Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted
Ubisoft seem to be fast becoming my favourite company, with Assassin's Creed becoming my favourite franchise. I'm not normally a fan of sandbox games: I follow story progression and tend to miss out on side-quests and collectibles. None of this is true for the Assassin's Creed games. I do have them all, granted a bit later than most big fans, but that doesn't mean I think any less of them - just that I can't afford new games when they're new.
While being a new game, Brotherhood doesn't have many huge differences from Assassin's Creed II, and that's it's biggest strength. While there are many differences in parts of the game, the developers have obviously realised that their previous game was good enough to not require a complete overhaul. That said, they have changed a few things, mostly for the better. The biggest of these obviously is the multiplayer mode, although having not played this I'm not going to include it in the review, only mention it as one of the improvements. Having played through the rest of the game I can't call it anything else, as nothing seems to have suffered to include it.
Other improvements include the ability to replay memories, and my personal favourite: the ability to recruit new Assassins. This new gameplay mechanic allows you to ask citizens of Rome who've been hassled by the Borgia to join you, allowing you to send them on missions, and call them into battle when your stuck. Using an experience system you can level them up, equip them for battle, and bring them fully into the Ranks of the Assassins Guild.
All is not perfect with the game however, as some things seem to be amiss. For me, the biggest problem is the lack of actual assassinations to be performed. While the first games had you building up to a proper target in each series of events, there only seem to be a few true assassinations in Brotherhood. There are several kills to be done, but what really made a mission for me was the chat with the target after you had successfully terminated them, which only happens a couple of times in Brotherhood.
Another feature I've found quite interesting is the integration with Project Legacy: a Facebook game which allows you to connect to your XBOX game to achieve some further extras. Through playing this text-based RPG you can earn experience for your assassins, and unlock extra clothing options. It's very simple, and far from necessary to the game, but is a very nice and unique feature.
Despite the lack of kills to be done, the game plays really well, and is hugely enjoyable. Unlike the previous 2 I have yet to get all the achievements, and sadly due to the multiplayer mode quite possibly never will. I've not come across any bugs in the game, and played it through very happily. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the earlier iterations of the game, but if you weren't a fan there's not a big enough difference in this game to make you fall in love with it.
