Assassin's Creed 2: Brotherhood

[Squid Division]

Anyone else looking forward to this? I'm a big fan of the Assassin's Creed series despite all its flaws. The multiplayer sounds great from this RPS article. (Basically, I needed an excuse to post that article here.)

[Gwardinen]

I'm quite intrigued by the multiplayer, and if the singleplayer improves at all on AC2 I'll undoubtedly enjoy it, as I liked that much more than the original.

I've actually preordered the game from Play.com, and should hopefully be getting a beta code. I'm essentially going to use that as a demo and if I enjoy the multiplayer I'll keep the preorder, if not I'll cancel it.

[Nappi]

I liked Assassin's Creed 2 but I'm not sure about the Brotherhood: I could have used a change of scenery, don't care for multiplayer, have a feeling that computer controlled bros aren't going to make the missions more interesting, hate the more aggressive approach they seem to have taken in dealing with the enemies and absolutely loathe the idea of driving Leonardo da Vinci's tank. But I'll have to wait and see how this turns out.

[CaptainFish]

I would definitely prefer a proper AC3 than a continuation of Ezio's story, but I enjoy AC gameplay enough that I'll get it. Honestly, I probably won't try the multiplayer, I don't really have much interest. It does look really cool and all, but I pretty much only play those games for the story and setting. Also, fighting with the contextual controls in a competitive nature is bad enough in a race, let alone complex 'The Ship'-style interactions.

[pabosher]

The multiplayer is pretty cool; I played it at Eurogamer.

I also won the game -- 2,500 points compared to the guy who came second with 1,000 -- so I may be biased.

[Moelman]

I think it looks like it could be fun, but not sure I'm willing to shell out for it. I got tired of AC2, even though I played it all the way through, so I'm not sure it's different enough to be worth it to me. Basically I'd be interested in playing the multiplayer, but it's not like I'll be playing it for months like other multiplayer-focused games.

[Orv]

As someone said in RPS comments, AC:B multiplayer is shaping up to be The Ship. As I replied; They appear to have fixed the major problems with The Ship.

In The Ship (If you've never played this actual murder simulator), the players are the only ones on the level. No NPCs other than bartenders and shop keepers. This leads to the phenomenon of running into a player in the corridor, and worriedly backing away and circling around, looking at each other the entire time.

AC:B seems to be fixing this by filling the city with duplicates of the 7 classes. Confirm/deny, Speedy?

(The Ship also has other problems that more or less ruin gameplay, and AC:B seems to be fixing those. It remains to be seen.)

[pabosher]

As someone said in RPS comments, AC:B multiplayer is shaping up to be The Ship. As I replied; They appear to have fixed the major problems with The Ship.

In The Ship (If you've never played this actual murder simulator), the players are the only ones on the level. No NPCs other than bartenders and shop keepers. This leads to the phenomenon of running into a player in the corridor, and worriedly backing away and circling around, looking at each other the entire time.

AC:B seems to be fixing this by filling the city with duplicates of the 7 classes. Confirm/deny, Speedy?

(The Ship also has other problems that more or less ruin gameplay, and AC:B seems to be fixing those. It remains to be seen.)

Exactly right. You might be looking to assassinate someone who looks like an artist, but there are tens of these guys walking around the city. You need to rely on your compass and the way the crowd is acting in order to know who's your target.

[Squid Division]

The multiplayer is interesting in itself, but the RPS mention of perks is what really did it for me. Far too many games have stuck-in advancement systems, but in this case it seems different enough to really matter and to actually provide compelling gameplay.

[Garple]

I watched the Prince of Persia movie while I was on the treadmill today and even though it wasn't that good, it got me psyched for another Assassin's Creed game. Because let's face it, the AC series is sort of an open world POP (I know some will disagree, that's ok, I'm probably wrong, anyway ). When the credits came up I wanted to turn to the guy next to me and say "The guy that wrote the script is the same as the guy who designed the original Prince of Persia games...cool, huh?" Then I realized I was in a gym which is mostly full of normal people, so I kept my mouth shut.

[Gwardinen]

I've now played the multiplayer beta a little... I have mixed feelings, but there's definitely interesting stuff there. As Speedy said, you rely a great deal on your compass, which sits at the bottom of the screen giving you an idea of the direction and proximity to your target, as well as whether they're above or below you. That and the picture of your target are what are meant to enable you to find and kill them.

