Well, Christmas has come and gone. I got some good gifts
though there are some pants that are a little tight. It could be the Christmas
dinner or the fact that I’ve never been able to fit into regular jeans well.
Anyway, this may be the last Assassin’s Creed post for a bit. I’m in the midst
of playing Assassin’s Creed 3 which is one game I haven’t played in years. I’m
beginning to see why, but that’s for later. Besides, January is saved for a
lotta love toward butt-kicking.
Next up for this Assassin’s Creed binge I’m on is a series
of games that feature the Assassin known as Ezio Auditore da Frienze. I’m not
going to toot this horn much, but if want to know when the AC series gets good,
just look at Ezio. He appeared in three games: Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s
Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. They were all eventually collected together under
The Ezio Trilogy. As for me, I bought them all separately years ago. I know that I’ve replayed the second game and
Brotherhood a couple of times as well as just recently. As for Revelations, I
only did that once but I’ve recently done a replay on that as well. So, have
these games held up over time?
Assassin’s Creed II
Assassin’s Creed II was released in 2009 and takes place
right after the ending of the first game. Desmond Miles and Lucy (revealed to
be an Assassin) escape Absergto and head to a safe-house. There, they meet
other members of the Order. Since Desmond will need to learn how to be an
Assassin, he’s plugged into another version of the Animus and that should help
him gain those skills. He’s put into his ancestor, Ezio Auditore, during the
Italian Renaissance. In the past (1476-1499), Ezio must also do his own growing
when his family is destroyed by Templars. He must take up his father’s mantle as
an Assassin and get revenge on the ones who ravaged his family. As he faces the
Templars, he (and Desmond) learn a lot more about the Apples of Eden.
Watch me while I pose!
And here is where I pretty much became a fan of the
franchise. This is still a great game. While a couple of aspects are a little
dated, it still holds up now. One of the biggest things has to do with the story
and the character of Ezio. While it is the usual revenge story, it is a good
revenge story. Ezio pretty much turns from a reckless youth to a seasoned Assassin
over the course of the game. He learns about the creed and even meets its
different members. He even runs into some historical figures like Leonardo Da
Vinci and Nicola Machiavelli. He (and
Desmond) also uncover hints to some weird stuff involving a past civilization.
The rest of Ezio’s supporting cast like his family (Uncle
Mario!) are nice as well. While the first game had a bit of grey with the Assassin/Templar
struggle, the Templars here are straight-up villains and nice ones for the most
part. Their leader, Rodrigo Borgia, was pretty effective. As for the present
storyline, it’s fine. Like the first game, you’re stuck in a couple of areas. This
time, you do get to do more than just walk around. Since Desmond is gaining Ezio’s
abilities through “the Bleeding Effect,” he starts to do a lot of the same moves.
I also liked the addition of Rebecca and Shaun, two members from the Order.
Desmond also has to figure out weird puzzles and those can be fun at times.
Hanging with Leonardo... kinda cool.
The gameplay is pretty much the same. We still have parkour
around and the usual horse-riding. The combat gets overhauled here into
something that is easy… maybe a little too easy at times, but it’s better than
the first game’s gameplay. We also get more weapons and more gadgets to play
around with. We got Da Vinci on the side of the Assassins, after all. While there
is the main storyline, you get a variety of cool side missions to do. The visuals
are definitely an upgrade from the first game. The voice-acting for everyone is
pretty much good. Finally, the music kicks
some major butt. I was rocking out to a few of these tunes especially the one
where Ezio and Leonardo are on the run.
There are few qualms here. As usual, there can be some
repetition in some missions. It’s not as bad as saving those 185 citizens from
the first game, but it is there. Also, sometimes, the combat can come off as a
little easy. I guess Ubisoft wanted to play it safe there. Finally, the final
boss battle is a little lackluster. That being said, if you’ve ever wanted to
get into a fist fight with the Pope, you might get your chance here. Overall,
this is a great game and it’s one of the best from the franchise. It may even
be one of the best games in general.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood was released in 2010 and
pretty much takes place right after the last game. Here, Desmond, Lucy, and the
others are trying to hide from the Templars and search for Ezio’s Apple of
Eden. They hide out in Ezio’s now abandoned headquarters in Monteriggoni. As they uncover more of what Desmond saw about
the First Civilization, something major happens. In the past (1499-1506),
Ezio’s victory against the Templars is short-lived when he goes up against
Cesare Borgia, Rodrigo Borgia’s son. He loses his headquarters and relocates to
Rome. There, he starts to rebuild the Order and wages war against the Templars
and the Borgias.
And this time, he brings the whole squad in!
Brotherhood is also a pretty good game. It takes everything
that II did and improves upon it a bit. Ezio is still pretty cool and the story
is good for the most part. You pretty much have the same supporting cast from
the last game, so if anything, this really feels like a nice continuation of Ezio’s
story. The present storyline is also pretty good here since we get a lot more
freedom. We get the ability to leave the Animus whenever we want, and Desmond
also gets to do his own parkour missions. The present storyline also ends in a
twist I didn’t see coming.
