AC:B JRD`s impressions... one year later!

[JRD]

Having finished AC2, the natural path was to go to Rome....  8)

So in Rome I am  ;D. It is clearly a sequence that makes use of all that has been built to AC2, which is great as all the scenario and characters in AC2 were stunning - and now Rome brings yet a new place with many differences to the previous game, a nice touch!

I like how the game now is even more interactive with missions to thieves guild and courtesans and shop quests (although I`m a bit lost on how to do those quests for the time being  ::) )

The beginning is just sad with the Villa being destroyed and Uncle Mario being killed but it makes you feel it`s a continuation of the previous game as it starts exactly where you dropped the game in AC2.  :-X

I like the surroundings of Rome with the hills and crops in small properties and the aqueducts. The historical buildings such as the Pantheon of the Colosseum are - as expected - just beautiful!

The monetary system is more complex and requires more from you to evolve... nice too  :-X

I`m having a great time right after finishing AC2 which feels like I have one single huge game I`m playing for over 50 hours and still lots to complete!!!  8)

One has to love that franchise  ;D

[Art Blade]

That is indeed cool, having the sequel at hand right after finishing its prequel.  :) :-X

[PZ]

Cool JRD - looking forward to your impressions as you go through the game.  :-X

[JRD]

I played a lot of AC:B this weekend. Cleared a few Borgia towers, which I think is a nice idea in the game, gave the local commerce a boost  ;D. Did one Catarina mission - to stalk her  :-[ but haven`t seen anything regarding my recruits as I read through the posts in this board... maybe because they are available on a latter sequence (I`m on sequence 3 if I`m not mistaken)

So far I`m loving AC:B almost as much as AC2, not just as much because AC2 had that novelty feeling AC:B hasn`t .... I`m in for another playthrough of both games for sure, there`s so much to do and see in these games!!!

[Fiach]

I'm embarrassed to say that, while I own 3 AC games on the 360 and one on PSP (Bloodlines ?), I have only played the first game as far as the second city, I keep meaning to play them and something else always comes up  :( :-[

Glad to see you are having so much fun with it mate.... one of these days .... :)

[JRD]

Once you try AC2 after quitting AC1 you`ll see a whole new world to play at... and a great sandbox, open world game!!

Forget all you`ve done in XII century middle east... move on to XV century Italy and give it a try, you won`t regret!  ;)

[Fiach]

Yeah I know they will be great games, I just kinda get side tracked with RPG's, I am so far behind with games at the moment, its unbelieveable :(

For example, currently I'm replaying Condemned, a launch title for the 360, so its 5 years old, to do a review of it as an alternative to LA Noire, as they are both games where you investigate murder scenes and collect evidence, between that, new games and replaying RPG's as different characters, I'm just kinda swamped, but I have the AC games constantly on my "to-do" list :)

[Art Blade]

keep the subject in mind, Fiach, "..one year later," so don't worry. Just add another year and do it yourself the same way  :-D

[Fiach]

Hahaha :)

Love the avatar :)

[Art Blade]

cheers :) Official Duke Nukem Forever  :-()

[PZ]

JRD, when you rescue civilians, they are so grateful that they become your recruits.  You can then send them on their own missions using the assassination bird coops.  Once they get enough experience, they rise in rank and become more competent.

The assassination recruits are truly a great addition to the game - you can control them to do the dirty w@&k in otherwise difficult to impossible to do on your own.

[JRD]

Cheers, PZ... but you rescue civilians from what? Do you just bump into civiliand in distress around Rome?  ????

[PZ]

Sorry JRD, I can't exactly remember the details, but I think you receive a mission through the assassination coop, or can pick up a mission to help a civilian by going to a location on the map (indicated by an icon).  They are being accosted by thugs and your task is to help them kill the thugs before they kill the civilian.  Once completed, they speak to you about being in your debt, and they are then one of your recruits.

