Review by Nathan Hardisty
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £49.99 | Region PAL | Developer Ubisoft Montreal | Publisher Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed II represented a key change in Ubisoft’s general palette of games. The original Assassin’s Creed was panned by critics but lauded for its great ideas and few stand-out sequences such as the assassinations themselves. Assassin’s Creed II took up these criticisms and became known as the utter refinement of all the previous game's clutter into actual joy. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is now here, said to be a spin-off or an interlude between the sequel and threequel. The question is whether or not it’s a complete waste of time, money and/or effort.
The story suffers a little in that it attempts to be alike one of 2010’s other entries, Mass Effect 2, but without the critical punches. It tries to revolve around character, but it’s hard to find any evolution or actual development. The main plot has you chasing around a few people who are said to be ‘evil’ three seconds before you stab them. It moves almost too fast and there’s nothing interesting to stick on to. Nevertheless, the whole ‘conspiracy’ sub-plot that runs through the series returns in full force and has even more relevance this time around.
The game is generally the same as before: you get told where to go, who the target is, and then you can run around looking for something to climb. It’s almost formulaic and boring, but only because the combat is preserved in all of its dysfunctional pleasures. Now, at last, multiple enemies attack at once but it still feels awkward to be continuously holding R1/RB to stab or counter. There’s a fluidity reminiscent of the original Prince of Persia games which would fit the series so perfectly, but it seems it’s already settled into a shamble of combat mechanics.
New little features take centre stage with Ezio now able to recruit assassins and use them to aid him in battle with a tap of L2/LB. It feels powerful and puts a grin on your face when the assassins leap from nearby rooftops and tear your enemies to giblets. It feels truly crushing when one of them falls in battle and truly wonderful when they reach the ultimate rank of Assassin, which they can level up to by gaining XP. They obtain XP by you sending them on contracts throughout a little metagame. You look on a map that shows you various locations across Europe each having a number of missions of varying difficulties. The way it all stacks up and has you coming back to check it is almost diabolical, using a similar frame of design as Farmville.
One of the biggest additions and disappointments to the game is the arrival of multiplayer. Multiplayer comes in a package which has levelling up, characters and a whole broken actual format. You’re meant to be told who to track down with a little indicator and the same for when someone is hunting you. There are a few moments when it’s genuinely riveting to catch a glimpse of your own hunter and when you become the hunted, leaping from rooftops and high ridges, although these moments are too few and far between, and for the most part spawn-killing and control mishaps will eat up your enjoyment.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is not an innovative step forward in the franchise, nor does it keep up the good design philosophy of stellar sequels: expansion rather than innovation. It’s not a complete and utter disappointment - I did enjoy my time with Ezio running around Rome - it’s just that the game takes a few foul steps in terms of letting combat remain broken, multiplayer being a shambles and everything about the narrative just being boring. I would say read up on what little plot has been advanced and then you’ll be ready for the next chapter.
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is also available for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 in various collector's editions. The Game Special Edition (UK RRP £49.99) includes a copy of the game; bonus The Officer character for multiplayer; Trajan Market map for single player; and special packaging. The HMV Exclusive Edition (UK RRP £49.99) includes a copy of the game plus The Harlequin multiplayer character and The Aqueducts single player map. Finally, the Limited Codex Edition (UK RRP £69.99), available from Play.com and UbiShop, comes packaged in a Renaissance Collector Chest that contains a copy of the game; The Original Codex: a 60-page book detailing the origin of the Assassins and game artwork; a map of Rome; collectable cards of all the characters featured in multiplayer; Assassin's Creed Lineage: a short film on DVD that tells the story of Ezio's father, Giovanni Auditore; a bonus DVD featuring galleries and the original soundtrack; The Harlequin and The Officer multiplayer characters; and The Aqueducts and Trajan Market multiplayer maps.
