Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Review

One year after the release of Assassin's Creed II, Ubisoft has released Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood which is a direct sequel to 2009's game. At first, myself and a lot of the gaming community dismissed this as a cheap cash in especially with the addition of a not really required multiplayer. How wrong we all were.....


Story
Picking up right after the events of ACII, Ezio Auditore is left standing in the vault under the Vatican thinking "wtf...." after Minerva left the vault. Uncle Mario comes to the rescue and helps him get out of the Vatican and escape back to Monteriggioni. Ezio begins to relax thinking his work as an assassin is over. However, it was short lived as Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Rodrigo Borgia, attacks Monteriggioni and takes the Apple of Eden from Ezio. Ezio then travels Roma in a quest to kill both the Borgia's.
Ezio's story is a lot weaker than what was presented in ACII. The new characters that were introduced such as Cesare Borgia and Lucrezia Borgia were never really fleshed out and we never really learn of their intentions as to why they really want to overtake Roma. The middle sections of the game just got plain boring at times and the one year development cycle really shows towards the end of the game when story elements begin to become extremely rushed.
However on the other hand, Desmond Miles story this time around is amazing. The usually banter between the crew is still hilarious but Desmond's story really picks up towards the end. I would definitely recommend everyone plays this to the end just to see what happens to Desmond because the ending will absolutely blow you away. However be ready to do a bit of research once you finish it and watch is multiple times because it is damn confusing and there is a lot hidden within it.


For the story- 8.5



Visuals
Brotherhood's graphics may not be the best in the industry and at times the engine can look just dated. Certain character models don't look especially great and there is the occasional pop-in and screen tearing. However the graphics are still amazing. The amount of detail within the world is spectacular and all of Ezio's animations really look believable. But where this game really shines is the artistic beauty of Rome. When i walk around as Ezio, it really does feel like a real world place. Standing at the top of the Colosseum, it looks so beautiful that I can visualise the gladiators fighting until the death. Ubisoft has really been able to capture the beauty and essence of Rome and this on its own makes it one of the most visually impressive games in the industry.

Visuals- 9.5


Gameplay
A big talking point of Brotherhood was whether the gameplay will be significantly changed over AC2. I can say that its pretty much the same thing, however there are a few major changes which can make a slight difference. The biggest of these being the combat system. No longer will you stand there countering enemies one by one. After one counter, Ezio becomes a killing machine and combos kills over and over again with a simple press of a button. While this may sound extremely easy, pulling off long combos can be extremely challenging as you must time your kills well and also consider that the AI might attack you mid kill which stops your killstreak. Eventually you will get to a point where you are so good at it that you can leave piles of bodies on the ground within half a minute.
The introduction of a Brotherhood is a nice option for different ways to approach a situation but I never felt it was a necessity to use unless the mission specifically tells you to use them. While they are cool and don't break the game at all, most players will find that they wont use them as much.
The renovation system from AC2 is back but this time you can control the whole of Rome. It is remarkably improved over AC2 because I feel like when I upgrade shops it will actually aid me in my fight a lot more than it did in AC2. Also the cash revenue has been fixed this time around and most likely at the end of Brotherhood, Ezio won't be doing Leap's of Faith into stacks of cash like i found myself doing in AC2.
Overall the gameplay is largerly similar to the previous game, if you loved it in AC2, you'll still love it. If you hated it, you'll still hate it.

Gameplay- 9.5



Multiplayer
An extremely controversially portion of the game at first because it felt like an uncessary addition to the franchise. However it all blew us away at E3 2010 and won the best multiplayer of E3 from various sites. It's safe to say that this is definitely one of the most interesting and innovative multiplayer games of this generation. In a typical game of Wanted, which is the equivalent of FFA Slayer, you are assigned a pictured target and there is a rotating wheel at the bottom of the screen indicating the approximate position of your target. Your objective is to find your target and kill them. However this can prove to be difficult because if they are smart, the target will try to act or blend in with NPC's in order to trick you into accidentially killing an NPC which will cancel you contract. However the catch is that you are also always a target for someone else at the same time. Mastering the game is extremely difficult as it takes a mix of social stealth, which involves blending in with the crowd and environment but it also requires quickly hunting down your target. Overall the concept is really fun and sometimes it can make for some epic set-pieces especially when you have to guess which character is your target and which is a NPC. Unfortunately, I've found that Ubisoft's multiplayer servers are not great and there are often connection problems, game lag and freezing which can really destroy the mood of the game. This is the only thing holding it down from being an amazing online multiplayer.

Multiplayer- 8.5



Overall
I'm fairly notorious on this forum for being a massive Assassin's Creed fanboy and I've stated that AC2 is my favourite game of all time much to the dismay of some people. Brotherhood does not have enough new content to be classified as AC3 but it definitely has more than a "AC2.5" which puts the game in a difficult position. In reality, you will find that this game is much more of the same and alot of the great parts of AC2 were kept in Brotherhood with changes that really improve the fun aspect of the game. The multiplayer is not only innovative but can be really intense and fun at times. Brotherhood is truly an amazing game and one of the best of 2010. It is definitely a must play for anyone who enjoyed AC2 and I look forward to Assassin's Creed 3 coming out in 2012 (It's pretty much guaranteed for a 2012 release to coincide with the whole plot of the game).

