I'm feeling STABBY!! (AC:B)

[Animalor]

Just picked up my copy of AC: Brotherhood over lunch and I'm dying to get home and play it.

It's getting fantastic reviews and has a cumulative of 90 on Metacritic. Reviewers are saying that it's the best AC game yet.
http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360 ... ic-reviews

[Aslanna]

Violence isn't the answer..

[Siji]

Midnight release got home and .. MP wasn't working. *sigh*

Was finally able to get in last night and from what I've seen so far, it's cool. You're given a target that you're supposed to assassinate and your compass lights up telling you which way the target is. It seems more than one person is given the same target at a time as I repeatedly got messages saying target was lost, or so and so killed your target. It was my first game and I'm hoping it gets better because it was pretty annoying that I barely got any kills. When a contract is placed on you it warns you when your pursuer is close to you and you've got to escape them before getting killed. Overall, it was fun. I need a lot more practice though.

The only thing I didn't really like is that it doesn't seem to be the "stealth" MP game the trailers make it out to be. You're not going to sneak past the person that's hunting you because the compass fills up and the target gets highlighted when you get close. I guess if you're blending into a walking crowd it may take them a few seconds to find you, but since you're also after your own target, you're not really likely to be walking slowly with a crowd. Then again, I only did a couple of MP games so perhaps I'm missing something. It's still fun, I just didn't get the feeling the trailers gave.

SP game is just like AC2. You literally pick up right where AC2 left off. You go back to the same villa you built up, but you don't have access to most of the rooms (at least not in the beginning so far). Everything works the same though, so if you liked AC2 you'll like this.

Ratings:
GamePro 5/5
Destructiod: 9.5/10
PlanetXbox360: 9.5/10
Game Informer: 9.25/10

[Animalor]

The opening sequence gave me nerd chills.

[Winnow]

Below is from the AC2 thread, moved it over. Been playing about 5-6 hours now. I decided to go take down some Borgia Towers pretty early in the game. It's helped with my income from controlling parts of Rome. It took my many tries to kill the first Borgia Captain but I think I've got a handle on the fighting controls now. Some of the Tomb Raider platforming drive me nuts but overall it's ok.

I'm enjoying the present day storyline. Without really spoiling anything, the present day group ends up in a same place that Enzio was in the past. It's cool to see the same areas modified for the present. I like the dialog that takes place in the present day parts. I hope this development team uses the AC design for other type games.

The game feels huge and definitely doesn't push you.
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No need to start a new thread.

I Played a little of Assassins Creed: Brotherhood today.

Initial thoughts.

Best series besides Mass Effect going.

I had just finished playing Red Red's new Zombie game when I stuck this disk in my Xbox.

Now, Rockstar is pretty good at making environments, dialog, and animations so when I am blown away by Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood right after playing the Latest Red Dead, it's saying something.

Amazing attention to detail. This game sold 1 million copies in Europe the first week. For this game to be out only a year after AC2 and be this good is quite an accomplishment. After initially saying there would be no Assassin's Creed Game in 2011, Ubisoft has since reneged and said there would be one.

I didn't finish AC2 but ACB catches you up on the story quick enough and it's outstanding database for people and places is always there to help.

AC Brotherhood is better than Red Dead in just about every way. I think Rockstar still has the edge in some cut scene character animations and dialogue but, with the knowledge that Red Dead is head and shoulders above most games out there today, AC: Brotherhood tops it easily.

Rome looks amazing (and huge). After the opening scenes, I've spent time in the villa so far just taking in the scenery and doing small quests.

If you liked AC2, don't skip this one. The most impressive comments are coming from those that have played the Multiplayer part of this game. They say it's unique and excellent.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has sold more than a million copies in Europe in less than a week, making it Ubisoft's fastest selling title to date in the continent. The entire Assassin's Creed franchise is said to have sold in excess of 20 million games, with a target of 30 million by the end of 2011. A "fourth game" is due for late next year according to Geoffroy Sardin, chief marketing and sales guy for the region.

While the yearly Call of Duty scares a lot of releases well into Q1 of the next year, Sardin says Black Ops hadn't hurt chances for Brotherhood. The latest main entry in the Assassin's Creed saga entered at number 2 in the UK charts in the week of its release. With 60% of players playing the multiplayer mode, more multiplayer DLC is in the pipeline. The first Animus Project DLC is free and scheduled for December 14.

What's next for the main storyline? Ezio's role seems played out, but Sardin hints: "If you’ve read the comic books you will see that we took Assassin’s Creed to the USSR, or Caesar’s Rome – that’s a good example of what we could do in the coming years in the next video games." The key word is example.

A new entry is rumored to be set 200 years later and not to be set mainly in a wartime environment again. That doesn't stop people from expecting the French Revolution or American Revolution era, because of hints in the game. Perhaps the next game will go to different places because of the many temples they have to find? With the series running up to a December 21, 2012 date in the fiction, and the money it's generating, I wouldn't hold my breath for the final game to hit next year.

More free DLC for AC Brotherhood as well:

Ubisoft has announced the first bit of downloadable content for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood today, and it's the free multiplayer-oriented "Animus Project Update 1.0."

