Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Reviews

  • a Random Molea Random Mole88,971
    20 Nov 2010 19 Apr 2011
    76 17 22
    Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood hit the shelves just a year after Assassin's Creed II which has caused many people to worry whether or not this game is worth the price, or if its just a glorified expansion pack.

    Allow me to try and put your worries to rest, as spoiler free as possible.

    Gameplay:

    If you've played the other Assassin's Creed games, you pretty much know what to expect from this one. The core gameplay is the same as Assassin's Creed II with a few minor tweaks and changes.

    In an attempt to make the gameplay more fast paced, they have added a new quick kill system. This is a nice break from the previous games where counter has been king and allows the player to be more offensive. They also added a kick system which allows you to break an opponent's guard, but is an issue that will need to be addressed in the next game due to it's ability to make fights unfair as you can spam the A button on an opponent, prohibiting them from attacking you and continue until they ultimately die. They have also added a crossbow which seems to make the pistol obsolete, since you can just whip out your crossbow and shoot an enemy in a fourth of the time it takes to shoot your pistol.

    Trying to make you more of an Assassin and less of a one man army, they strip you of your armor at the beginning of the game and you once again have to work up to becoming all powerful. This led me to have to rely more on another great feature new to the series: the assassin recruits.

    As you go through the game and decrease the Borgia (The main antagonist) family's influence across Rome, you are allowed to recruit citizens to your cause. These "recruits" are on an experience leveling system where the more experience and levels they gain, the more effective they become, ultimately being initiated as a full- fledged assassin. They gain experience from being called upon in the field and missions you can assign them which, notably, give you a good amount of money.

    As you may have assumed from the introduction of the Brotherhood, this game puts more of an emphasis on the guilds introduced in ACII, introducing "Guild Challenges" that really don't seem to effect anything, other than give you more side quests to do and maybe change the way you play the game a tad to utilize the courtesans/thieves/mercenaries more and in different ways.

    16th Century Rome takes what they did with your Villa and expands on it. In Brotherhood, you are tasked with the rebuilding of Rome, spending money to build shops, repair aqueducts, and buy landmarks which, just like your Villa, determine how much revenue you will receive, but unlike ACII where the economic system was a tad broken, causing many people to generate more money than people knew what to do with, after 10 hours of gameplay I still haven't bought everything there is to buy. Expect to eventually accumulate mass amounts of money, but at least it shouldn't be in the middle of the game.

    They have attempted to add some complexity to the gameplay by adding the 100% synchronization, where they add mission parameters that set guidelines to finish a mission the same way Ezio would have done it. With this, they have also brought back the ability to replay memory sequences so that you may come back at a later time and attempt the mission again (or just play it again if you really enjoyed that specific mission).

    Overall, the gameplay is very solid, and can be very rewarding, but ultimately make a game that was fairly easy before, easier. There are some minor bugs which should be addressed for ACIII, including the kick system and the bugs that deal with enemies on other levels (Such as attempting to assassinate an enemy scaling a wall can cause Ezio to bounce into the sky) but in 30+ hours of gameplay, I have only run into 3 or 4 bugs. The gameplay is very smooth and fun, but to more experienced gamers, may be too easy.

    8/10

    Story:

    This is arguably the best part of the series. Fans of the past games have come to expect a great story from their game, and Brotherhood does not disappoint.

    *Spoiler Alert* Where I have tried to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, I do reveal some spoilers about the previous game so if you haven't played Assassin's Creed II, you have been warned.

    The story begins by establishing why you are taking another trip into the animus and where Desmond and the gang are holding out after fleeing from Abstergo at the end of ACII. When you enter the animus to don the boots of Ezio once again, the story picks up where ACII left off, literally beginning with the ending dialogue between Ezio and "that special someone". Events ensue and, in Assassin's Creed fashion, you once again find yourself pitted against the forces of the Templars.

    Despite worries that Brotherhood would put it's single player on the afterburner to multiplayer, this game stays true to the series, even expanding the "canon". This story not only ties up loose ends dealing with Ezio from the last game, but also puts more emphasis on Desmond and the others, even hinting at the possibility of an increased importance of Desmond in the next game.

    There are so many things I could say about the story, but in the spirit of keeping the review spoiler free and allowing you to experience this epic for yourself, I'm just going to say that Brotherhood's story is far from disappointing. Fans of the past games will definitely enjoy this one, but those new to the series will most definitely be lost, and should really consider investing into the previous games before this one.

    9/10

    Graphics:

    I've always loved the graphics of the Assassin's Creed games, and this one is no exception. 16th century Rome is beautiful, and the sandbox aspect of the game only allows you to enjoy it that much more. Only thing I feel I should note is that Rome can look/feel a lot like Venice at times when you are in the more populated parts of the city, but I would contribute this to the time period.

    9/10

    Sound:

    Sound effects are spot on and the voice acting is great, even though sometimes it seems a little cheesy (especially in the scenes involving Desmond, Lucy and the others). The only issue I really feel I should mention is that they used a very similar soundtrack as ACII. I completely understand why they did this and I personally don't mind as the soundtrack still fits the game and what was happening really well, but some might take issue with it.

    8/10

    Multiplayer:

    In a game with so much familiarity, this would have to be the biggest addition to the series. Brotherhood's multiplayer pits Templars against each other in the animus to prepare them for the upcoming battle against the assassins.

    It goes off an experience ranking system, giving the player experience for doing certain things in the game. As the player levels up, they unlock abilities, perks and kill/ death streaks to help customize their gaming experience.

    The player can get experience by playing one of the four core game modes. In these modes, the player is assigned a target or targets they are expected to assassinate while at the same time avoiding potential assassins that have been assigned to assassinate them. They are given a sort of "compass" to locate their target with that notifies them how close they are to their target, expanding as they get closer, as well as when they are in the line of sight of their potential victim, shown by glowing a bright blue. The player model of their target is given to them in the top right corner of their screen while the number of players looking for them is given to them in the top left. The player is given additional points for stealth and style kills as well as stunning and escaping pursuers, rewarding them for more complex maneuvers they achieve. At the end of two rounds, the player or team with the most points wins.

    The four game modes differ only slighty, the most infamous being the Wanted mode. In this game, players are put into an eight man free for all. This can create a very fast paced game, as not only can more than one player be trying to kill you, but you could have competition for your target as well, making the game a race for points. Unfortunately, this seems to take the "Assassin" out of the game as there really doesn't seem to be a lot of room for stealth in this mode. Though it is fun, you can often find yourself on the bottom of an assassination pile, where someone assassinates the player who just assassinated you, only to be assassinated by a fourth player. There is also an Advanced Wanted game type that really just makes it harder for you to find your target, not really changing the gameplay much.

    Where Wanted mode may seem a bit lacking, Manhunt is where multiplayer really shines. A sort of variation of Hide & Seek, Manhunt has the player put on a team of 3-4 players all given the same player model. One team is designated as the Hunters, being tasked with finding and assassinating as many of the other team as possible before the time runs out. The other is designated as the Prey, tasked with preventing the other team from killing their team and outscoring them. Where being on the hunting team is the same as the other game modes, being the prey is a little different. As the prey, you cannot assassinate the opposing team. Instead, you are limited to "stunning" your would be killers. Doing so makes their character drop to the ground, and they are unable to move for a short amount of time, giving you time to escape. Where the hunters get their points much like in the other game modes, the prey get their points through tricking their attackers into killing civilians, escaping their pursuers and stunning their opponents. This has been the crown jewel of my multiplayer experience, giving some very rewarding moments as the prey. Nothing puts a smile on your face like watching the enemy team attack the civilians around you, only to sit back and helplessly watch as you make your escape.

    The fourth game mode is Alliance, which is, essentially, a fusion of the Manhunt and Wanted game types. The player is teamed up with another player, and they are pitted against two other teams of two. It's pretty much the same rules as Wanted, except your in teams of two instead of in a free for all.

    Unfortunately, there are quite a few major issues with the multiplayer experience. The servers are not the best, making it very difficult to get into a game. The best way to actually find players is to go to the main menu and start a search. Staying in a game lobby in hopes that you will be able to play again faster proves to be a mistake, as it takes a long time for the servers to match up people in your game if you do not have eight people. I once sat waiting for players for ten minutes before finally giving up and starting a new search. The servers also make it hard to get into multiplayer at all. I have had numerous times where I would attempt to access multiplayer, only to be met with a message informing me that the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood servers where unavailable at the time.

    I, along with many others, have had issues with the multiplayer HUD, sometimes having it disappear in the middle of a game. Going into the options and trying to turn it back on will not help, as it will only return when you return to the main menu and re-access the multiplayer menu.

    Overall I really like the multiplayer. Its different and I really enjoy playing it when I can actually get into a game, but I don't think it has long lasting appeal for the more casual gamer. I really think Ubisoft has the start of something great here, but right now it just doesn't have enough variation in game modes to offer. I really would have liked to see more game types and possibly a better ranking system. When lower levels get put into matches with higher levels, they are at a HUGE disadvantage. I feel really confident that Ubisoft can do something great with the multiplayer in future games if they so choose to, but as of now it still needs quite of bit of work.

