Nukezilla Review: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Xbox 360/PS3)

[This is the review for the multiplayer portion of the game. Click here for our review of the single player]

Despite the flaws of the first game in the series, Assassin’s Creed has always been a quietly innovative franchise, presenting a refreshing and satisfying way of getting around the world, albeit one that seemed destined to remain single-player. It was difficult to see how the gameplay could translate into the multiplayer arena whilst remaining fun but not only has Ubisoft Montreal managed it; they have created something with an atmosphere and pacing like nothing else.

In the multiplayer portion of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, you play an agent of the Bad Guys, Abstergo, in a training simulator. This in itself allows Ubisoft to make gameplay decisions that would be implausible in a real-world setting, an advantage that is borne out in the central premise of the game.

Players pick a character model at the start of the match, but several NPC characters share that same model and the key to success is to blend in with them, tracing your targets who are trying to do the same while avoiding your own pursuers. Points are awarded for the quality and discretion of your kills, rather than the quantity, with bonuses awarded for style and variety. All of this contributes to a subtle, tense experience, pin-pricked with moments of action: there’s no health bar here — if you’re caught out and can’t make a quick escape, you’re dead.

Like many multiplayer games, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has a levelling system, unlocking abilities that will help you avoid or track players more effectively. This forces you into inventing more subtle and creative ways to stay hidden as you progress through the levels. However, aside a team mode in which hunters and hunted take turns, the core experience remains consistent: exciting, new and effecti– URK…!

[Peter Silk has been assassinated, the rest of this review has been written by Jenny Rouse]

SEARCHING FOR ABSTERGO AGENTS (5/8).

SEARCHING FOR ABSTERGO AGENTS (6/8).

SEARCHING FOR ABSTERGO AGENTS (7/8).

That’s not to say there aren’t problems with the multiplayer, despite the innovation Ubisoft has presented; more often than not, the server will freeze while attempting to place the player into matchmaking — freezing at a tantalizing “7/8 slots occupied” message. Once you finally get into a game, have fun playing rematches with the same people, because once you leave that group of people and that server, it’s next to impossible to find another game.

And because this is an Ubisoft game, it has its fair share of glitches: several times I’ve been thrown into a game that had five seconds left on the clock (only to be thrown off the server), or my target locator didn’t work, or I was never assigned a mark and had to purposefully die two or three times to get the assignment to restart. In one particularly awful glitch, I played through a ten-minute game with no mark and unable to die because any player who came near me simply dropped dead.

However, I must admit that despite its flaws, once I manage to get onto a server, I enjoy the multiplayer aspect of the game; it’s nice that there’s a multiplayer aspect that involves stealth and cunning over a bum-rushing, clip-emptying firefight (which, let’s face it, make up the majority of multiplayer games, no?). It’s a promising start from Ubisoft, and I can only hope they address their serious server problems quickly so that I– ACK…!

[Jenny Rouse has been assassinated, the rest of this review has been written by Brett Parsons]

LOL NOOB LMFAO OMFGBBQ! A troubling sign for the longevity of the multiplayer experience is the number of low level assassins that are still out there, two months after release. New players are forced to learn the ropes with very little tangible training other than a brief overview of the core mechanics and a laughable display of target hunting.

The game does a nice job of visually reminding you of how best to play the game with hud elements and text reminders, however this won’t prevent you from suffering through 20+ levels of assassins scaling rooftops at a breakneck speeds attempting to brute force their kills. At the higher levels, players gain access to an extensive range of weapons and techniques as well as (for some) the wit and skill to use them.

As mentioned above, the game can become a taught match of cat and mouse with the right opponents, network infrastructure stability and good fortune. In one of my early matches I hid in the nearest haystack as the game showed my target approaching. I locked the camera on their character as they casually sauntered by before realizing their impending doom and attempting to make a break for it. I frantically pressed the “assassinate” button just in time and was treated to a number of high value bonuses.

In the hours since, I’ve had my share of enjoyable kills and escapes (though quality escapes are much harder to come by), but nothing has lived up to the anticipation and sheer luck of that first great kill.

This review is Day 29 of the December Review Nukestravaganza.