Just ask the developers of Destiny 2, constantly tuning the game and making changes just to maintain the meta to keep the fanbase satisfied. Not even to mention that transplanting this new RPG DNA likely wouldn’t go over well. When you have a 60 hour story - as the Assassin’s Creed games have now - there’s no need to tack on multiplayer to increase the value.
It’s clear that the multiplayer was a niche product, and given the RPG nature of the series now, it’s hardly necessary. Critiques on this marketing model are for another time. Nowadays, Ubisoft seems content to generate their revenue off their massive launches, experience boosters, and downloadable content. I imagine it has its own fans and is fun in its own way. Moving Away From MultiplayerĪssassin’s Creed: Unity did away with the competitive multiplayer in favor of a co-operative experience, which I cannot comment on. While it no longer becomes a game of cat-and-mouse, being able to run about Italy with other players on your side can be just as fun.
You can, also, work together as a team with other players. Some are objective-based, which can be a bit more hectic because it focuses on certain areas of the map. There are other multiplayer modes available that you can select from. This was a creative take on re-contextualizing the setting of the game and integrating this fun feature. Using different avatars from the Brotherhood game and its maps, you can hone your skills not as an Assassin, but as a Templar. The Animi Training Program is a training ground for Templar agents in their fight against the Assassins. When you choose the multiplayer feature, you’re opting into the Animi Training Program built by Abstergo. Ubisoft took a unique in-game approach to explaining this multiplayer feature. A good tip is to pick up on the routines NPCs will engage in and imitate them to become invisible. The longer you play the game, the more familiar you become with your skill sets and the NPCs around you. Adding stealth into your strategy will net you points and give you that needed advantage. It’s tempting to rush out of the gate, blades swinging, but you’re likely to be punished by an experienced player. For example, under Hunter you can use poison to take out your opponent or go for the loud kill, taking advantage of their speed and quick attacks. What makes the multiplayer mode even more enjoyable is that you can pick from a wide selection of characters: Courtesan, Hunter, Banker, Priest, Doctor, and more! These avatars will have unique moves and weapons that will influence how you approach the game. Or hide amongst the masses to avoid your detection. Your target could lure you to a roof, only to trap and stun you using their abilities. To up the ante, your targets are capable adversaries. You could spot your pursuer in the crowd, immediately take off, only to pass around a corner to throw on a disguise, losing your tail. This leads to a multiplayer mode rife with opportunity for Hollywood moments. Or you can become the predator yourself, attempting to stun your pursuer before they can spot you. You can be passive, blending in with the populace to keep your pursuer unaware. In the game’s “Wanted” mode, it assigns players either targets to kill or who to avoid, leading to an entertaining cat-and-mouse game. In order to take down your target or get away, you have many abilities as your disposal. The better you are doing in the game, the more players you have on your tail. So keeping players holding onto their game and investing time into it is imperative.Īssassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s multiplayer, the one I had the most experience with, had a truly satisfying gameplay loop: a few assassins hiding in plain sight, vying for targets to take down. The moment we return a game to GameStop, that secondhand copy means less money in their pocket. Dead Space 2, Bioshock 2, Singularity, even Spec Ops: The Line comes to mind.Įach of these games came with a question: Why do they need a multiplayer mode? Being such polished single-player experiences, why divert resources into creating a multiplayer mode? The likely answer is that this feature was added at the behest of publishers in order to keep those game sales. In this era, a lot of solid single player games came packaged with an online multiplayer. There was a lot of discussion on games and their value, as well as how video game companies can keep gamers from trading in their video game after a week.
A ssassin’s Creed: Brotherhood came out in 2010 during a strange time in the industry.