Minus Ezio's rushed ending and the misleading Brotherhood emphasis, ACB offers the most satisfying AC experience.
-Memory Sequence 1
-Brotherhood Assistance
-Meaty Side Missions: Christina, War Machine, Ramulus Lairs, etc
-Improved Combat
-Crossbow (sweet)
-Rome is gorgeous
-Atmospheric Music
-Forces Stealth gameplay
-Multiplayer is crazy
-Complete God-like Assassin Experience
Cons:
-Only 9 Memory Sequences
-Brotherhood irrelevant to main story and ending
-Ezio's 'RUSHED' ending
-Lacks story depth
-Pointless all around leveling up (Ezio and Assassins)
Annoyances:
-Free Run Deaths
-Tricky Camera
-Slow Horses
Assassin Creed as a series has never been perfect, but Brotherhood almost reached Ubisoft's goal of perfection. AC1,visually, was a medevil masterpiece and offered an epic story, but it also possessed mega-repetitive missions, too easy combat and began the series infamous "WTF ending" reputation. AC2 focused less on this epic story and more on Ezio's brith into an Assassin. AC2 offered an actual protagonist I could like and his story was brillant, but AC2 downfall was its the terrible A.I. and faulty combat which is similiar to AC1. The combat was novel in AC1, but midway into AC2 I had grew very tired of 'countering' incoming attacks from non-aggressive enemies. Overall, my biggest gripe with Ubisoft series is the 'sometimes boring' combat. The last fight in ACII was underwhelming to say the least, but overall I enjoyed the game as a whole mainly due to the atmosphere, art direction, story, and unique gameplay. So what kind of a game do we get with AC Brotherhood?
Let me get this out first...I loved Assassin Creed Brotherhood. Teh graphics are sharpers and the overall color scheme is better. As far a gameplay goes, Ubisoft didn't hold back. The combat is more fluid thanks to much needed killstreak or whatever it's called. If you haven't played the game yet, this pretty much is the ability to kill every opponent with the hit of a button after you have disposed of your first enemy. This keeps battles moving at a fast pace and this is something that kept a smile on my face the whole way through. This became noticeable as soon as the game began and I was stuck in 'Awwh'..I paused the game and applauded Ubisoft for finally fixing the damn combat. Enemies still attack one at a time, but they are more aggressive and this keeps battles spontaneous and unpredictable. Loved it, loved it, loved it. The new execution cutscenes aren't to shabby either. Alot of time went into enhancing AC unique gameplay and the result is a game with replay value.
I have always felt AC had Uncharted type qualities. I mean with the climbing, beautiful backgrounds, and Nathan Drake it's easy to see the similarities. But AC has never been Uncharted until memory sequence 1. Uncharted 2 made set pieces popular. Alot games try to mimic UC2 success, but many fail. ACB on the otherhand matches UC2 epicness here. The first sequence blew me away. Not UC2 or GOWIII type mindblowing, but in terms of AC...YES. Assassin Creed isn't know for set pieces, but more or less settings. The ending of sequence 1 is nothing, but a grand and in your face set piece. Again, another smile on my face. And thanks to great pacing, we don't get something like this until the end which also brought a smile to my face.
Assassin Creed Brotherhood easily stole my senses with it's much improved combat and Uncharted 2 type beginning, but what about the rest of the game? (I will begin with the positive and end with the negative)
ACB plays more like a Western RPG than a AC title. By this, I mean you can play through the main quest without completing sidemissions and be left a little dissappointed or you can play the main quest with meaty side missions and walk away with a complete and more satisfying experience. After completing every side mission along with the main story missions, I can accurately say the side missions give this game more bite. Assassination mission are still available, but the added immersion granted by Courtesan and Thiefs missions is amazing. They are also accompanied by back stories that pretty much feel like they are part of the main story. But these aren't even the best of the best. The level of substance that accompanies the following side missions are mindblogling. War Machine, Borgoi Tower, Christini Memory, Ramulus Lair, and Corpenico side missions have to be the most intense and satisfying side missions in gaming history outside of Fallout 3 and probably New Vegas.
