PZs AC:Brotherhood impressions

[PZ]

Well, my experience so far has been positive.  :-X

   
• Installed the game last night and discovered another thing that I like about the PS3 - a new update was just released that allows the console to play 3D Blue Ray discs.  We've seen a 240 hz Samsung 3D, and the effect is stunning - my wife wants one for Christmas, so the fact that my old fat console now plays the 3D discs is a very welcome free feature.
• As usual, even with brand new games, it already needed an update, but it was relatively small and didn't take too long.
• Once the game started and I heard the familiar music, I was hooked - I love the AC2 music, and some of it is in the current game along with other pieces that are also very good.
• Once in the game, I was absolutely stunned with the detail of the graphics "They look way better than AC2" I thought.  But then, I wondered how that would be possible, and then it dawned on me that the game resolution might have changed.  I haven't researched it yet, but when I have booted every game I have (except GT5), the TV switches to 720i or p.  When I start AC:Brotherhood, the TV stays in 1080p mode!  What I can say is that it almost feels like being in 16th century Rome.
• You can now ride horses in town, and fight while on their backs - watch out though, the enemy can also do so
• The basics of fighting is similar to AC2, but there are new weapons and ways of fighting.  I had to laugh when one of the soldiers grabbed me around the neck!  They were not able to do so in AC2.  There are also more types of soldiers, and some of them carry crossbows or crude rifles.
• In AC2 you were able to upgrade places in the Villa - now in Rome you can upgrade areas of the city, and I stumbled on one method that I've not tried yet - you burn down one of the Borgia towers and you establish your presence in the area, which allows you to upgrade the places nearby.
• Whenever you assassinate one of the captains in certain areas, you can recruit a novice assassin, whom you need to train.  Evidently you send them on quests of sorts throughout Europe where they gain their fighting experience.
• As you train your assassin buddies, they will come to your aid in fighting when you call them, but you need to be within a certain range.

There is so much more, but I've run out of time to tell the story, but will return for more later this evening or tomorrow once I get to play again.  For now, I can honestly say that the game has exceeded all my expectations - I can't wait for this to come out on the PC

[spaceboy]

sounding good PZ.  I honestly have only gotten to Rome myself,  I met that guy with his poor wife hanging.  I left it there and as you know - checked out MP.  Your recap there is making me very excited to get back to the story.  I agree the look of the game is beautiful and makes me happy I sprung for the 1080p set when I got the PS3.

As for Rome, that first Church tower you climb after seeing the doc.  Wow - what a view. - I wanted to head straight over to the Coliseum for some sight seeing!   I liked the multiple cities in AC2, but now I'm looking forward to just really getting to know Rome. 

[PZ]

Indeed - Rome is huge, and the things that you will be able to do in the city will be amazing.  Another good feature in this iteration is the ability to relive your former memories, and achieve 100% synchronization, which evidently unlocks cheats of some kind.  Here's an example of the basic setup:

When you take on a mission to kill someone, a captain, for instance, you can kill him any way you like, but if you accomplish the task a certain way, then you can achieve 100% synchronization, which unlocks a cheat.  I've not accomplished this just yet, but will figure it out tonight.

The good part is that if you fail to achieve 100% sync, you can opt to do the mission again to achieve your desired result.  Alternately, if you like a particular memory, you can go in to repeat it as often as you like - for those of you playing AC2, recall that you cannot repeat the main memories.  The developers evidently listened to the consumers on this one.

[Art Blade]

I have been under the impression that this game focussed on the MP aspect.. now it sounds like that there is also some SP part going on.. I'd like to know how big that part actually is, as in how many missions or how many hours of gameplay you'd estimate.. - I'd only consider purchasing it if the SP bit is considerable. Cheers :)

[PZ]

I'll know more after I begin playing this weekend - I was so excited, I just dove right in.  It looks to be quite extensive - I don't know if it is an illusion, but Rome is huge compared to the smaller cities in AC2.  There are lots of activities, lots of new characters - you remember those annoying fiddlers?  I was just accosted by a group of three women beggars wanting a handout - they were quite persistent.

