AJ, your review sucks 
Nice review, I already was going to pick it up but this just seals the deal!
Nice review, I already was going to pick it up but this just seals the deal!
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Review
Game Review | December 13, 2010 4:14 pm
By AJ
This is the third game in the epic series, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Ever since the first Assassin's Creed I have always been on the edge of my seat to see what's going to happen next in the series. It all started with Desmond, one of the last remaining assassins in the present day, and of course, Altair. The last two games in the series have also included Desmond, but this time he re-enters the Animus and relives Ezio's memories (as he did with AC2). What kind of crazy shenanigans will Desmond and his team who run the Animus get in this time?
Gameplay (campaign)
As with the other campaigns in the AC series, this one is chock full of great things to do, people to kill and side missions to complete. I won't give away too much of the actual campaign but be prepared for another confusing and surprising plot, not to mention a few things that will leave you asking questions. The campaign length, while only being 9 sequences long is something that will definitely keep you busy for anywhere between 20-60 hours depending on your style of play. Simply playing the campaign missions and nothing else will only get you about 20 hours of gameplay. I found it a bit hard myself to keep on track with the main storyline.
The game takes place in Rome and is under Borgia (the bad guys) influence. Destroying Borgia towers and collecting Borgia flags will remove the influence from the nearby areas letting you do something you couldn't do in previous AC titles; buy buildings; banks, doctors, landmarks and a few others. This lets you customize the map and put more power in your arsenal the more and more shops/buildings you actually renovate. After about 75 hours, I'm still only about 50% done rebuilding Rome, so there is definitely a lot to do, even if you just want to go around and assassinate some oblivious guards. The addition of a few new weapons definitely makes this game a lot of fun. Who wouldn't want to walk up behind someone with a broom and beat the crap out of them?
Brotherhood also has an interesting feature in the campaign which allows you to recruit other civilians and train them by sending them off to do certain missions. You can use these recruits to do your dirty work, which is just fantastic. The more recruits you have, the better your chances of winning a big skirmish against a lot of guards. Each recruit can be anywhere from level 1 to 10, the higher you rank them up the better armor and weapons they'll have. If you have 3 recruits doing nothing and you have a target you want to take out quietly you can call for an 'arrow storm' and your target will be riddled with arrows. I thought this was a pretty neat feature because it's an easy way to take out a target and move on to the next target without being noticed at all.
Rating - 10/10
Gameplay (multiplayer)
When I had first heard that Brotherhood was going to feature multiplayer, I thought, "oh god, multiplayer achievements". But we'll get into that a little bit later. Thinking the multiplayer would be very one dimensional I was a little skeptical to actually give it a chance when I first bought the game. After finishing all the achievements in the campaign, it was time to dive into multiplayer. Started my first match a few minutes later, I thoroughly enjoyed playing the multiplayer but it seemed that I couldn't really figure out what was going on. You get a compass and a picture of the target you're supposed to kill. Sounds easy enough, right? Quite the opposite. With all the different perks, hiding spots and equipment players get killing someone is the least of your worries. Staying alive starts to become your main objective.
The servers for the game are actually not that great. If you have a usual group of people you play with be prepared for very bad connections, usually one or two people in the xbox live party you're trying to invite won't be able to connect. Matchmaking can also be very slow, waiting for the game to find one person to throw into your match can take up to 10 minutes. If this happens it's better to quit and try a different game mode.
The levels of MP go from 1-50 and as with most MP games, the higher you rank up the more lethal and better perks you obtain. Some of the perks will allow you to blend a bit better, thus evading your pursuers a bit longer, while others will make your arsenal of deadly weapons stronger while trying to kill your target(s). The higher you rank up the greater the advantage you have over your adversaries so I suggest playing player matches since they're less competitive. Playing ranked will usually put you against a team of very high ranked players and will net you little XP since all you'll be doing is dying, a lot.
Rating - 7/10 - Could be a bit better
Gametypes (MP)
There are only 3 different gametypes when it comes to the multiplayer (4 if you count a type of hardcore mode for one of the gametypes).
Alliance - this gametype features 3 teams of 2. Each team is given another team to kill and a team that is going to be pursuing them. In this mode you can only kill two other people on the team you and your team-mate are assigned, but you can also net XP by stunning the team trying to kill you. There are two rounds of 4 minutes a piece, you get a chance to try and kill both other teams as many times as you can while you're being hunted as well. This is also the gametype that boosters will select to net large amounts of XP in minimal amounts of time.
