Preview: Asssassin's Creed: Revelations MP Beta Impressions [UPDATED]

Even though it has been almost a year already since the release of AC Brotherhood, I still couldn't get over the fact at how uniquely awesome Assassin's Creed multiplayer is. Its fun comes from the thrill of the hunt with its simple "hunt or be hunted gameplay". It's a formula which works, and Ubisoft is bringing it back in AC Revelations. We've got our hands on the Assassin's Creed Revelations Multiplayer Beta, and we're pretty impressed with what we've seen so far. Here's a breakdown of our impressions of the beta.

Visuals

Nothing much to say about the visuals since judging from what we've seen, the visuals isn't that much of a leap from Brotherhood, but there's definitely evidence of texture improvements. I can see a lot more detail on the buildings and the characters. Plus, the characters look a lot more human now compared to ACB in terms of their overall appearance and animation.

The camera work has been improved a bit, adding a touch of dramatic effect to some sequences. For example, slow-mo moments make those "uh-oh" sequences a lot more dramatic.I love the way the characters look back to their pursuer just a few moments before they are killed.

The camera is now lot closer to your persona, so your vision is lot tighter now. I recommend using manual camera option instead of the default automatic camera. You need to keep an eye on your back at all times to watch out for pursuers.

Gameplay

AC Brotherhood MP players will feel right at home with AC Revelations. The core gameplay remains as solid as ever, but a few changes made for AC Revelations changes the way how it is played. One of the most notable changes made in the game so far is that the detection meter now works in reverse. This means that you now start from "Discrete" status, and you have to work up to "Silent" and "Incognito" states to get higher scoring kills. Like before, the detection meter will not increase / decrease if your target is out of sight, but once your target is in your LOS (Line of Sight), the magic of the detection meter comes in. Depending on how you approach your enemy, the detection meter will increase or decrease, with high profile actions decreasing the detection meter, even possibly reducing it to the new "Reckless" state; and low profile actions increasing the meter up to "Silent" and "Incognito". In ACB, since you start with "Incognito", players tend to just quickly close in to their target, hoping that the meter will not decrease too much, and still get a "Silent" bonus (yah, I do this). With this subtle but drastic change, the game now focuses on setting-up your kills rather than just getting kills in quickly. Plus, stealthy kills are now a lot more subtle and inconspicuous with the use of the hidden blade (all characters now have a hidden blade as a secondary weapon), and won't give away your position so much.

Had another pursuer kill your target? Don't worry, you'll get a free kick to your target for 100 pts in the form of "Ground Finish" bonus. This is just one of the few new bonuses that have been included in the game. Bonuses are a plenty now in ACR, that it's now even possible to get "Extreme Variety" in a regular game. (I got an Extreme Variety bonus in one round).

Another notable change is how the stun works this time. The range of the stun has been increased (even overpowered IMO at this stage, or it may just be the lag.), and it is now easier to pull off, but just like before, “Kill” action still takes precedence over “Stun”. Stunned players now slump instead of lying in the ground, so it’s easier to spot stunned players. But the major change they’ve done to the stun mechanic is the “Honorable Death” and “Contested Kill” bonuses. If a pursuer attacks and the target stuns the pursuer at the same time, a direct confrontation will ensue. The kill still takes precedence but an “Honorable Death” bonus will be given to the target, while the pursuer / attacker gets a “Contested Kill” bonus which decreases their detection meter down to “Reckless” and momentarily slows down their movement, making them vulnerable. So now, even the pursuer can get points for attempting to stun their pursuer, and unstealthy kills are punished. Another change made to the “Stun” action is that now you can stun civilians. Spam it as much as you want, but if you’re not careful, it’ll give away your position.

Abilities from ACB are carried over, so abilities such as smoke bombs, poison, morph and disguise will remain in your arsenal, but I'm not seeing upgraded abilities (longer lasting, strong, etc). I don't see "Sprint" also though. Now add to these the new "Trip Wire Bomb" and "Closure". "Trip Wire Bomb" lets you place a bomb which will be triggered by your target or your pursuer when they walk / run over it. When triggered, the bomb will disorient your pursuer / target, much like how a smoke bomb works. This is perfect for Manhunt games, especially if you're the Hunted team. "Closure" on the other hand lets you trigger all chase breakers near you. I'm not sure it's just me, but abilities feel as if they cool down much faster now.

On the subject of Perks, some of the Perks now have been drastically changed. There are only few perks in the beta, so I really can't say much about it.

Killstreaks and Loss Streaks have been slightly altered, but definitely works better IMO. Killstreaks are still rewarded by additional points in your kill, or with the new ability called the "Animus Hack" which enables you to kill any Templar agent from a distance. It takes quite a lot of kills to pull off a hack (7 Silent or 9 Regular Kills), so I haven't seen this yet first hand. Also, you can choose how you would like to earn the streaks. You can choose between Silent Killstreak or just the regular Killstreak (Discrete and below), wherein Silent Killstreaks earn the bonus much faster than regular kills. (3 SilentKS vs 5 KS = same bonus).