One more feature - the factions (courtesans, thieves, and thugs) each have separate headquarters that you can interact with somehow.

Although it is difficult to say how extensive it is at the moment, there are at least several activities that were not in AC2.  In this version, you can even step out of the Animus and stroll the Villa - have not done that yet so I don't know what it means.

[spaceboy]

it's supposed to be a full fledged SP game, Art.  I reckon you'll want to check it out.

[Art Blade]

alright then, cheers, guys  :) :-X

[PZ]

I've been in Italy for about 4 hours now, and it looks like there will be lots of gaming to be done.  There are only 24 view points to clear, but there is an interesting twist.  Many of the view points (12) have Borgia towers associated with them.  Each has a Borgia captain guarding it, and he needs to be killed before you can ignite the building and free that area from the Borgia influence.  Once you accomplish that, you are free to renovate the shops in that area.  This is a departure from AC2, where you had access to the shops wherever you went - now you need to rid the area of Borgia influence before you can access the shops.

I discovered the Followers of Romulus, a cult group of individuals wearing some kind of wolf's skin plus head as decoration.  These lairs are like the Assassin's tombs in AC2 - you need to go through these in order to collect a scroll of Romulus, and it looks like there is a special set of armor you get once you find all of the keys.  If you played AC2, and remember how easy the first assassin tomb was, then this is similar in task, only much more difficult in execution - the path is quite circuitous, and it took me a while to get the job done.

Also different in this game, as far as timed events (at least in the beginning).  There was a time limit in order to achieve 100% synchronization during the lair mission, and I thought it was going to be one of those awful events where you need to repeat it for as long as it takes to get the job done.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could still complete the mission in however long it took, but I would not be 100% synchronized.  That's fine with me - as long as I can complete the event, that's all I care about.  Later on I'll go through again to achieve 100% in the timed part.  if the rest of the game's timed events are like this, I'm a very happy camper.

On a separate note, I'm still amazed at the quality of the graphics - there is so much more texture to the crumbling buildings, and you can even see the dirt and moldy moss growing in the ruins - truly spectacular.  There are points high on building tops, that you's swear that you're looking at a photograph of the real Italy.

One last thing before I return to Italy - clearing an area of Borgia is truly a difficult thing to accomplish - there are new versions of the guards, and they are very good at combat.  Plus the fact that there are so many of them, it is a good thing that I completed AC2 and developed combat skills before I played this game.

[PZ]

For anyone that liked AC2, you're going to love AC:B single player.  From what I've seen so far, there appears to be as much content as AC2, maybe more.   This is the first game in which the graphics quality of the actual play is as good as the cut scenes.  You can see the moss between the cobble stones, and the stained masonry of the walls with  crystal clarity.  You can tell that we are nearing the maximum potential of the console by the occasional stutter- ever so slight. 

The Followers of Romulus lairs are more detailed, complex, and fun than the assassin's tomb missions in AC2.  I went through one which was set in the catacombs below Rome - looked much like what I've seen on the History channel.

The map appears to zoom in much farther than it did in AC2 - nicely separates those crowded map icons.

The bottom line is that the single player part of the game is worth the price alone - for me, one of the best games I've played, and is up there with FC2, AC2, and JC2. However, because the graphics are so stunning, I'd have to place it at the top of the list :-X

[Art Blade]

 :)

Reminds me of the time when I kept moaning because you console guys were already playing AC2 watering our mouths with stories while the PC release was not even on the horizon.. hehe

[PZ]

Indeed  ;)  I think that you'd like the game - there are similarities that make it feel like an old friend, yet enough new to make it interesting.  The game keeps expanding as I open new areas, and I read somewhere that the map is larger than the sum total of the maps in AC2  :-X

[Art Blade]

nice :) :-X

[PZ]

Well I just got off the phone with my son, who is typically more of the Medal of honor - Rainbow6 Las Vegas, Battlefield Bad Company kind of guy, and he told me that AC:Brotherhood is his favorite game - you could have knocked me over with a Florentine feather  :-X

[Art Blade]

haha, great  ;D Have fun, you two  :) :-X

[PZ]

Thanks, we'd like to do MP one of these days as well, and see if we can get together with spaceboy too.