Manhunt - this gametype is like the team deathmatch of Brotherhood MP. Two teams of 4 make up this game and there are two rounds of 5 minutes. Depending on what team you're on you will either be escaping from the hunters or be pursuing your targets. If you're being pursued, once again you will only be able to stun your pursuers. If you're on the team pursuing the other team, you will just have to follow your compass and kill your targets, assuming you find them!
Wanted - this is the free-for-all of Brotherhood. 6-8 people are thrown into a map and everyone is given a target. Once again you will be the hunter and the prey. You will only be able to assassinate/kill your target while only be able to stun your pursuers as well. The better you do, the more people you will have after you. The worse you do, you might not have any pursuers at all. This gametype also offers a mode called Advanced Wanted, not much changes in this mode. Your compass is a little less accurate and it will not tell you if you're on the same elevation as your target.
There is also a type of training program you can access at anytime while in the single player world. These training sessions that you can access let you practice assassinations, different combinations of wall running/climbing and probably the hardest aspect of the game, combat. These scenarios will teach you how to become a better assassin by running you through almost anything the game could throw at you (with the exception of MP). There is a training for MP, but it really doesn't go into depth or show you even remotely the skill level you will need to participate in matches with actual people.
Rating 7/10 - Fix the lag and it would be a 10.
Graphics and Maps
As with previous Assassin Creed's, the graphics and landscapes are as gorgeous as ever. Climb your way up a tall building or tower and be prepared to just stare off into the distance for a while in awe of how big the world actually is. Consisting of 4 different districts the world will offer you a variety of different scenery and landscapes. Castles, churches, large open areas and beautifully created landmarks make up the majority of the single player scenery. You're also able to explore different tombs and crypts underground which have a more dark and dreary feeling to them.
The campaign world is vastly larger than MP maps, obviously, otherwise you would never be able to find your target in one game. The maps seem to be pulled from the single player but some of the MP maps seem to be from AC2 as well. But the same can be said for the MP maps that was said about the single player world. Beautifully created with tons of escape possibilities. Doors and gates that will close upon running through thus making it harder for your hunter to pursue you. Be prepared for tricky escapes and pursuits while making your way crowds of ambling AI and tricky building features.
Rating - 10/10
Achievements
Ever since the first Assassin's Creed, I have dreaded the collecting achievements in this series. In the first game there was something like 1,000 flags one had to collect for a few achievements and some feathers. AC2 had feathers and videos. Brotherhood has feathers, videos AND flags. 101 flags, 10 feathers and 10 videos make for 121 things you'll have to find for a few achievements.
The storyline will net you about 500-700 gamerscore in a single play through depending on what you do and who you talk to for mission. There are also a few different achievements that require you to complete certain side quests (for the one, the only, Da Vinci) or require you to kill someone with a certain weapon. Overall you can get 800gs in single player and the remaining 200gs must be achieved in MP.
The MP achievements are really not that hard considering the fact that you can get most of them simply playing in a private match with a few friends, assuming they can connect to you... The only achievement that will take some time is getting to level 50 (the last level) in MP. You need 650,000 experience. A good player can get anywhere between 500-1500 XP per kill in matches depending on how you kill you target and if they noticed you or not. Boosting is definitely the way to go if you want the achievements quickly.
Rating - 10/10
Overall Rating - 8/10
My overall rating would be higher if the MP wasn't in the game. Sure it makes it a little different than the other AC titles but I don't think it was necessary at all. When thinking about an AC game I usually think of having a great time playing a SINGLE player game. The addition of MP was not completely terrible but it is something that I could have lived without. It does make the replay value a little higher but with the single player being full of so many more things to do than the previous game I think that I would play the single player more than the MP (with the exception of getting to level 50). I certainly had more fun playing the single player and will only play that once I get to level 50.
I know I'm leaving a lot of things out of this review but I don't want to give away too much when it comes to the single player or the multiplayer since I know a few people who will be getting this for Christmas (I'm looking at you Mini!). Feel free to discuss or add anything you think deserves to be mentioned, I feel as if I covered the most important and interesting parts of the game.
Thanks for reading!
Rating: 8.0 of 10
Reviewed: AC Brotherhood
Keywords: None
. Sorry man.