SPOILERS (no story though):
War Machine forces you to infilitrate areas outside of Rome in order to destroy war machines created by Da Vinci and stolen by Borgio. Each of the 4 missions are unique and the enviroments all vary creating some tense and novel experiences. Also these missions force stealth. If your detected, game over and thats the way it should be. ACII didn't force steathl action and I don't really remember if AC1 did, but AC Brotherhood forces gamers to play the game without being deteched and because of this I am left with a more satisfying expereince. The Borgoi temples, lairs, towers, whatever aren't really side missions, but areas around Rome that must eradicated from Borgoi influence. Destroy the captain in all 12 areas, burn the tower, and you have a new assassin tower. Each can be tackled like a regular mission using stealth or all out force. The game is easy so, it's not hard to kill everyone, but if you're into stealth action, these sections give you the opportunities to test your skills just like War Machine. The Christini missions have you revisting Ezio's days as a lover back when he was younger. These missions are very emotional and gave the game more emotional attachment than the main storyline allowed. The Ramulus Lair missions are ACB's take an AC2's hidden tomb missions, but the catch is these Lairs are overrun by some weird folks who work for a higher power who wish to diminsh your power. All six missions are unique with the last being the most unique as it doesn't even take place in a tomb, but an actual Church. The Tombs themselves are actually make the ACII tombs seem weak. The leap in sophisication and execution of these Tombs from ACII can only be described as the jump from AC1 to AC2. They are very engulfing experience and I wished there were more than six. The Corpernico side missions are ACB's take on AC2's messenger missions splced with assassination missions, but the backstory has to do with science vs. religion, the churh, the higher order. Corpernico missions are quite enlightening.
END OF SPOILER
Those side missions added much longetivity and value to Brotherhood's story as a whole and again put a smile on my face, but the most satisfying part of Assassin Creed Brotherhood is the Brotherhood. Once they become accessible, their aid in battle is beautiful, but definitely not needed as the game is easy. But, having six assassins aid you in battle creates more havoc and overall entertainment. I made all 12 of recruits into full on Assassins and boy do they look cool once they are all leveled up. And what crazy is they use smoke bombs, knives, and the hidden gun in battle. Hearing the gun in the backgorund as you fight or flee is a thing of beauty. It all works so well and they do their jobs perfectly. You can literally use them to win a battle for you while you watch over them a 'la maestro'. It's pretty engrossing and once the game is over along with all the side missions completed, this is pretty much AC take on the havoc you can do in GTA. Just walking around starting random fights and calling in the aid of my assassins is a thing of beauty...Assassin Creed beauty (corny!)
Now the main story missions aren't as interesting as most of the side missions as they focus on the story, but they're brillant nonetheless. The biggest difference between ACII and Brotherhoods main missions is the overall quality of the missions. The scope is bigger, the enviroments are more expansive, and the overall emphasis on all out action or stealth is enhanced. Like I said, ACII gameplay was lacking and that was even more apparent in the DLC, but ACB gameplay is so much better that Ubisoft creatued missions that punctuate that games enhanced gameplay. ACB has more of a AC1 feel to it than AC2. By this I mean, each new enviroment gave way to a new experience. Even though AC2 took place in six cities, none of it felt as unique as to what I was exposed to in AC1. ACB brings back some of that charm with emphasis. Each missions takes you around parts of Rome I never really noticed and gives its all weight. They are overall longer than ACII missions, more varied, and just much more satisfying.
Overall, I enjoyed every mission the game offered from side to main. They all featured beautiful and unique settings. Nothing ever felt like a rinse and repeat experience except assassination mission ironically enough. Every side mission has purpose and every main mission contributes to the overall story ACB is telling. Overall, I would considere ACB the most complete Assassin Creed experience by far. But, this is Assassin Creed and like I said in the beginning, this series isn't perfect and this game is no different.
The story is a hit and miss, but more of a hit for me. If you are a fan and look at it as a continuation of ACII, then you will walk away satisfied. But if you are a new comer looking for overall depth, you will be dissapointed. The game started off with a very helpful, but unnecassary intro that recapped AC1 and AC2. Then memory sequence 1 had most of the main characters make a cameo and the depth to the dialogue was classic AC. But after sequence 1 up to 6 or 7, the game starts to take on a new look. Depth seems to leave for Florence while Ezio's heads to Rome. With so much emphasis on action, Ubisoft didn't really take the time to expand upon the very factor that keeps me interested...the story. The story is straight forward save the town, kill the oppressor. The charm comes from the fact that this is all fictional and unique to gaming period, but anyone who follows AC will notice the downgraded story depth. But the thing is, all of these character have been exposed in ACII, so their is no need to expand upon them and once I realized this I went into the game with a different outlook. That is, I'm Ezio and my plan is reclaim Rome and the Eden while get revenge on those who attacked my Villa and pose a threat to humanity. Even with this mindset ACB doesn't offer any 'true' emotional appeal outside of Christini missions and alot of instances where these types of moments could be added were never added. Not a spoiler since it is into a million gameplay vids, but the death of Mario didn't ever come up in the story after sequence 1. WTF? There is no doubt you will be involved in Ezio's experience, but nothing is heart hiiting like a few good moments in ACII. But watching Assassins become assassins is very nice and the game has a few touching moments, but nothing life changing.