    7/10

    Overall:

    This game is a great game, fans of the previous games will have no problem getting into this one, as this game is a direct continuation of Assassin's Creed II in both story and gameplay. Those new to the series probably should consider investing in the previous two games or just expect to not feel the full effect of the game, as the beginning recap does not do the previous games justice. There are a few small kinks in the gameplay but overall it will not effect your gameplay experience as they have done a great job in ironing out glitches and bugs. This game is a beautiful game, despite the potential piles of bodies you may amass in the streets when your bored, and you can find yourself lost in the beauty of the scenery and underscore. The multiplayer still has a ways to go, but its still a fine addition to an already awesome game.

    To put it simply, this game is a masterpiece. I would recommend this game to anyone even thinking about getting it. Heck I'd recommend this to my Grandma if she were still alive and owned an Xbox.

    9/10
    5.0
    Showing most recent comments. View all comments.
    a Random Mole@Sonic Grunge - I'd love to hear your opinion on the game when you beat it :) I hope you enjoy it.

    @Stealth Shot1906 - Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's encouraging to have my first (and unfortunately my only) review so well received. I've been meaning to do reviews for some games in the past but things have gotten in the way. Hopefully I can change that in the future :D
    Posted by a Random Mole on 07 Jul 11 at 23:36
    Corporal QuinnThis was a fantastic game! I would highly recommend this to anyone!
    Posted by Corporal Quinn on 14 Sep 11 at 01:43
    I3EAR iN MiNDGreat review and great game but aaaarrghh the servers are sh*t.I've been trying to get in to a game for the last 2hrs now and still no luck !!
    Posted by I3EAR iN MiND on 25 Apr 12 at 16:52
  • Layth DireBeardLayth DireBeard124,661
    08 Dec 2010 23 Feb 2011
    51 3 8
    Assassin's Creed is probably my favorite franchise on the Xbox 360. To be honest, I was skeptical about whether Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood would be as good as Assassin's Creed II. I was worried the game would suffer from the short development cycle, and the inclusion of multiplayer made me cringe. Thankfully, I was wrong. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a worthy installment to the Assassin's Creed franchise, and is arguably the best Assassin's Creed game to date.

    The Story (Spoiler Free):

    Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (AC:B), once again, places you in the shoes of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. AC:B picks up directly after the events of Assassin's Creed II (ACII). Therefore, I highly recommend you complete ACII, before you begin AC:B's singleplayer story.

    Unlike the previous installments of Assassins's Creed, virtually all of AC:B takes place in one location, Rome. As you re-live Ezio's memories, your goal will be to liberate Rome from the clutches of the Borgia. Under Borgia control, Rome has fallen into disrepair, and is a shadow of the epicenter of the Renaissance that it truly is.

    Luckily, Ezio does not have to thwart the Borgia on his own. Familiar faces from ACII will take center stage throughout the story, albeit in slightly different ways. In addition, Ezio will have to re-establish the Assassin's Guild (the Brotherhood) if he is going to be successful.

    Ezio's evolution as a character in AC:B is rather enjoyable. In ACII, Ezio was a young man out for revenge, and discovering his abilities as an assassin. In AC:B, Ezio, now a master assassin, charged with commanding his own army of assassin's is responsible for liberating the birth place of the Renaissance. AC:B's story takes some interesting twists and turns all the while presenting a compelling story. In true Assassin's Creed form, AC:B's ending presents more questions than answers, but is nonetheless a satisfying conclusion to one of 2010's best games. Truth be told, AC:B's story is my favorite in the franchise.

    With respect to the length of the story, it should take anywhere from 18-20 hours to complete. Even though some of the missions are similar, they are all different. Thus, I never experienced a dull moment, and thought the story was paced extremely well.

    The Gameplay:

    If you have played an Assassin's Creed game in the past, the gameplay in AC:B will feel like an old friend. Once again, the puppeteer system provides the basic control scheme for the game. The "X" and "Y" buttons correspond to the hands, and the "A" and "B" buttons correspond to the feet. If, however, you are new to Assassin's Creed, you will quickly become familiar with the intuitive control scheme.

    In past Assassin's Creed games, despite Ubisoft's best efforts to deliver a diverse offensive combat system, generally the combat devolved into a defensive waiting game. For example, the most effective method of combat in the previous installments was to simply assume a defensive stance and counter-attack the enemy aggressor. This time around, however, Ubisoft really made an effort to reward players for taking the offensive by introducing a kill streak mechanic. In essence, AC:B allows you to chain together your kills, one hit kills that is, until you are hit by an enemy. In addition, a subtle, yet welcome change to the combat mechanic is the ability to interrupt your attacks to defend yourself. In past installments of Assassin's Creed, you were vulnerable to an attack if you were in the middle of a "kill animation." Now, however, you can interrupt your offensive attack by pulling "RT" to counter-attack an enemy that is about to hit you. What makes this new mechanic even better is that it allows you to maintain your kill streak, which quite frankly is the key to success if your going to chain together a long kill streak. I won't pretend, the counter-attacking method is still an extremely effective way of eliminating enemies, and truth be told, I often reverted to that combat method when I was facing regular guards. However, I tried my best to utilize the kill streak mechanic whenever I was faced with brutes/long-spear men, because I could eliminate them with one hit.

    In addition to the change in the basic combat mechanic, Ubisoft has armed Ezio with an army of his own assassins that he can call into battle. Even though some will argue that this new addition makes the game too easy (I somewhat agree), I found it to be a welcome addition. However, these assassins are not always available and can be killed. In order to level them up, you must send them on assassination missions throughout the world. Their success often depending on the difficulty of the mission. To be honest, my assassins never failed a mission. With that said, I hardly ever rolled the dice. In any event, there is a fine balance between sending your assassin's out on a mission and keeping some at home to call on for help.

    Even though combat has always been an integral part of any Assassin's Creed game, platforming is arguably Assassin's Creed's piece de resistance. In ACII, Ubisoft introduced platforming based memory sequences that lead players to the discovery of Assassin's Tombs. Thankfully, once again, Ubisoft has introduced similar platforming based memory sequences. Without spoiling the sequences, each sequence presents a fresh take on this old, but tremendous gameplay element.

    In ACII, Ubisoft introduced an economy system centered upon the development of the Auditore villa at Montereggioni. In AC:B, this economy system returns, albeit in a slightly different manner. In ACII, Ezio could spend money to improve the different businesses and buildings in Montereggioni; thereby, increasing his own revenue. This time, however, Ezio must rebuild Rome in order to increase the city's value and fill his bank vaults. It's fun to watch the evolution of Rome as you spend money to renovate it. Even though this aspect of the game is rather simple, it has an added layer of complexity because it is directly tied to a new gameplay/story element the Borgia towers. Throughout Rome the Borgia influence is represented by towers that are captained and fortified by loyal Borgia soldiers. In order to upgrade the various districts of Rome, you will have to eliminate the Borgia captain and burn the tower in that area of the map. Even though I could have done without the Borgia towers, I did enjoy having to plan my attack to avoid conflict, and quickly dispatch the Borgia captain.

    In addition, Leonardo da Vinci returns to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood with his inventions. The Borgia have enlisted Leonardo to create tremedous weapons of destruction. It is up to Ezio to find and destroy his friend's creations. The Leonardo missions are an excellant addition to the game, and really mix up the various gameplay elements of AC:B.

    There are not many gameplay flaws, at least that I could perceive, in AC:B. However, I did not like the change made to the horse control. Ubisoft saw fit to eliminate the sprint function for the horse, which I found terribly annoying. Instead, Ubisoft added the ability to stand on the horse, a feature I never used. I will say that being able to assassinate a target while riding your horse is pretty cool.

    Graphics:

    AC:B is a beautiful game. Rome is beautifully rendered right down to the very last detail. However, AC:B is not a graphical step-up from ACII, which is understandable because both were developed using the same engine. My only real gripe with the graphics is that the outskirts of Rome did not quite measure up to the quality of the color and overall graphical quality of Rome itself. But, this is nothing new for an Assassin's Creed game.

    Sound:

    The musical score in AC:B is very similar to ACII's musical score. However, I really enjoyed the music throughout the game. The audio cues that accompanied a chase, ominous moments, or the platforming sections were top notch.

    The voice cast of ACII either reprised their roles in AC:B or lent their voices to new characters. The voice work is good, even though I'm still not sold on Ezio's Italian accent.

    Unfortunately, there were times in the game were I lost sound. It did not happen often, and it did not at all ruin my experience. But, it's worth mentioning.

    Multiplayer:

    For the first time in the franchise's history, Ubisoft has included a multiplayer component in an Assassins's Creed game. To be honest, the majority of people, including myself, were skeptical of whether Ubisoft could deliver a compelling multiplayer experience. In addition, many feared that the multiplayer would detract from the quality of the singleplayer experience.

    I'm happy to report that Ubisoft has delivered a fresh new take on multiplayer that is a lot of fun to play. The multiplayer story fits in with the franchise's overall story arch very well. In essence, the multiplayer component is Abstergo's answer to the Assassins. If you remember running through a room full Animuses (Animi--who knows) in ACII, it is in this room that Abstergo trains its agents to deal with the Assassin threat.

    The multiplayer's three cornerstone game modes are Wanted, Alliance, and Manhunt. In Wanted, eight players are dropped in a map, and each assigned a target. The catch being, the better you do the more people will be assigned to kill you. In Alliance, six players are split into three teams of two. Each team is tasked with targeting another team, while simultaneously being hunted by the third team. The game mode rewards team work and is a lot of fun. In Manhunt, eight players are split into two teams of four. One team is tasked with hunting down the other team.

