DLC Review: Assassin’s Creed 2 – The Battle of Forli & Bonfire of the Vanities
Game: Assassin’s Creed 2: The Battle of Forli & Bonfire of the Vanities & Secret Locations
Format: 360, PS3
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
The Newb Review has something of a love/hate relationship with Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. We weren’t the only ones who, to put it quite mildly, didn’t like the first instalment (for the full review click here) as despite huge sales, every games critic under the sun gave it the good, hard bashing it rightfully deserved.
It was to our surprise then that last year Assassin’s Creed 2 released and not only did it garner huge sales, but this time it was good. Very, VERY good in fact, a gargantuan improvement on its predecessor and subsequently it ended up being Crofterz personal vote for game of the year (although he was outvoted for The Newb Review Game of The Year Award, by about a quadrillion to one).
So naturally, since he enjoyed the game so much The Newb Review has sent him out to splash some cash on the 2 brand new(ish) DLC packs. Namely, sequence 12, The Battle of Forli and sequence 13, Bonfire of the Vanities & Secret Locations. Are they worth the money? Well, hold on… We’re getting to that bit now.
The Battle of Forli
The Battle of Forli is the first bit of DLC for Assassin’s Creed 2 and I said new(ish) before because well, it’s been out for a while now. It also caused a bit of an uproar because anyone who has played Assassin’s Creed 2 will know of the huge gap in the story between sequences 11 (where you acquire a piece of Eden) and 14 (where you go to the Vatican). In the story it says something about sequence 12 being corrupt!?
Well The Battle of Forli is that such memory. It has caused such a big outrage because, well, according to some (and I totally agree)… it should have been in the game in the first place! The time it takes to download the DLC is a clear indicator that the memory is already on the disc, so why not give it to us for free? Well they’ve got to make money some way right? Although this does seem like a cheap trick.
Is the DLC any good? Well it’s rather short for a start. Containing only 6 new missions, including another mission where you use Da Vinci’s flying machine. So for those who didn’t get the achievement for kicking people in mid-flight, you now have a second chance.
However, at 320 Microsoft moon points (and around £3 on PSN) I would’ve liked to have seen a little bit more bang for my buck. In fact, the only thing that warrants the 320 point/£3 price tag is that it fills in and completes the Assassin’s Creed 2 story. But again, the plot hole really shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
Even though there are painfully few of them, there is a nice variety of missions on offer. This is more of the same, but the inclusion of more assassinations, more target locating and more out and out fighting makes for a nice balance. The DLC is definitely more action orientated rather than stealthy (i.e. there’s lots of fighting) and all in all it does a really nice job of filling in the large gap in story. You get some interesting cut scenes that carry the story through well, the same great voice acting you’ve come to expect from Assassin’s Creed 2 and even a few new characters in the mix, as well as exploring a few characters that had seemingly minor roles in the original release.
Unfortunately, it all ends far too quickly and abruptly and the inclusion of the flying machine feels really tacked on. Labelled as a special memory on the map, the flying machine mission isn’t really a mission at all. Ezio seems to fly through the air, without any mission or objective to achieve, and leaves a large question mark over the choice to include it at all.
So let me get this straight, Ezio gets in the flying machine just to marvel at the breathtaking sights?
Review Round Up
Graphics: 4/5 – Nothing has changed graphically from the original game but the inclusion of a few more cut scenes really helps to drive the story.
Sound: 4/5 – Battle of Forli is full of the same great voice acting we’ve come to expect from Assassin’s Creed 2, it’s all very much more of the same.
Gameplay: 3/5 – Nothing new from what we’ve seen in the original game. There’s a nice variety of missions. however the fact that there is very few of them is a big killer.
Longevity: 2/5 – You’ll have finished this DLC in just about an hour, enough said.
Overall: 3/5 – 3 pointless flying machine set pieces out of 5. Overall The Battle of Forli does a good job of filling in the some of the plot holes in the original game. However, at 320 points or around £3 for PS3 owners, I can see why some would expect a little more for their money.
The Bonfire of the Vanities & Secret Locations
The Bonfire of the Vanities is the second pack of DLC released for Assassin’s Creed 2 and it’s the last missing sequence (sequence 13) in the Assassin’s Creed 2 story. Following on from where The Battle of Forli suddenly ended, The Bonfire of the Vanities has had something of a confusing release. So, let’s clear it all up once and for all (read this carefully, it may save you a few bob)… The Bonfire of the Vanities has been released in two editions, one that costs 320 Microsoft moon points (£3.19 on PSN) and one that costs a bit more, at 520 MSP (that’s £5.49 for PS3 owners). The first contains the Bonfire of the Vanities DLC, whilst the latter (the one that I bought, and shall be reviewing) comes with the DLC as well as the added bonus of some extra Templar lairs that previously only buyers of the black and white special editions of the game had access to.
Anyway with all that price juggling b*llocks out of the way, is the DLC any good?
Well, it’s certainly longer than Battle of Forli (it boasts 10 new missions and 3 Templar lairs), giving you far more content for your money. But the variety between missions is non-existent. In Forli you must eavesdrop, escort and assassinate, Bonfire of the Vanities is just a series of assassination missions. Of course, stabbing people in the neck is fun, but personally I wanted a little bit more variety. After all… it’s the spice of life.
In fact you could say Bonfire of the Vanities is the exact opposite of Battle of Forli. It’s certainly worth the price. It’s longer, has less variety and whereas Battle of Forli is all about action, Bonfire of the Vanities takes a more stealthy, relaxed approach as you plan the assassination and then execute.
The same great voice acting and cut scenes you have come to expect from Assassin’s Creed 2 are all present and correct, even if used a little more sparsely than in Battle of Forli. And of course the DLC pack, just like the previous, does a very nice job of filling in and completing the Assassin’s Creed 2 story arc.
Despite it’s lack of variety, the assassination missions themselves are still a lot of fun. You can easily avoid any monotony setting in by visiting the 5 or 6 new viewpoints and the 3 Templar lairs, which really made the DLC worth it for me.
Although the lairs offer little in terms of a reward past simple monetary gains, they act as a brilliant change of pace. The lairs are essentially the same as the assassin’s crypts in the original release, which inherently means there’s nothing completely new, but coupled with the assassination missions, this makes for a nice overall package.
Unfortunately there is a catch. To fully sync Desmond with Ezio you must complete all DLC packs and the Templar lairs as well as all the other bonus objectives in the original title (such as those stupid pointless feathers). This is a very cheap and dirty move on Ubisofts part – the filthy, rotten b*stards! But then again, at 520 points/£5.49, you can’t argue with the price.
Killing is Ezio's business and in The Bonfire of the Vanities, business is good.
Review Round Up
Graphics: 4/5 – Like The Battle of Forli DLC, nothing graphically as changed… the game still looks incredible.
Sound: 4/5 – Again nothing has changed much from either the original game or the previous DLC. Great voice acting as per usual.
Gameplay: 3/5 – This time around there’s plenty of content for your buck. It’s just a shame it lacks variety. However the Templar lairs really do help to instil a bit of choice and fend off tedium.
Longevity: 4/5 – For your money you get a lot.
Overall: 4/5 – 4 spices of life (curry powder, paprika, cumin and and nutmeg) out of 5. Plenty of content for a fairly cheap price, just a shame the content had a bit more depth.
[starreview tpl=16]
Buy this game from our Amazon store and support this site:
I would have definately downloaded both if they’d had new achievements… Can’t say that the Battle of Forli actually sounds any good to me – probably why it was left on the cutting room floor!
The addition of the bonus maps from the collector’s editions sounds promising. Shame they dont just sell them on their own though.