Sadly, the way this is handled often feels rather mechanical and it shatters my hopes for a lot of "frantically pretend to be an NPC" behaviour, but those expectations may have been unrealistic to begin with. Observing behaviour CAN be useful, it's surprising how easy it is to pick out a player in a crowd at times, particularly as about half of them just don't bother trying to blend in in the first place and regularly run up walls and the like. But a lot of the time someone will just sprint at you from behind before you can react based on their compass.

On the other hand there are some genuinely great moments, mostly to do with your own pursuers. If you stand around near NPCs using the same model as you and a pursuer accidentally kills one of them they lose their contract and you're safe from that particular player until they get a contract to kill you again. You also get points for a "Lure" and it's one of the greatest feelings I've experienced in multiplayer to trick someone in this way.

What's possibly even better is when you're running from a pursuer, turn a corner and get into a crowd and use the Disguise ability, if you have it equipped. This shifts what model you're currently using, and sometimes it screws your pursuer up visibly - watching them suddenly shudder to a halt and knowing that the player is thinking "crap, where the hell is he?" is fantastic. Unfortunately, the combination of the compass and being able to "lock" a character provided they're not out of sight for too long often makes this pointless - another example of how the mechanics sometimes get in the way of the concept, at least the concept I have in mind.

[Squid Division]

GB QuickLook for MP.

[Orv]

Anyone want to give me an XBox so I can play this? Can barely run AC2 on my comp.

It looks like my style of multiplayer. Fucking with people and mindgames is something I love in a multiplayer space.

[CaptainFish]

First off, I do think the multiplayer looks cool, although I'm kinda disappointed at how basic the actions of the npcs are. I was kinda hoping there would be more unique NPC stuff like the dudes carrying around crates and giving speeches for you to take the place off. It seems as though the only real blending action is walking in a crowd with the same dude as you. I do really like the disguise power and would love to see what other abilities you'll get. That leads me to the rant below.

[rant]I realize now that I hate this perk progression stuff. It's just the same bummer as having to unlock songs in guitar hero or characters in a fighting game. When I play a multiplayer game I would like to experience the full gamut of abilities/weapons as well as have at least the illusion of a level playing field. When I inevitably purchase this game, probably late, if there are any people still playing multi, they will have all unlocked pistols and smoke bombs and whatever else that will give them a huge gameplay advantage. I would honestly prefer a Counter-Strike style store, or just set loadout points that you have to distribute.

I understand the carrot on a stick feel that will keep you playing the game for levels, and that it encourages learning the basics before you start trying wacky stuff. However, a part of me still thinks that it gets in games because it's the trend and not because it's the best design decision. We need a new innovation.[/rant]

[Gwardinen]

I think it probably is included because it's a trend more than for its design merits at the moment, but that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't good design. It's just that in a post Modern Warfare 2 games industry, it's hard to make a multiplayer mode that could support perks and customisable weapons/abilities and then not support them.

I doubt the integration of all these customisation features previously associated primarily with RPGs into all games is going to stop or even slow down any time soon, but I'm not sure it's a bad thing either. Personally, I enjoy a limited ability to pick how my character works, as it allows me to tailor it to my playstyle to an extent. That said, I totally understand your issue with it, as it makes for a very unbalanced playing field - something like that would never fly in StarCraft, for example.

The most obvious solution that occurs to me is to include game modes that give everyone nothing or everything, or allow a host of a non-ranked game to pick one or the other if they so choose. This would allow those who want an equal skill experience to get it, while still preserving progression for the core multiplayer. That said, the danger is that that will curtail the desire of the rest of the players to experience the progression for months after the game is released, severely cutting down on its longevity. I don't know what the reality of that situation would be for a Modern Warfare/Assassin's Creed.

[Thompson]

GB QuickLook for MP.

Beat me to the punch, game looks AWESOME from that QL.

[Nappi]

Assassins's Creed: Brotherhood on PS3 features exclusive free additional downloadable content called the Copernicus Conspiracy which will be accessible for download on PSN on November 19th 2010. Players will have access to several new missions through the famous Renaissance astronomer Copernicus. Extra content for players includes courier, assassination and protection missions - Ezio will be tasked with foiling the conspiracy against Copernicus and defending his philosophy.

Seriously..

I bet Andeas Osiander will make an awesome antagonist.