    All three game modes boil down to--the hunters versus the hunted. In Wanted and Alliance, because you are simultaneously the hunter and the hunted there is an added layer of tension and strategy. Because you risk exposing yourself to your hunter whenever you try and kill your target.

    Overall, the level progression is fairly well balanced. In addition, there is a multitude of options when it comes to character customization.

    Even though the multiplayer is a great experience, it is not without its fault. Be prepared to deal with some server issues. On more than one occassion, I have played with people that could not connect to the servers or to another friend's game for no real apparent reason. In addition, the matchmaking leaves a little something to be desired. It is tough to enjoy the multiplayer experience when your a level 10 being matched against a room of level 50's.

    All things conisdered, the multiplayer experience is tremendous and Ubisoft really delivered in spades.

    Achievements:

    The achievements in AC:B are not much different from the achievement lists of previous installments. For the most part, all of the achievements are easily obtainable, and the multiplayer achievements are easily boostable. There are still a few collectible achievements, but they are not as bad as ACI, and are similar to ACII.

    In a Nutshell:

    In a year that has seen the release of some remarkable titles, Assassins's Creed: Brotherhood truly stands out as one of this year's marquee titles. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood delivers a compelling story line that adds to the mystery and intrigue to the battle between the Assassins and Templars. The various aspects of the gameplay come together to offer a truly entertaining and fun experience. Further, silencing all the naysayers, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood delivers a multiplayer experience that is fresh, and most of all fun. Quite simply, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a must have game.
  • HelmarocHelmaroc169,385
    03 Dec 2010 10 Jun 2011
    39 1 2
    Assassin’s Creed has become quite the popular franchise in only 3 short years. The first one was very unique, with the climbing being especially noteworthy, but many of the objectives you were forced to do got repetitive. The second alleviated this problem, while becoming a much better game in the process. Now Brotherhood is out, continuing Ezio’s story from the second game and adding multiplayer. Is this game worth it, or should Ubisoft have just made Assassin’s Creed 3?

    STORY

    As mentioned, Brotherhood continues the story of Ezio, as well as his descendant, Desmond. Basically, Desmond, along with his little "posse", is running away from Abstergo, who are trying to use Desmond’s ancestor memories to find the Pieces of Eden. They make it to Ezio’s old town of Monteriggioni where they set up base to find the Apple of Eden before Abstergo does. Desmond resumes reliving Ezio’s memories, in which the Pope, who he spared at the end of the second game, has continued growing power, with the help of his son, Cesare. They kill Ezio’s Uncle Mario, which angers Ezio to the brink of wiping out the Pope and his army once and for all. What follows is a revenge story as he kills the Borgia (the Pope’s army) in Rome and meets up with returning allies from AC II.

    The story continues the interesting aspect of the first two games, and kept me hooked throughout. It’s also nice for newcomers to the series as there’s a little recap at the beginning. You’ll need this, as prior knowledge will help you understand the story better.

    DESIGN

    The game is split up into to 9 DNA Sequences, which have varying amounts of Memories in them. Each Memory is a specific story mission you must complete to advance through the game. In all, it will take you around 10 hours to complete the game, that is if you don’t get distract yourself with the many side missions. These include simple assassination missions, or the very fun Romulus Lairs, which are chock full of platforming goodness. These are all optional, but they do give you bonuses, like money, or sometimes special items or armor. You are free to run around Rome, though certain areas are blocked off if you’re not far enough in the story yet. You’ll also see many boarded up shops and banks throughout the city. Restoring these allow you to buy items. They also increase the amount of cash back you get every 20 minutes, which you collect at the banks. I always found myself wanting to restore every shop or place I could, so it’s a nice little distraction.

    You can also play as Desmond and run around in Monteriggioni, though there isn’t much to do, besides finding a few artifacts, so most people will probably play as Ezio without ever playing as Desmond, unless forced to (which sometimes happens). There are also a few Animus Training challenges that can help you hone your platforming and combat skills. These aren’t forced upon you, and I never found myself really wanting to play any, but I’m sure some people will have a kick out of doing them.

    And then there’s the multiplayer. Basically, you are assigned one person to assassinate. You are only allowed to kill that person. If you kill an innocent civilian, or another player you're no intended to kill, you lose that contract and are assigned to kill someone else. There's a little compass that tells you where your contract is. Simply follow the compass and assassinate them. This job is made harder by the fact that there are only around 8 different skins throughout the map. There is multiples of the same character that all look the same. For example, there's repeated courtesans that all the look the same everywhere, as well as the other different characters. So you have to make sure you kill the right person and not one of the civilian look-a-likes. This also allows your contract to hide out. If there's a group of the same character, it's hard to tell which one you are supposed to kill. To make it even harder, someone else is trying to kill you. So you have to try to stay hidden as much as possible to make the person who's out to get you's job difficult, all while trying to find your contract. Running is the easiest way to find you target, but also the easiest way to be spotted by your pursuer, but jumping around and doing other out of the ordinary actions will also give you away.

    This is such a cool dynamic, and fits in perfectly with Assassin’s Creed. To make it even more cohesive, Ubisoft gave a little back story as to what it’s all about. Basically, you’re playing as a Templar agent in Abstergo, learning how to be like the Assassins.

    Overall, AC: Brotherhood is a varied game, with many things to do throughout Rome that will keep you from getting bored, and the multiplayer is a great and very unique addition.

    GAMEPLAY

    Gameplay hasn’t changed much from AC II. You still run and jump across the city by holding RT and A, and the combat is basically the same, though there are a few changes. For one, you can chain kills together. Basically, if you kill one guy, you can push the left stick towards another guy and attacking him, while will kill him with one shot. But if you get hit, your chain ends. It’s a fun addition, though it makes the combat even easier. You still stand there, waiting to counter someone, and once you do, you just start chaining kills and countering anyone so they don’t end your chain. But the big addition is in the name, your Brotherhood of Assassins. Throughout the city, you can recruit people to join your cause and fight against the Borgia. You can then send them on missions throughout Europe (that you have no direct control of) and gain them experience, to get better armor and weapons for them. You can also press LB to go after guards if you don’t feel like killing them yourself. It’s a great addition, and it’s good that they made it so it can’t be abused, as there’s a little bar that slowly fills up to tell you when can use your Brotherhood again.

    I did have a few problems with the climbing though. There were many times where I would want Ezio to grab a handhold that was clearly in range, but he would just stare at it. Also, there’s times where you have to jump backwards to another ledge (usually in the Romulus Lairs), but the camera angle when doing this was terrible and it was hard to judge where to point the control stick, which usually resulted in jumping in a direction that was way off target. Luckily, this didn’t happen enough to become too annoying.

    Overall, Brotherhood is fairly similar to AC II, but is still a very fun and enjoyable game.

    PRESENTATION

    Brotherhood is an absolutely incredible looking game. There’s detail everywhere, from they way citizens react to the world around them, to the way Ezio moves so naturally. This is especially apparent while he climbs. It just makes you wonder how they made the animations looks so incredible. The brutal finishers are also really cool to watch, and can sometimes make you cringe a little. The voice acting is as top notch as always, especially with the return of Mr. 100-character-voices himself, Nolan North, continuing as Desmond.

    Overall, Brotherhood has a solid presentation package that stands as one of the better in the industry today.


    In all, Brotherhood is a great game that I feel is the best in the Assassin’s Creed series so far. It continues the story of Ezio with a great single player adventure, and adds a fun and unique multiplayer aspect as well. Any fan of AC should pick this one up, as well as anyone even slightly interested in the series.

    I give it a 5/5.
    4.5
  • devourerplzdevourerplz239,846
    21 Jan 2011
    33 0 0
    There's something oddly serene about the life of an assassin. As Ezio Auditore de Firenze, you would carefully stalk your victim through a bustling city, alive with the hustle and bustle of everyday life, taking care to blend in with the moving crowds to avoid detection. Once you've cornered your foe, you could dispatch him in a number of ways, whether you wanted to silently assassinate him, poison him, or even charge in head first and deal with the numerous guards that outnumber you 8 to 1.

    That was Assassin's Creed II. That same feeling is back in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and it's better than ever.

    Fresh off the heels of the events of Assassin's Creed II, Ezio returns to his home, the Monteriggoni, a hero, bearing the Apple of Eden. He settles in and basks in the fruits of his success, at least until the Monteriggoni comes under siege by the Borgia. Acting quickly, Ezio takes control of a cannon, ensuring that the innocent villagers can escape, but in doing so, loses the Apple. So, Ezio heads off to Rome in order to seek his allies in order to combat the Borgia.

    The first thing you'll notice is the scale of Rome: it's huge. The sheer size of it isn't the most impressive aspect of it, not when you factor in the beauty of ancient Rome. From small villas built on hilltops to crowded sections of the city packed with high rising buildings, all accounts of Roman life are here. To top it off, the city feels alive with ambient life, with heralds shouting propaganda, people discussing current events, and footsteps of both horse and human alike. It feels like ancient Rome would feel.

    Interestingly, this beautiful city has been corrupted and commandeered by the Borgia, forcing shop owners out of business, and the formerly outgoing shopkeepers are now nowhere to be seen. As someone who needs to build support in Rome, you'll be renovating these merchant stalls, horse stables, and banks quite often. But in order to do so, you'll have to first bring down the Borgia influence in that area. This is done by taking down the Borgia towers and assassinating the head of the Borgia guard of the area.

