Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Review

SPECIAL NOTE: this is the first game I wrote notes for so hopefully the review is fairly comprehensive. Feel free to confirm or deny this!

The sequel to Assassin’s Creed II is here, although not titled ACIII; it is definitely a step forward.

The game starts with a cut scene recapping the previous two games for those who didn’t play them. For most, this will be a minor bore until the game finally begins. The game is now set in Roma during the 1500s, where the technology is starting to advance and Etzio is becoming a real man. As with the last AC games, you go back to the modern era to see Desmond fairly quickly to catch you up on what’s happening to him. Yet again the modern era models look terrible, particularly Lucy who looks like she had an extreme overdose of Botox. Luckily, the game focuses on Etzio who looks great along with the other models.

The plot itself begins very lighthearted, with you tasked to some mindless errands for people as your war time is over. You catch an old man’s horse (that’s not suggestive, right?), seduce a random lady you carry a box for (…), and the usual stuff. That is, until you are attacked by the Borgia who kill your uncle Mario and take back the Apple of Eden. On top of all of that, they give you a couple of bullets to keep in your back and spine (how considerate). You miraculously survive the firing team and are carried off to a doctor where, once you are healed, the real adventure begins.

AC: Brotherhood starts in very familiar territory for any AC vets, which is just how you want a sequel to begin. The game does throw a few nuances of new mechanics such as the ability to ride horses in cities. Running around is fluid as always and is a great way to get to know the massive new landscape. Roma looks beautiful and has many interesting areas to explore, such as my favourite, the Colosseum. A nice little addition to the game is the ability to renovate the entire world, either the small shops, or towering aqueducts which all provide more income to be withdrawn at the bank.

Roma, and the plot surrounding you being there, are outstandingly robust and polished, but the combat system has been tweaked to near perfection. The combat is much improved and very fluid. The counters, grabs, blocks, and jabs work seamlessly with each other to kill groups of enemies. The combat system as a whole, is as smooth as a slice of butter melting on a big ‘ol pile of flapjacks (*wink*). There is also room for building a technique or strategy to your play because of this new found smoothness and brings much more enjoyment out of the combat heavy situations.

Some other additions to the combat are the ability to throw weapons picked up from enemies (limited but useful), being able to purchase weapons from Leonardo, and jumping from horse to horse or horse to ground. Ubisoft Montreal has also decided to combine the dagger with the throwing knives and the sword with the gun. This allows for interesting finishers, and quick changes to either weapon. Oh, and remember that crossbow from the intro from ACI? You now have a crossbow and it’s just as awesome as it looked in that cut scene. There is one other neat trick up your sleeve this time, but that will be mentioned later.

Not only has the landscape, plot, and combat been smoothed and refined, but the music has also been turned to 11 (and a half). Soon after the game kicks in, you will notice that the music plays a much more important part in creating the atmosphere than the previous iterations. The music has always been there, but in Brotherhood it is proud while not being overbearing. The score sets the mood for adventure and revenge nicely, and brings even more life into the already booming game.

Taking a step back to the plot for a second, you are in Roma in the 1500s to avenge Mario and to regain the Apple of Eden. To do this you must assassinate the Borgia until their army crumbles. Realizing you can’t complete such a task yourself, you start recruiting assassins to join you and eventually themselves become assassins. Although this is a big part of the game, it doesn’t kick in till midway. You must find citizens that are revolting and save them from the guards so that they can join you. Then, simply pull the trigger (L2 for PS3 owners) and they will come to your aid and assassinate targets until none remain. They are not just flat mercenaries however, but you can train them by sending them on missions, which allow you to gain more currency and special items. You can then upgrade their armour and weapons with the skill points they gain from leveling. It’s not RPG in-depth, but it’s a nice addition to the assassins.

Something I also enjoyed thanks to the assassins was the ability for micro-games to be born. For those who don’t know and probably haven’t played Oblivion, micro-games are games within the game which, in this case, are player created and are unintentional on the developer’s part. One of my favourite, and most obvious, things to do is to send your assassins out and hire some mercenaries to then raid a military encampment. This is loads of fun and finding new ways to mess around will be just as good as some missions. Maybe raid the Rosa in Fiore?

Before we get into the multiplayer, the side-missions still need a tip of the hat. They are, as expected, plentiful and rich. Some will have you flashing back to ACII, others will have you destroying technology that is pure fiction during this era (driving a tank for instance), and just doing your part to help out the people of Rome. I enjoyed these more than I expected, as I never got into them in the second installment. The flashbacks were particularly interesting as they explain why you have a feud with the Borgia and what happened to Etzio’s family after the hangings.

Now that the singleplayer has been explained, the multiplayer is next up. I only gave the multiplayer a brief time, not that it was bad, but I’m not much of an online gamer. Anywho, the multiplayer has you playing different classes to kill your target. You are placed into a section of Roma where you can blend, hide, and free-run your way to victory. It’s not first class, but it will entertain you with its leveling and competitive aspects. There are many neat ploys that the enemies in singleplayer can do, (such as have doors slam behind you as you run) that you now have as well. It will make you very paranoid about everyone around you so prepare for some nerves to get wracked. You probably won’t get distracted for too long, but I’m sure you’ll have a good time.

Besides it’s modern day era bluffs, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is a top notch title that any fan of the series will love. It has enough new content to consider itself a sequel to the second, but still has the AC feel. Polish was obviously the team’s mantra and it shows in the quality of the game.

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