It happens every time. Every time I see footage and screenshots of a new Assassin's Creed game, I get excited. I get hopeful. Here's the strange thing though - I've strongly disliked pretty much every Assassin's Creed game I've played up to this point. There's just something about it that never struck me as fun. But still, each year, I'm hopeful that this will be the Assassin's Creed that changes my mind.

This year - I was right. The funny thing is though, I shouldn't be. Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the long awaited book end to the four year story, shouldn't work this well, the story should be too convoluted and the gameplay should feel stale by now (and in some spots it does). But the truth is - it somehow does, and Assassin's Creed is the best ending a fan (and apparently non fans alike) can ask for.

Revelations picks up right where last year's Brotherhood left off - with the series modern day main character Desmond Miles going out of his mind insane. In an effort to protect him, the Assassins put him in a specialized, safe section of the Animus, where Desmond meets the mysterious Subject 16. Subject 16 tells Desmond that his mind is fragmented, and the only way to stay sane is to surrender to the memories of his ancestral assassins until there's nothing left to play out, and it's here that you're thrust into Revelation's main story - or stories.

"The story features some truly epic moments throughout..."

Revelations tells three separate stories simultaneously, that of Altair from the original Assassin's Creed , Ezio from Assassin's Creed 2 as well as Desmond's quest for sanity, and it does so with moderate success. The story features some truly epic moments throughout, and up until about halfway through, it's pretty interesting, but then it takes a steep dive in the other direction. A good majority of the story is predictable, and when it's not, odds are you'll have a hard time following it. By far, the best parts of Revelations come while playing as Ezio, as his story is easily the most compelling. Fair warning though, there's a “Holy shit” moment near the end of the game that will make the entire journey seem worth it - and that's coming from a non fan.

Revelations is at its best when it sticks to what the franchise is known for, letting you lose in a gorgeously recreated city and letting you free-run to your heart's desire on your way to taking out targets. It's still incredibly satisfying to plot, spot and take out your kill, even if it feels remarkably familiar. Save for a few additions, this is the same Assassin's Creed engine that's been used for three games, and its more than showing its age. Though mostly visually stunning, the same hiccups plague this game as previous ones, like enemies clipping through walls and camera issues and at this point, it's not just a problem, it's downright annoying.

These visual hiccups aside, you can't downplay the small to€uches that have always made the Assassin's Creed games so special. The games cities are recreated with such brilliance that you'll often find yourself gazing to out from a high ledge and admiring the craftsmanship the designers put into the game. You also have to admire how when climbing up a structure, the assassins never grab for invisible leverage, and always use actual awnings and structures to gain their footing. Most importantly, it all works together so well, and every motion feels incredibly fluid, and always seems to have a certain weight to it.

"The whole thing basically boils down to a tower defense game..."

Not everything is a complete retread from previous games however as now players can buy buildings and shops throughout the game's villages, and you'll have to defend them against armies that will march right into town. The whole thing basically boils down to a tower defense game; you'll choose your assassins and put them in certain spots in hopes of defeating the would-be attackers. The first few times, it's a pretty fun diversion from the game's main content, but shortly after you realize that it's just that - a diversion, and one that slows down the game a great deal.

The multiplayer mode is still much the same from Brotherhood, but features a beefed up more story structured game system that should hook a few new gamers into the mix, which also offers a ton of strategy to the mode. It's a nice addition, but I wonder if once players get in, they'll forget the story mode and just start offing people as quickly as they can.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations feels an awful lot like the past two games in the series, which can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how you look at it. Through cool kills and some pretty epic moments, fans of the series are going to love seeing how things end - but they'll also hunger for something more. Perhaps Ubisoft did what they set out to do though, get me excited for next year, when the series starts all over again.