    This is where the non-linearity of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood shines. You're capable of bringing down the Borgia guard in any fashion you could think of, although the game will reward you with full synchronization for performing the assassination in a certain way. This adds enough of a metagame for those who want a little more structure, but brilliantly prevents every assassination from being the same.

    After the guard is dead, you'll have to finish the job and bring down the tower that casts a shadow over so many people's lives. To do so, you'll have to climb the tower, utilizing the game's trademark climbing mechanics. These mechanics have been improved, making climbing up and around much more fluent and natural, putting much less emphasis on complicated button presses and more on the goal at hand.

    Once you've reached the top of the tower, you toss a torch in the conveniently placed oil barrels and dive off of it in spectacular Assassin fashion. These Borgia towers are but one of the game's many sidequests, all of which follow the same non-linear structure. The most interesting of these are the Leonardo missions later on in the game. Without telling too much, these missions are the most varied and exciting of all the sidequests, each feeling like a unique, well crafted set piece.

    The same level and care put into the sidequests is in full effect during the game's main storyline. Retaining the synchronization aspect, each mission feels unique and different from one another, rarely asking you to do the same thing twice. There's a ton of variety here, whether you're infiltrating a French base dressed in full armor, sneaking into a towering castle to liberate someone, or merely following someone through a crowd, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood develops a good pace early on and continues it throughout the rest of the game.

    The progression of the story wasn't the only thing to receive a better pace. Combat has also been improved, adding in a new “execution streak”, which allows Ezio to dispatch his foes quickly after a kill. This minor addition, added alongside more tenacious and aggressive foes, makes combat a lot faster paced, as well as more rewarding. The simple addition of adding horses and fast travel to the game makes traveling a lot less time consuming, not to mention horseback combat works like a charm.

    However, one of the most impressive aspects of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood lies within it's acting. With both returning characters and new characters tucked within the cast, each of their respective voice actors (and actresses) realize the character that they portray with excellent voice acting, with the same blend of English and Italian first found in Assassin's Creed II. Cesare Borgia, the main antagonist of the game, is by far one of the most well acted characters I've seen, with a complex personality and strange behaviors, feels like a character rooted in history. Even Desmond Miles and Lucy and her group are flushed out, with Desmond's character becoming more apparent during one of the first sequences of the game.

    The surprise hit of Brotherhood? It's multiplayer. Ubisoft put a genuinely fresh spin on the class-based multiplayer we've gotten used to since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. As an assassin in the online world, you'll be forced to blend in with the crowds and stalk your foes, not unlike the game's singleplayer, but what's different here is that you're the prey as often as you are the hunter. This creates a feeling of tension never before felt in an online arena, with one simple mistake alerting your hunter to your presense. Not to mention a plethora of abilities and equipment to unlock through a progression system as well as multiple game types and maps. It all adds up to an innovative, captivating online experience.

    With an amazing single campaign with a ton of content and an excellent (and different) multiplayer component, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is an excellent title worthy of praise. It is the embodiment of what it would be like to an assassin, and few other games offer the same level of excitement. For Brotherhood, that feeling can be found both online and offline.
    5.0
  • Undead ImmortalUndead Immortal507,333
    22 Nov 2010 22 Nov 2010
    33 5 5
    I have always been a fan of Assassin’s Creed, so I was very much looking forward to this and let me tell you, I have not been disappointed! Everything feels so perfect. The story. The gameplay. The graphics. The sound. The multiplayer.

    I’ll try and keep it spoiler free but there may be some.

    So with out further ado, I’ll commence with the review..

    The Story

    The story carries on immediately where Assassin’s Creed II finished. Ezio has just witnessed the message left for Desmond and is a bit puzzled about it. Once the message ends Ezio leaves and then you take control of him.

    It starts off a at the end of the game and then continues to go back to the beginning. You arrive back home at your villa and tell everyone about what happened in Rome. Then a series of events befall you and you’re back to assassination work, this time in Rome.

    Once you arrive in Rome you need to get to work liberating it from the Borgia, that have it under lock and key. To do this you get the aid of the Courtesans, Thieves and Mercenaries, which are led by their respective leaders. Your mother and sister lead and organise the Courtesans, La Volpe the thieves and Bartolomeo the mercenaries.

    Once you’ve got the aid of these, you set to work on restoring the Assassin’s. You can recruit upto twelve Assassin’s by helping them in fights with guards and then talking to them. You can call these into battle at anytime or you can use them to assassinate guards outside of combat. Also at Pigeon Coops you can send them out on Contracts, which lead to them increasing in rank, which makes them more efficient and deadly.

    Ezio’s target is Cesare Borgia, the Captain Commander of the Borgia. Everything Ezio does is to cause the downfall of Cesare and the Borgia. Once you take back Rome, you then proceed to go after Cesare.

    5/5

    The Gameplay

    The A.I. are completely different. You now can get attacked by more than one at a time. Unlike in previous Assassin’s Creed games, were it would be one at a time. One of the things that annoyed me was when one of them would grab me and his friend would hit me before I could counter his grab but that’s just me being picky.

    Another new addition to this is the execution streak. This is were, say you counter an enemy and kill them, if while this is happening you hold your left thumb stick toward another enemy and press X, you will one hit kill them in a spectacular fashion. But just because you can do this, it doesn’t mean that they will let you. They will still attack you but you can counter kill them and continue your streak. You only lose your streak once you get hit. This is a nice edition in my opinion, it makes Ezio seem more Assassin-y and the kills look great.

    Some new weapons in Brotherhood include, the Crossbow and Poison Darts.
    The Crossbow is brilliant. It works just like your hidden Gun but is silent and doesn’t arouse suspicion from using it, unless someone sees you shoot it.
    The Poison Darts are great if you like causing a distraction or killing off guards via poison. But now you don’t have to get close to do it! These also work like the Hidden Gun and Crossbow.

    Another feature I liked was being able to throw heavy weapons at the enemy. Say for example, your spear. You can now throw this like a javelin and impale the enemy, killing them instantly. Or if you’re in combat and everyone is close use the sweep attack and you’ll slash everyone’s throat. You can also throw heavy swords and axes.

    5/5

    The Graphics

    The Graphics are amazing. Every little detail looks great. The way the light reflects off things, the way the ground looks. How Rome’s brick work and buildings look. The people that walk the streets, mingling all look real. The weather and clouds look great. The graphics have gotten better since Assassin’s Creed II and you can notice it.

    5/5

    The Sound

    Every little step you take you can hear as your foot lands. Every little pigeon hoot, you can hear in amazing realism. Horses neighing and their hooves on the soft grassy ground or the concrete paving of Rome’s streets, sound like you can actually hear a horse nearby. Even the people talking is so real and the sounds of fights when you weapons clash and clang against one another, just sound awesome.

    5/5

    The Multiplayer

    So this being the first Assassin’s Creed game to have multiplayer, I know you all want to know what it is like. Well I can tell you it’s amazing! You have a variety of characters to choose from. You don’t need to worry about sticking out like a giant amongst a load of midgets, as all the NPC’s are various characters you could have selected, hence meaning it’s harder for your hunter to know which one is you. You have perks, abilities and streaks available to you, in the customize section, as well as other gear and colours for your characters. Abilities are things like, the Hidden Gun or Smoke Bombs which aid you in escaping or killing your mark or hunter. Perks are passive abilities that help in certain circumstances. Streaks are if you kill three marks or lose three marks in a row, you get something special to help you. For kills it’s bonus XP/Points, for Deaths/Losses it’s something that will help you find your mark or a reset to your ability cool downs.

    There are a couple of game modes, Wanted, Manhunt, Alliance and Advanced Wanted.
    In Wanted you are hunting someone, while being hunted. It’s a free for all and however gets the most points wins. Manhunt is team based. You take it in turns on hunting each other. Team one will hunt Team two then after a pre-determined time, they will switch roles. Whoever has the most points wins. By escaping, hiding, blending etc, the Team being hunted can earn points. Alliance is a cooperative game mode. You get a partner and work together to evade a team of two trying to kill you, while trying to kill a team of two. So Team one will be hunting Team two while being hunted by Team three. Team three will be hunted by Team two. Think of a triangle and everyone hunts the team to their right.

    The multiplayer is great. I thoroughly enjoy it and find it addicting. It can be annoying when people don’t play it properly and just run around ruining the stealth and blending in. But other than that and the sometimes long waiting for games to start times, it’s amazing.

    5/5

    Overall

    I recommend this game to anyone who has played the other Assassin’s Creed games, only because they won’t have a clue what’s going on otherwise. It’s a great game and is enhancing the Assassin’s Creed franchise greatly. It’s a brilliant edition.

    25/25
    5.0
  • SnrmSnrm454,600
    17 Dec 2010
    25 4 3
    If you liked previous Assassin's Creed games, you are sure to LOVE AC Brotherhood!

    Gameplay - 10/10
    The new combat system is very excellent, it adds execution streaks which allows you to continuously kill guards over and over until your streak breaks. This allows a more offensive combat system instead of the old, "Wait to counter the enemy, which got very boring".
    The new horse game play really adds to how you travel around Rome. You can do Horse to Horse assassinations now also, which can be very fun.
    One of my favorite new things to do in Brotherhood is you can fling heavy weapons at enemies which is more fun than you would think. Ezio brings the sword or axe back and flings it, sending the guard flying, just as the E3 video. Which can be very entertaining, or fun to show guests at your house.


