Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Let’s get something straight. I love Assassin’s Creed. Period. I beat the first game, regardless of the mundane repetition and suicide worthy voice acting for Altaïr. I played the second game until my eyes bled, and most of that time was spent harassing the guards and killing them for the pure joy of the combat. I’ve been playing Brotherhood for even longer now, and I’m still not even close to done. With the singe player game, Ubisoft has mostly given us more of the same, with a few worthwhile additions. The graphics have taken another slight step up, the combat and stealth options have seen a few more additions, and there are even more types of side missions. But the multiplayer package is one of the best ever conceived, and that is what has truly kept me coming back to the Animus.

In this third installment of Assassin’s Creed, Ezio makes a return, but this time  he’s not alone. He’s forming a Brotherhood. He realizes that he can’t fight the Templars all by himself, so he calls in the homies to take care of business on the block. Monteriggioni has been destroyed, an important character has been killed, and Ezio is not happy. He travels to Rome, which is where the entire game takes place. The setting doesn’t feel terribly different from the last game, but being able to explore historic places like the Colosseum is pretty epic. The story is still interesting enough to keep you around, but by the end you feel like it might be time for a change. It’s not bad, but if we keep hanging out in Reinassance Italy and dealing with the same problems, we’re going to get bored.

The single player story functions a lot like that of AC2, but with a new feature. This feature is the ability to be “100% synced” with Ezio in the memory. What this means is that there will be an extra task, objective or way of completing the mission that will get you to the 100% mark. This is usually something like killing your target a specific way, remaining completely undetected, or not killing anyone but your target. You can still finish the mission without meeting those parameters, but you won’t get that 100% sync, so completionsists will be going nuts every time they get it wrong, and redoing the mission. This definitely adds some replay value, but can be a bit frustrating for some of the tasks that are harder to complete. You can replay any memory from the Animus desktop, including side memories, so you’ll always have a chance to achieve perfection.

Side missions are similar as well. You have your assassination contracts, races, courier assignments, and other various side missions with their own sub-stories and special structure. You also have collectibles such as flags and feathers again. Viewpoints also return, not having changed much, but that’s not a bad thing. It is still incredibly fun to leap from impossibly high distances and somehow land safely in a stack of hay.

Combat mechanics are almost identical, but they have a few minor improvements. You have a basic attack button, which you can use to string together deadly combos and kill several enemies in succession, you can grab and throw your targets, and perform awesome counter kills by holding block and pressing the attack button just as your opponent moves in to attack. You can also use your hidden pistol mid-combat, effectively eliminating serious threats as soon as they become evident.

Ezio has even more awesome kill animations, resulting in some seriously brutal deaths for the unfortunate guards who get in your way. As for stealth, all of the elements from the second game are here. Poison darts have been added, allowing you to poison your targets from a distance, and you can FINALLY use a crossbow, which is a relief for everyone who was disappointed that you couldn’t use one in the first game, even though it was showcased in the opening cinematic. Eagle Vision also makes a return, functioning in the exact same way it did in AC2. When you activate it, enemies glow red, hiding places glow white, friendlies glow blue, and targets glow yellow.

The city itself is vast, and divided into 12 different districts. In each of those districts, you will find a tower called a Borgia Tower. How is this significant? Well, they are another addition to the side missions. If you are able to successfully assassinate the captain and destroy the tower, you will be rewarded with an awesome leap of faith and the satisfaction of having accomplished your good deed for the day. Oh, you mean you want something tangible? How about the ability to purchase and upgrade shops in the area such as blacksmiths, tailors, stables, and more?

The renovation system from AC2 returns, but this time the shops can be found all over the city. If you walk by a closed shop and have enough money, you can can re-open it, providing that the nearest Borgia Tower has been destroyed. Opening more of the same kind of shop will have different benefits directly related to the shop type. Opening more shops in general will increase your income. You have to be sure and collect it from the bank regularly though, or it will top out and you will earn no more. You can increase your account’s capacity by opening more banks.

While the Borgia Towers are not required whatsoever to complete the game, they are fun and destroying them can serve you well. They will reduce the number of soldiers roaming the area, making future missions easier, and of course you can build a better income. Also, with every tower you destroy, you will open up a new slot for your assassin recruits.

Remember at the beginning of this article when I told you that Ezio is no longer alone? Well, you’re about to get the scoop on the biggest new feature of this game; The Brotherhood.

In AC1, you could rescue citizens in distress from the local guard and they would reward you with either the vigilantes or the scholars, a moving hiding spot. Well, Ubisoft took that idea and expanded upon it greatly. Now, if you rescue certain citizens, they will join your Brotherhood of Assassins, and you can now call upon them at any time to assassinate targets for you.  You simply lock on to the desired target and press L2 (PS3). Your assassin recruits often attack in groups of two, and you can have up to 3 groups at a time. Once you call upon a group, a short recharge period is required before you can call them again. If all three groups are prepared to attack, you can send up to six assassins to attack in succession, or you can hold down the button for an arrow volley, which will kill nearly every enemy in the immediate vicinity.

