I went into Assassin's Creed Brotherhood with a lot of doubts. I wasn't sure 1 year was enough time to put out a new game, I wasn't sure that multi-player fit within the realm of Assassin's Creed and I wasn't sure whether the Italian setting could be interesting enough for another trip around.
I was wrong.
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood picks up seconds after Ezio and Desmond left off in Assassin's Creed 2, and follows Ezio's journey as he builds the foundation of a brotherhood of Assassins while trying to stop the Cesare Borgia. Brotherhood's campaign is shorter than that of its predecessor but is also more concise with far fewer weak areas. Brotherhood has the strongest narrative arch of the series, and its villain, Cesare Borgia, gives one of the strongest performances in the series if not one of the strongest performances this year. The writers also seem far more accustomed to their cast, the characterization is much stronger and the dialogue is genuinely hilarious at times.
The Stealth sequences within the game also feel much better moment to moment, rivaling that of Metal Gear and Splinter Cell. However these sequences are far and few between, and instead you will be forced to play through some incredibly frustrating and tunneled 'stalking sequences'. These missions don't allow for much experimentation or creativity, forcing you along an all to narrow path that feels less like a test of skill and more like a test of patience.
Rome, the sole location of Brotherhood, is the largest, most interesting and fully realized area in the series. Brotherhood takes place in an interesting time for Rome, the city is in a state of great change, and is just spectacular to look at, several times throughout the game I would just stop to take in the scenery. Rome also features an upgrade system, similar to that of your villa in Assassin's Creed 2, despite giving you a greater feeling of impact on the surrounding world, these actions felt out of place. Why the man responsible for assassinations and murder feels the need to be an entrepreneur I will never know. Brotherhood as a whole incorporates plenty of RPG elements, some of which are well integrated and believable, and some that feel bizarre and mechanical.
Horses, are perhaps the worst aspect of Brotherhood. In AC2 Horses were forbidden from the interior of the cities and for good reason, in small spaces the horse controls poorly and avoiding people in the streets would lead to your horse rearing into a wall, turning around and bolting back in the opposite direction. Another situation where Brotherhoods control scheme bests itself is during the interior platforming sequences, when expected to be precise the Assassin's Creed Control scheme can feel very frustrating with my hands contorted around the controller.
Combat is also far more refined, now allowing you to take a more aggressive approach, stringing together critical kills together and making combat feel like much less of a chore. This allows for far more exciting action sequences, and combined with the action set pieces of the game create much greater thrills than ever before. These action sequences paired with the methodical stealth and narrative sequences create a great overall experience of superb quality.
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