Written by: Ian

 

 

 

After the phenomenal success of Assassin’s Creed 2, does this latest title live up to its predecessor, or is it more a full price expansion pack? Coming only 13 months after, I was sceptical that that Ubisoft was trying to wring every last drop out of the series already. Here’s hoping that the quality remains high with "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood"!

 

 

Felt that despite a 20 hour storyline that Assassin’s Creed 2 wrapped up a little suddenly? Don’t you worry. Rather than choosing a new Assassin, you continue the story of Ezio, picking up directly after the end of the second game, and continuing in Rome.

 

 

You also play far more as Desmond than in the first two games, and you really start to see him evolve as a character, and as a fledgling Assassin. It’s a great ride, and although perhaps I would have liked to see a second city, Rome is a huge, sprawling metropolis that is great to explore and provides many top moments.

 

 

Almost as if to prove that this is no expansion pack, Ubisoft have gone to great lengths to try and add new gameplay elements to the game. Some of them fall a little flat, but others a pretty good. The main addition, for me, is now a specific challenge for each memory. If you complete the challenge, this affects your synchronisation, and thus your game % complete score. It’s a good idea, but normally there’s no distinction between success and failure. Therefore, it’s far too easy to end up with a mere 50% synchronisation throughout.

 

There’s also the chance to recruit assassins into your ‘brotherhood’, and the whole economy meta-game, whereby you levelled up your town has been expanded to include Rome itself. There are also new mini games, and the Borgia towers to destroy. Rome is also laid out in an impressive fashion, and getting around the city using the free running controls is fabulous, speedy, fluid stuff. There are also lifts that have been added into the game to help you reach roofs quicker, so movement is the best tat it has ever been.

 

 

The single player story is also an extremely impressive length anyway, and should take most gamers a minimum of 15 hours to plow through, whilst those aiming for a 100% score could easily take 3-4 times that long, not even mentioning the multiplayer. Getting a full 1000GS in AC: Brotherhood is by no means an easy feat! Having said that, even with the large chunk of content, the story remains tight throughout, and I loved seeing old faces return, especially the wacky inventions of Leonardo.