So I just bought the game earlier today, here are a few thoughts.

1:The first thing I noticed were the graphics. I bought the PS3 version, and everything looks downright ugly compared to AC:2 on the PC. I don't know if this is a platform issue (I know PC games generally look better), or if the game is just ugly, regardless of platform. Either way, after some really stunning visuals in AC:2, this is a letdown.

2:The game is both very open & incredibly rigid at the same time. Outside of story missions, you have control over almost anything you want to do. Search a temple, take an assassination contract, train assassins-you choose what it is you want.

However in story missions, I've found that the game often pulls a Red Dead Redemption. When will game makers realize that following around characters while they spout exposition is boring? I get it, we need to travel to this area, but I don't need to see the whole thing. I trust you game, I don't think my character is going to die on the way there if you don't make me lead him by the fucking belt.

Beyond that, the gameplay is very similar to AC:2. There are some new weapons and some refined combat, but overall the combat is the same letdown that AC:1 and 2 were. You never really feel like you're going to die, I literally slaughtered 17 guards in a row without taking a single hit due to a new game mechanic that allows you to smoothly transition between multiple killing blows on multiple enemies.

So far the story isn't too bad, the game skirts a little on the edges of the mindfuck that was AC:2's ending, though it does get brought up once in a while.

I'm going to play the multiplayer mode soon, but not in the mood right now.

Anyway, anyone else played it/have thoughts on the game?

 

Ive played for a couple hours. I didnt have any problems with the graphics. I agree about the excess of following people around. I got tired of it in ACII especially towards the end when you literally shadowed people around 3/4s of Venice.

My biggest complaint is that I cant get to certain view points, which has always been the first thing I did when i entered a new area. That way I know where stuff is.

Combat is even easier than ACII. It seems much more fluid to me especially the way you pull your weapon out of a guard and straight into another guard. But once again there is no challenge at all even though you can be attacked by more than one guard at time. Once again the only way I ever die is by not paying attention and mistiming a jump or not paying attention to how high i am off the ground.

 

I hate all of you console-peasants.

 

I enjoyed multiplayer... when I was given a target to kill. Every other game I played, I wasn't able to acquire a new target for the majority of the game. I've never raged harder over 10 minutes of gameplay than today. But sneaking up on people and killing them, or seeing someone come up on you and try to stun them before they kill you, is actually really cool.

 

This. I hate all of you.

 

Does one need to play the other game(s?) in the franchise to enjoy this one? Also, semi-related: The FallOut franchise - need played in order or can I just pick up the awesomeness that looks like New Vegas?

 

You really should play AC2 before you play Brotherhood, since Brotherhood picks up the very second 2 leaves off. But if you just read the synopsis on Wikipedia for AC1, you should know all you need for 2.

And you can easily play any Fallout game without knowing any of the others. You might miss an in-joke or two, but there's no direct crossover between the games.

 

Just ignore AC1 like it never existed. It was a repetitive piece of shit that the vast majority of people gave up on far before the end.

Now you should play AC2, because it's a great game, and because AC:B is a direct continuation of it's storyline.

 

Cool deal. Will do, as soon as I can pull 200-odd bucks out of my ass (I like purchasing groups of games all at once, so sue me...). D:

Edit: Started playing ACII. Fucking controls, how do they work? -.- I am unable to beat what's his face up the top of the church. So frustrating trying to figure out how to run and climb and sprint and jerk off...*sigh*

I have this problem with a lot of games. The controls are too complex for me to get the hang of it quickly, and not get frustrated enough to uninstall the game.

Edit #2: After cooling off for a day, I went back and tried it again. Failed twice more before finally getting a good enough route to win. This game is rather fun when you can get a handle on the controls. I especially like beating the crap out of things - counter-attacking is my favorite so far (but I can't wait to be able to jump off a roof and stab the shit out of someone).

Are the viewports and such side quests? Or should I spend time going to each one before I get too far into this? What about feathers/treasure maps|chests?

 

Well fuck, I got 30% synced and my disk managed to get a ring cut into it, looks like shit. Will have to disk doctor it before I comment more, I can say though I fell in love with the Recruit system.

 

I have bought the game for about two weeks, and have played everything there is to play on it.
I have to say, the game is terribly glitched. People everywhere moan and cry over lost trophies or missed mission due to the minimap not showing them. Also, some say they have problems with the multiplayer.

Myself, I only have one glitched trophy, which means I'll have to play the entire game again to get it. However, I consider myself lucky that I didn't have any serious glitches. My multiplayer goes nicely, I am always assigned targets and I love all the multiplayer modes. However, it takes many minutes to actually start a session, and that is in the lucky cases.
You can see it was rushed at the end, they didn't check it much before releasing it.