    Graphics and Sound - 10/10
    Just like in the 2nd Assassin's Greed, the voice acting has been improved since Assassin's Creed 1 (Don't let me remind you about Altair's American accent when he is suppose to be Muslim)
    The Graphics are stunning! One of the greatest graphics i have ever seen in a video game, and i would love to see it on PS3.


    Mutliplayer - 8/10
    The addition of multiplayer to the Assassin's creed Franchise has added a lot of replay value. The best part is there are a minimal of online achievements, and most are boostable, the only very hard one is Download Complete ( Reaching the highest rank)
    Their are multiple personas to be on in the multiplayer, and you can customize their armor and color. The online play is somewhat confusing at first, but you will catch on very quickly. Load times for matchmaking can be very long sometimes, and sometimes you can't connect to your friends. The connection issues SHOULD be fixed in a patch.
    Ubisoft has already released a free map and a free game mode, and another free map and game mode and coming in January, Free DLC is always a + even if it does not contain achievements.
    The Multiplayer is fun, but i found it to become boring after awhile, ubisoft needs to add something to spiff it up a bit, it is still somewhat fun but it is not fun to just sit down and play for a couple hours like some other online games.

    Achievements - 10/10
    The best part that all people on this site love... ACHIEVEMENTS!!! Like both other Assassin Creed games, the game is a very easy Completion. The Single player achievements are even easier than the other 2 games, all achievements in singleplayer can be done without a guide. Once completing the main storyline you are able to buy a map from the Painter that shows all the Borgia flag locations on your MAP! So no need to have a computer by you, and their is only 10 feathers to collect which also have an in game map.
    All multiplayer achievements can easily be boosted for, the only one that will take you time is Download Complete (Reach max rank [50]) If you boost in Alliance with a decent group of people you can get that with a few hours of grinding
    5.0
  • sudsywolfsudsywolf238,635 238,635 GamerScore
    31 Jan 2011
    16 0 0
    Yes. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a good game! The story and narrative are great, the characters are great, the gameplay is awesome and multiplayer rocks! That's it in a nutshell really... Well, okay, for the sake of trying to be a little bit more professional in this review, I'll delve into it more.
    Announced months after Assassin's Creed 2 and now released a mere year later, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was a worry title. Perhaps even more alarming was that the developers had decided to include a multiplayer portion to an otherwise single-player franchise. Concerns of the game being nothing more than an inferior 'expansion' pack or Assassin's Creed 2.5 with a tacked on multiplayer were beginning to surface. Perhaps even thoughts of the series 'early death' were emerging in the fans minds. In any case, Brotherhood had a lot to live up to thanks to its stellar predecessor.
    It comes as relief then to say that Ubisoft managed to do the impossible, to make, what this reviewer calls, a 'perfect sequel', a game that far surpasses expectations and outdoes it's predecessor in nearly every area.

    The Campaign, or Et Tu Brute?:
    The campaign itself follows present-time Assassin-in-training, Desmond and his foray back into the mind of Italian-born assassin, Ezio Auditore de Firenze as he searches for the all-powerful 'Apple Of Eden' and tries to prevent it from falling into the hands of the dreaded Templar’s. As Ezio, you are tasked with searching the tops and bottoms of Rome, building up a band of followers with the purpose of starting a revolution against the Borgia family, Rulers of Rome and long-time enemies of Ezio. To help in your revolutionary quest, you will recruit the assistance of old friends, new friends and even your own Assassin guild.
    The campaign here is very solid and probably the best the series has seen so far, with a tight narrative that's cohesive and easy to follow, yet gripping at the same time, this is helped by a great set of characters all voiced superbly well, with specific nods to the villainous Borgia family, who's chill-inducing feud is intensely fun to watch.
    Building up an assassin's guild is also very fun; as a major part of the campaign you will recruit your followers on the streets by rescuing them from guards, they in turn will become you assassin's-in-training. You train them by accessing a very cool mini-game in which you send them to perform tasks such as information gathering and assassinations; when successful they gain experience which you can use to level them up. All this work carries over into the main game as well and you have the new ability of calling in the assistance of these assassins’s during combat or assassination missions.

    The Setting, or When In Rome:
    Rome itself is very artfully and comprehensively reconstructed, to the point where one almost feels like they are learning history as you plunge hidden knives into unsuspecting guards necks. As Ezio, you get to explore the city of Rome from rooftops, admiring famous historic landmarks such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon and The Spanish Steps, just to name a few. You'll also be able to explore hidden catacombs and temples that run underneath the sprawling city, ranging from a labyrinthine underground cemetery to an ancient pagan temple.
    Rome is a beautiful city, although it unfortunately doesn’t hold the same beauty that the culture-rich and colourful Florence or Venice held in Assassin's Creed 2; Rome here feels very dilapidated, with decaying ruins and sprawling dry plains, and while this may have been the accurate presentation of the city it all it's artistry it doesn't hold the same 'wow' factor that the previous games had.
    The setting also suffers a bit on the video game side of things in that the map as a whole feels the same, with no easily distinguishable areas outside the empty farmlands or populated streets; this may cause many players to frequently pull up a map to see where they are meant to go as opposed to following familiar landmarks.

    Combat:
    The combat in the Assassin's Creed games have had one of the most polarising receptions. Many people claimed that the rock-paper-scissors method of fighting was one of, if not the most frustrating aspect of the series, and while this may have been true to the first in the series, Ubisoft has alleviated most of the frustration in this sequel with the addition of a kill streak, which when activated, allows the players to string together flashy kill animations to swiftly and affectively take down numerous enemies. This new addition to combat works wonders in that it keeps the combat exciting and fresh. Also new is the addition of the crossbow to Ezio's repertoire which functions very similar to the hidden gun only with more ammo, however this presents a slight problem in that it can unbalance the games difficulty and may take away some of the challenge. Then there's the ranged poison dart, which is possibly the best new addition as it allows you to poison a target from afar and laugh your head off as they spin around in what can only be described as a drunken stupor before falling to the ground in a gurgling epileptic fit.
    Those familiar with the series combat mechanics will greatly appreciate the changes made and will probably grow very fond of the new ways to fluently dispatch enemies, however those still yet unfamiliar with the combat may find some frustration in learning how to effectively block and attack.

    Multiplayer, or A Place for Everything:
    To this reviewer, multiplayer is considered to be the devil of the gaming industry; it can make or break any game (though more often break). Often many developers will add it in a desperate attempt to add more shelf life to their title. Some of the more successful game developer’s use it as their main attraction, often times carelessly destroying the single-player portion of a game. Therefore, when the words "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will have multiplayer" showed up in early announcements, fans of the series worried. It comes as a relief then, to say that the multiplayer here is surprisingly good and manages to create a very fun competitive arena that stays true to the idea's and mechanics of the singleplayer portion.
    You are given three modes to play in (not including DLC bonuses), Wanted, Manhunt & Alliance. Wanted follows the tradition of free-for-all but with an interesting twist; hunt your target before whilst being hunted. Manhunt is your typical team mode with a hide-and-seek spin which follows two teams, one hunts while the other hides with points being distributed through kills and survival. The third mode, Alliance, is where the multiplayer truly shines; mixing both previous modes, Alliance pits three teams of two players, ala co-op/competitive, in which each team simultaneously hunts a target team and defends against a pursuing team. The result is a very fun, involving multiplayer experience that can be made even better if you have a close friend to party up with.
    Added to this is a very cool perks system; as you rank up, you will unlock many perks and abilities that can be equipped to a load out to help you in your assassination attempts; these may range from smoke bombs to the ability to morph npc's around you to look like your avatar and fool any pursuer. The perks and abilities go very well with the game and adds a fresh and customisable feel to multiplayer, although perhaps the game could have done better without the silly hidden gun ability.
    There truly is no describing the feeling of awesomeness you get when you leap from a rooftop onto the head of an unsuspecting victim, or successfully evading pursuers by turning a corner and hitting up the disguise ability only to watch as they frantically run past. It's experiences like these that add to the uniqueness of the game and prove that the multiplayer isn't just 'there' for the sake of being there. It also doesn’t take away from the singleplayer experience, rather it greatly compliments the game as a whole.

    All Roads do lead to Rome:
    Ubisoft has given us a very effective singleplayer experience that effectively evolves from its predecessors and a fresh multiplayer experience with legs. A fan or not, this is definitely a game worth exploring. It does everything it needs to do and more, which is rare these days in the gaming community.
    5.0
  • Stefan LerouxStefan Leroux852,438
    08 Jun 2011
    16 1 0
    Ubisoft seem to be fast becoming my favourite company, with Assassin’s Creed becoming my favourite franchise. I’m not normally a fan of sandbox games: I follow story progression and tend to miss out on side-quests and collectibles. None of this is true for the Assassin’s Creed games. I do have them all, granted a bit later than most big fans, but that doesn’t mean I think any less of them – just that I can’t afford new games when they’re new.

    While being a new game, Brotherhood doesn’t have many huge differences from Assassin’s Creed II, and that’s it’s biggest strength. While there are many differences in parts of the game, the developers have obviously realised that their previous game was good enough to not require a complete overhaul. That said, they have changed a few things, mostly for the better. The biggest of these obviously is the multiplayer mode, although having not played this I’m not going to include it in the review, only mention it as one of the improvements. Having played through the rest of the game I can’t call it anything else, as nothing seems to have suffered to include it.

