The real drive to get this add-on was for the multiplayer additions. There are 4 new characters to play as (to further test my memory skills when I try and talk about the characters) and 2 new game modes. The game modes are really what I was interested in. They are:
- Escort -- There are 2 teams. One team tries to assassinate the VIP. The other tries to kill the other team & stop them from assassinating the VIP.
- Assassinate -- Free for all. Everyone for themselves. You can kill any player you find amongst the clones.
At first, I thought I would hate Assassinate. It would be a free-for-all deathmatch that betrays the allure and strategy of the rest of Assassin's Creed multiplayer. I thought Escort was a great idea; somebody gets to be the VIP and send teammates out to take out the attackers. This would probably be one of the best co-op modes yet.
Turns out I misunderstood some things. And, after playing it a bit, it turns outthat I was absolutely wrong with which mode I'd like better.
Escort
First of all, nobody gets to be the VIP. The VIP is a computer-controlled clone. Additionally, there are 2 VIPs in each round, not just one. This splits the efforts of both teams; you're not all going after/protecting one guy. You've got two to deal with.
Misconceptions aside, the interesting thing about Escort is that the path of the VIP is (somewhat) known to both teams. The VIP follows a very direct, predictable bath from wherever he currently is, to wherever the current checkpoint is on the map. Both teams can clearly see where the next checkpoint for each VIP is.
This lends itself to a lot of stand-and-wait gameplay. If you know the VIP is going to be coming by this area, why rush towards him? Just find a good haystack, hide in it, and wait for your target to come to you.
Sounds good in theory. In actuality, I still tried playing this mode like the others and ended up walking into a pack of 2 or 3 opposing team members ready to slice my throat. Then my defense proved fairly useless since the most effective assassins jumped from a nearby roof to land on the VIP I was supposed to be protecting. There's no way to stop that. That's not even stealthy at all.
In short, trying to discern your target (who is an NPC clone) from the non-important NPC clones is more difficult than in any other game mode. Additionally, the tactics needed to play this game type well are very different than the skills that the other game modes taught me. After a handful of rounds, I was left annoyed and frustrated.
So I reluctantly decided to try Assassinate.
Assassinate
This game mode is also more complex than I thought it would be. Turns out it's not a free-for-all, at least not like other games. You can still only have one contract, one target, at a time. But you get to choose who it is.
It plays like this: Your compass gives you some vague indications of where to find other Templars. They're much more subtle, smaller indications than if you had a contract straight away; they have to be able to show you 8 simultaneous targets so all the indicators are a bit smaller. But that's all it can do, tell you in general which way to look.
If you keep your eyes peeled, you will likely see someone giving away the fact that they're not a clone. When you see this (or even if you don't and just want a guess) you can lock on to them. Once you lock on, you get a contract on their head, and you can kill them like any other target. They'll be alerted that someone is pursuing them as soon as you lock on. So even after you know they're a good targt, it's good advice to remain hidden.
And that's it. Kill your target, or realize someone is after you and be killed. You can still stun your pursuer, but only after they've locked on to you and decided they want to try and kill you. Again, you lose your target for a failed kill. Failed kills are even worse now, as if your target stuns you, then they can make you their target and kill you while you're helplessly writing on the ground.
It's a really interesting dynamic. Everyone is still trying to act like they're just an innocent clone. And whenever someone kills someone, any Templar witnessess immediately lock on and start tracking them for their next target. This requires just as much patience and skill as any of the previous modes, with moments of killfest frenzy that are just awesome.
The biggest drawback to this mechanic is that it's fairly easy to mistake your pursuer for a target. I've been walking directly at someone who I knew was a Templar. They were walking straight at me. We both began locking on to one another as we approcahed, and apparently my opponent began locking on slightly before I did. As I closed in and tried to kill him, I saw the "Stun" prompt appear, and I was very confused. Why would I stun my target? I want to kill my target.
My confusion was ended by repeated stab wounds to the chest. Oh, apparently, he was the man pursuing me. I was the target. Now I know, but now I'm dead. Whoops.
That confusion aside, Assassination is a remarkably fun game type to play that doesn't devolve into the itchy-trigger killfest that comprises most multiplayer gaming. It keeps the skill & intrigue of the rest of the AC:B multiplayer types with bigger bursts of crazy action.
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