My Thoughts on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood [PC Version]

Look where you jump!

Straight off the bat, Brotherhood has the worst parkour mechanics of the first 3 entries in the franchise. Considering that this was the first thing I had to say about it sums up my experience of this game. It was frustrating, to be kind. The character seemed to have a mind of its own, he just wouldn’t listen to me. On numerous occasions he jumped in an entirely different direction than intended and messed up my efforts of running away from the guards or reaching a difficult spot.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is just an expansion of the previous game. Playing it, one realizes why it wasn’t just named Assassin’s Creed III. There are some new additions this time around, and much of the action takes place in Rome now. Everything else is the same as the last part.
Come out and play

The story is picked up right where it was left in AC II, and carries forward the conflict between the Templars and the Assassins, and the role Ezio played in Rome. The enemy that he left alive in AC II returns with a vengeance and this time, Ezio loses something so dear that he decides to end the threat once and for all. Outside the Animus, which, for the uninitiated, is the device being used to relive Ezio’s descendant Desmond’s genetic memories; the modern day Assassins - Lucy, Shaun, Rebecca and of course, Desmond race against the Templars to locate the Piece of Eden.

The world outside the Animus is given more exposure in this entry, thus adding a new layer of mystery. It has worked well; the player gets a more comprehensive view of what Desmond and his group is up to when they are not researching his gene pool. Unlike previous entries, Brotherhood offers the player the option to leave the Animus at will so that they, along with Desmond, can take a break from the simulated reality and have a chat with their buddies out in the real world. Hope the more hardcore gamers out there got the message.

When in Rome...

Inside the Animus, Brotherhood has the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who was introduced in the last game, adventuring in early 16th century Rome. The city and the architecture of the era is represented exceptionally well, just like the previous entries. The chapels, gates and above all, the Colosseum along with little snippets about each landmark are a history lesson in themselves.

A feature of note that was added in Brotherhood is, well having a brotherhood. It’s a group of citizens that Ezio recruits and sends to fulfil contracts and assignments. These citizens get more and more skilled and eventually become assassins themselves. They can also aid Ezio in times of need, stealthily killing his targets and disappearing back into the shadows.

An inundating end

The climax, as in the last game, ends in a cliffhanger. An even bigger one. It is undoubtedly designed to raise eyebrows and draw gasps, but the build-up ruins it here. It tries real hard to be enigmatic but fails so miserably that by the time it makes way for the climax, all feelings of surprise and excitement are dulled by confusion. The apparition of the goddess that took the last game in a totally different direction meddles with the tone here, as well. She continues to speak in riddles, and frankly, most of it sounds like random nonsense. 

I was expecting to get some clues about the mystery of the last game, but Brotherhood further convolutes it. This makes me think that perhaps Assassin’s Creed just wants to pile one question after another, demanding patience from the player before starting to roll out answers in subsequent games. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I do hope the next entry provides some clarity.





The climactic level is heavily parkour based, involving jumping from platform to platform and shimmying along ledges. It is here that the game’s weakest link breaks the whole chain. The level is designed such that while going from point A to B, which are quite far away, one wrong jump will have the player starting over from point A. This is where the parkour system stabs the player in the back and causes the character to jump in all sorts of wrong directions. The confounding chatter of the goddess in the background doesn’t help either and the whole level, designed to be a grand revelation, ends up becoming a messy concoction of disillusionment and frustration.

Perhaps, commenting on the stories of individual entries in the AC franchise defeats its design. What if it is meant to be taken as a whole? Then again, if it is introducing new questions, it should also take care to dispel old ones, so there can be a mixture of satisfaction and excitement in equal parts. The dispelling bit is a little too weak in Brotherhood, I fear, but still enough to make me want to go for the next instalment. Hopefully, like its name suggests, the game will finally offer some ‘Revelations’ and provide a befitting end to the Ezio trilogy.