Singleplayer
Probably the most important part for someone who bought the first two games, well it's a follow on from AC2 (hence it not being called AC3), and starts roughly after the end of AC2. It's essentially AC2 with frills and pretty ribbons. Which is a very good thing. The main improvement is MORE. More of everything, things to do, weapons, clothes, things to buy, shops to purchase. Everything is increased in quantity and quality.
Missions, as well as the main story there is now; Territory missions, shop quests, faction missions (Courtesan, Thieves and Mercenary), Followers of Romulus missions, Private Assassination contracts, Leonardo missions collecting and commanding your brotherhood of assassin's and more that i can't mention without it being a spoiler.
This leads on to the next great edition The Brotherhood these are citizens you rescue from the enemy that then join your side as a trainee assassin. They have 2 purposes you can send them on contracts to gain XP and also bring in some money and sometimes items necessary for shop quests, the second purpose they have is even cooler... To assist you, target a person with L1 (PS3) then with a quick flick of L2, in runs a member of your brotherhood and attacks this person. The Brotherhood come in "signals" your first signal is a single assassin so 1 tap of L2 will bring in one, then each signal contains 3 assassins each. The other option you have is Arrow Storm, hold in L2 with 3 full signals and your assassins will shoot every enemy in sight (unless they're the target).
The one way in which Brotherhood has less than AC2 is in the map. Brotherhood one location, and less is certainly more. The sprawls of Rome seems endless with a small amount of outlaying country makes the map conplex and interesting, but can be fast travelled across using the tunnel system (but each exit has to be renovated when you find it above ground) Brotherhood manages to appear bigger than AC2 and AC1 by cutting out the travelling through countryside and keeping it more confined to the city's winding avenues and alleyways.
The actual storyline, without going into it to the extent of a spoiler, is addictive and compelling and while at times you find yourself distracted by the extras of the game they nearly always add to your experience of the main story. The additional features keep the story fresh as well as giving you advantages. My favourite new feature by far is the full-synch feature. To full synchronise a memory you must complete it in a certain way; do not be detected, don't kill anyone but the target, do not touch the ground, do not get wet, etc. these are absolutely brilliant and add a completely new element that keeps each mission refreshing and exhilarating. Oh and riding a horse through the city is very cool.
VR Training is an additional feature in Brotherhood and I won't lie i haven't really played it, it looks like it's for practising your skills in fights and time-trial style modes and that's not really for me. Not to sound cocky but I don't feel I need to practice my skills on this game. Also my first reaction was "Ripped from MGS" harsh i know but whenever something says VR it's what I think of.
One criticism of the singleplayer... Ubisoft you've added the ability to carry heavy weapons; axes, maces, longswords, WHY OH WHY CAN'T I BUY A SPEAR! :(
Minor I know but I always want one each game.
Multiplayer
I took part in the Beta for the multi-player and enjoyed it a hell of a lot. Thankfully Brotherhood is very very similar to that, but with more maps, characters, modes etc.
So far I've played mainly singleplayer so i'm not very far online (level 8 I think) but it's very good. Game ranking uses points to determine the winner and points are awarded for style, stealth and streak. Combining these 3 will get you huge points scores and 2 excellent kills will get you a far better score than someone who charges around and gets 5 kills. There are 4 gamemodes of which I've played two; Wanted and Alliance. Wanted is a FFA were you are both the target and the assassin and it's one big circle between the players and Alliance is similar but it's 2v2v2.
Rankings are point based and points are earned through the style, stealth and streak of your kills as well as various other means such as; Escaping, Variation and Co-op kills.
Another addition to the multiplayer are things called Chase Breakers, these are doors or gates that slam shut if you run through them and are great for not letting you pursuer come through, and then they re-open afterwards and make for an extra element to what otherwise would be a boring straight chase.
My only real gripe with the multiplayer is that connecting takes a long time, I'm pretty sure this is due to a low number of players and because the game doesn't enter you into already running lobbies (a good thing). Overall the multiplayer side of the game is breathtakingly refreshing, innovative and cleverly worked. It's also fun while still being competitive enough to get you annoyed if you're getting beat, but it's a good annoyance since it makes you want to play better rather than just quit.
And now it's time for my verdict...
10/10 - Without a doubt, it's stunning and while the graphics haven't been updated they're still very good, Vista's, Chases, Guns and the brilliant Crossbow for stealthy range kills, what more do you need in a game. Coupled with the excellently worked multiplayer makes this a must own game.
Unfortunately the multiplayer won't appeal to everyone, if you only like your mindless shooters then it's not for you, to do really well at this game you need to outsmart your opponents, and that's what makes it really great, it's about more than physical reflexes to dodge through crowds, it's about predicting and planning the enemies moves and not blowing cover until the knife is sliding into their ribcage (or fan is slitting their throat, since I play as the Courtesan).
Summing this game up in one sentence? "Pat yourself on the back Ubisoft, GOTY with ease."
Oh yeah and...
That's mine.
Also add in some trailers for you.
