Historical epic, metaphysical mystery, grand conspiracy – no one can accuse the Assassin's Creed games of lacking scope or ambition. But three instalments later with Assassin's Creed: Revelations, there are clear signs of franchise fatigue setting in, with a storyline too dense and tangled to be comprehensible to first-time players. The core mechanic is still here; you can explore and sneak around an open-world historical city, go free-running across rooftops and stalk your targets and murder them – in ways both subtle and gratuitous. But this has been overlaid with pointless activities such as buying shops and businesses, hunting for treasure chests, training a motley crew of master assassins and kitting yourself out with the finest weapons, armour and equipment that your stolen loot can buy. With a host of new features and side-quests, the developers seem to be overcompensating for something. A lack of inspiration, perhaps?