Electronic Theatre In-depth Review: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

            Arriving only twelve months after the hugely successful Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has unsurprisingly garnered a lot of attention in the build-up to launch. Unlike previous titles in the series however, it’s not the story-led single-player campaign that’s been grabbing headlines, but instead it’s the debut of an all-new multiplayer mode. While Assassin’s Creed II proved that the franchise was capable of being far more than an elaborate tech demo, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood aims to prove its worth as more than a ‘once-through’ series of games, delivering an enduring online mode in addition to a typically lengthy single-player experience.

            While the multiplayer has been the focus of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s press showcases and public outings prior to launch, the single-player aspect had previously been the focus of the series. There are many worried that this component may suffer in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, but that simply isn’t the case. Followers of the franchise shouldn’t expect the same significant overhaul that Assassin’s Creed II offered above Assassin’s Creed, but the campaign is nonetheless a well-rounded experience.

Beginning with a recap of the events of Assassin’s Creed II, and also comfortably explaining the conventions of the series’ story and reintroducing a few important characters at the same time, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood picks-up immediately where it’s predecessor left-off, no tutorial deemed necessary. This does of course also right one of the wrongs Assassin’s Creed II was often judged to have committed instantly: taking too long to grant the player the ability to play as the assassin, even if the free-roaming aspect is decidedly limited at this point. Instead of a lengthy tutorial, the game introduces it’s additions to the Assassin’s Creed II formula instinctively. Upon arriving back at the Monteriggioni Villa – your home – the player will find they are allowed to ride their horse into the city before being given three missions to take care of. These missions are short and to-the-point, each introducing a new mechanic or new variation of a previously true one.

As the game has no hesitation in getting started, so to is the difficulty curve ready to accelerate at a stunning pace. Within only a couple of hours players will be engaging in elaborate Platform/Puzzle challenges and working their way through complex, twisting dungeons, and never does Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood become a case of working-by-the-numbers. Every challenge is unique, and just as engaging as the previous one.

Where Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood proves to be a unique single-player experience is in the goals that are crafted around the expanse. Very near the beginning of the game the player is invited to take part in several different mission types, all of which remain present on the map throughout the game. Progression with the side missions – breaking the Borgia’s hold on the city piece-by-piece – early-on does of course help your cause greatly in the long run, as do the usual tasks involving helping civilians and collecting hidden items. The greatest single-player challenges come in the form of the Platform antics required in order to raid a number of hidden shrines, and in the recruitment of new men to your Brotherhood. Without wishing to spoil the game, new recruits can be used to great advantage in combat, which itself has received a fair update to the mechanics seen in Assassin’s Creed II, yet differs little from that well established template.

Prior to release, it was stated that the single-player game would feature the ‘largest ever map’ of any Assassin’s Creed game, and that it does. Rome is most certainly an elaborate construction that will take most gamers many, many hours to familiarise themselves with. Of course, this in itself is the reason horses can now be ridden within the cities – in aid long-distance travel – but additional aid is available in the form of an underground network. As a setting for the adventures of Ezio, Rome feels an entirely more convincing venue throughout the campaign than the disparate cities and villas of the first two games, but Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood still remembers what made these original locales interesting when needed.

As stated above, the multiplayer mode included in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has been the most discussed aspect of the title in the build-up to release, and with good reason. While some may have been turned-off by the public beta testing phase that was available to limited numbers of PlayStation 3 gamers, it’s easy to suggest that the small example available then bears little resemblance to the final product. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s multiplayer has taken inspiration from BioShock 2: linked to the story by way of an intro sequence prior to playing for the first time. Players are then offered the opportunity to take part in an introductory session, which comes highly recommended to those who have yet to sample the multiplayer game modes.

Once playing online, gamers will find all the now typical levelling-up mechanics and customisation options that are practically essential in a modern multiplayer game, but more than this is the immediacy of the action itself. Multiplayer games of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood are constructed incredibly well, with the clock that continues to countdown increasing pressure as the time remaining nears zero, thanks to a constant display of the leader chart and the level at which your avatar can be aggressive without being recognised. Chases and evades have received significant overhaul since the early testing opportunities and beta, meaning that the online matches are more than just a simple case of stalk-and-kill on repeat, and tactics really do play a part in your chances for success.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood may not be superior to Assassin’s Creed II visually – in fact, it could be considered inferior in many places – but the grand sense of scale more than makes-up for any slight graphical misgivings. The characters are just as well drawn as in the game’s predecessor, both those which you will like and develop a hate for – inherently showing the strength of the game’s characterisation.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is certain to be considered the greatest Assassin’s Creed game thus far, but it hasn’t truly evolved beyond that of Assassin’s Creed II. Instead, Ubisoft has built brilliant new structures on top of that already fantastically solid foundation, and that’s before you even factor in the multiplayer aspect of the game. Given that situation, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is one of the hardest games the Electronic Theatre team has ever had to score, being that it’s certainly an improvement on it’s predecessor, but doesn’t invite the same sense of awe given the overarching similarities. Ultimately, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is an astute and cunningly devised plan: a sequel developed using the same tech, that while not necessarily impressive enough to woo any newcomers, has plenty of content for the more experienced fan. Ubisoft has already said they couldn’t put out as Assassin’s Creed title every year, and obviously this is the reason – Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood may not be ‘Assassin’s Creed 2.5’, but it’s not Assassin’s Creed III. Much like Fallout: New Vegas or Crackdown 2, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is built for those already in love with the franchise, and barely puts a foot wrong in that respect.

In-depth Reviews Score Interpretation

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