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood- 9.5

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

It doesn't really matter TBH.


Great review, Ghost! I am picking this game up soon, hopefully. I love the AC series.

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get for the PS3 you get extra missions (for free) and it probably has more dedicated players for the online.

Scolar Visari wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get for the PS3 you get extra missions (for free) and it probably has more dedicated players for the online.

Surprisingly enough the 360 version sold more, even though PS3 version has free DLC, so I would assume the 360 has more online players.

What ever happened to Pein? He does reviews on the first day.

Some fox kid killed him.

Ah looks like a really good game. I did get AC2 on release day, but no replay value once i completed it. I'll be getting this though.

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

I would go with the 360 version because the exclusive DLC is only a few missions which isn't any different from the rest of the game. And since Ubisoft's servers arn't great, I would assume that you will have a much better time find games on the XBOX Live compared to PSN

Aksys wrote:

What ever happened to Pein? He does reviews on the first day.

Other people can do reviews as well...
Plus this is a really long game.

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

ghost23 wrote:

Aksys wrote:

What ever happened to Pein? He does reviews on the first day.

Other people can do reviews as well...
Plus this is a really long game.

I know but Pein is just...Pein. And I think he did a Final Fantasy XIII review on the first day.

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

AC2 should definitely be on 360 because Ubisoft has admitted that the PS3 version was a let down because of a crappy port. The Brotherhood missions will most likely come to 360 eventually just like how all the limited edition exclusive DLC eventually came to the marketplace

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

Or you could buy it new and still get all the DLC on 360. Switching systems for every other installment of a game in a series is stupid.

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

What you basically created is an high unlikely if not impossible scenario. No one buys two consoles within one month. But if you were to, you would definitely buy both ME's on 360 for the save file transfer.

ghost23 wrote:

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

What you basically created is an high unlikely if not impossible scenario. No one buys two consoles within one month. But if you were to, you would definitely buy both ME's on 360 for the save file transfer.

Oh yes, I totally forgot about that.

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

Or you could buy it new and still get all the DLC on 360. Switching systems for every other installment of a game in a series is stupid.

I know, but its just an example. Lets use Batman Arkham City as a better example, everyone knows that the PS3 got the 3 DLC Joker maps, but lets say that Arkham City gets 3 DLC Two-Face maps only for 360. Would you get the PS3 versions, 360 versions, or PS3 for the first and 360 for the second.

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

Or you could buy it new and still get all the DLC on 360. Switching systems for every other installment of a game in a series is stupid.

I know, but its just an example. Lets use Batman Arkham City as a better example, everyone knows that the PS3 got the 3 DLC Joker maps, but lets say that Arkham City gets 3 DLC Two-Face maps only for 360. Would you get the PS3 versions, 360 versions, or PS3 for the first and 360 for the second.

To be honest I don't really care but if I got the first on 360 I would get the second on 360 and vice versa.

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

To be honest I don't really care but if I got the first on 360 I would get the second on 360 and vice versa.

But why would you rather have that then extra content?

Unless the PS3 version has some exclusive content that is worth me changing my purchase for, I will always be getting the 360 version of multiplats simply because my entire library is on 360. End of story

AC:B exclusive missions on PS3 are side missions loosely connected to the actual story. Even the gameplay brings nothing new.

If you buy Assasin's Creed games on Xbox 360 I still don't see the incentive to switch over. Especially if you want to play with your friends on Xbox Live.

Alan1994 wrote:

AC:B exclusive missions on PS3 are side missions loosely connected to the actual story. Even the gameplay brings nothing new.

If you buy Assasin's Creed games on Xbox 360 I still don't see the incentive to switch over. Especially if you want to play with your friends on Xbox Live.

The exclusive mission has something to do with Copernicus, which has nothing to do with the main story-line, the 2012 doomsday.

ghost23 wrote:

America wrote:

TheJubJub5721 wrote:

America wrote:

Arbiteris wrote:

Does anyone know if I should play the AC series on PS3 or 360?Ill probably be getting a PS3 soon so im not entirely sure

Great review BTW!

Get AC1 on 360(has achievements)
Get AC2 on either one
Get ACB on PS3(has free bonus missions not on 360)

Or just get them all on the same system.

not if one version is better than the other. Like if you got both a PS3 and 360 in january of 2011, would you get ME1 and 2 on 360, or would you get ME1 on 360 and get ME2 on PS3 with all the DLC included on it?

What you basically created is an high unlikely if not impossible scenario. No one buys two consoles within one month. But if you were to, you would definitely buy both ME's on 360 for the save file transfer.

STOP ARGUING OVER WHICH VERSION IS BETTER. IT'S THE SAME DAMN GAME FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!