Snapshot King
Member
LAUGHTREY said:
I just hit sequence five, walked outside and she was standing next to the grate next to the study, right outside the door. In addition to some bizarre footsteps.
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Assassin's Creed Brotherhood |OT| where my bro's at?
- Thread starter iNvid02
- Start date
I just hit sequence five, walked outside and she was standing next to the grate next to the study, right outside the door. In addition to some bizarre footsteps.
Amir0x said:
True, but at least they added in a whole host of new NPC models. (I think... been a year since I played through 2)
___
Here are my thoughts on the game (with some gameplay/story spoilers):
Combat- Pinnacle of the series! The big fights that always seemed to occur in AC1 finally make their glorious return. I missed them so much in AC2. Of course, the combat itself is so much better with the improvements from AC2/B. I hated having so many combat options in AC2 with so few enemies to fight at once. Also, the chain executions are an awesome addition. They just seem so natural considering how badass the Assassins were supposed to be. The unarmed executions are extremely brutal.
Ancestor Story- Kind of boring to be honest. While the missions themselves were all good, I thought the overall plot was pretty lame. Ezio really doesn't seem to accomplish anything really major. I mean, he recruits other assassins, but that really isn't something new to the mythology. We've already seen the assassins forming huge communities.
Characters- Eh, I'm still not a fan of Ezio even though you can tell he really has grown up since the beginning of ACII. The Cristina missions really show this off. Of course, I still don't see why people call Altair the douche when praising Ezio. Ezio's been far more of a cunt than Altair ever was. Again, the Cristina missions show this off excellently.
Out of all of the side characters, Leonardo and Cesare really seem to be the only ones worth a damn. Leonardo was the only one out of them all that seemed to connect with Ezio. It's a shame considering they all have interesting designs but have less to do with the main character than the Assassin contacts in AC.
Full Synchronization- I consider this a necessary addition to the franchise. It really allows for more "directed" missions. It's also extremely satisfying to pull off full sync in really difficult missions (killing 13 ambushing Romulus followers without getting hit near the beginning of the game for example). I am a little disappointed in the lack of variety in the conditions for full sync. There's a lot more they can do with this. I expected to be forced to kill a target with his own weapon, use the crossbow, use poison, assassinate from a parachute, and all kinds of other hi-jinks that never occurred. I wasn't really a fan of the timed ones though. I would have preferred to go through the Romulus lairs at a more exploratory pace.
Missions- I was really pleased with the missions. There were a few repeated ones, however, the overall variety was rather large. The checkpoint system was really bad though when going for Full Sync. I hated having to repeat extremely long missions just because I got hit by some random crossbow bolt, bullet, throwing knife, or flaming arrow 5 seconds before a mission ended. The War Machine missions were really bad in this regard (even though those particular missions were extremely satisfying). I was also quite happy to see stealth play such an important role finally.
I'm still not a fan of the GTA mission structure of the last two games though. I really liked the hub-like mission structure of the first game even though the missions themselves were far too repetitive then.
Side Missions- I like that there are a lot of side missions. So many, in fact, that I haven't even touched any of the thief, courtesan, or mercenary ones. Luckily, the ones I've played don't seem all that repetitive.
The Abstergo ones are quite nice. They contain interesting cutscenes/gameplay bits as well as giving a purpose for the MP characters in the SP. Too bad there wasn't one for each MP character.
The War Machine segments were also very cool. It was a shame that you had to buy pretty essential stuff from the AC II back from Leonardo.
Assassination Targets- They were as dull as they were in the second game. I don't know how they managed to get this right in the first game, but screwed it up in the subsequent ones. These are people Ezio should want to kill, but they all seem so lifeless (not meant to be a pun
) and drained of personality. It just surprises me to see that the weakest of the three games was also the strongest in this particular aspect which happens to be the whole point behind the series.I think the mission structure is a big component of the failure of this particular subject. In the first game, each DNA sequence was focused around a single assassination. I think that really allowed you time to get to know your target. The final dialogue between the target and Altair helped as well. I wish they weren't so short in ACII/Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood- While it was a fantastic addition, I don't think enough was done with it. For example, none of the assassin's really seem all that unique. Sure, each one has their own name and a somewhat non-generic appearance, but I don't believe there was enough of a difference between them. Every potential recruit you approach is involved in a fight with three guards and they're all poor and wield swords. It would have been much cooler if they all had unique situations that you could find them in. Examples include: About to jump off a bridge and kill themselves; setting fire to a guard house; randomly roaming about the rooftops of Rome; being escorted away by a group of guards; commanding a group of mercenaries in a battle against the guards; and, for one special recruit, watching their family being hung by the Borgia (mirroring Ezio's own tale). It could have been cool to recruit a few pairs (like a father/son duo).