On the plus side though, I consider ACB the best AC game of the three, glitches aside. The story is better, the Brotherhood usage is great, the new costume is so much better than the one he wore in AC2 and Ezio himself acts a lot cooler than he did in AC2. Comes with age I guess.
Quick quote -Doctor: Medicine won't work on someone your age. You must give it time to heal.
-Ezio: "Someone my age". Imbecile.

They again have hidden locations which now comprise of hideouts of these "followers of Romulus" which earns you a stupid armor with a dead wolf on it. Altair's armor from AC2 was much, much better.
The Cristina missions were informative and interesting, if lacking in gameplay.
You actually get to kill the characters you play as in the multiplayer with Ezio in the Templar Agents missions and some story missions. I thought it was cool.

In general, it was an awesome game. In fact, I am still playing. There are a lot of things to do in Rome, many memories to synchronize, missions to do, buildings to renovate, shop quests to gather, Assassins to train, challenges to complete, puzzles to solve, areas to explore etc etc.
So yeah, I consider it worth buying. The only thing that stopped me from going all fanboy on your asses were the terrible glitches.

 

It's out on PC, and it is awesome. As. Fuck. Doubt I'll be able to go back to AC2 after this faster, more frenetic combat system. Though, truth be told, all the review it needs is 'if you like AC2, this is like AC2 except better'.

What really shines is the multiplayer. Oh god, the multiplayer. The only way it could be more fun is if I played it with bros instead of internet randoms. HINT HINT.

 

so the multiplayer from the x-box/ps3 version is the same in the pc version? thats what was making me hesitate into getting the game.

 

Might buy it for PC if I get the chance. The multiplayer with random people is both boring and annoying, as 2 idiots jumping around ruins it.

With DLP I could see it being fun though.

 

Fuck smoke bombs. Fuck them.

 

The multiplayer is pretty awesome. Although it suck when you are just starting out and don't have access to any of the cool stuff. I didn't even know about the hidden gun until earlier. I was standing on a rooftop and saw the guy chasing me over on a different rooftop.

I was like, heh dumb bastard has no chance... then I died.

 

Do it require a constant internet connection?

 

Picked up AC:B around Christmas and have enjoyed it since. It keeps you pretty engaged the entire time you play (all 40 or 50 hours of gameplay).

Pros:

Combat System - The idea that this game is like AC2 but better is very accurate. The new combat system makes you feel like a god among men in an almost plausible way. The earlier two games seemed to rely on the stupidity of guards for you to kick ass, but with combo kills you just absolutely rape up and down Rome all day.

Story Line - Another good, if unoriginal story about evil rulers and how to dethrone them. I'll be interested as to how my knowledge of the Borgia translates into the Showtime series.

Extras - I really enjoyed the combat training. The combat and assassination tutorials are very addicting and I didn't stop playing them until I got gold medals at all levels. Running after flags I just find frustrating when you miss your jumps or inadvertently run up a wall while sprinting.

Multiplayer - The first actual game I played was Wanted and I took first place. From then on I was hooked. I'm only really a fan of Wanted and Advance Wanted, but that's just because every other one requires teamwork and I don't have any friends who play this game and the randoms aren't always reliable. But still when you you just start running away with a game, get 1200+ point kills, it's just awesome. Not exactly sure why you can jump from the tallest tower and live but whatever.

Lastly what I really loved was the recruiting and building of the Assassins. With Ezio taking lead and really becoming who he needs to be during his time is awesome from a character stand point. I also read almost every mission and followed the story that develops with the Assassin's abroad. It was an interesting subplot that reached farther than just Ezio's little corner of the world. But what I found most fun was picking a fight with about twenty guards and then have them all killed with my own Master Assassin's who I've trained up. Watching the computer AI's use smoke bombs, swords and knives to slaughter upwards of 15 guards is just amusing.

Cons:

Love Interest - The creators put Ezio's old flame into the game in weird flashbacks which I just kind of found pointless. It's kind of fun to go back and see the old haunts but I didn't do much for me.

Multiplayer - Honestly just how long it takes to find a game. Maybe COD has spoiled me but I hate waiting 10min just to find a game of Advance Wanted.

I missed Venice and whatnot alittle just because traveling around Rome took forever, but most complaints I had about AC:2 were fixed or tweaked in some fashion. That said- I can't wait till the next game. Or atleast it's ending. They keep getting better.