REVIEW: Assassin's Creed II Sequence 12 DLC

It's probably hard for a lot of people to justify paying $4.00 for DLC that last about an hour and a half. I'm probably being very generous for most gamers with that estimate, but even my love for Assassin's Creed II can't put rose colored glasses on me for this transaction.

That being said, I bought Microsoft Points for this DLC specifically, and Assassin's Creed II does have a hidden wrist blade pointed at my heart, albeit in a nonthreatening way.

If you've already played through ACII you'll remember a large chunk of "corrupted memory" towards the end of the game. It's easy to understand this as the Ubisoft Montreal team making their holiday release date in a slightly inventive way. There was plenty of game to be had in AC II as it stood anyways, so charging for these missing sequences doesn't necessarily make Patrice Desilets a dirty Templar.

Anyways, sequence 12 has you heading to Forli to help Caterina Sforza and Machiavelli as the city is sieged and Sforza's children are kidnapped. Not only that, but some monk steals the Apple of Eden! Oh man, don't you hate when the ancient powerful artifact you just retrieved is stolen?!

I would have better things to say about Sequence 12, but there's a reason it was so easily cut from the main body of the game: it is not necessary. One of the first missions has you escorting our two historical figures into the city as it is under attack. This mission in particular demonstrates some of the more important aspects of improvement over the previous AC. What improvements? Direction.

Assassin's Creed II gave the right tools, but it also pointed you in a direction. One of the franchise's strengths is easily the way you move throughout the world. AC II took a page from Grand Theft Auto and gave the player points on a map, making that movement, the traverse, more of a role in mission design and gameplay.

That early mission in sequence 12 has you listlessly following the haphazard and helpless historical star power as they make their way to the castle. You're job is to make sure they get there without being cut to ribbons by the slightly different color guards. Of course, this only confuses and frustrated me as the player. Maybe you'll love stabbing people in the middle of battle, but it seemed like such a waste to me.

The following missions go quickly, until you're left wondering who the four-fingered monk is. The point of the whole story is: buyer beware.

PLAY READ WRITE / REVIEW SCORE: 2 out of 5