Each recruit should have had personal stats as well as having their own upgrade branches (instead of the basic four armor upgrades (pauldrons/greaves/chest guard/plate set); four weapon upgrades (dagger/sword/?/Axe); three equipment slots; and small selection of clothing dye that disappears once they become full assassins). These stats (including a personality type- rash, calm, clever, and so on and job- leader. strategist, fighter, tactician, etc.) as well as equipment would have had more of an affect on mission success than plain old level. Personality type/job would really come into effect when it came to pairing up assassins for more difficult missions. Having too many leaders wouldn't really work out all that well. Neither would assigning a bunch of brash assassins to a stealth mission.
Ezio should have interacted more with his assassin recruits as well. It would have felt much more like a brotherhood that way.
It would also have been nice if you could see small video clips of how each mission went once it was completed.
I liked the fact that you unlocked a recruit slot after destroying a Borgia tower. It just made sense. I was disappointed with the fact that you could only have three Brotherhood Assist Move slots even though you could have nearly double the amount of assassins in your guild.
Romulus Lairs- I thought these were expertly designed. Each one really felt unique and they all looked amazing. It's a shame that some of them were timed though. The reward you receive for completing all of them is just as amazing as the reward for completing the Assassin tombs in the first one. I wish you dye it though. I mean, it looks good as is, but it would have been nice to change the colors up a bit.
Desmond Segments- They are a definite improvement over the ones in AC2. The return of the emails was a pleasant surprise, but they were underused unfortunately. All they really included were character building dialogue. I would have liked to have seen Desmond receive more mysterious emails from an unknown source that were encoded and contained secret messages and warnings.
Platforming with Desmond was also refreshing. He seems to move a bit faster than either Ezio or Altair, but I can't really tell for sure. I also like how they integrated the "bleeding effect" into the game.
His game-ender was so much better than Ezio's.
The Truth- Not nearly as entertaining as the truth segments in ACII. For how few puzzles there were, I was surprised at how limited the variety of the individual pieces were. The audio logs were cool though and putting them together by recreating the waves was challenging, yet entertaining. I also liked the little chess segments at the end of each. I just wish that they had brought back the unique designs for each puzzle location instead of the generic broken brick wall they used for each. I wouldn't even have minded if they had the brick wall bit with the unique sign over the top of it.
I missed hearing Subject 16's voice during the puzzles. :/
Unfortunately, I didn't like the reward all that much. The idea behind it was cool (tapping into a file), but the actual segment was pretty damn stupid. You were pretty much running straight ahead the entire time. I mean, the visuals were nice, but it got pretty damned repetitive and I saw no real reason for it. Subject 16 digitized himself? The fuck? I think it would have been much cooler if 16 had implanted one of his ancestors' memories in that file instead of that little mindfuck. Maybe even in addition to?
Shops/Shop Quests- I wish each of the shops within a certain discipline were more unique. For example, each blacksmith seems to have the same weapons/armor (applies to the other professions as well). I would have preferred there to be less shops but with each one having its own selection of items. Of course, I'm sure they could have added in the option to buy the "recipes", so to speak, so that the shops in your main base could be used to buy anything.
Tailors could each have their own set of dyes instead of it being based on the district they are located in as well as having a unique assassin outfit designed by them. One is simply not enough. You could have a combat-centric outfit, an elegant one for parties and such, and other stuff like that that could also be used for Full Sync on certain missions.
The shop quests, while a great idea, were really stupid in execution. Why in the fuck would you need a shrunken head in order to craft a piece of armor? The item collection just seemed totally random. I would have preferred each profession to give you a quest you could actively participate in instead of the collection bullshit.
Landmarks- Buying these seemed so pointless. They cost so much damn money, but give you a pitiful amount of 20 minute money in return. I had hoped they would be renovated back to their full glory once you bought them, but they stayed in their ruined state instead.
New Equipment- I've been waiting for that damned crossbow since before the original Assassin's Creed was released thanks to its debut trailer. It was definitely worth the wait too considering how badly the throwing knives were nerfed in the sequel and how useful it was for the stealth missions. That gun attracted way too much attention. It's a shame that the crossbow/poison darts weren't paired with the wrist-blades during combat like the sword/gun and dagger/throwing knives combinations. The ranged poison darts makes undetected 4-guard assassinations possible as well. Nice!
I both love the parachute and hate it at the same time. I like the service it provides, but I don't like the fact that it's a one use item. I'm not a big fan of the button it is mapped to either. I've pulled the parachute out a few too many times during combat/assassination attempts than I would have liked. R2 may have been a better choice (I can't seem to remember what it does in SP at the moment).