Weirdly enough, there is no breakage between sequence 8 and 9 meaning, no side missions can be taken on during this time. Luckily I completed every side mission before I even attempted memory sequence 8. After the midway point through sequence 8, everything started to get sped up in a very unapealing fashion. The game was jumping from one moment to another like it was Call of Duty or something and then all of a sudden sequence 9 has me in the middle of nowhere. It is explained in one sentence why I am here, but the way the game jumped to it felt very rushed and once I was done doing the obvious...Ezio's story was over. It ended abruptly, but it didn't leave me questions oddly enough. The pacing of between sequence 8 and 9 trully felt different than the rest of the game. If you were to ask me "Were you satisfied with Ezio's ending?"...I would say YES. Even though it felt rushed towards the end, I'm satisfied with the story. Emotionally...No, but it kind of completes Ezio's story while expanding upon it. The lack of story depth keeps me from giving Ubisoft masterpiece a straight up 10 though.
Something hinted on in the story, but never really used as an arc in the story was the Brotherhood. The game is titled Assassin Creed Brotherhood, yet the story has nothing to do with them. The story of course hints at them, but they are never the centerpiece of a cutscene or story conflict. They are you side kicks who do all the work when called upon, but get little recognition in the end. Ezio's is Kobe and the Assassin's are Pau. This didn't ruin the game at all, but it would have added some overall depth and appeal to the story. Come on Ubisoft, why name it Brotherhood, but give them no exposure. Weirdly enough, I can't even use them after the midway point of sequence 8 and all of sequence 9. I can only use their arrow attack in sequence 8 and they are irrelevant in 9. Stupid.
Outside of Ezio's story, we have my man Desmond whose goal is to still find the Apple of Eden. Let's just say Ubisoft again leaves us with a WTF ending just like in AC1 and AC2. Ubisoft loves suspense and I appreciate it. AC Brotherhood felt like it took forever to come out even though it came out 1 year after AC2, but after watching ACB ending...AC3 might feel like forever aswell.
Multiplayer: I'm at level 14 right now and I can say my overall experience has been both enjoyable and frustating. Enjoyable because pulling off assassinations on real people is entoxicationg, but frustrating because people can easily do it to you with out warning and you can't even counter their attack. You can stun them, but more than likely if they attack first even if you tried to stun them first, they will always be successful and the same vice versa. Yeah, death is pretty unpredictable making it the gameplay both addictive and frustrating. I am not sure I will keep playing the multiplayer for long as this doesn't really seem like my cup of tea. It's different and it is definitely fun, but I just don't see myself giving up my time to go online to endure an experience that is just as frustrating as it is enjoyable. Don't see it having long legs because the system is very exploitable, but thank god stealth kills are worth more than maniac kills. I had 4 stealth kills compared to a guy who had 11 kills all from running around being a maniac and I still had a much higher score then him at the end of the match. Hilarious! The game rewards those who play it right and I applaud Ubisoft for doing that.
Conclusion: Assassin Creed Brotherhood is awesome...awesome to the max as Futurama would put it. I literally played this game nonstop. Can this game be repetitive...yes...but oddly enough, someone who grows tired of games fast, I never once felt that with ACB. Authenthic classical atmosphere, a heart touching/nerve racking musical score, Brotherhood gameplay, Meaty side missions, and improved gameplay create one of the most unique experiences this year. ACB isn't more of the same old as some of these under 9 critic reviews are spewing out. Gamespot was on the money when they said the story was dissappointing, but that doesn't mean it sucked by any means. Mostly every review says the same thing, it lacks story depth, but overall the story is good. Reminds me of GOWIII. The gameplay and mission structure have been revamped creating an experience with depth. The gameplay is basically the same, but just like GOWIII, little changes can go a long way and ACB is no exception. I went from being so so about AC gameplay, to actually loving it beyond measure now.
I can confidently award Assassin Creed Brotherhood a 9.5 without hesitation. I gave Fallout New Vegas a 9.5 knowing it was a glitched mess, but the overall depth out weighed the negative. ACB is a strong 9.5 and I just don't throw around this number either. ACB isn't a 9.5 because of the story, because that number can be easily awarded to 1 and 2, but because the overall package is top notch. A 9 is pretty easy to get from me if the overall package pulls me in (FFXIII or AC2). Anything higher means it is a classic in my eyes. Assasssin Creed Brotherhood is a classic, well too me at least.
Assassin Creed Brotherhood offers the most satisfying Assassin Creed experience thus far. The overall quest for perfection is still on, but for now ACB offers the closest representation of Ubisoft's full potential with this franchise. At this pace, AC3 might be my first 10 of the series. AC1 was 8.5, AC2 was a 9 and this was a 9.5. Let's see if this increase continues with AC3.