First off, I loved the feel of Assassin's Creed, but hated the game play. Assassin's Creed 2 completely sucked me in and made me absolutely love the game. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood brought a big smile to my face that completely satisfied every impulse, knee jerk reaction to what I wanted from the second one.
It starts with a combination of two events. 1) Right after you defeat the Borgia pope you return to your Villa. This, of course, is where you are lead to your training sequences for the new maneuvers of the game (which incidentally is much easier to use. instead of going to your Villa to train you can simply hit Start and choose training). 2) You are taking part of the 2012 world of Desmond and your exploration of the Italy of that time, with its typical 21st century erosion on the old world. Both are fantastic. I couldn't help but love returning to the world of Ezio and exploring around. Even more so was the absolutely huge world of Rome, noticed straight away as you pan around to the distances. This is an absolutely different and way more majestic world than the world of Assassin's Creed 2. You know that although you will not travel to as many cities you will certainly explore more just by the huge size of Rome.
The graphics are amazing, touched up and refined from the last one. The controls are almost identical, allowing you to jump in to the game with ease. The added addition of the Brotherhood adds a lot despite the tendency to overuse your assassins and leave yourself vulnerable, when you would certainly want to use them. Regardless, the overall game play has improved, despite the fighting mechanisms still feeling a bit droll and not to unique.
Finally, after trying for awhile with little success I was able to get in and log on to the multiplayer server. This seems like a problem straight away because it shouldn't take 5-10 minutes to log in to a server, and then the next time you log in a matter of seconds. I found that after I waited for 5 minutes I had to cancel out and go back in in order to play. The play itself is a joy. You play anywhere from 6-10 people mixed in amidst a ton of "civilians" for about 10 minutes, stalking and hunting your prey or just straight up chasing them. This multiplayer has a much different feel than the typical slugfest and bullet ridden multiplayers of other games, simply because you literally have to get up close and personal before you can make your kill.
The campaign play is long and worth it, definitely not feeling like an add on and more so like a real stand alone game with its own merits. The multiplayer is well worth it as well, although not sure if the replay ability will get old or die down, something of which only time will tell. Add the two together and you have an absolute winner in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. A definite recommend.
5 stars.
Update: A direct comparison would show the following. AC2 has considerably more collectibles than ACB, but ACB's collectibles are much easier to find since maps are made available for any and all of them. That being said, there are a lot more side quests/missions that you can go on in ACB. When all is said and done I spent about 32 hours in AC2 and it took about 24 hours for ACB, athough there are still a lot of side quests to be completed (and clusters) and so it will take a bit more time. With game complete and all feathers, flags and treasures found, I am only at 51% sync, which shows that there are a good amount of hours left to be played. That being said I still haven't found all the feathers in AC2, and thus could still spend a lot more time there, so it is a wash. AC2 had 5 cities, plus a visit to the Vatican at the very end. ACB has just one large city, although you visit several other places on your missions.
I found that there was only one aspect that I wish were done differently which would have made the game that much better. You visit several villas when completing the quests to destroy DaVinci's war machines, as well as Firenze (sp?) and Viana Castle. It would have been so simple to make these places that you could visit and explore after you completed your mission. Viana Castle and its surrounding countryside, for example, would have been fantastic to explore and just run around. Instead you only visit it briefly and you are running and fighting the whole time you don't get to see it. Additionally, you don't get to climb up or explore around San Pietro. You see it always in the distance, then at the end you get to go up to its gates and then nothing. There is the Lair of Romulus that puts you in San Pietro but you are chasing a Cardinal at such a frantic pace you barely get to notice the huge and majestic building that would have been absolutely fantastic to just stop and hop from ledge to ledge. A simple touch to allow us to explore it after the game is compelte would have made this game that much better. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Like many people, I enjoyed the first Assassin's Creed for what it was but felt that it was lackluster in it's mission variety and repetitive in nature. Assassin's Creed was leaps and bounds ahead of the original, and the good news is that Brotherhood is a continuation of that winning formula. Coming out a year after the previous game might make this seem like a glorified expansion at first glance, but Brotherhood is anything but that.
