Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is the next step in an amazing series.
Assassin's Creed II lives on in this game with respect to the excellent climbing of tall buildings, puzzles, and fighting style. Fortunately the game play was improved on even more in all three ways. The buildings are now more dimensional, and have some new features such as the lifts. The hanging objects which allow Ezio to turn around corners sharply were also a nice touch. The puzzles have become more complicated especially with relation to subject 16's memory. These were almost too hard to figure out even with the strategy guide. Outside of those puzzles the game has been set up where upgrading plays a bit of a role in attaining items, and gathering items so that more armor and weapons can be purchased. The biggest feature that has been improved on is the fighting. The style of fighting was carried over from Assassin's Creed II, but was improved on with the use of the killstreak flow mechanics. Instead of blocking, countering, repeat, the gamer is given much more room to take a proactive stance in fighting. Another improvement was the addition of conjoined weapons for even more combinations to deaths of enemies. The sword is integrated with the gun so that when finishing off an enemy combinations can be performed where two enemies can be executed simultaneously. The new weapons also add a variety of flavor to the game, simply put spearing a captain off his horse never gets old.
New mechanics have been offered with regards to the assassin recruits. These recruits are a great asset, but unfortunately most of the time I found myself only needing them if they were required to do something, or if I just wanted to make life easier. They are in a sense a get out of jail free card because they are so powerful. Unlike the distractions that the courtesans, guards, and thieves use, the assassin's eliminate targets which is far more effective for something like sneaking around unnoticed.
The challenges in the game never stop. Along with the wide amount of things to do throughout the game, you have specifics tasks that can be carried out for full synchronization. The obvious examples are things like not being seen during a mission or killing someone with your hidden blade. There are some, however, that are more complex and can take some planning rather than just barging in. The sheer number of things to do can not be listed on here in a timely fashion so I will leave it to the gamers to figure out what all is in there.
The story is equally as good as AC2, fortunately this time you can get a view of two worlds, both Desmond and Ezio have roles to be played throughout the game. Ezio's story goes into the details of how the Assassin's were modernly formed and offers a better look as to what should be done with the Piece of Eden. Desmond's role is a little more important and not quite so large that it can be mentioned by proxy, so again play the game and find out his ongoing importance. I found myself enjoying Ezio's character more and more as the story went on and found out about his relationship to his allies and plans for successfully saving Rome from the Borgia.
Multiplayer is one of the best ideas that has been executed in the game. The game types make the game thrilling whether you're playing a free-for-all match or playing with a team. The hunt for your enemies and running away from your killers makes for a good enjoyable time. The perks system is fairly balance, however, I wish they would've left the gun out it makes for an easy kill from above despite how its only worth a few points.
Overall this is a solid buy for anyone who loves playing action games. Despite minimal flaws the quality is definitely worth the money. The multiplayer adds a new dimension of the game for returning gamers, and the stories of Desmond and Ezio continue to improve and deepen the storyline of the series.