The update will bring a brand new game mode called "Advanced Alliance," a more difficult version of the game's "Alliance" mode. It will support three teams of two players a piece.

Also being added is a new multiplayer map, "Mont Saint-Michel," which is set on the island of Normandy in France. Ubisoft describes the map as offering "breathtaking scenery sure to enchant all. Its particular topography of narrow streets, high-perched bell tower and multi-leveled architecture is perfect for hunters to surge from out of nowhere to execute their prey."

The content will be out on December 14 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

I might pick this game up for the multiplayer.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is Must Player Multiplayer

Halo, Call of Duty, and Gears of War may be the "go to" games for the XBOX LIVE faithful, but on the rare occasion something so special and unique comes along that it positively demands you put aside your favorite first person shooter and succumb to its charms. For me, Lost Planet was one of those games. For others, it was Chromehounds. Now, it's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

In Brotherhood's devilish multiplayer mode, you begin by choosing a persona: Priest, doctor, courtesan, executioner, engineer--there are sixteen character models in all. Then, as with Call of Duty, you customize abilities, perks, and kill/loss streaks depending on what you have unlocked. Again, like COD, you unlock more as you rank up, and you rank up by earning bonuses and completing challenges. (An example of a challenge would be "Needle in a Haystack" - "Perform 3 kills from inside a haystack" +750XP.)

Brotherhood's multiplayer is a cat-and-mouse game, and you are both the cat and the mouse. At the beginning of the match you are given a target to assassinate... whilst another player sets about assassinating you. The higher your rank, the greater the chance you'll have multiple pursuers. Your target will be one of the personas, say, the doctor. Trouble is he is a doctor in a sea of doctors, as the character models are duplicated by aimlessly wandering NPCs. Kill an innocent NPC by mistake and you are penalized.

A compass on your screen indicates the direction of your target, and grows larger as you close in for the kill, but you mustn't alert him to your approach or he'll be warned and attempt to flee (or stun or poison you). You must balance the need to assassinate your target quickly with staying out of sight--both from your target and your own pursuer. Running along the rooftops is an expedient way to locate your target, but a harlequin sprinting from railing to railing is likely to be noticed. You could hide amongst a mob, or in a bush, and indeed stealth is rewarded, but I've gone entire matches without a kill to my name using this less risky strategy.

The free-for-all mode is called Wanted, but team based Manhunt and Alliance modes are also available. Manhunt has teams playing either as hunter or hunted. As a hunter you earn points through kills, and as the hunted you earn points by hiding, escaping, and stunning your opponents. When the round ends, teams switch roles. Alliance pits three teams of two against each other. Because Brotherhood has a party system, two friends can play public matches cooperatively in this mode. If you're a Gears of War fan, this is your "wingman."

Of the abilities I have unlocked so far, Disguise has proved the most entertaining. Chased through the streets by my enemy, I turned a corner and triggered the ability that lets me change my character model. Then I turned around and walked right past him; he was none the wiser. (The compass disappears during chases.) The disguise only lasts for a few seconds, and there's a long cool down, but when I hit level 32 or complete the "Cloak and Dagger" or "Clairvoyant" challenges, my disguises will improve. ... I didn't even need my disguise to escape another pursuer when, playing as the nobleman character, I stepped into a gathering of noblemen NPCs. My would be attacker proceeded to kill the citizen I was standing next to. He lost me as a contract, and I was rewarded +100 points for scoring the "Lure" bonus.

This is the beauty of the game--you must be a real sleuth. You must study how the NPCs behave so you might recognize irregular behavior and pinpoint your human target. You must mimic the NPCs, so you don't give yourself away. Yet, at the same time, you must be ready to drop a smoke bomb and sprint from an attacker. Feelings of doubt and paranoia are ever present. Also, the feeling of pure exhalation when you pull off the perfect assassination. Truly, there is not another game like this.

The maps of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood must be praised. There are eight in all (with a free ninth map forthcoming) and each is beautiful. They are smallish, because the game only supports eight players at a time, but they are gorgeously rendered. I particularly love the nighttime carnival atmosphere of Siena, and the background music in Castel Gandolfo. It's so nice to play a game that is not set in war torn Afghanistan.

One aspect of the multiplayer I dislike: the lack of host migration. A disgruntled player could quit the match at any time, throwing you back to the menu with nothing to show for your efforts. This probably happens once every ten games, only enough to be a mild annoyance, but it's something Ubisoft should nonetheless address.

Then, when you've had your fill of the multiplayer, the game offers a lengthy and satisfying single player campaign--the best yet of the franchise. So don't doubt that you'll get your Lira's worth from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. And if you need even more incentive to buy the game, keep this in mind: If you don't... I'll kill you.

edit:

I think Rockstar still has the edge in some cut scene character animations and dialogue but, with the knowledge that Red Dead is head and shoulders above most games out there today, AC: Brotherhood tops it easily.

I wrote this after pausing AC: Brotherhood right before the first sex scene. I take it back. AC Brotherhood beats Red Dead in every way including character animations.