The Assassin's Creed series has been one that I have absolutely loved but also one that's really confused me. But this reason isn't the very non-sensical (but enjoyable) plot. Instead, it's the fact that Ubisoft has managed to pump out the latest two instalments on an annual basis and yet not let the quality falter...much. The series has been very near and dear to me ever since the first game, which I viciously defended multiple times to my peers (and it was the first game waiting for me when I returned from my schoolies/leavers week too, so that made it even more special). With the release of Revelations, we've been promised what will be a tie up to not only Ezio's story (who has starred in three games thus far) but also of Altair's, the assassin whose memories we stepped into with the first game. So, how well does Ubisoft pave the way for the third "proper" instalment in the series? I'm of a mixed opinion.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations picks up immediately where Brotherhood left off. I know a few people who have yet to even complete Brotherhood so I will try to keep spoilers to a bare minimum – but I will say that this is the first game where Desmond has really taken a backseat and the sole focus is on Ezio and Altair's journey. Following his findings in Brotherhood, Ezio travels to Constantinople, one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, in order to discover a secret left behind by one of the great relatives of renowned traveller Marco Polo. Eventually, Ezio discovers that he is searching for yet another Apple of Eden, a powerful artefact – and has been left clues by Altair in the form of memories to help him along the way. The whole story is pretty much designed to provide not only closure to Ezio's story, but also to show us what Altair had done between the original Assassin's Creed game and now – which also conveniently wraps up his own story too.

As we've had two annual releases thus far (not including Assassin's Creed II), most of the game's engine has remained largely unchanged. As such, the graphical prowess that Revelations is not so much starting to show its age but instead looking just a little bit rough around the edges. The biggest improvement, without a doubt, is the facial animations for all the characters. Each character has had their face "redesigned" to look a little bit more realistic, and for the most part lips move in sync with spoken dialogue which is something that I didn't think was a particular problem in past games but now that it's implemented it looks a whole lot better. Constantinople looks great, is a believable town and as always features some very recognisable landmarks – appropriately merging a middle eastern and European style of design, which is fitting as this game looks to end the stories of two characters from these regions.

The main crux of the gameplay in Revelations has not changed much. Ezio has free roam of a very large town, taking on missions which may revolve around escorting a target, killing one, or even some very well designed and scene-stealing platforming segments. While moving through the open town, Ezio can enlist certain factions to assist him in his mission – thieves will distract guards or pickpocket citizens, the Romani will distract guards consistently with their allure, and mercenaries will simply attack guards for you too. Carrying over from Brotherhood, Ezio can also command a small squad of assassins to help him out during his missions, as well as help him slowly take over the Mediterranean in order to increase the income the town receives.

There's a heap to do and see in Revelations, and it's a wonder how Ubisoft managed to jam so many components into the game. The "brotherhood" component not only allows Ezio to train his own assassins by sending them on missions (which happen off-screen), but also play a pretty huge role in how the town of Constantinople falls into Ezio's hands. Essentially, before Ezio can buy any landmarks or shops in the game, he must eradicate Templar control from that particular area. This is done by finding a "den", killing its captain and lighting it on fire to signal his hostile takeover. Of course, unlike the last game, these dens do not stay captured, instead, Ezio must be sure to keep a low profile at all times – as becoming more and more notorious will lead to more and more attacks from the Templars.

This is done through a tower defence mini-game, which is entirely new to Assassin's Creed. Taking place on a street, the player must co-ordinate unit placements in order to ensure that a swarm of Templar guards do not reach an Assassin's den. Winning a den means Ezio can expand the city by purchasing and refurbishing shops, which increases the income that the player can earn every 20 minutes to spend on spoils. The tower defence mode is pretty well thought out, though at times it felt like a way to unnecessarily lengthen the game – but if you do things right, this whole component of the game is actually optional. Notoriety definitely has a much larger presence and importance in this Assaasin's Creed, but thankfully I always felt this was the way it should be – making the game a little bit more difficult.

