Review: Assassin's Creed - Brotherhood The Da Vinci Disappearance (PS3)

Featuring both an engaging single player experience and enhancements to online multiplay, The Da Vinci Disappearance add-on should be on the download list of any Assassin's Creed fan, and anyone who owns AC Brotherhood.

Ezio embarks on a quest to find his long-time friend
Leonardo Da Vinci in the Da Vinci Disappearance DLC 

As the name suggests, the DLC focuses on the mysterious disappearance of Ezio Auditore's long time friend and ally, Leonardo Da Vinci. Chronologically, the single player missions of the DLC took place in the year 1506, before Memory Sequence 9, wherein Ezio finally confronts Cesare Borgia in Viana, Spain.


Once the DLC is installed and upon loading up your existing save game, new locations will appear on your map including a "Restored Memory", composed of 8 missions. Upon activation of the restored memory, a dialogue sequence will be triggered reminiscent of the sequence in the post-credits of AC: Brotherhood. The "restored memory" sequence starts out with Ezio returning to Rome, and visiting Leonardo Da Vinci. After the dialogue sequence between Leo and Ezio, you'll be asked to find his assistant, Salai, and upon finding him, you'll also be introduced to the new antagonists - the Hermetecists, a cult dedicated to "transforming mankind". Upon returning to Leo's workshop after the fight, you'll find out that he was kidnapped, and with the help of Salai, Ezio uncovers that you'll need to find the hidden messages in Leonardo's paintings. Ezio will then embark on a quest to find the missing paintings and save Leo.


Despite of it having only 8 additional missions, the story adds so much and really blends well with the overall story of the Assassin's Creed universe. During the story, you'll be taken to two new locations: The Beliguardo Castle and the Pythagorean Temple. As you move the story forward, you'll also meet a few familiar faces, including Ezio's sister Claudia and Lucrezia Borgia just to name a few. Be prepared for the surprise in the end, as this might be a possible hint as to where the series will be taken. 


Other single player contents of the DLC include the two Templar lairs, the Helmschmied Drachen Armor, previously only available to the game's Limited Codex Editions, and a new dice minigame available in the Thieve's Guild. 


I did encounter a few quirks such as the minimap icons flickering during gameplay, but this wouldn't ruin gameplay as much. However, I'm quite surprised that they have not yet fixed the white gradient issue plaguing the single player, and this might ruin the experience for players with an eye for detail.


Overall, the game will take you to a very engaging quest which will take about 2 - 3 hours to complete. Despite of its shortness, the story adds much to the richness of the series' story, and contains a bit a surprise of its own. 


The DLC shines further with the enhancements for its multiplayer. Four new personas will be available as playable characters: The Dama Rossa, The Knight, The Marquis, and the Pariah. Additional personas actually don't add much to the gameplay, as all personas are basically the same, with no stat differences whatsoever. However, these additional personas add much in terms of variety. The populace of the multiplayer maps now becomes much more lively and varied thanks to the new personas. It will be harder now to find crowds of the with the same persona you're using to blend into, making it more challenging. Aside from that, the new personas add new assassination animations, making assassinations more fun to watch. 


A new multiplayer map is also included in the DLC - Alhambra, a Muslim palace in Granada, Spain. Unfortunately, I'm not yet able to play on the map myself. I'll update this review accordingly as soon as I've experienced it. Anyway, any new addition is good in my book.

A Doctor being protected by Knights in Escort Mode

Two new game modes are also added: Assassinate and Escort. In Assassinate, players are pitted against all other players in a free-for-all assassination frenzy. Players may choose which to target by first locking into their selected target. The compass will tell you where the possible targets are, and once locked to a target, the HUD turns into a HUD similar in Wanted mode, with a portrait of your target, and the proximity compass. You can release your target from your lock at any time so you can lock onto other targets. Be careful though, as all other players may be after you as well. The game mode is actually fun, and is a lot more challenging since you have to look for targets first before you can kill anyone, and you will have to rely more on your instinct and skills in determining enemy presence. Just a few tips in playing Assassinate mode, try not to get stunned by your targets, as they can assassinate you when you get up. Trying this strategy might prove tricky since assassination is prioritized over stun. Also, try to pay attention to the personas selected by other characters in the persona select screen before the start of the match. This will give you an idea of what personas you should target. 


In Escort mode, players will be split into two teams. The objective of the team is to protect their team's VIP, while trying to assassinate the other team's VIP. I haven't been able to play this mode yet, but I'll definitely update my post once I have been able to. 


To wrap this up, the DLC is really a nice addition to the core game. For just 9.99 USD on PSN, or 800 MS points on the Xbox 360, this is really a bang for the buck. For the PSN version, the file size is about 1.6 GB, and it wouldn't take long to download for those with fast internet connection. In addition, owners of the Region 3 PS3 version of AC Brotherhood may also download from the US PSN without any compatibility issues, like in previous free DLC's. If you're a die-hard AC fan, and you're itching for more assassination mayhem, I recommend that you go ahead and download the update for a fresh dose of AC Brotherhood.


Overall Rating: 4.00 / 5.00