Review by: Mitch Dyer

Few games punch you in the face so aggressively and immediately as Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. In the first 15 minutes, the Pope’s lovely son eviscerates Monteriggioni, the town I spent 40 hours restoring in Assassin’s Creed 2. If that’s not reason enough to revolt against the Papal family and raise an army of assassins to invade the Vatican—I don’t know what is.

However, this is about as far as the story reaches. Ezio Auditore’s first revenge story had politics, betrayal and familial murder to support it. Brotherhood trades that intrigue for a straightforward, almost shallow sequel story. It’s never bad, but it lacks ambition. You regroup with old friends, form another allegiance, and start a revolution.

Some new things – like development with Ezio’s sister Claudia – don’t even see anything beyond an introduction. On top of that, if you thought Assassin’s Creed 2’s bonkers ending was a doozie – cool though it may have been – just wait until Brotherhood’s credits roll. I tried desperately to stop the intense finale from happening, not really understanding why it transpired in the first place. Suddenly, the game ends as soon as you’re expecting an answer to the unexplained event.

I wanted more not because the cliffhanger had me aching for a sequel to wrap up a shocking reveal, but because Brotherhood’s absence of explanation only makes its absence of closure all the more confusing. The upside is that there’s more Desmond – you don’t spend a lot of time exploring underground tunnels or iconic locations as the modern-day assassin, but his story’s finally starting to take shape.

Ubisoft counterbalances the story’s shortcomings with a stronger focus on giving you cool things to do in a larger setting than either of Brotherhood’s predecessors. Aside from the odd flashback and finale, you’ll spend all your time as Ezio in Rome. Sticking to one city rather than the traditional three is a bizarre feeling at first, but Rome has memorable personality, iconic landmarks and distinguished districts.

What I liked most about Rome, though, is that it’s a dilapidated wreck. The whole city’s miserable under Rodrigo Borgia’s control, and, shocker, it’s up to ol’ Ezio to bring it to its revered glory. Like Monteriggioni, you increase your income by sprucing up busted blacksmith shops and the like. You can’t buy buildings until you eliminate Borgias’ influence over the area, which means you’ll spend time climbing and burning marked towers. The other angle here is that you can’t torch the tower until you kill the captain overseeing it. This all sounds arbitrary and annoying, but it’s a satisfying side quest if you’re into the idea of sticking it to the jerks in charge of AC’s mega-evil interpretation of the church.