I'm kind of mad that the sheathes from AC are still missing in this game. I can't stand seeing those bare blades hanging from Ezio's waist. It just looks strange. I'm guessing the reason they were removed is because of the wide variety of weapons you can purchase in this game. Still, I think they could remedy that by including a sheath for each weapon type in all of the different armor sets instead of having a unique one for each weapon.
I also find it odd that we're still not able to buy a pole weapon from the blacksmiths. It's one of my favorite weapons to use, yet I have to steal one from a guard to use it.
The Assassin Outfit- I really like the design of it. It takes Giovanni's complex outfit and mixes it with the more subdued design of Altair's. It's a great mixture and it's also the first design made exclusively for Ezio to wear (and then copied by the recruits). I was surprised to find myself still using the standard colors (white/red) at the end of the game. In AC II, I immediately died Giovanni's suit to Mahogany and then to Ebony later on in the game. Of course, once the game ended, I dyed Ezio's suit Ivory.
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I haven't dived into the multiplayer yet, so I can't really comment on how much it has changed since the beta. I really enjoyed it in the beta though outside of a few issues here and there. I just hope the people that run around like idiots get punished even more for ruining the game for the other players in the match. :/
___
The view from that humongous flag at the top of the Pope's residence was absolutely breathtaking. AMAZING! It's a shame that you couldn't go to the building that was being constructed over there.
Papercuts said:
No, Wanted. I manged to get like 4 people in a single match doing that.
Here's an amazing moment when I was doing multiplayer tonight. I can't remember the name of the map, but it's the one with the market in the center. There's a wagon of hay with a leap of faith near the middle. I see my target on the roof near the leap of faith. I'm sticking around expecting him to drive into the hay. Once he jumps in, I figured I'd kill him while he's in the hay.
Instead, he air assassinates another player that turns out is standing RIGHT next to me. Not knowing that I'm his pursuer, I dive into the hay and promptly assassinate him from the hay, getting the achievement. :lol
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I'm on the last sequence and I'd just like to say how fun the game is.
Although the game feels definitely rushed: Typos (see the description of the painting of the Resurrection of Christ), lags and stutters, bugs (NPCs disappear for no reason).
Also it would have been better if they added another explorable city.
Although the game feels definitely rushed: Typos (see the description of the painting of the Resurrection of Christ), lags and stutters, bugs (NPCs disappear for no reason).
Also it would have been better if they added another explorable city.
I really want to get this game. The question is whether to get the normal version of the stupid expensive version.
Did Ubi ever release the single-player maps for AC2 after release?
I can't remember since I got them for free. If they'll release the maps that come with collector's version, I'll get the regular version.
Did Ubi ever release the single-player maps for AC2 after release?
I can't remember since I got them for free. If they'll release the maps that come with collector's version, I'll get the regular version.
N
NinjaFridge
Unconfirmed Member
Codex Edition has arrived!!!!
Hey you can use the crossbow in hand-to-hand combat. :lol Pretty cool. I also found a shovel to use as a weapon, pretty funky animation I'm not sure if it's intended to be a weapon.
It's just for your own amusement. There are no achievement or trophies linked to getting full sync. Don't do it if you don't want it, it's just for extra challenge. I find it to be pretty awesome.
Bernbaum said:
It's just for your own amusement. There are no achievement or trophies linked to getting full sync. Don't do it if you don't want it, it's just for extra challenge. I find it to be pretty awesome.
There's only one achievement related to 100% sync, and that's getting it in one memory block outside of the first one. Also, the replay feature makes it so you don't have to "rush" your first time through.
That said, the Full Sync condition for the tank mission was satanic evil.
That said, the Full Sync condition for the tank mission was satanic evil.
DancingJesus
Banned
Bernbaum said:
If you don't care about achievements then don't do it.
Secondly, you can play it as slow as you like, at your own pace and then repeat if necessary later. (If you care that much)
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
DancingJesus said:
Or 1st play how he wants to
then after that try for full sync
Multiplayer can either be OMG AWESOME or OMG CRAP depending on your mood, the match you're in... anything. But when it works you're just wow'd at how faithful they left Multi. I was scared after that horrible capture the flag bit in AC2, but maybe they removed that after people said it was crap.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
bubnbob said:
flag bit?