You might check the mission icons on the map - sorry I can't be more specific because it has been a while since I've played.  :-[

[JRD]

Now I got it... after doing the mission to rescue Catarina from the castle you get back to your hideout, meet with Machiavelli, Volpe and Catarina and decide to raise an army to fight the Borgia... only then you get a mission to save some citizens from bullies and can recruit them, there were no icons for that on the map until now. The pigeon towers now have the options to choose to send your recruits to missions worldwide. I just sent three of them, lets see what happens and what I can do with those padawans  >:D

I also realized how to get shop quests... you have to go to a shop with a square around the icon to get the quest... the blacksmith quests willo only be displyed at shops where there's a small square around the blacksmith's hammer - the usual icon - same goes to other shops such as taylor etc...

Now I'm missing Leonardo's help as I don't have the double hidden blades.

My progress is a bit slow as I'm not playing as much as I want to, but it also makes the whole game last for longer  >:D

I should be finish with both AC2 and AC:B twice when AC:R is out... until then I also have a few more cool games to play, so the rest of 2011 is asured for my gaming addiction!

[PZ]

Enjoy, JRD!  ;)

[JRD]

I am...  ;D

One thing worries me though... the shop quests  :-\\

Following your link (thanks, by the way) I found out how and what I need to do in order to have the capitain`s sword (1st blacksmith quest) and unlock the next quest. Problem is, as I found some of those odd objects around Rome I ended up selling a few of them (I was short on money, you know  ::) ). I don`t know which item or how many I sould :-[ - but I now have a feeling that you can only find the exact amount needed for each quest, which would leave me with not enough terracotta pots or whatever to finish even the first quest, which in turn would cause me not to be able to unlock the next quest and so on...  :D

I`ve done way too much of the game to start over again and keep all I find, so I`ll just have to go on like that and sulk   >:((

I`m hoping and checking forums to see if some items are generated randomly as loot  on some NPC`s - which I think so, but in any case I`m not selling any crap I find out anymore....  ;D

Another question... does any of you guys know how can I change into one of the outfits I purchase? It is different from AC2 where you could easily choose at the Outfits menu in voilá!

[PZ]

There is a list of what objects can be found, and where they might be located - you probably have already seen it, but just in case, here is a link to get you started with some of the details http://www.cheatcc.com/xbox360/assassinscreedbrotherhoodcheatscodes.html

I never sold anything because it is too easy to steal money from the civilians  :-()  As to objects, keep killing the guards, and especially the thieves that come to rob you.  Thieves have the most loot, and often carry the rare things you need to complete quests.

As to the outfits, I thought you could go into one of the menus to change things - I purchased the Florentine outfit, and I believe I changed into that outfit by way of the menu.  Incidentally, once you earn the Armor of Brutus, you still have all of the protection it offers even though you might not be wearing anything but Ezio's original outfit from the beginning of AC2

[JRD]

Thanks PZ... I`ve seen a link you posted to a page describing how to accomplish all shop quest and now this other one... very useful stuff  :-X

I want to take my time to do side quests and missions and slowly move on with the main missions so I can enjoy being in Rome. Since I have time to wait till AC Revelations is out, I`ll have another go on both games for sure  >:D

[PZ]

I think you'll have fun - I went through ACB the first time doing the Borgia towers first in order to get access to new areas the quickest.  The second time I went through, I took my time and just thoroughly explored the areas I had, doing Borgia towers when it suited me.  both methods were fun.

If you haven't tried it yet, the assassination from horseback is loads of fun, and really funny.  As you ride upon a guard on horseback, you can pluck him off his seat, which then puts you in his saddle and you can ride off.

[JRD]

I had some hose back combat myself but nothing too sophisticated yet... there`s so much to learn in this game!!

I`ve been working on raising my assassin`s status so far and clearing the areas under Borgia influence, upgrading tunnel entrances, stables, acqueducts etc... all follows the rule of thumb in AC2 of investing in your assets to have more income and live a prosper life afterwards!  >:D

So much fun to have, so little time  :-(

[PZ]

I recall having lots of fun sending the assassin recruits on missions to gain experience.  The harder the mission, the more they raise their level, and often sending more than one recruit on the same mission results in large gains in their experience.