I've done all of the Borgia Tower missions now, and I have 11 assassin friends.  It is a blast to call them into action during a tight spot _I sometimes forget to do so).  There are some battles that are nearly impossible without their assistance, but I'm going to try using different techniques - that's the good thing about AC:B - the ability to replay the missions and get yourself to full synchronization.

According to my son, there are several different types of special armor, and many different paths to achieve a goal.  I have to agree that this game is a blast with all of the options and activities you have available.  You can choose to do these things, or not.  For instance, I've been working the main mission line and have not done any of the side missions while my son has done all side missions, and barely any of the main story.  We're going to compare notes and see how our game play has differed.

[spaceboy]

great your son is enjoying it.  I'd say if we have to do a private we'd need at least 3 people the way the game plays (I know it wouldn't let me make a private match of just me).  It'd be nice if it rounded out the group with AI, but I don't think it does.  Hopefully it doesn't make you have 6.

I've not gotten far in SP - although I'm enjoying it I'm just taking my time and still putting tons of time into The Fight Lights Out.  Just imagine with GT5 out on Wed.   But no worries,  next game I'm getting is Killzone 3 in Feb. so no rush.

[PZ]

I'm loving the SP, can't wait to get right back in - unfortunately my wife wants me to watch Dancing with the Stars tonight  :'(

We'll have to see how it goes with the MP - at least it is worth a shot  :-X

[Art Blade]

Funny how inventive those sweeties become in torturing hubbies in case a game is really waiting..

[PZ]

 ^+-+

[Art Blade]

 :-()

[PZ]

I just started a new game (even though I've not finished the first one completely) and it is amazing how fast I'd forgotten what initially happened.  I had to ask myself if I'd been sleeping the first time around.  :-()

The following is a brief synopsis of some of the main highlights of the game plus a bit of comparison/contrast with AC2

Spoiler

Even though the first part is linear, it is loads of fun especially if you've played AC2 because the setting is in the villa - the Borgia are attacking with cannon, huge siege machines, and lots of soldiers.  The action is non-stop as you become familiar with the game mechanics, much of which is similar to AC2, but much is new.

You get to fire the cannon on your walls onto the cannon of the opposition, but this is the only time that you get to do so.  Once you head into the main part of the game, your visits to the villa will be as Desmond in current times - your Animus crew has created a base in the area where the assassin's tomb crests/statues are located.

There is an interesting device that will launch you to the rooftops - you step on it and a counter weight quickly lifts you to the top.  These are spread throughout Rome.  Interestingly, that spring-like device introduced in the AC2 DLC is absent from this game.

The fighting mechanics are quite a bit superior to AC2 - I like just about all of it.  Kicking an opponent is loads of fun, and wears down some of the dangerous opponents like the brutes.  It is also cool how you can use your main bladed weapon and automatically shoot your pistol to finish off an opponent.

One of the most appreciated feature is the reduction in timed events.  While there are still some side missions that require you to do free run activities that are timed, they are not part of the main story line, so you can opt out if you like (I usually do).  There are timed events in the story line, but these are designed so you can get past the point even if it takes too long, you just don't reach full synchronization.

It feels like the game is destined for more DLC, but I hope that it comes in the form of SP to extend the replay value.  Currently I'm playing ACB on the console, and AC2 on the PC in the evening, and I must say that it is fun to relive Ezio's story line in AC2 - adds to the immersion into the complete package.

[Art Blade]

nice read, that spoiler.  :-X

[PZ]

Cheers, Art  ;)

[PZ]

I increasingly like the music - some of you may recall a movie starring Charles Bronson called the Mechanic, in which he is a hit man.  He enjoys preparing for his hit listening to classical music - the music in AC:B reminds me of that movie, and sets the immersive mood for me.

[spaceboy]

The music is quite good - I enjoy the soundtracks from all 3 AC games on my mp3 player.  I do think AC2 has an overall better soundtrack than Brotherhood, but Brohood is good - obviously reminiscent of II.