Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

It's hard to put a finger on what exactly Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is meant to be, in terms of a continuation of the series. It's not a sequel as such, and for that I am glad; if Ubisoft could genuinely pump out a fully-fledged sequel to such a polished game as Assassin's Creed II in just a year I would be seriously concerned about its quality. It's not in a different time period, you're still playing as Ezio, and just about every character, weapon and move you saw in Assassin's Creed II is here too. However, it's not just a repeat either, being in a fully redesigned city and with the new emphasis on teamwork, in single player and multiplayer. It's an interesting move, a 'semi-sequel' if you will, and definitely something fans of the series and its storyline will want to test the water with, though it leaves me wondering whether Ubi should perhaps have saved their efforts for Assassin's Creed III.

Following directly on from the events of Assassin's Creed II, players are put straight back into the boots of the now-seasoned veteran that is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and he has some business to clear up. Strangely, this really is the case - Brotherhood hardly sees the Assassin guilds pursuing the members of the secret society of Templars, but rather has Ezio hunting down his family rivals, the Borgia, who are more often a troublesome bunch of aristocrats than an organised, villainous faction bent on control of the Pieces of Eden. Cesare is a detestable enemy, sure, and certainly enough so to motivate the player to continue with Ezio's quest, but don't expect to be facing an evil mastermind like Al Mualim at the game's climax. Throughout the game you'll make your way up the 'ladder' until the Borgia are weak enough to be taken head-on, and this will require the usual grind: creeping into buildings undetected, trailing targets, and in some cases having to heroically fight your way out of some sticky situations. However this time, Brotherhood takes us to a place we got only a glimpse of in Assassin's Creed II - Rome.

Being the capital of Italy, Rome is considerably larger than Florence and Venice; even bigger than both put together, in fact. Its architecture is noticeably different, too, as instead of having the contemporary Renaissance-style brickwork and tiles the other cities had, it sports a much more classical style, with many remains of old Roman temples and landmarks scattered throughout. Most importantly, it incorporates in one big map just about all the elements of the formerly used cities and towns, and this can be good and bad. On one hand, it provides one location for the story to be set without need for fast travel and always makes the action feel like it's happening on home turf, but unfortunately it also struggles by having a heck of a lot of open ground, similar to that of the Tuscany map. An open field is no place for an assassin, and with the horse controls feeling as clunky as ever I felt often that it was a chore getting to the southern corners of Rome.

As the name 'Brotherhood' suggests, Ezio is not alone this time. Being the new 'Mentore' of the Assassin Guild, his job is now also to recruit and train new assassins, who will later be at your beck and call for when things get messy, or need a quick and quiet execution. Training assassins has been made a simple, yet satisfying task; once recruited, you use pigeon coops to send them on missions across the world for EXP points. The higher level they are, the more likely they will survive the more dangerous and rewarding missions, and there are few things in the game as awesome as calling in a trio of fully-trained and armed assassins at that crucial moment.

Oddly, however, this teamwork mechanic only enters the game after quite a few hours have passed, and it is only from this point onwards that the game really holds its own as something new and exciting. The game in general, I found, struggled badly with some pacing issues, and when I look back on it I often think of the first two or three hours of Brotherhood as 'the worst Assassin's Creed I have played' - the missions are dull, the storyline is uninspired and it seems that everything you worked hard to earn in Creed II has been mysteriously lost as you go back to using the Common Sword and little else. I wasn't exactly expecting to start with the Altair Sword, but at least give us some new abilities to make up for the sudden loss - these are the events directly following, after all.

That said, when Brotherhood picks up steam, Ubi's dab hand on the series once again begins to show. New weapons such as the utterly brilliant crossbow (easily my favourite weapon, from all the games), a refined and more stylish combat system, new moves such as horse-to-horse assassinations - these are just a few additions, and from here on out it's the Assassin's Creed you love and more, all the way to the finish.

Brotherhood's campaign is roughly 12 to 15 hours long, and this really depends on how long you care to spend finding collectibles and rebuilding Rome to its former glory. After that, Ubisoft have provided what was totally unexpected for the series - multiplayer. In this, you play as Templar agents, using the Animi to catch and kill Assassins. There are multiple game types, pitting different team sizes against each other and having different objectives, but the main goal is to act inconspicuously , sneak up on your target and go in for the kill before they know what's happening. On the whole, this is fairly well designed, with particularly impressive civilian AI which really keeps the prey on their toes when trying to spot their predators. It comes with a host of upgrades, perks, and custom class settings for the dedicated, but for me this was precisely the problem. The multiplayer was original and very well polished indeed, but it wasn't something I could play for hours, nor get competitive over. This is personal taste of course, and I've no doubt some will be hooked, but there's something about walking slowly and carefully after your target, before suddenly bursting into chase that can get tiring quickly. I hope this is something Ubi improve on in the future, as this was some serious potential that wasn't quite realised.

Brotherhood seems to be a sign of a yearly Assassin's Creed, and this could be good or bad. The game is great, adding many new features to an already enthralling experience, but it still seems to feel like Assassin's Creed II with new tricks, instead of wholly coming into its own like the transition between the first two games did. Come for the story, stay for the 100% completion and multiplayer, and Creed fans will most likely love it, but I feel with a little more time put into Brotherhood it could have been something a whole lot more. 8/10