    Other improvements include the ability to replay memories, and my personal favourite: the ability to recruit new Assassins. This new gameplay mechanic allows you to ask citizens of Rome who’ve been hassled by the Borgia to join you, allowing you to send them on missions, and call them into battle when your stuck. Using an experience system you can level them up, equip them for battle, and bring them fully into the Ranks of the Assassins Guild.

    All is not perfect with the game however, as some things seem to be amiss. For me, the biggest problem is the lack of actual assassinations to be performed. While the first games had you building up to a proper target in each series of events, there only seem to be a few true assassinations in Brotherhood. There are several kills to be done, but what really made a mission for me was the chat with the target after you had successfully terminated them, which only happens a couple of times in Brotherhood.
    Another feature I’ve found quite interesting is the integration with Project Legacy: a Facebook game which allows you to connect to your XBOX game to achieve some further extras. Through playing this text-based RPG you can earn experience for your assassins, and unlock extra clothing options. It’s very simple, and far from necessary to the game, but is a very nice and unique feature.

    Despite the lack of kills to be done, the game plays really well, and is hugely enjoyable. Unlike the previous 2 I have yet to get all the achievements, and sadly due to the multiplayer mode quite possibly never will. I’ve not come across any bugs in the game, and played it through very happily. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the earlier iterations of the game, but if you weren’t a fan there’s not a big enough difference in this game to make you fall in love with it.
    4.0
  • GhidorahZeroGhidorahZero399,976
    01 Mar 2011
    13 0 1
    "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood: A worthy sequel? Or a tacky spin off?"
    Only a year after Ubisoft's amazing Assassin's Creed II, we get this, Brotherhood. The main attraction here is the inclusion of Multiplayer, but does the rest of the game suffer for it?


    Graphics - 10/10
    If you thought Assassin's Creed II looked good, just wait until you see this! It's better in every way, it's not a drastic change, but the series has never looked better. Walking around Rome is a truly awesome sight in this game, and Ezio looks more detailed then ever. Even with his silly beard.

    Gameplay - 9/10
    Single Player - 9/10
    This is almost a 10. Building on the previous game, the gameplay is largely unchanged apart from a few additions. You still go from memory to memory gaining skills and equipment to help you assassinate the bad guys. I won't include any spoilers, but what I will say is that you literally continue from where Assassin's Creed II finishes.

    New additions to the gameplay include finally being able to ride horses in cities! And more importantly the Assassin Recruits.

    The recruits are just that, you help citizens who are being picked on by guards, and they join the Assassins. From pidgeon coops you can send them on missions to level them up, eventually becoming full Assassins, and get to lose their ring finger too! The advantage to this, is that if you're in a tight spot, you call call upon your free Assassins to aid you in a fight, or assassinate someone for you.

    Also remember renovating your villa in ACII? Well now you get to renovate a whole city! Yes, your hard-pilfered florins can now be used to renovate shops and landmarks all around Rome.

    The only reason this does not get a full 10 is that with the addition of Recruits, the tricky assassinations just stop being tricky. If you know you'll probably be caught in a long fight if you assassinate that Captain, now you can press LB, and the AI does it for you. It sort of takes the fun out of planning a hit on your own.

    Multiplayer - 8/10
    Now, when I heard this would feature Multiplayer, I was worried. Assassin's Creed does not lend itself to a deathmatch style of game. The combat is focused on countering, which does not work against other players.

    But thankfully, there is no deathmatch. Instead you have various modes, all based on Wanted. In this mode, it's a free-for-all, you receive your target, another player. You have to kill him, but also remain hidden from players who have you as their target, yet you can't take too long, as another player might get to your target first, denying you points. The game gives you more points for stealthy kills rather than charging about stabbing anyone in your way.

    Other Multiplayer modes include Alliance, which is Wanted, but in teams of two. And Manhunt, where one team must kill the other team, who must hide.

    Overall, the Multiplayer is very well done, some major issues involving getting into a game, but apart from that there isn't much in the way of lag. With a system of perks, abilities and customization, there is a lot to play around with.

    Sound - 9/10
    Like the games before it, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood delivers a fantastic soundtrack. The hustle and bustle of Rome feels right, and it's always fun to overhear the civilians make comments on your parkour free running. Also, like ACII, you can have the game either in English (with 'glitches' of Italian), or full on Italian, for the authentic experience. My only problems include Ezio's voice just annoys me, and the music is a bit too similar to ACIIs.

    Longevity - 9/10
    Well the Single Player alone is roughly 15 hours, depending on how many side missions you do. And you have the option to replay any previous memory, but a problem with both Assassin's Creed games before this is that once you have completed it, there wasn't much to go back an do. But the Multiplayer really does bring the score up, providing a new, interesting take on multiplayer games.

    Overall - 9/10
    Faults? None really, at a push I would say that the gameplay is a bit too similar to ACII, but then that game was also a 9/10 for me. The Multiplayer could do with some work, but even so, it's still an impressive show from Ubisoft. Would I recommend it? Only if you enjoyed Assassin's Creed II. If you've not played that, play that first. The storyline of this game is relying on you to have played and completed that first.
    5.0
  • LavindatharLavindathar1,971,778
    12 Sep 2011
    10 0 0
    Assassins Creed Brotherhood

    Developer : Ubisoft Montreal
    Publisher : Ubisoft
    Platform : Xbox 360

    Due to the belated timing of this review, it’s hard to know where to start. Most of you will have played the game in the year since it’s been released, and for those of you that haven’t will have almost certainly heard about it know the details.

    But for that small percent of you that haven’t, here it is :

    Brotherhood is the third game in the Assassins Creed franchise, following Desmond and Ezio as the games lead characters. The time period is the same as the second game, following a period of around 40 years after the second game, watching Ezio grow older. In the present, the time that has passed since Assassins Creed 2 is mere moments.

    This time around, the game is set almost entirely within the walls of Rome. Gone are the days of trapsing the surrounding fields from city to city. In this sense, it almost feels like the world has shrunk - there are still the outlying rural areas of course, but the lack of travelling from the different areas is noticeable.

    As I said earlier, Brotherhood picks up right were AC2 left off - after the confrontation with Rodrigo Borgia, and the confusing (for me at least) scene far beneath the Vatican, most would have thought that Ezio’s days of scampering over rooftops was over. Cesare Borgia has other ideas, and much like his father goes after the Assassins in style - starting with burning down the lovely villa in Monteriggioni. All of Ezio’s possessions are destroyed in the fire, giving Ubisoft ample reason to remove all of Ezio’s awesome equipment he earnt in the second game, and having to start all over again.

    To avenge the fire, where else can Ezio go but to the capital, the fabulous city of Roma? The city itself is gigantic ; divided into twelve areas all under the Borgia rule. Each area has it’s own tower, much like the watchtowers from previous games. If Ezio feels so inclined, he can remove all Borgia influence by killing the Borgia captain who guards the area. Then by climbing the defenceless tower and setting it ablaze, he raises the citizens morale and starts an uprising in the district, removing all Borgia influence in the area. This changes a few things; once the Borgia oppression has been removed, shops in the area will open up and the amount of soliders in the district will reduce dramatically, making the towers destruction a great bonus, but not a necessity. The game doesn’t require a single Borgia tower to be destroyed, but removing them makes missions in that area an lot easier due to the reduced number of guards. Once unlocked via a towers destruction, shops play an integral part in Brotherhood, in more ways than one. Firstly, the amount of shops owned increases the amount of items Ezio has access too. Secondly, the shop type themselves play a part to upgrade items ; for example, the amount of parachutes you can carry around is dependent on the amount of Tailors you have renovated throughout the city, and the more Banks you own means the more money your savings account can hold before it needs emptying.

    The question on a lot of Creed fans lips is, “can the campaign rival that of AC2?". Well, fear not, because Brotherhood has stepped up to the plate and equals, if not beats the exceptional AC2. The campaign is a long one, taking a decent 20hours or so to complete, even longer if need be. It follows Ezio over a much longer time period than previous games, spanning almost 30 years from start to finish. I really don’t want to go into detail about the campaign itself, but it does contain a few twists and turns along the way. It’s well told from Ezio’s point of view, and the characters progress nicely. Friends and Foe alike have returned from previous games, including the magnificent Leonardo Da Vinci, playing a more integral part in the game than the second, and even getting his own peice of DLC to boot. It’s due to some of Leonardo’s side missions, entitled War Machines that we get to see a different side to the Assassin’s Creed series. Leonardo has crafted six machines designed to reak ultimate destruction, but they’ve all fallen into Borgia hands. It’s Ezio’s job to find the blueprints to the machines and destroy them ; then to ride off into the sunset on the machine itself before you destroy it. This gives us chance to play a bit of an arcadey mini game, to break up Brotherhoods gameplay nicely. These range from flying his “hand-glider bomber”, driving his “mounted machine-gun” whilst chopping down mounted guards and driving the tank. These missions are nothing special, but they do deliver a much needed break in pace in the game. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the gameplay in Brotherhood, it’s fantastic, but we’ve been here before. There is nothing really groundbreaking to separate this iteration from the previous ones, the missions are all fairly similar and there is nothing truly new. There are tweaks and improvements in the game of course, but the same underlying mechanic is there - get given a target, find your way to him, assassinate him as you see fit.