The second new element in Revelations is the bomb crafting system. The crafting system essentially replaces the smoke bombs from previous games, this time instead allowing players to collect components, put them together and create bombs with varying effects. This gives the player a lot of tools to play around with in the mission and further opportunity to complete the game the specific way they want to play. Filling a bomb with coins will distract all the civilians or cause them to flock to one particular place, sulphur creates a very loud noise that distracts guards, and of course poisonous gas allows players to poison a large group of enemies slowly. Using a fragile case will make the bomb explode on impact, while others may make them bounce or stick to surfaces. It's an incredibly easy system to play around with, though some may wish there was a little bit more depth. If players wish, however, the game is easily completed without even touching the crafting system once again – giving the player freedom to choose how they do things.

Finally, the other main improvement to the game is the hookblade. Being cheekily made fun of for being behind the times when he arrives in Constantinople, Ezio is given one of these by the assassins in the local area – and it essentially extends one of the hookblades and opens up quite a few movement and battle options for the player. First of all, ledges that might have been *just* out of reach are now within reach with the hookblade, making travelling across rooftops (as well as climbing them) even easier and faster than before. Additionally, Ezio can use the hookblade to pull enemies closer to him, jump and roll over them, as well as pull down certain structures to cause immense damage. It's a good but simple improvement to the game's combat system that makes me either wonder why it was never included earlier or whether Ubisoft is sitting on a treasure trove of ideas only let out with each annual sequel. Still, business politics aside, the addition works well and really improves the already decent "flow" of travelling in the game.

My biggest problem with Assassin's Creed: Revelations was also my biggest problem with Brotherhood, except amplified. The game is simply getting too easy, and it feels as though the game just throws lots of things to do at the player to distract them. Basically, as we've headed throughout the series, more and more features and combat skills are introduced to the game. While this is great, the enemies themselves are not "catching up" per se, and the game is, as a result, getting easier and easier. I can safely say that I didn't die more than five times throughout the entirety of Revelations, which was a little bit disappointing. The game is definitely fun to play, but there's simply no challenge anymore as Ezio is quite literally a master assassin with so many tools at his disposal.

Of course, Assassin's Creed: Revelations is still incredible value for money. The main campaign will last players anywhere between ten and fifteen hours to get through, while completing some side quests. Though, completionists will be look at anywhere between twenty and thirty hours to collect and do everything in the game. Of course, beyond the single player campaign, a very comprehensive multiplayer mode is also included that has been tweaked and dramatically improved from what Brotherhood had to offer. There's even a first person Portal-esque puzzle segments that takes about two hours to complete, designed to be structured like Desmond's early days and shedding life on the otherwise dull character's backstory from birth to the point he's at now.

The multiplayer mode returns in Revelations and thankfully it's been revamped and the biggest surprise with the game. It is quite possibly some of the most fun I've had on Xbox Live ever since I bought my Xbox 360. This may sound like hyperbole, and it possibly could be, but the multiplayer mode is no longer plagued by matchmaking issues and incredibly laggy play – everything runs extremely smoothly and I have not had to wait to get a match once since first booting the game. Boasting around about eight maps (some new, some returning from Brotherhood) and about eight or nine modes, there's quite a large variety of levels and modes to play around with and each offers a great experience that really captures the "essence" and "feel" of being an Assassin as well as the whole "social stealth" aspect as well.

Quite a few things have changed since Brotherhood too. The first and most prominent is that as player's level up, more and more information about Abstergo as well as their competitors, major projects and history. The information is, thus far, non-essential but some of the stuff discussed here really has a chance of appearing in further games, and really fleshes out the backstory behind Abstergo and the Templars. Additionally, the game's mechanics have been tightened so that should two players carry out an attack together, whoever attacked first will get reduced points and the one being attacked will gain a small bonus – evening out the playing field. Skills, perks and abilities are now purchased after being unlocked (by levelling up) which is a bit of a questionable decision – it only encourages the use of some weapons, and obviously creates a large gap between less experienced players and those who have been playing for a while. Generally speaking though, the multiplayer feels really balanced and it's just really fun.

As with previous games in the series, Jesper Kyd returns to offer his signature style to the game's soundtrack, providing some truly amazing compositions to complement both the ambient city-roaming moments and the fast paced, intense battle scenes. Kyd definitely provides some of his best work here, working in collaboration with Lorne Balfe to deliver a great marrying of two very distinct styles. The voice work, as always is well done though some of the incidental noises from Constantinople's citizens do repeat after a few hours play, but otherwise everything feels just right.