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Dec 14, 2011

Should You Buy Assassin's Creed: Revelations' Ancestors Character Pack? No.

Assassin's Creed™: Director's Cut Edition

There's finally some downloadable content out for Assassin's Creed Revelations, but you should keep your $4. Why?

Stephen Totilo, who wrote a glowing review for Assassin's Creed: Revelations: I'm including a video in this Gut Check in order to show you the coolest thing about the Ancestors Character Pack. If you look at it closely and beyond what I'm trying to show you, you'll see that I haven't played a ton of ACR multiplayer. Maybe, you might say, finger pointing in accusatory fashion, you're not the ideal customer for a $4 piece of downloadable content that adds a Brigand, a Corsair, a Gladiator and a Privateer to a multiplayer roster that already includes 14 other playable characters!

Oh, but I am the right person for this DLC, because I am nearly unprofessionally enthusiastic about most things Assassin's Creed. I also see the hidden value of this pack, which I show off in the video. That value is that you are freed from the multiplayer's standard unlocking system and have access to all of these four characters' special outfits, weapons and taunts from the get go. For $4, in other words, a non-obsessive ACR player like me can enjoy the perk of changing the gear on my character. I've yet to unlock most customization options on the game's default characters.

But... that's it. That's all you get for your $4 with a DLC that appears to break one of the fine rules of ACR. All the other multiplayer characters, you see, were important people that you or your assassin trainees killed in the game's single-player mode. These four new people? They're just identity-less shells. Do you need them? No

Kirk Hamilton, who is lurking behind you in an alleyway: I'm something of a tough sell on DLC. When it's for a game I like, I'm much more happy to hear about it, but even so, I tend to skip all but the most large and substantive bits of downloadable content. I've skipped a lot of Assassin's Creed DLC in the past, and yet I've still gotten dozens upon dozens of great gameplay out of the series. Are these "ancestors" skins something that I'd recommend you buy?

No, they're not. Say, that's a bit early in the gut check for my answer! But there you have it: four skins, some unique kills, and a few customization items are not worth real money. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is still just scratching the surface of Revelations—I haven't even finished the story yet, let alone delved into multiplayer! But more than that, I feel that extra content for a game should be functional in some way—a useable weapon for single-player, a set of quests, a new area. Skins and taunts are the kind of things that should be sprinkled on top as a bonus, not packaged and sold as a standalone product.

The Ancestors Character Pack is thin, it serves no gameplay purpose, and I've got so much Assassin's Creed already that I don't need to spend a few bucks to get any more. Take your time, Ubisoft, and offer us something worth buying. No.

Brian Ashcraft, the AC DLC NPLYR: Okay, so let me get this straight. Ubisoft announces downloadable character skins on the day Revelations launched. The DLC consists of four characters, and it costs $3.99—meaning each multiplayer character skin is one dollar. The question is less whether or not you should be buying this, but rather, should Ubisoft be even doing this. So no, no, no. No.

Gut Check is an off-the-cuff impression of what we think of a game: what we'd tell a friend; how we'd respond on Twitter or Facebook or over a beer if someone asked us "Would you buy this game?" Our lead writer, who has played a lot of the game, decides. Other writers chime in for additional points of view.

Dec 2, 2011

Assassin's Creed Gets the Floating Hair it Always Needed

Assassin's Creed™: Director's Cut Edition

This YouTube video, comically titled "Misadventures of Eyes and Hair" shows us an Assassin's Creed: Revelations cutscene featuring translucent bodies with floating eyes and hair.

Be sure to have your sound on, because the dialogue makes it much more entertaining. "Look at me now!" he exclaims. I'd love to, sir, I really would if I could.

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