    A few of these tweaks are major overhauls of the system that are great to have in the game, but once again nothing groundbreaking. In previous games, you were unable to ride your horse wherever you pleased, but now gone are those restrictions. You’re now free to ride wherever you please, from the rural fields of the outskirts to the busiest of streets. A small change, but one that’s removed one of those “invisible walls” that seem to break up gameplay. The biggest overhaul, can be guessed from the games title : the Brotherhood. As you destroy Borgia Towers, you can rescue oppressed citizens and recruit them to join your very own Assassins Guild. Train them up from rookie peasants to fully fledged killers. You can micro-manage their assignments, sending them all over the continent to fulfill contracts, or have them by your side in Rome. Well, when I say by your side, they are a mere button press away. Picture the scene ; a prominent figure who needs to meet his end, overwatched by two lookouts upon a barricade wall. You can’t reach all three before one of them notices, so what do you do? Select one of the guards, and hit the button. Select the second, and hit the button. From the shadows will strike two of your recruits, dispatching the guards before they’ve noticed Ezio sneaking in to take out the main target. The system works very well, and is managed by an “energy bar” so that it can’t be abused. It refills over time, but from personal experience I’d say it refilled too fast. Max out the bar, and you’ll find you’ve got three assassins with you for all major points of the game. To make things even easier, if you use up all three recruits powers at once, you’ll enable arrow storm : arrows will fall from the sky killing every enemy on screen at the time. You can also customise their loadouts, as well as their armour pieces so they look however your guild wants them to look. Overall, the system does what its intended to do - it shows that Ezio is no longer a solitary assassin against the Borgia and the Templars, he’s now a leader, head of his very own army as the war takes on a much greater scale.

    As well as the recruits, Ezio can also enlist the help of three core groups. Whilst these groups add a touch of extended realism to the title, much like the recruits they make it a lot easier. You can employ either the Courtesans (to distract enemies), the Mercenaries (to attack enemies) and the Thieves (to engage in hand to hand brawls). Or at least thats what I think the thieves did. I’ll be honest, I got that bored with all these groups reducing the challenge of the game, that I decided not to utilise them for the most part. I can’t remember if I actually used the Thieves or not, so forgive me if I’ve got their purpose wrong.

    My final attack on the difficulty of the game, was the inclusion of the Crossbow. A silent weapon with a ton of ammo, that’s able to dispatch guards in an instant from great range. Gone are the days of sneaking up to guards on a rooftop and hoping to dispatch them without anyone seeing, now all it takes is a fast crossbow shot and the job is done. If I’m honest, I think Ubisoft have really aimed at a casual market here. Is it a bad thing? No, I guess not, but ultimately it has left Brotherhood a very easy game, with only the 100% synch the only challenge in the game. This time around, every mission (main and side) comes with an optional objective, and to reach 100% synch you must complete that objective. These can be anything from “Don’t touch the floor during the chase scene” or “do not kill anyone”. I thank Ubisoft for these, as it’s these little objectives that give the challenge.


    Much like the towers are an optional piece, Brotherhood features a huge assortment of sidequests and missions. These range from working for the Theives Guild to helping out the local Brothel, from assassination contracts to rooftop races to maintain an ageing Ezio’s reputation. There are also six hidden dungeons each containing a legendary piece of armour from ages past - clear all six dungeons, collect all six pieces and the armour is Ezios for the wearing. For those who enjoy the open-esque sandbox style littered with sidequests, then Brotherhood has you covered. The time taken to complete all sidequests alone is longer than a lot of games have as their main campaign - I’d estimate at around 10-15hours to finish everyone off, especially if you are going for that 100% synch rating!

    Overall, the single player side of the game is a good, solid adventure through Rome. It’s taken everything that the second game did, and made it better. It looks better, it plays better, and it has more features. In fact, I’ve had to leave a lot of content out of this review otherwise I’d be hitting 6-7 pages and you’d be falling asleep. There truly is that much content. My only qualm is the lack of challenge due to the “baby aids” that Ubisoft have included, but due to the quality of the game you can forgive them this.

    But thats only one side of the coin, the latest Assassin’s Creed game features Multiplayer.

    From my first online match, I loved the multiplayer, I truly did. The first thing I noticed, was that this multiplayer was unlike anything I had ever played - it rewarded patience more than anything else, and I loved that.

    The basic premise is simple, your an assassin, in a filled city district. There are other assassins in the area as well, you have your target, they have theirs. The aim, to kill your target in the most “assassin like” way to earn points,without being killed yourself.

    There are a few multiplayer modes, Wanted and Advance Wanted, which is basically the FFA modes that you are used too. Spot any opposing player, and dispatch him without being killed yourself. Alliance is a team based mode, where you’re assigned a partner. Your team of two then has to dispatch other teams of two, and you guessed it, try not to get killed yourself. Finally, there is Manhunt, my favourite of the modes. Manhunt splits the playerbase into two teams, and is a two-round game. In a round, one team hunts while one team hides; and then in round two the roles are switched. The highest point total at the end of both rounds wins the game.

    The multiplayer features the usual level up/perk/weapon unlock system that we have seen in so many other games, with the higher levels granting access to poison, then fast acting poison etc - it may be a bit unbalanced truth be told, as the higher levels really do have an advantage over the lower levels. But if your good, and you play well, then even as a level 1 you can destroy enemy teams.

    Points are assigned based on the style of your kills : running out into the open, and dispatching an enemy with a noisy pistol shot will net you a measly 100 points. Sit on a bench, wait for an enemy to walk past you while you silently clip him with your poison tipped blade can net you a staggering amount. Remember, patience is key here, and you are rewarded for staying in the shadows and not being spotted.

    Overall, the multiplayer was fantastic, and one of the freshest experiences I’ve had in a long time. It may sound boring to some, and I guess it may play boring to some, but I loved the slow paced methodical gameplay to a lot of “run n gun” explosive titles that spring to mind.

    Overall, the multiplayer was fantastic, and one of the freshest experiences I’ve had in a long time. It may sound boring to some, and I guess it may play boring to some, but I loved the slow paced methodical gameplay to a lot of “run n gun” explosive titles that spring to mind.
    4.0
  • Sonic SleuthSonic Sleuth299,791
    18 Apr 2011
    11 2 0
    The Assassin's Creed series has become something of an international sensation, with sales figures rivaling all but the most popular next-generation titles. The buzz about the latest title, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, has been immense since the game's debut at E3. I've been looking forward to sitting down with it since mingling with the standing-room only crowds in Los Angeles this past June, and I emerged from the Brotherhood completely satisfied.

    Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the third in the Assassin’s Creed series, is by far the most enjoyable of the games. The story starts with our hero, Ezio Auditore, in the church where the last game left off. An an unexpected bonus, AC:B reads the Assassin’s Creed 2 save file, so returning gamers enter the adventure wearing exactly what what they had been in the last game, as well as carrying their gear. Exciting, right? Don't get your hopes up, that doesn’t last long.

    This iteration of the game takes place in the Italian capital of Rome with Ezio once again coming out of hiding to fight the forces of the Borgia, who want to control Rome for themselves. The city is beautifully rendered and filled with interesting locations to explore, with the sounds of Rome recreated as well. Italians argue about the assassins and the Borgia, talk about the trials and tribulations of their daily lives and comment on your astounding ability to climb. “He must be late… and she must be beautiful!” was heard several times as I jumped onto a wall to ascend into the Roman skyline.

    AC:Brotherhood kept all of the features that make the series great… the ability to climb everything, chasing targets through the streets of Rome, exploring dungeons Tomb Raider-style, everything is still here. What makes AC:Brotherhood stand out from the last two is the ability to control a group of assassins to do your bidding for you. Through an intuitive mission screen Ezio sends his minions out into the world to cause disruption to the Templar. Each successful mission awards your recruits with experience points where they work their way up the ladder through the ranks, eventually reaching assassin status. With each level you unlock new weapons for your underlings to use and better armor to assist in the chaos they bring upon the enemy. You can also call upon your recruits to assist you in missions. With this help, Ezio fights his way through Rome by eradicating the Borgia captains thus freeing that part of the city from their influence. Once a captain is identified, a simple push of a button brings your assassins from every possible direction. They leap from rooftops, gallop in on horses, or appear as if from nowhere, intent on killing the captain. Once vanquished, simply destroy the tower and you enter a resource management sub-game, buying shops and renovating Rome.

    With each building purchased or landmark renovated, Ezio’s wealth grows. Every twenty minutes money is added to your account at the bank, allowing the gamer to buy more property, upgrade weapons and armor, and collect art to be displayed in the guild hall. Another addition to AC:Brotherhood are merchant quests. If you collect enough of certain items, you can unlock very powerful special weapons and armor that have to aid in toppling the Borgia. I found that this made finding and unlocking chests all the more exciting, waiting for that last item to unlock the Captain's Sword.

    Brotherhood was a total gaming experience. The story kept me interested in what was happening in Rome in 1500 and in the present day, where you take control of Desmond and his team’s fight against current Templar injustice. All in all I completed the game at 55% synchronized and that was after roughly 30-40 hours of gameplay. There are a wealth of things to discover in Rome and the outlying country side. Like many current releases, there are still achievements and trophies available before the game is truly complete. After finishing this review, I plan on gold medaling three virtual training events for the Perfectionist achievement, and I still have to jump off the highest point of the Borgia castle for Fly Like an Eagle. While the game has another annoying collectible flag achievement, most of the achievements are fun to complete.

