First Impressions: Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer

Being a PlayStation Plus member (whether you think it’s a waste of money or not) has given me access to the Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer game. It was a genuine surprise to me when I logged into the PSN and saw that it was available for ALL members – originally only a select few would have it. Either Ubisoft gave in, or Sony gave them some money.

I’m always a bit iffy about games that are normally single-player but then add on multiplayer later on in the game series. It normally seems as if they are forced into it. I personally think games like CastleVania and Assassin’s Creed should be single-player only … because the story – most of the time – has no real way to make sense of it.

But not only was Ubisoft able to successfully make a multiplayer that makes sense [as in, not having five Nathan Drakes running around], but I think they be onto something with their unique game modes.

What Ubisoft did with the E3 2010 trailer [below] is introduce an aspect of teamwork into the single-player mode. A smart move, because of people who like stories to make sense (even if they are far fetched) and not ditch common sense just to do multiplayer by having multiple copies of the same character, this allowed multiplayer to be believable – and it looks like they’re keeping Ezio out of it completely.

To even further that point – games in the Assassin’s Creed multiplayer are limited to roughly 8 people – and you have to choose your favorite quickly, because if someone else does, you can’t play that character during that round. So it looks like there are no duplicates in the characters you play (even though they are duplicated via NPCs)

As you start out, you are given a target – simple enough, right? Well, your first chore is hunting that person down, and that won’t necessarily be easy because THEY will be hunting someone else. On top of that, each player has a sensitivity meter, so if you blatantly run up to kill them, they’ll be notified and will bolt – so doing things in stealth is the best way to do it … and you also get bonus points for it.

It does really give a feeling of urgency when you’re in an area with a bunch of NPCs and you see your target moving away from you and then just bolting to their target. It’s actually difficult to resist just running up to them and killing them, but this game rewards you for being patient. And the way it works, doing any action by pressing the right shoulder button (which makes you run, long jumps, etc.) is what will trigger your opponents sensitivity. So you have to kinda’ learn to be patient – which is nice, because patience isn’t really used in multiplayer … it’s usually “GoGoGoKill!”

In that sense, I think Assassin’s Creed pulls off a stealth multiplayer pretty well.

But while the primary objective for you is to kill a specific target, it will be another players’ objective to kill you as well. So you always have to keep it in the back of your mind that YOU are possibly being hunted as well. So, it’s never really safe to just sit on a rooftop and wait for your prey to get in the vicinity, because while you’re waiting, your opponent can quietly come up and kill you.

To make matters worse, the game makes it hard for you to keep the top three spots. Why? Because if you’re in first place, you have up to FOUR people who are on the lookout to kill you. It’s an interesting way to make a person really have to fight to keep their “top spot” positions because while you’re looking for one person, essentially half of the people playing are hunting you down.

And to add to that, if your target is the person in the number 1 spot on the leaderboard, then you’re most likely racing to kill your target before the others get to him/her first. So, a lot of things are in play here and have a tendency to give you a sense of urgency – both to kill and to make sure you’re inconspicuous so you aren’t killed yourself.

And did I mention addons to your characters? You can select various tools to help you out in your quest. Whether it be a disguise or a temporary boost in speed, you’ll eventually have to pick and choose what perks, streak bonuses and other enhancements you’ll want to use. If you HAVE to chase someone down, why not use your sprint to catch up to them and kill them?

Or, if you’re being pursued, why not just use a disguise after turning the corner?

There are also environmental tools to help out. You have doors that will close and lock after you pass it – forcing the person chasing you to find an alternate way to find you as well as other gadgets that can be used for distractions. I haven’t really toyed around with those yet, though.

I’m only level 5 at the moment, but as the beta continues on, I’m guessing this is the basics of what we’ll experience.

Overall, I think this is a pretty unique way that multiplayer is done. You’re not looking for anyone to kill – you’re looking for a specific person. And vice-versa. You’re not at the mercy of anyone – you’re at the mercy of one … up to possibly four people. As Joystiq said on a multiplayer preview, it’s not a shooter – there’s no fighting … it’s strictly a cat-and-mouse game. And after games like Modern Warfare and Battlefield, it’s a nice change of pace in my eyes.

Here’s the problem though – after a few matches, it starts to lose its luster. I’ve played about four games and I’m not running to play it again like I did with Battlefield. Don’t get me wrong, I WILL play it again because it IS a fun and enjoyable. The urgency of killing your target while knowing that your target is after you creates a sense of anxiety. You want to hurry up and get the kill before the person targeting you gets the jump on you. But you may not be heading back into the game as much as you may hope.

And there may be different types of matches – maybe a 4 against 4 where teams can opt to stay in groups or spread out for the kill? Clearly, Ubisoft could give benefits for those teams that opt to separate but use teamwork? I mean, it’d be great teamwork if one player could chase an enemy into an alley where another team member is waiting for the kill? And then the entire team gets the credit?

The game comes out in roughly a month, so I’ll be interested to see how it all pans out. I think the multiplayer has a unique style to it, which may make it successful – I’m just worried about the longevity of it. I think if the game has different modes to play, then this will be a successful run. Otherwise, I think it’ll be a good idea that may have needed to be executed better – but, it’ll pave the way for this form of mutliplayer in the future.

And if that game mode is copied by other games – then you’ve essentially won in that aspect.