WHEN BASTA ISN'T ENOUGH
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Xbox 360, Xbox One
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a direct sequel to the events of
Assassin's Creed II. Our dear protagonist Desmond's hideout, in modern age, was
infiltrated by the Templars, and now he must flee alongside his fellow
Assassins to a new location.
Meanwhile, in the Animus, Desmond's ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze finds himself in Rome, in the year 1500. He has dealt a major blow to the Borgias and discovered something wondrous in the heart of the
Vatican. The opening sections of the game sees Desmond and Ezio both converge on
the same location in Monteriggioni, Italy, although at different times in history.
Yeah, the beginning of AC: Brotherhood can only make sense to people who played the predecessor. And you really should, because Assassin's Creed II became a milestone in the open-world genre, establishing many genre staples that are still present in the gaming landscape.
Picking up the threads with a slightly inferior game, Ubisoft's AC:
Brotherhood feels like a rehash in many ways. It follows the same familiar story beats but feels rushed, particularly towards the end. The third-person
gameplay adds a few neat mechanics and a new playground, but the city of
Rome is too cramped and detailed, confusing the hell out of the
auto-assisted parkour controls.
But overall, this game represents a fine, expanded vision of the features that made
Assassin's Creed II so appealing. The titular "Brotherhood" alludes to the
fact that in this entry, Ezio becomes the head of the Assassin's order. I
particularly enjoy welcoming new recruits into the brotherhood; leveling
them up, ordering them to perform quick kills on the fly, and sending them
out on contracts to earn rewards.
The sidequests are surprisingly good and fleshed out, even though they
mostly boil down to the old formula. All the missions are about tailing,
fighting, assassinating and parkouring; all the good stuff that makes the
hot-blooded Ezio a gaming icon. I once again get a couple of storylines
that throws historical figures into the mix. My favorite involves Leonardo
da Vinci, who's been coerced into making destructive war machines for the
Borgias. He needs my help in dismantling them. I also get to rescue Magellan from
persecution for his revolutionary ideas about astronomy.
Unfortunately, I care little for the main story. Upon returning to his home
in Monteriggioni, Ezio is struck with another tragedy and must once again
seek vengeance - this time in the capital of Italy - as well as save the
world from Templar domination. The plot is weak, which means it doesn't get
in the way too much, but it doesn't exactly light my fire either. The ending
feels rushed; the final couple of sequences are a jumble of vague mission
descriptions, weirdly edited together with little narrative coherence. From
a story standpoint, most of this game could be skipped. But once again, the
cliffhanger ending has me excited to see the next part of the trilogy.
Against my better judgement, I dig the gameplay aspect a lot more. It's such a strange mix of highs and lows. As a playground Rome is
an entertaining nuiscance; labyrinthine, huge and crowded. The assisted
parkour is like a double-edged sword. Sometimes the automated decisions help
out a great deal, but other times they foil my plans,
especially in rushed situations where Ezio fails to follow my simple commands. Weirdly enough, it adds comic relief to the straight-faced drama of the storytelling.
When the Borgia guards chase you, it's easy to disappear among the crowds of
people and alleyways, or lose the pursuers by climbing walls and hiding in
rooftop gardens. But when the roles are reversed it becomes a mess of
slapstick comedy, with Ezio falling off balconies, accidentally diving into
haystacks and stumbling into people. It reminds me of
that YouTube-clip where someone failed all the button prompts in
a Heavy Rain chase sequence.
The tailing missions are equally dumb, where your targets turn around
occasionally to see if they're being followed. To avoid detection you must quickly
seat yourself on a bench, or run around a corner, or dive into a haystack,
or jump into a well - you know, anything that would be a dead giveaway in
real life. I'm in the minority here, but I actually like these missions. The
absurdity gave me a few hearty laughs.
The combat follows suit, with a new chain kill mechanic that seems to work at a whim. It tries to emulate the fluid Arkham Asylum style of fighting and crowd control to poor effect. Ezio is slow to respond, particularly at the start of a fight. Sometimes he doesn't act until a club hits his face. What frustrates me most is when Ezio switches target on his own accord, sometimes even stabbing allies or innocent bystanders in the back. Each mission comes with a secondary objective - for instance to remain undetected or not to kill anyone - and whenever I failed them the controls were my scapegoat.
16th century Rome is, at least in theory, my favorite setting yet, bustling with life and
old architectural wonders, which you can learn more about in the brilliant
codex. With its angelic choirs, the soundtrack works wonderfully to
establish a sense of the 16th century, and the ever-present murmur and
announcements of town criers gives the city a metropolitan vibe. The
visuals blend pretty and detailed environments with hideous character models
to an entertaining effect.
To increase your emotional investment in the capital's fate, the game allows players to spend money on restoring ancient structures and open new shops, which adds a steady income to
your order. You can spend the money on new equipment, like armor sets,
weapons and ammunition bags, building up your strength and protection by
becoming a one-man band of roguish tricks. In a game lacking a proper
character progression, this is a nice compromise.
Releasing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood only one year after the predecessor,
Ubisoft made sure it became the starting point of an almost decade-long string of yearly
sequels. The constantly popular series still remains a steady cash cow for Ubisoft, one I never
contributed much to until now. And so far, I feel happy for giving them a
shot. Although still uneven, all the different elements of the game - the main story, side activities and real-world lore - feel constructive and informative.
With Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the franchise shows confidence in its direction, firmly
establishing its own identity in terms of conspiracy-fuelled science fiction, period pieces and bloody gameplay thrills. You're essentially on the side of
the terrorists in this eternal conflict, where the laws are written and
upheld by the wicked Templars. Narcissistic, greedy, sadistic and corrupt, they prey upon the weaknesses of the people. Your actions are evil, but also an unavoidable response to a greater evil that is on the verge of repressing the
free will of everyone for all eternity.
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