The story shifts back and forth between Ezio, returning home to find that war has broken out and his arch nemesis does some nasty things that warrants Ezio's motive for revenge and overthrowing him, and to Desmond in 2012 as he and the rogue scientists attempt to unravel the past in order to escape the murderous templars in the present. The plot is not overly engrossing, however it's the characters that bring everything to life and Brotherhood really excels in this area. Ezio is a compelling character a always, and the game is filled with a rich cast of colorful characters that are both new to the series and returning from the previous game. The difference in this game is that you are not supposed to run through the story on your own; you are expected to recruit assassin's to assist you througout the game and they are yours to summon whenever needed. Sadly, the AI is not spot-on and sometimes they are not as useful as you would hope, but they do come in handy when you are getting slaughtered in battle. A character in and of itself, the city of Rome is vibrant and bustling with interesting and sometimes amusing people. Beggars line the streets, prostitutes beckon you to hire them and groups of vigilantes gather in the public squares, all adding to a sense of realism that made the previous game so endearing. The bulk of the game is spent in Rome, which may feel like a step back from Assassin's Creed II, where you would travel between cities, but Rome is so vast and populous that you'll easily overlook this. The story missions are well paced and full of intense action, and the platforming segments in the shrines are fantastic as well.
The gameplay is largely unchanged from Assassin's Creed II and the free-running mechanic works as well here as it did before, so anyone familiar with the game can dive right in. Rome is a huge city with plenty of rooftops, so it's sometimes fun to just run around and take in all the sights. In addition to the story missions, there are various things you can do around town to earn money. Like Assassin's Creed II, there is an economy system here in which you purchase shops and they add to your treasury balance, which is essential for upgrading your weapons and armour. A new addition that's a nice touch are the areas of the city that are under the tyrannical rule of Borgia and his armies, and you can liberate these areas by destroying their towers and killing the captains. This adds some of the most intense and exhilarating moments in the game, since these tasks ramp up in difficulty fast. Graphically, this game is a sight to behold and it is easily on par with Assassin's Creed II. The character animation, cutscene quality and design of the city are all well done and, despite some noticeable pop-in, it provides a wonderful sense of immersion.
Like all video games, Brotherhood is not perfect and it does have it's share of flaws. The free-running mechanic is tight and responsive for the most part, but it is not always accurate. There have been several occasions where I meant to jump in one direction and I ended up going the other way, sometimes falling to my death or losing valuable seconds in some of the time-based objectives. This even happens when you are clearly facing a place where you can jump. Additionally, there is some glitchiness with your AI controlled assassins and even some of the friends you need to interact with. For example, they would get stuck in walls, stand there doing nothing or simply teleport to another area. It's not a huge problem, but it does pose some annoyances when you really need things to run smoothly. Thrown in to add a level of challenge, you can now achieve full synchronization by completing missions a certain way. For example, if you complete a mission in under a certain number of minutes, avoid losing health, or killing someone in a particular manner, you will achieve full synchronization and this will add up to achievement points/trophies. Unfortunately, some of the sequences are lengthy and it's disheartening to know that you've failed this so early into the missions. This does add some frustration, but it's hardly a deal-breaker and some might actually view this as a strength.
The last thing I'll touch upon is the multiplayer, which is something very interesting and unique. You are thrown into a large area with other players, given a person to assassinate, and likewise someone is after you. The objective is to kill your target before you get killed, and the style in which you do it will determine how well you do. For example, if you run up and knife someone in the back, you've achieved your objective and move on. But if you do it with style and stealth, you earn more points. This is a refreshing change from all of these online shooters that mainly focus on kill streaks, so being a hardcore online player doesn't ensure that you'll do well here. It's definitely something different. On the other hand, the pace will definitely feel slower to those who prefer the breakneck pace of online shooters, so this is an acquired taste. If you don't like multiplayer, you don't lose out because the single player campaign is 20+ hours long and there is plenty to keep you busy.
The speed at which this game was released certainly attracted some sceptics, however I am happy to say that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is every bit as fun, challenging and beautifully done as the previous game. Those expecting an entirely new game with a new plot and cast of characters might be disappointed, but anyone who loved Assassin's Creed II is really missing the boat if they don't pick this up as well. Highly recommended. - Video Games - Brotherhood - Assassin S Creed - Xbox 360'
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