Assassin’s Creed Revelations: man on a wire

The maps in Revelations are spectacular. Inspired by Middle Eastern and European architecture, they create complex and beautiful playgrounds to hide, stalk, and slay in. Some are even based on real places, like the island-castle Mount Saint-Michel. Mount Saint-Michel is an ancient abbey built on the coast of France. The abbey has existed there for more than a thousand years and, judging by the pictures I could find, is staggeringly gorgeous. It’s also one of the most hated maps in Revelations.

After the jump: death from above

The truth about multiplayer games is that they’re only as good as the people you play them with. On the whole, the population of Revelations is good. I regularly get into challenging, fun matches. People play stealthy, and people play smart, and even if they don’t, they usually act entertaining. But there’s something about Mount Saint-Michel that brings out the worst in people. The roofs.

Maps in Revelations often have two levels: the ground, which is full of NPCs, hay, benches, and other things to hide in, making it great for stealthy players, and the roofs, which offer a view of everything and are a great place to spring an ambush. You’re also as easy a target as a one-star Lollipop Chainsaw review. Most maps wisely organize the roofs so that it’s easy to stay away from them if you know your pursuer is up there. Not only is Mount Saint-Michel covered in roofs, but the main plaza of the map is strung with a piece of rope that connects two roofs.

I often see two, three, or even four assassins perched on that rope, just waiting for their target to walk by. If you venture out from under the eaves of the abbey, you’re instantly pounced on. This means everyone moves up to the roofs, where the intricacies of the stealth game evaporate. It’s an awkward shuffle as an assassin kills his target, then runs around as he waits to see who the next one will be, hoping his pursuer doesn’t catch up to him.

Fortunately, some of the abilities you can use are designed to deal with this scenario. Especially the throwing knives. On the ground, the knives slow down your target, which makes it harder for him to escape or pursue. If you throw the knives at someone balancing on a rope, or near the edge of a roof, not only does it slow him down. But it will also knock him off, giving you the perfect opportunity to run up with a stun or a kill, letting you enjoy the beautiful abbey in peace.

Up next: I saved the worst for last
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Giaddon has been a fan of Assassin’s Creed since the very first trailer. While everyone was cheering the Assassin’s Creed 3 E3 video that showed Ratonhnhake:ton blow up an entire British fort to kill one guy, he was scouring Youtube for floor videos of people playing the multiplayer.