After having played these games faithfully over the years, I was kind of disappointed with the way Ezio and Altair’s storyline ended. These two historical badasses have taught me that I can view the wonderful views of Europe and Asia from my sofa, and I learned a thing or two along the way. And what’s better than playing as a grizzled and gray old master? But what wasn’t great was the quickly knotted and severed storyline that just led Ezio to Altair through Constantinople. With some strange new additions and a lot of DLC I’ll never be able to play (more that I don’t care to), Revelations left a bittersweet taste in the mouth.
The story is quite simple (especially if you recently played Brotherhood). It’s been a few years and Ezio is starting to show his age. Now that is something I was impressed with in this game. To grow older and wiser with a character as the game progresses? THAT’S A GENIUS MOVE. I loved every second of knowing just where Ezio came
A few of the character types for AC: Revelations.
from and where Altair was going. It was an intelligent gameplay device for the series. So there’s now older Ezio, (known as the Mentor) who has come to Constantinople, formerly known as the Byzantine Empire. With warring factions of Assassin’s and hidden Templars vying for the city, it is up to Ezio to lead the charge against the unwelcome squatters.
Gotta love the Creed.
Okay, Ezio’s other purpose for coming to the Middle East. Altair, in one of the best opening videos for the game series ever, left a door locked for his lineage to discover hidden within Masayaf. Ezio rambles some henchmens’ brains and finds the door, only to discover he must find some keys in order to unlock it and find the secret weapon behind it. They’re scattered throughout Constantinople by the workings of Marco Polo and his father. Using book clues and a lot of cutlery, Ezio swings through the rooftops of the city in order to unlock the secret.
Even further in the plot is Desmond. He just hoo-hawed Lucy and is now in a coma inside of the Animus 2.0. With the help of the figment of Subject 16, Desmond must combine his Altair past lives and Ezio past lives in order to come back from the brink.
Ezio struggling a bit himself, on the edge.
Okay, gameplay: It’s the free running slaughterfest you would expect from the AC series. Ezio is older and shows it with his speed and dexterity. What could he need at this point, you’re wondering. 1 simple solution. Hookblade. This new addition to Ezio’s weaponry allows him to zipline through the city and avoid/slay guards at will. Think of it like a cane for an old man (with a blade hidden inside). Combos are as brutal and fresh as ever. Collectibles and city restoration are normal. But there were some problems.
A bit of the hookblade action.
Having to defend Constantinople from the Templars was annoying as poop. Around every corner, one of the Assassin’s Guilds was under attack. And then you’d have to do some Bloons Tower Defense all over their ass, and that took up time and cut away from you actually doing the slaughtering. There were too many missions with the Assassin recruits and having to visit them and wipe their bottoms wasn’t helping anything. And trying to get any semblance of achievements or furthering the percentage of completion in the game was weighed down by silly side missions and a block building game with Desmond. This is why I will always love the original more than any of the others. Missions, flags, and killing at will. There’s none of this side quests, hidden gems, and pampering the city B.S.
Ah yes, the young Altair. Notice the scar above his upper lip. That looks familiar…
With all of these problems aside, it was a pretty weak sendoff for Ezio and Altair. Yes, you walk around as Altair at 80+ doing some elite pwnage (never use that normally, guess I want to seem like a true gamer…) and some nice explosions to walk away from, but nothing you would expect from the mind blowing storyline this game series has created. You find the goods, and then one of the biggest cliffhangers ever. Assload of credits and back to some freeplay. Damn it all to Hell, with AC3 coming out, you could’ve gotten me a bit more excited. So I’ll leave you with this. Play the game because it’ll make you feel a bit closer to Ezio and Altair. There are some great bits, but far from Brotherhood or AC1/2. The visuals are stunning and the history is rich, and that’s what I play these games for. Enjoy it while you can until you forget about it because you’re too busy hiding boners from AC3. Just a little bit longer… A solid 6.7
Get some of that carnage.
out of 10.
Leave a comment | tags: 80+, AC series, Altair, Animus 2.0, annoying, Asia, Assassin recruits, Assassin's Creed 1, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed 3, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Assassin's Guilds, Assassins, badass, best opening video, big cliffhanger, bittersweet, block building, Bloons Tower Defense, boners, book clues, Brotherhood, brutal combos, city restoration, collectibles, coma, Constantinople, cutlery, decent storyline, defend the city, Desmond, difficult achievments, disappointment, DLC, Europe, Ezio, faithfully played, father, flags, free run, freeplay, game completion, game progression, genius move, good bits, gray old master, henchmen, hidden, hidden blade, hidden gems, historical, hookblade, intelligent gameplay, keys, killing at will, learning games, like a cane, lineage, locked door, love the original, Lucy, Marco Polo, Masayaf, Middle East, mind blowing storyline, missions, more excited, new additions, nice explosions, nice sendoff, old and wise, older Ezio, poor ending, problems, progression of time, pwnage, rich history, secret weapon, series, show his age, side quests, silly side missions, simple story, slaughterfest, speed and dexterity, stunning visuals, Subject 16, Templars, the Byzantine Empire, the Mentor, time consuming, too many missions, true gamer, unlock the secret, warring factions, weak sendoff, weaponry, zipline | posted in Video Games
In continuation of the Ezio Arc of the Assassin’s Creed series, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood: is a slight continuation of the events of Assassin’s Creed 2. In considering this a half-stop between AC 2 and AC 3, this game delivers a whole new amount of gameplay almost identical to AC 2. Taking place entirely in Rome, Ezio climbs and leaps from the historic buildings of Rome and the surrounding countryside. You can rebuild Rome from the tyrannical rule of the Borgia family and attempt to take back what rightfully belongs to the people. In the vein of a Robin Hood story, you use the money from the government to buy the tools you need to take back Rome. The fight is on.