    The most talked-about new feature of AC:Brotherhood is the addition of multiplayer. There are several interesting game modes that put you in the shoes of an assassin looking to fulfill his contracts. Each kill brings more experience, which in turn unlocks perks and abilities. Stealth is the key as running up on someone and stabbing them haphazardly only awards you around 100 experience. By blending in, hiding in the bushes and waiting for them to come to you, the experience jumps to 400 plus per kill. It's an interesting way to encourage those FPS fans to stop and smell the roses… or the curdling blood of their latest victim.

    Wanted mode pits the gamer against up to seven other players in a free for all that hands you a contract to kill another gamer. Using cunning, stealth, and tricks like disguise and morphing you follow your target through the streets to kill them unsuspectingly. Meanwhile, you're being hunted by others (multiple gamers if you're doing well), so don't let your guard down!

    Manhunt is a team deathmatch type mode where you start with two teams of four people and two rounds. The first round, one team attacks and the second round that team defends. The attacking is pretty straight forward, but the defense round is where it becomes imperative to blend, hide, and if necessary run like hell to get away from the opposing team. Alliance mode places players in a domination style arena with three teams of two players. Each round a team is designated as the target, and the other two teams are tasked with ending their short, violent lives.

    Gamers might find the multiplayer mode a bit frustrating to start, but once into the flow of the game, it's exciting to see a target strolling casually towards you, not knowing your face will be the last thing he sees. The matchmaking works like a dream and matches you up with players of your level. Unlike the mess we see in games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, if you're a beginner, you will be playing with a group of players with similar levels. One major drawback is the inability to join Wanted game mode with a friend in a party. My guess is they don’t want you teaming up to kill the other players, but it just makes it frustrating if you want to play with a friend, but don’t want to play the team modes. Another issue is that is takes a long time to enter Manhunt mode… but once gaming, there is a "Rematch" option that returns the same players without a long lobby waiting period. Sonic Sleuth and I are pretty competitive and I love nothing more than owning him in an online game. The chance for that to happen in AC:Brotherhood is very slim, especially since I'm a higher level player. The only chance we have is to get lucky and join the same Wanted match, which for now is very unlikely. Perhaps the problem won't be as prevalent in time, with less gamers in multiplayer.

    In the end, AC: Brotherhood is the most fun I've had with a game this year. While the shelves are stocked with high profile sequels like Halo: Reach, Fallout: New Vegas, CoD: Black Ops, and Fable 3, AC: Brotherhood is as good as any game on the market. Don't sleep on this one, and if you haven't played the previous entries in the series, they're both $20 on Amazon.com… no time like the present to join the Brotherhood!

    Check out our other reviews at www.gamedebateclub.com!
    5.0
  • Pedle ZelnipPedle Zelnip1,029,803
    12 Jun 2011
    10 11 4
    Finally finished up the single player (not incl DLC) in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and thought I'd share my thoughts. To give some context: I *hated* AC1. I found it far too repetitive, the controls were problematic, and it just didn't feel like a polished enough experience. I however *loved* AC2. I felt they took everything that was great in AC1, tweaked the controls, and varied the side quests to avoid that repetition that plagued the original. Honestly, AC2 might have been my GOTY the year it came out. So I came to Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (herefore referred to as "AssBro") with high expectations.

    Honestly though, it starts out *VERY* slow. The first hour or so is 90% cutscenes, and drags on. The first couple of missions are really boring "follow this guy from point A to point B while listening to horrible dialogue" missions.

    Once you get back into the Animus though it starts to become more like AC2 (perhaps a bit too much so). One thing I *loved* about AC2 was the fact that there were so many little side missions that you could do, and AssBro is the same. There's a TON of side missions, I'd be inclined to say there's even more than in AC2. Some are genuinely fun, some are really frustrating. There's a greater emphasis on stealth in a lot of the missions, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. It's no Splinter Cell, but there's times where being sneaky works much better than charging in. Having said that, all this stuff was in AC2, so it feels much like more of the same, though not necessarily in a bad way.

    The big new addition in AssBro is the notion of the Brotherhood which is just a group of CPU controlled assassin's that you can call in at any time. Kind of a neat idea in theory, but in practice it feels very "gimmicky" and tacked on. There are times where it feels like the only reason they exist is to make an otherwise difficult portion of the game super easy. You'll be hanging from a ledge trying to figure out how to kill some problematic guard and then realize all you have to do is hit LB and your buddies will go ahead and kill all the guards around you. It's a bit gamebreaking at times.

    Another new thing is the notion of getting "full sync" on missions, which is essentially a way to add arbitrary meta-achievement like criteria to the missions. If you're not a completionist you can ignore the full sync stuff, and fly through the missions, or if you are a completionist then you'll have to complete missions meeting some arbitrary criteria (ranging from cool things like "kill victims with a certain weapon", or "don't be detected on the mission", to completely lame things like "complete the mission in only XXX minutes"). One *HUGE* issue with this though is that if you fail the criteria the only way to try again is to restart the entire mission, you can't just revert to a checkpoint. There's a handfull of missions where this completely sucks.

    Aside from that, it really kinda feels like AC2 part 2. It's definitely meaty, too big to be a DLC for AC2, but there's so little in the way of anything new that it's hard to think of it as a brand new game.

    This leads me (finally) to my general overall thought of the game -- it feels a bit unpolished. Most of the stuff that's great in AssBro was great in AC2. The stuff that is new in AssBro generally isn't notworthy or downright sucks. There's little glitches (a couple times I had Ezio get stuck in walls), sometimes checkpoints happen right *before* lengthy cutscenes, there's huge issues with balance in the missions (some are completely trivial, some get rather hard especially when you go for "full sync" in them, which if you want the 1250GS you'll have to do on all missions), etc. Nothing gamebreaking, but enough to keep it from "OMG what a great game" status.

    As for MP, admittedly I haven't played much, and adversarial MP isn't my cup of tea, but I wasn't a fan. I applaud them for trying to create a different MP experience, but I found myself in the few MP matches I played trying to figure out what to do, and felt at an incredible disadvantage as higher level players get gadgets that skew things dramatically in their favour. Honestly I haven't played it enough to really give a proper review, but my surface-level impressions of the MP was that it's a tacked on feature for the sake of being able to say the game has greater replayability.

    On the whole I'd say it's worth picking up & playing if you liked AC2, but there really is a bit of a "more of the same" vibe here.

    One last comment: most of the text of this review was sent as an e-mail to a buddy of mine who was interested in the series. He replied back talking about how he was a bit disillusioned with the way the series had become increasingly "safe". Instead of trying new characters in new environments which was much of the original premise & promise of this franchise, they're now essentially milking the Ezio in Italy setting. I couldn't agree with this sentiment more. This seems especially true given the now announced AC Revelations which will share the same setting as well.
    3.0
  • Sakic26Sakic26758,225
    08 Mar 2011 09 Mar 2011
    2 6 0
    In this installation of the game, it has a more in depth focus on the stealth aspect of the game while adding in a nice story line. It picks up right where the second one left off. The single player is what will draw you in, the multiplayer is a fresh idea and does still need a little work in order to compete with other big name titles. Graphics once again shine as you can tell there was a lot of time spent on getting every detail about ancient Rome right. Spending time to fix up the cities is also an added bonus, this time it also includes building up the shops as well. Another big inclusion, you can now recruit assassin's to aid you in your quests. overall this game is exactly what you would expect from this series and proves the story has a lot of life left to it.

    Graphics: 8/10 This is where the you can tell Ubisoft has taken into account every little aspect and detail of the gameplay world. There are very few glitches in the game with the graphics but overall the game is as close to flawless as you have come to expect.

    Gameplay: 9/10 Continues the story right where the second one left off, so it immediately catches players from the previous stories interest. They have added a lot of new aspects to the game to help add single player time into the game which is another good thing. The biggest complaint is that there are several glitches that hinder progression, the biggest being a mission where you have to enter a castel without being detected and as soon as you open a door a guy appears out of thin air and detects you no matter how many times you try it.

    Multiplayer - 7/10
    I'm not a big fan of the multiplayer, and that's for one big reason, it takes forever to find a match! I believe they have fixed this since the last update but taking up to 5 minutes to get into a match is unbelievable. Not as many maps as I would have liked either. The good things, they have taken a road less traveled with the multiplayer, there is no COD type deathmatch and countless hacks. The maps are fresh and interesting, showing they invested time into making sure they have the details down on this as well. The multiplayer modes are also a refreshing change as manhunt is a personal favorite.

    Sound - 9/10
    I usually play my games with the volume pretty low, but not this one, much to my wifes dismay. The sounds are perfect, the blacksmiths banging on the steel, the sound of the hidden blade slice through the body, it really doesn't get much better than that.

    Longevity - 9/10
    The solo campaign will take about 15 hours to complete. Probably more if you want to go for the 100% sync in the whole game. It's not an overly challenging game but several missions will have you scratching your head. With the new DLC added, it also adds to the score of longevity with 8 new missions. Multiplayer, now that it's working will also have you playing for a good 15 hours for the level 50 mark.

    Overall score - 8/10
    4.0
Hide ads