Review

10 Feb

The 3rd entry in the Assassin’s Creed series follows the exploits of Ezio during the turn of the 16th century as he embarks on a new mission of Justice instead of vengeance. When the last game ended Ezio’s journey, rather abruptly, with his fight with the pope, the discovery of an alien vault, and a prophecy of doom, we thought this might be the last time we see the young Florentine turned Assassin. As an early game series, it would have initially been fine to start with a brand new character as modern-day Assassin, Desmond, continues his journey. Trying to one-up Ezio would have been no easy feat, so it made sense that Ubisoft would want to carry on his story, and in a lot of ways they do this in incredible fashion while building upon the wisdom, skill, and maturity that Ezio accumulated in the last game.

After sparing Pope Rodrigo Borgia, claiming the Apple of Eden, and looking to the future, we would hope that Ezio would finally be able to take a break and focus on his personal life and the lives of his family. This fantasy is sadly shattered as his home is attacked and he loses his uncle and the Apple that he found in the last game. Seeking justice for his people and wanting to end the Templar’s reign, Ezio travels to Rome which has seen better days. With the city in economic ruin, its citizens terrorized and the Assassins and allies in disarray, Ezio has much to and fortunately he has plenty of time to do it.

To fight an enemy, you have to know them and for Ezio, this comes in the form of Cesare Borgia, the son of Rodrigo, the current leader of the Templars and head of the Papal armies. Cesare is very similar to his father but also incredibly different. While both figures are not incredibly prominent throughout the story, their presence is felt through the events that happen in the game. Where Rodrigo was always concerned with Ezio’s interference, Cesare shows little concern as his arrogance is matched only by his ambitions as he wages war across Italy. Like his father, Cesare does not concern himself with Ezio as he seeks to fulfill his plans and that’s fine as the city of Rome and the dangers it hides take center stage in this new adventure.

Instead of Ezio’s journey traveling to many different cities like Florence and Venice, the game’s story now takes place in 1 primary location: Rome, the bustling and historically rich city of Italy. Rome is in a completely different league, as it seamlessly combines its incredible renaissance and roman architecture and turns the city into an incredible playground that Ezio makes his own. Beneath its beautiful exterior, Rome houses many secrets, opportunities, and threats that each opens up new adventures for Ezio and his journey as a leader. Replacing the tomb missions from AC2 are the followers of Romulus, men dressed as Wolves who are terrorizing Rome and of course work for the Templars. New and interesting missions are the guild assignments which allow Ezio to aid the different factions around the city as he builds up their strength.

Ezio’s journey to liberate Rome entails a necessity: A new Brotherhood. As most of the old Assassins are not present in the game and the Assassins that are already in Rome have enough on their plate, Ezio must take advantage of the citizen’s discord and recruit them to the Brotherhood. Learning more about how people are recruited into the Brotherhood and utilizing these new members makes for some fun and new dynamic mission opportunities. On top of this the Assassins we are already familiar with like La Volpe and Machiavelli are at odds with each other and as these members are capable of being short-sighted, Ezio on the other hand is calm and collected and shows what makes him the most endearing Assassin in Italy.

Back in Modern Day 2012, Desmond and his team of Assassins are continuing their search for Ezio’s apple and encounter their own set of problems. While we get to learn more about these fun characters and what binds them together, we can also see the toll that Desmond’s time in the Animus is taking on him. The fun conversations but also the arguments this group participates in have helped make them feel more alive and relatable. Despite the team being Assassins, it helps to know that they aren’t all obsessed with killing and that their interests are quite similar to that of any regular person. As the search for Ezio’s apple ramps up, they are inching ever closer to their ultimate goal but running out of time very quickly.

The Verdict

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood continues Ezio’s and Desmond’s journey excitingly and dramatically. As it delves deeper into the history of the Assassins and how much they have changed from the Renaissance era to the modern era. The beautiful city of Rome provides so much storytelling and evolutional depth for Ezio that it is essentially its own character. Seeing Ezio’s rise from a noble to Assassin was an incredible journey, and watching Ezio grow from Assassin to an Assassin mentor is an even better journey as we get to see him become wiser, nobler, and more deadly. Brotherhood opens up even more mysteries for the series and finishes the Borgia chapter dramatically and satisfactorily. While Brotherhood doesn’t have the benefit of a Templar conspiracy at its heart, it manages to reach new storytelling and world-building heights than its predecessor. Brotherhood is an entry that shows the series can only continue to get stronger as long as Ubisoft keeps sight of what makes the series great.

Main Narrative - Condensing the story down to a solitary enemy and focusing on the responsibilities and duties of a Master Assassin. Ezio’s journey continues to impress and intrigue and shows just how far he has come in the years since his father and brothers died. Desmond’s journey continues to provide an excellent narration of the Modern day Assassin-Templar conflict and Precursor knowledge - 9/10
Characters - The characters in Ezio’s journey are much more condensed this time around and keep the focus on Assassinating the Borgia and freeing Rome. Learning more about how these characters doubt each other but can also reconcile makes them feel real. Desmond and his team of Assassin’s continue to entertain and move their story along in fun ways. The villains continue to be politiclaly clever and complex and worthy foes - 9/10
Side Narratives - Ezio’s journey does not just have him eliminating Templar’s but also tackling the political and social dangers of the City of Rome. Eliminating enemies who threaten the factions of the city helps Ezio solidify their loyalty and show that the Assassin’s do not just intervene in Templar affairs - 8/10
Environmental and Collectible Storytelling - Using the environment to help tell the stories of the Templar agents as well as continuing Subject 16’s story is done very well and exploring the ruins of Rome help to inform the players of the evolving and larger world we are continuing to explore - 8/10