I'm not sure how I went most of the year ignoring details about Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, but it happened. Sure, I knew it was an Assassin's Creed game set in Renaissance Italy and that it would have multiplayer, but that was about it. But once details emerged about the lengthy single-player campaign, new side missions, truth puzzles, and collectibles, that's when my interest started to grow -- after all, those were the aspects I loved from its predecessor. Now, after investing a significant amount of time in the game, I can say that Brotherhood is like a refined and improved version of the already excellent Assassin's Creed 2...with a few caveats.
If there's a fault with Brotherhood (outside of the multiplayer, which I'll touch on later) is that it doesn't do a good job of introducing newcomers to this world of historical memory exploration. If this is your first Creed game, you're just not given the chance to become as emotionally invested in the game's characters as someone who's followed the series from the beginning. The only real back-story you're given is a short video that serves more to refresh returning fans rather than provide sufficient details to newcomers. Character deaths are simple plot devices that become as meaningless as the motives that drive Ezio Auditore and Desmond for most of the story. In AC2, you guided Ezio on a quest for revenge while learning more about the secret cult of Assassins. Here we find Ezio trying to rebuild the Assassin order in the city of Rome. Oh, and trying to retrieve the Apple, again. All in all the story doesn't feel as carefully plotted as that of AC2.
Rebuilding the order of Assassins is more than just a plot device, though. About a third of the way through the game you gain the ability to recruit citizens of Rome to your order; once you do you can obtain contracts from all of the world and send these Assassins to carry out your orders, putting money in your pocket and making your personal team better at assisting you during the game's main missions. There's nothing like highlighting a target in the street and then calling in an Assassin who magically appears from the rooftop, shoving their wrist-blade deep into the man's head before vanishing in a puff of smoke. All the while, you just sit watching on a nearby park bench. It makes Ezio seem like a powerful assassin, a Godfather, coming into his own much like his father before him.
The main story missions introduce a "100% Synchronization" mode that add mini-objectives to each mission; you now have goals like "don't touch the ground while chasing your target," or "complete a mission in under five minutes." Even if you only get "50% synchronization" (for completing a mission but failing to achieve full synchronization) you're still given credit for completing the mission. And you can return to previous missions at any time for "100%." Overall I like the inclusion of being able to play these missions the "right" way rather than just approaching every mission like Rambo, killing any and all who stand before me and my objective. It introduces a thoroughly enjoyable level of re-playability, and obtaining 100% completion also unlocks additional side-missions.
If there's a fault with Brotherhood (outside of the multiplayer, which I'll touch on later) is that it doesn't do a good job of introducing newcomers to this world of historical memory exploration. If this is your first Creed game, you're just not given the chance to become as emotionally invested in the game's characters as someone who's followed the series from the beginning. The only real back-story you're given is a short video that serves more to refresh returning fans rather than provide sufficient details to newcomers. Character deaths are simple plot devices that become as meaningless as the motives that drive Ezio Auditore and Desmond for most of the story. In AC2, you guided Ezio on a quest for revenge while learning more about the secret cult of Assassins. Here we find Ezio trying to rebuild the Assassin order in the city of Rome. Oh, and trying to retrieve the Apple, again. All in all the story doesn't feel as carefully plotted as that of AC2.
Rebuilding the order of Assassins is more than just a plot device, though. About a third of the way through the game you gain the ability to recruit citizens of Rome to your order; once you do you can obtain contracts from all of the world and send these Assassins to carry out your orders, putting money in your pocket and making your personal team better at assisting you during the game's main missions. There's nothing like highlighting a target in the street and then calling in an Assassin who magically appears from the rooftop, shoving their wrist-blade deep into the man's head before vanishing in a puff of smoke. All the while, you just sit watching on a nearby park bench. It makes Ezio seem like a powerful assassin, a Godfather, coming into his own much like his father before him.
The main story missions introduce a "100% Synchronization" mode that add mini-objectives to each mission; you now have goals like "don't touch the ground while chasing your target," or "complete a mission in under five minutes." Even if you only get "50% synchronization" (for completing a mission but failing to achieve full synchronization) you're still given credit for completing the mission. And you can return to previous missions at any time for "100%." Overall I like the inclusion of being able to play these missions the "right" way rather than just approaching every mission like Rambo, killing any and all who stand before me and my objective. It introduces a thoroughly enjoyable level of re-playability, and obtaining 100% completion also unlocks additional side-missions.
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