied them as the main characters.
The game could have showed at a later stage than where Revelations portrayed the character. Maybe he could have fought quite a bit but as the game progresses, he becomes weary and requires the Assassins he's trained up to fight for him not just in Italy but all around Europe since Assassin's Creed 2 already enhance the presence of a multicultural society than the original game since the infrastructure had improved especially for the Assassins case with multiple fast travel routes to reduce travel with only a small loading scene. You could already send the Assassins during events such as Henry VII's gain to power and all these varied characters and settings would have easily reinforced speculation of where future installments could potentially take place. Maybe pick our own characters and disguise them with outfits similar to those found in the multiplayer, each with their unique abilites or even let the player design their own character. The Assassin's Creed series has been becoming more focused on It could have been the scene where we would finally find the mysterious grandmother to Desmond but then again, knowing the existence of her in Revelations was a bit of disappointment to me since I didn't really want to know the truth about her. I would have much rathered it remain a mystery.
France
One of the things that felt lacking in Revelations were the interesting characters and many of them weren't as developed as they could have been and even in Brotherhood, we were surprised to see the faces of at least half the number of characters we saw in AC2 which allowed players to become more familiarised with the setting of Rome. Now I'm not saying that there shouldn't have been any new characters at all but Ezio had grown up with a vast amount of characters who were close to him but then all of a sudden in Revelations, he had no one. One character in particular I thought would have been a great addition to follow up on considering his final days spent in France when he wasn't designing any space shuttles in his spare time.
France has been a setting that has had a connection throughout the series from the very first game where as well as the English's invasions, the French took part during the Third Crusade and by no means hesitated to become a part of Brotherhood too and relations improved by AC3 as one of the Assassin recruits ever consisted of a French descendant, the historical celebrity Aveline as yet another descendant and even more involvement in the story. In particular, the numerous naval battles that were able to win many gamers over. Considering the timeline, it's very possible that there could even be a game during the French Revolution since AC3 is tied so close to the events... just across the pond.
Leonardo did mention by the end of the Da Vinci Disappearance DLC that he would probably visit France as one of his ambitions and it would be interesting to see the French as a much a larger role especially since their armies had grown so large with tensions arising which would enable the Assassin Order to develop a few skills with perhaps French Assassin counterparts and weaponary and the latest 007 gadgetry. Imagine that! A French version of Ezio!
It would be nice to see a final goodbye with this beloved friend of Ezio's as well as all the characters as well as the new technology Ezio would be able to use. Maybe Leonardo would translate many of the secrets in to his paintings yet again but this time for the modern day characters to uncover which would not only focus on what Leonardo left behind but also, Ezio's fate.
Although to be honest, it's more of something that would best suited for a brand new character. If it took place in France, people would less prefer another game set in France even if it was during a more significant era and it would easily be used as a smaller map possibly for a mission of somesort. It is the same with the Tudors. England has a whole bunch of history waiting to be used for video games and the Tudor period is just one of the many which is extensive with all the potential storylines and conspiracies awaiting but a game featuring Ezio would have only covered a small region of the Tudor reign even before the parts of the Religious Reformation came in to being so in a way, I believe that also, while tempting could have been a mistake and make more sense to introduce a new character specialised in the setting.
Secrets of the Auditore family
Giovanni, Frederico and Petruccio were all characters that many were beginning to like... until the story changed all of that and it would have been interesting to have know more about the characters aside from the numerous short films like Lineage. When factoring in Giovanni's character, his history does seem interesting especially since it would be like the story with Haytham and Connor. Seeing 2 different sides and perspectives of a region only this time, it would provide a closer relationship with the characters. I can't help but think that learning about Ezio's father would have been more interesting when considering that he was the one to mention of the secret library in Masyaf but that is all the mention he gets after AC2. Like Altair's role in Revelations, it would have been great to find out pieces of his father's life. Maybe yet another conspiracy he knew about. Maybe one concerning Ezio himself!
This way and with the possibilities of the game set in Italy, there would no doubt be the return of many characters throughout Ezio's journey which I felt was lacking in Revelations. I believe that all the characters should have deserved some form of closure and another game in Italy solving their problems would only reinforce this. Then again, if the game did take place on focusing on the secrets of Giovanni, then a link up to Altair would have been interesting but should have been too focused, then Altair should have been left alone for possibly his own game.
Now the final part for this blog is something many of you may not like or even would even consider this but I believe it's a possibility that may have been required.
No Revelations... just yet
Assassin's Creed 3 was a game that was gonna tie up everything with the modern day storyline and the characters that inhabited the timeline but what seems to be the problem is that many prominent characters that were absent from the game were in Revelations such as Subject 16. Maybe the game would have been too large but they could have changed his story in someway, different from that in Revelations. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy his character. The Lost Archive DLC is one of the reasons why I continue to play Revelations once in a while with it's emotional tones set to full maximum and it's what wiped out much of my Summer. However, the story of Abstergo, Lucy Stillman and even the historical characters prior to AC3 felt lacking in terms of all the foreshadowing that was being amped up in arrival for this particular game.
In a way, I think Altair's and Ezio's storyline would have been more significant on the storyline if there was not even a Brotherhood and only AC3 that followed. Brotehrhood aside from it's significance towards the main storyline, I believe it was important to show Ezio becoming a master assassin but in terms of the dateline of 2012 which was the whole premise of the series was about, Revelations just seemed like a way to close off the doors to the characters and quickly develop a new character's storyline before the dateline actually approached in real life. I mean, it would be odd if it was released or delayed after 2012.
So if there was gonna be a limited relation to the main storyline which there wasn't as much in Revelations, I think that their stories should have been set aside for new potential games. They could have improved upon many aspects and would no longer have to rush the game to complete their storylines and people who missed the characters would get a warm welcome back to the characters maybe in the next gen!
So there you have it! Assassin's Creed is a series that has been criticised as being lackluster in some ways but I believe that some areas that are have potential and Revelations was a point that could have been improved upon.
So what do you think? Do you agree or did you think that Revelations was just fine and suiting for what the series needed?
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.