What lacks in this game in comparison to Assassin’s Creed 2 is the slow moving plot. The second game moves so fast with Ezio’s plot and how he becomes an Assassin, it leaves little to be done in the second. It’s all about the revenge story in this one. The Borgias have remained in power by Ezio’s inability to finish the job and he’s paying for it now. With the help of the Assassin’s Guild and a new feature which allows you to send and use Assassin’s to do your
Just a bit of the historic gold.
bidding, its up to Ezio Auditore and crew to save Rome.
This gameplay is identical to the gameplay in Assassin’s Creed 2. There are a couple of exceptions. The free running is a bit more advanced with some better gloves for climbing and some more advanced moves in traveling through the extra areas in order to collect the armor of Romulus. The synchronization experience in the game is a bit frustrating with having to attempt to achieve 100% with every mission. A lot more of the missions in this game dealt with not being detected, a fact which frustrated me to no end. If the job is achieved, I would like it to be up to me how it is done. If I want to kill everyone and then deal with the target, what’s wrong with that?
Abe Lincoln joke anyone? Maybe an Assassin from the Guild killed him too… In AC 5…
Anyways, the rest of the game is just as fun as the second game. The Subject 16 missions are just as fun and challenging as the first, indicting the entirety of the world’s powers in what appears to be a power grab by the Templars that control the world. The artwork and historic building information makes me feel smarter while I’m playing a video game. I love games like this with basis in history that allow you to function as a badass Indiana Jones and solve the mysteries behind some of the world’s biggest marvels. With art, weaponry, and Leonardo Da Vinci’s weaponry, history becomes kick ass.
The voice acting is phenomenal as usual in this game. The workers at Ubisoft have their shit on lock with the amazing cast they get to pull of the Italian tinted accents of all the characters in the game. The emotions and actions of the characters are appropriate and, unlike many other video games, the characters are realistic for the subject matter of the game. And, for once, this game has a main character who is above the age of 25. In his mid 30’s, Ezio can still kick as much ass, but the fatigue actually wears on him. The same goes for 50 year old Ezio in Revelations. Let’s talk about character development and just how well this game pulls that off.
Ah yes, the Borgias… and notice the crossbow I forgot to mention.
The Brotherhood has arrived.
With all these elements in my all time favorite game series, Assassin’s Creed is one of the most well thought out games of all time. The creators in every country behind the games come together under different ethnicities and creeds to create a masterpiece of a game. They bring the accuracy of different religions and histories in order to be as accurate as possible. And thinking about the fact that these characters are based on real historical figures is just the icing on the cake. So hunker down and get into Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, its a perfect slow down point in the game that allows you to seep in the glory that is Ezio and the Assassins.
Leave a comment | tags: 50 year old, accurate history, advanced moves, all time favorite series, amazing cast, armor of Romulus, artwork, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed 3, Assassin's Creed series, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, assassin's guild, badass, based on real historical figures, basis in history, becoming an Assassin, Borgia family, buildings, challenging, climb and leap, climbing gloves, continuation of events, control the world, different creeds, different ethnicities, Ezio Arc, Ezio Auditore, fatigued, feel smarter, free running, frustrating, fun, Glory, great character development, half-stop, historic buildings, Indiana Jones, Italian accent, Leonardo da Vinci, masterpiece, mid 30's, more missions, mult country development team, new features, older main character, phenomenal, power grab, realistic characters, rebuilding, religions, revenge story, Robin Hood, Rome, similar gameplay, slow moving plot, solve mysteries, stealth, Subject 16, synchronization experience, Templars, tyrannical rule, Ubisoft, video game, voice acting, weaponry, well thought out game, whole new gameplay, world powers, world's biggest marvels | posted in Video Games
After having played these games faithfully over the years, I was kind of disappointed with the way Ezio and Altair’s storyline ended. These two historical badasses have taught me that I can view the wonderful views of Europe and Asia from my sofa, and I learned a thing or two along the way. And what’s better than playing as a grizzled and gray old master? But what wasn’t great was the quickly knotted and severed storyline that just led Ezio to Altair through Constantinople. With some strange new additions and a lot of DLC I’ll never be able to play (more that I don’t care to), Revelations left a bittersweet taste in the mouth.
reviewsfromtheabyss 