The Assassin’s Creed series is one that we’ve always enjoyed. While the original was a bit repetitive, II was absolutely lovely. It managed to hone in the story elements whilst simultaneously offering a diverse range of things to do. Disappointingly, the PS3 version was a bit everywhere but it didn’t detract from one of this generations best games.
We’re pleased to report that Brotherhood continues on from II’s good work. We had the PS3 version to review this time, and we were surprised to see it runs quite well on the platform now. There are still a few framerate jitters when business picks up, but it’s definitely playable. The thing with Brotherhood is that you expect it to be a simple expansion with tacked on multiplayer, but it just isn’t.
As always, the meat of the experience is the story mode. Brotherhood’s one once again follows Ezio as he goes about recruiting a crew and building up his empire to take down the evil Borgia family. Of course, there are the obligatory Desmond over-world moments to contend with. In Brotherhood, they demonstrate a wonderful narrative exploration of the bleed-in effect. There’s one particularly memorable experience early on in the game, with ghostly apparitions appearing in a cave/tomb-like area that immediately follows on from the end of one of Ezio’s memories.
Moments like these make Brotherhood stand out. The development team has managed to create something a balanced narrative that intertwines the complete experience without any of the traditional big-game American-style dramatics. Obviously, there are lots of dramatic moments, but they’re told in a mature way. This approach is refreshing, and shows of a development studio that is comfortable with producing classics.
The story isn’t anything original, though. The game starts with a Metroid-style ‘lose everything’ scenario. Ezio and his crew then travel to Roma in order to take on the Borgia family. It’s there where most of the game is held, with Ezio being able to purchase and renovate buildings. Shops, landmarks, brothels and the like can be renovated after removing Borgia control of a specific area. Doing this will allow you to use them and they provide you with the main source of income in the game. Every 20 minutes, you can go to the bank and pick up your earnings.
Of course, Roma is not the only place Ezio visits. He also stops off at some surprising locales throughout the course of his journey, and manages to have a bit of a laugh in the process. The cities have been perfected this time round, with Roma being the biggest metropolis in any of the Assassin’s Creed games. It’s three times bigger than Florence from ACII and it shows. If that sounds daunting to you, there’s a Red Dead Redemption-style horse whistle you can use to summon your white stallion. Horse riding is still a bit restrictive compared to the rest of the movement and animation in Brotherhood, but it is effective at ferrying Ezio between obscenely large distances.
Other changes include faster combat and more aggressive enemy AI. Enemies can now attack at the same time and they’re hell bent on killing you. However, the annoying dudes that jump away from your attack will continue to do so until you hit them with a counter so there are still some annoying moments to be had. It would’ve been much more interesting to see a degree of uncertainty in how everyone moves in the game-world as that could’ve introduced a human element that is somewhat lacking at times. Ezio’s movements are normally pitch-perfect, and enemies will attack you in the same way every time. This is only a small annoyance though in what is normally a very fun combative experience.
With the added bonus of being able to call in friends to come and help you with the press of a button, it really does flow well. Talking of which, the “brotherhood” features of the game’s namesake are quite interesting. They add a sort of pseudo RTS-esque overlay to proceedings, with Ezio being able to send them off on missions to raise funds and their experience. Apparently you can link them up up with a Facebook game too. Very web 3.0.
Now, the thing that’s getting everyone hot and bothered about Brotherhood is its multiplayer mode. It’s the first title in the AC series to have one, and it has so far been receiving a lot of praise from folks across the internet. We won’t repeat their gushing comments, even though it’s a decent effort. There are lots of modes to play and it does work well, but there isn’t a great deal of players on it at the moment. Also, matchmaking is a bit dodgy in the PS3 version (like the rest of the game). It’s good for a bit of fun but we really can’t see it replacing the hardcore multiplayer experiences that are demanding some of your time at the moment.
Verdict: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is a demonstration of how to make a mini-sequel without staling the series. While you’ve seen most of the stuff what’s on offer here before, you will want to play this. It has a lot to offer fans of the series and is the most feature complete version to date for all those that have been holding off for so long. However, the story can be a bit unwelcoming to newcomers and they might not know what’s going on. Despite this, the story mode is complete with some exquisite narrative touches and multiplayer is more than accommodating for a bit of entertainment. Make no mistake, this is a game of the year contender and you should have it.