Loss Streaks are also changed a bit, and are now designed to keep you from falling behind too much. Some Loss Streak abilities include having the ability to see the location of your target when out of sight, or if they are in your LOS. Also a minor hack can be performed which enables you to kill your target from a distance. I don't see "Reset Cooldowns" anymore though. 

New gameplay modes such as Deathmatch and Easy Deathmatch add a new flavor to the game. Deathmatch modes play relatively the same as Wanted, with a catch: maps are smaller, there are no clones for player characters, and there's no compass. You have to rely on your own ability to spot your target, but this wouldn't be much of a problem since maps are tighter, and your target has no civilian clones. It's relatively faster paced than its big brother Wanted. The difference between Easy DM and DM is that in Easy DM, Abilities are not allowed, while DM retains the Abilities.

UPDATE: Artifact Assault plays like your traditional capture the flag, but modified to take in the AC flavor in mind. The map is divided into two equal areas. A portion of the map on opposite ends will hold each team's artifact. Like classic CTF, players will have to reach the opposing team's base in order to capture the opposing team's artifact, while at the same time, protecting their own artifact. Once an artifact is captured. the artifact carrier must return to his base to "drop" the artifact. As they stay in their respective zones (half of the map), they are free to kill the opposing team entering the zone, however, as players enter the opposing team's half of the map to capture the artifact, they will become targets, disabling their ability to kill the members of the opposing team. Artifact carriers must be careful since an icon will indicate their location. Also, like in Chest Capture in ACB, standing near the artifact will disable the compass. The team with the most captures will win. It's a really nice twist to the usual CTF mode so I'm excited to play this in the final game.

Wanted and Manhunt still plays the same same way.

At the end of each match, players will now earn Accolades (borrows from COD: MW2), which basically shows what kind of actions you did the most in the game (most kills, most deaths), or whether you've performed a unique action (did not die - Untouchable). Top three Accolades from the match will be chosen for the "Hall of Fame" which will be shown at the end of the match along with the match results.

Before I forget, you can now taunt your opponents. I don't see any real tactical advantage to it aside from taunting your downed target. It's silly.

All in all, though the gameplay changes are subtle, they change how the game is played entirely. I just wished that they included the complete MP in the beta so the community can determine which perks, abilities or streaks are overpowered and the game will be fully balanced come release date.

Customization

Customization has been expanded for AC Revelations. It borrows a bit from COD: Black Ops's COD Points Scheme. As you play the game, level up, and finish matches, you earn Abstergo Credits which will enable you to unlock and purchase Abilities, Skills, Streaks Bonuses, Taunts, Stun Animation, cosmetic upgrades for your characters such as clothing and weapons, and as well as customizations for your Templar profile.

With the expanded customization, characters can now be customized to have different clothing, accessories, weapons and primary color. I.e. you can now choose what top or kind of pants your character will wear (or get bloodied).

The new Templar Profile lets you show off Accolades you've earned, and Challenges you've accomplished throughout your career as a Templar agent, which can also be viewed by your friends. Your profile can then be customized in a number of ways. First off, you can choose an avatar image which will be tied to your name, and other images can be purchased later on using Abstergo credits. Another customization feature for your profile is the ability to select a title, like "The Advisor" etc., Other titles are unlocked a you level up. Lastly, an emblem creator has been added which lets you create a simple emblem from a variety of shapes, that your character carries on his / her cape, back, etc.

Interface

At first glance, the main menu has been streamlined, with the main menu only carrying the main game modes and the option menu. Player options such as customizations, Templar profile and stat tracking have been moved to the upper left menu, which can be accessed using the L1 button. Friends options have been moved to the upper right menu, which is triggered by the R1 button. This lets you access your friends list, leaderboards, as well as a "Dare" system. I haven't seen the "Dare" system in action yet, but I'm guessing it's a sort of a "Brag and Challenge" system for you and your friends. I'm actually quite excited about this feature.

UPDATE: I received a "dare" from one of my friends, notifying me that they have beaten my score on a specific mode of the game. Beating your friend's score will beat the dare. I don't know if the person will be notified or be "dared" to beat my score though.

Overall

Overall, the changes made in AC:R are a welcome change, with new gameplay features and tweaks redefining how a stealth action MP game should be; visual updates to keep it nice and appealing to play; and enhanced customization features to give players a sort of a unique identity in the game. With what I've said above, AC: Revelations MP is looking very promising. I'm also pretty stoked about its SP campaign, so I can't wait to get my hands on this come Nov. 15, 2011.