If I don't get full sync, it splashes a nice big fuck-off 'Full Synchronization Failed' message in red text across the screen once I complete the memory. After feeling like a champ after nailing a memory, it's a little deflating to get that as your reward.DancingJesus said:
zero margin
Member
Irish said:
Great post altogether but this one I had to address, It felt like flushing 40,000 down the drain when I bought
The Pantheon
DancingJesus
Banned
Bernbaum said:
*Shrug
Grow a pair. It's the same as getting a gold medal or S rank on a mission, you can always replay them later.
I think it's a pretty cool addition and it makes a hell of a lot more sense than the previous AC's to get full synchronization.
Hari Seldon
Member
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?
I finished the first mission by the Colosseum and I bought the nearby tunnel and went back to the starting area to visit the bank and stuff. I'm wondering around and I keep getting desynchronized randomly in the starting area where I have stuff unlocked and whatnot. What the heck is this shit? This happened last night and I went to bed and it is still happening this morning.
I finished the first mission by the Colosseum and I bought the nearby tunnel and went back to the starting area to visit the bank and stuff. I'm wondering around and I keep getting desynchronized randomly in the starting area where I have stuff unlocked and whatnot. What the heck is this shit? This happened last night and I went to bed and it is still happening this morning.
Lostconfused
Member
Except if you screw it up you have restart the whole thing from the beginning. Which makes it incredibly annoying for some missions.DancingJesus said:
N
NinjaFridge
Unconfirmed Member
Who thought it was a good idea to hide one of the
at the Colosseum?
puzzles
Hari Seldon said:
lol, literaly the exact same thing happened to me yesterday. Finished the first mission by the Colosseum, bought a nearby tunnel and went back to the north part of the city to buy a bank. Desynchronized randomly after ~30 seconds every time.
The problem: That section isn't available during that memory, you're not supposed to be there. If you try to go by foot, you'll run into the white wall of death long before you're even close. It's a pretty big oversight that you're still allowed to warp there though, shows how little time they had to finish the game.
After finishing up the story missions, I think my biggest complaints with the game are all centered around the 'present' with Desmond.
Putting it all in spoilers, because it does spoil the ending of the game. So consider yourself warned, big time.
Am I just being picky, or are there other folks who feel the same?
Putting it all in spoilers, because it does spoil the ending of the game. So consider yourself warned, big time.
Now, I really liked the extra Desmond moments in the game because it helps flesh out the overall story of what's going on. What I didn't care for is the ending, not because of the entire cliffhanging aspect to it but because the part where Desmond is controlled into stabbing Lucy didn't feel like it mattered, because the relationship between Desmond and the other characters just felt shoehorned together. The whole platforming together section just compounds the issue I have. It felt like that was just thrown in to have some quick moments with Lucy. It isn't helped by the fact that the other two characters don't have much screen time together with Desmond.
In AC1, you have a few conversations with Lucy in between Altair's memories. In AC2, you and Lucy have the brief escape to the new hideout, and then the few conversations with her, Shaun and Rebecca. In AC:B, not counting the seemingly forced tag team platform section, it's more of the same. A few scattered conversation pieces, and that's about it.
Which brings me to the whole checking email bit. It was interesting, supposedly an insight to the characters personal lives. However, why the hell are they doing such simple questions in email when they're working together in a small room together every freaking day?! I think the personal connection to the characters would have benefited tremendously if instead such things were handled as off-handed conversation whenever Desmond was out of the animus. Say, whenever Desmond hops out and wandering around it's banter between the characters and not simple text email replies between people who work less than 5 feet from each other. Leave the entire email system for conversations between the team and those who aren't present.
In AC1, you have a few conversations with Lucy in between Altair's memories. In AC2, you and Lucy have the brief escape to the new hideout, and then the few conversations with her, Shaun and Rebecca. In AC:B, not counting the seemingly forced tag team platform section, it's more of the same. A few scattered conversation pieces, and that's about it.
Which brings me to the whole checking email bit. It was interesting, supposedly an insight to the characters personal lives. However, why the hell are they doing such simple questions in email when they're working together in a small room together every freaking day?! I think the personal connection to the characters would have benefited tremendously if instead such things were handled as off-handed conversation whenever Desmond was out of the animus. Say, whenever Desmond hops out and wandering around it's banter between the characters and not simple text email replies between people who work less than 5 feet from each other. Leave the entire email system for conversations between the team and those who aren't present.
Am I just being picky, or are there other folks who feel the same?
Manos: The Hans of Fate
Banned
Vlodril said:
I have the same stuttering. I just don't get what the reason is for it. I never had that happened with AC2 at all.
Revolutionary
Member
...a multiplayer mod with an additional singleplayer campaign that is as long if not longer than AC2's in new locations with improved visuals and gameplay...Aklamarth said:
That's some mod.
zero margin
Member
Aklamarth said:
Disappointed in you junior.