The more combat your assassins see, the more experience they get. When they level up they get improved equipment, and will eventually be using hidden pistols and smoke bombs regularly. You can also choose whether to upgrade their attack or armor first, but the system is very rudimentary and all assassins end up being the same in the end. They have no personality either, so the system feels a bit hollow.

You can send your assassin recruits on off-screen missions to gain experience while you are performing your own duties. In case you are wondering, yes your assassins can die, either in live combat or on these side missions, but during my entire playthrough I don’t think I lost a single one. With the side missions there are varying levels of difficulty so you just make sure that the success rate is close to 100%. Success rate is increased by the number of assassins sent on the mission and how much experience each has.

The Brotherhood system is fun, but at times it feels like a cheap way out of a sticky situation. I’m not saying it’s not cool to have a huge battle between a ton of guards in the street and your assassins, because it is, I’m simply saying that sometimes it makes it a bit too easy.

Now we all know what you’re really here to read about; the multiplayer. This is the most refreshing online experience I’ve had in a long time. If you’re tired of the usual first person and third person shooter multiplayer, then prepare to have your mind blown.

In multiplayer, everyone is actually playing as the Templars, the bad guys in the story. The first time you decide to play online, you are greeted with a short cinematic that explains why. The Templars are using the Animus to train with each other in order to take down the Assassins. Once you’re past the cinematic though, you stop caring about any kind of story.

When you first try online, there will mainly be two types of games, Wanted and Manhunt, and both of them are equally thrilling for their own reasons.

In Wanted, you choose a persona that will be entirely different from that of the other players. The streets will be bustling with NPCs that look like all of you, so it is very possible to blend in with the crowd. You are assigned a random player as a target, and you are given a compass at the bottom that will lead you in their general direction. Once they are in your line of sight, the compass lights up. You will still have to figure out who they are though, as there will be no blips above their head to distinguish. You’ll have to watch the crowds and figure out which one is your target. If you kill an NPC, the contract is lost, and you will be assigned a new target.

While all of this is happening, someone is also pursuing you. This makes the game very tense, as death could come from any direction. Your pursuer could be hiding in a haystack, a nearby crowd, or leap down from the rooftops. Kills in this game are awarded points based on how stealthy the kill is. Running around a lot will not only get you noticed, and killed, a lot, but will reduce the amount of points you get when you make your kill. The game rewards patience and precision.

If you are running around like an idiot and your target happens to be looking at you, a red arrow will appear above your head, revealing your identity and giving them the opportunity to escape. It may also trigger a chase, which alerts your target to your presence no matter which direction they are facing. If they are able to break your line of sight long enough, they escape, earning points, and you lose the contract. There is an advanced version of Wanted that makes your compass much less accurate, but so far I haven’t been able to find anybody playing it.

Manhunt is team based. Six to eight players are split into two teams, and the leader will choose the persona for their entire team. One team hunts, and one team hides. After five minutes, round two begins and the teams switch roles. The longer the hiding team is able to remain hidden, the more points they get over time. If they remain close together, the points add up even faster, but it also risks all of you being found at once. They cannot kill their pursuers, but if they can trick them or sneak up on them, they can stun them, earning points, and run. The rules of pursuit are the same as in Wanted; you can be detected by running too much, you are rewarded for stealthy kills, and you have a compass to guide you to your targets. Hunters can switch targets at will using the directional pad.

The more you play, the more you’ll level up. Even if you don’t end up in first place, your time never feels wasted as long as you made at least a couple kills. Your points are used as experience, and the more you level up, the more gadgets you get. To help take down your targets you can get the hidden pistol, throwing knives, and other deadly tools. For hiding and defense you can disguise yourself as someone else for a short period, transform the crowd around you to look like you and leave your pursuer guessing, or use smoke bombs. Some items and abilities can be used both offensively and defensively, such as the throwing knives and smoke bombs. You can have up to two gadgets/tools at a time.

You will also receive perks over time. These are passive abilities that will be activated when the appropriate situation applies. You can have perks that let you run further up a wall before having to climb, get up faster after being stunned, or turn a single member of an NPC crowd into a copy of you when you enter the crowd. All in all there is a fairly large varieties of gagdets/tools and perks, and you can have up to five separate profiles with entirely different setups, and you can switch between them every time you are killed, and in Manhunt, if you are the hunter, every time you are stunned. To add in even MORE bonus stuff, you have different kill streak and loss streak options as well.

Multiplayer is a meaty package, and in my opinion, this game would be well worth it if the online play came by itself. There are other gameplay modes that have been released as well, but I haven’t had the chance to play them yet. When I have, I will be reviewing them as well.

If you liked Assassin’s Creed 2, you should be perfectly fine with the single player game in Brotherhood. If you were getting tired of the old formula, then there may not be much here to keep you interested outside of the story. If you are looking for a fantastic and refreshing multiplayer experience, then believe me when I tell you that you won’t be disappointed.

Related posts:  Assassin’s Creed review, Assassin’s Creed 2 review