While they don't say much, I do like seeing these three when out of the Animus.
The villains, specifically the Borgia clan, were pretty good.
Cesare was not only a nice final boss, but he was a pretty disgusting villain. The
gameplay is still pretty good. The parkour skills and roof jumping still works.
The combat is still good but I will say that it is a little more improved here.
The graphics are still up to snuff from the previous game. You get a lot of
side missions here. You also get the ability to sell merchandise here which is cool.
I think I got Rome almost renovated in this last playthrough. The music and
voice-acting is also on-point here.
A lot of smugness in one picture.
Stealth is one aspect that plays into the game. It’s always
been there, but now, you have straight-up stealth missions. Saving citizens
also makes a comeback in a nice way. This time, you have the ability to recruit
citizens into the order and you can also send them out on missions. They can
also help you in missions. As for the negatives, there really aren’t many. You’ll
get some repetition here and there. Also, the main story does feel like a bit
of a retread since it does go into “revenge story mode” as well. Other than
those and some small nitpicks, this is on par with the second game.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Revelations was released in 2011. While the present
storyline takes place right after the shocking events of the last game, the
past storyline takes place a few years later (1511). In the present, Desmond fell
into coma and is trapped in the Animus because of what happened to him at the end
of Brotherhood. There, he’s met by what’s left of Subject 16 (a previous user
of the Animus) and he tries to help Desmond get back to the land of the living.
In order to wake up, Desmond ends up reliving the memories of Ezio and Altair
(the ancestor from the first game). In the past storyline, Ezio travels to
Constantinople to unlock the secrets of Altair’s hidden vault in Masyaf. While
he’s there, he gets embroiled in the Assassin/Templar struggle.
Of the three games, this one is on the low end for me. While
re-playing this, I realized why I haven’t gone back to this one like I did with
the others. Let me get the positives out of the way first since there are some
good ones. This brings Ezio’s story to a satisfying end. We find him older and
on a personal mission. We also see the pretty brief return of Altair and he’s
even got a better voice actor. We find out what happened with Altair after the end
of the first game. As for the present storyline… well, there isn’t one really.
We do learn some about Desmond in side missions and we get to meet the
mysterious Subject 16. By the way, we find out that Desmond’s dad is voiced by
John De Lancie. That’s always cool!
A much better love story than Attack of the Clones... and Twilight... and quite a few stories.
We don’t get too many memorable supporting characters. There
Sofia (Ezio’s love interest), Yusuf (the leader of the Assassin order in Constantinople),
and Suliman, the son of the city’s sultan. The gameplay is the same as usual. There
have been a few upgrades like the pretty cool hookblade. We also get more bombs
to throw around and those are fun. Recruiting assassins feels a little more
refined and less repetitive. The graphics are good for the most part, the music
still kicks a few butts, and the voice-acting is gold.
While I have things to like about the game, it has its
issues. I think the biggest thing is the fact that it’s kind of boring now. The
story feels lacking in the past and the present. Even though Ezio isn’t out
getting revenge this time, something feels missing from his part of the story.
While the game touts the return of Altair, we really only play him for a total of
30 to 40 minutes in a 15+ hour game. Then, there’s Desmond and his weird
detour. There’s really nothing there to do in the present other than do some
weird side mission that was kinda lame. It’s also lacking a good antagonist. The
one we get isn’t bad but he is forgettable.
Hey, Altair!
(10 minutes later)
Bye, Altair!
There hasn’t been much innovation on the gameplay side. You got
a couple of new things, but that’s it. Certain mechanics like renovating has gotten
old. It even feels tougher to earn money too. You couldn’t even trade anything
in the game. There are also no history puzzles to do, but I’m guessing Desmond’s
weird missions were a replacement for those. There is a new mode called Tower Defense.
For a new mode, it felt a little lackluster. Overall, I see why I haven’t replayed
this one until now. It’s not a bad game, but it does unfortunately pale in
comparison to the previous two and even the first game.
…………………………………………………
In the end, Ezio’s time in the Assassin’s Creed franchise has
been a good one. It was these games (not sure about Revelations) that made me a
fan. While we’ve had other past protagonists in the games since then, not many
of them have had the staying power than Ezio had. Bayek from Assassin’s Creed: Origins
would probably be the next favorite protagonist after Ezio. I’ll find out about
the rest eventually. For now, I’m outta here. Peace, God Bless, and don’t touch
that Apple of Eden! You might get some weird woman showing up telling you about
how the world will end in 2012… yes, that is a plot point in the franchise. I
told you it gets weird!
COMING SOMETIME IN 2019: THE AMERICAN SERIES!
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