In fact, to this day, I consider Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood the apex of the series. It remains one of the single greatest jumps in quality from initial game to sequel that I’ve ever experienced… and its own sequel, Brotherhood, was even better. Instead, it was one of the greatest games released in a period of time absolutely stuffed with titles you’d now consider classics. I had a coupon that would let me knock $30 off the price of a new game, so I grabbed Assassin’s Creed II in the hopes it would at least feel like I didn’t pay full price if it was another disappointment. I was reviewing games back then, too, and had a break during the very busy holiday season of 2009 to play something of my own choosing.

The second one, though? It left such an impression on me that I remember the circumstances that brought me to it. Only “basically” because the first one felt like a great concept with a story worth following, but with gameplay that proved more tiresome than enjoyable after a couple of hours. I’ve been somewhat obsessive about the Assassin’s Creed series basically since its start.

Assassin's creed brotherhood size