Assassin’s Creed II DLC Review: Bonfire of the Vanities

Picking up from exactly where the first DLC pack left off, Sequence 13 has you retrieving the Apple of Eden from Girolamo Savonarola, who stole it from the wounded Ezio at the end of the Battle of Forlì. Set in Florence, the pack sees you taking back the city from Savonarola, who is using the Apple’s powers to control the citizens.

After making your way back to Florence, you are first tasked with meeting Niccolò Machiavelli, an assassin, who explains the situation and requests Ezio’s help. Savonarola is using the Apple’s powers to control nine lieutenants, each keeping order over different parts of the city. The citizens themselves aren’t swayed by mind control, but are kept in line through fear. It’s your job to assassinate the nine, allowing the other assassins the reclaim the city for the people and thus topple Savonarola’s rule.

As far as gameplay goes, there is absolutely nothing to surprise you here. You learn one new move, a spring jump, but it’s only useful in a single mission, so you’ll be using the standard tactics to take out your enemies. There is one main difference between these assassinations and those found in the main game, which is how the majority will not allow you to be seen. Depending on your skill, this gives way to two possible gaming routes: stealthy removal of guards followed by the swift assassination of your target, or a huge game of trial and error as you find the easiest route to your target. Some missions give you a cramped environment with multiple guards, and it only takes one to cause de-synchronisation and send you back to the start. A good thing about these missions is how your wrist gun becomes very handy. It’s a definite favourite of mine, so it was good to be given the opportunity to use it once again.

Don’t think it’s all about sneaking, though, as you’ll be chasing people across rooftops, fighting in gladiator-type battles and climbing the landmarks to complete your assassinations. Once all nine lieutenants have been removed from power, the people of Florence rise up and reclaim the city from Savonarola, and Ezio once again takes the Apple back for the assassins. This is essentially where the action finishes, and the sequence is finished off with some more story and Ezio delivering an inspiration speech to the people of Florence. The pack is around twice as long as the first, so you can expect to hit the end of the sequence in just under two hours or so. The southern area of Florence is added to, with additional viewpoints to climb, extending the gameplay a bit more if you enjoy climbing things.

After finishing the DLC, it’s fairly clear why both this and The Battle of Forli were left out of the main game, mainly because it’s not essential to the core story. It fills in a little bit of background and is loosely based on historical events, but having it in the original game would have just prolonged the length unnecessarily and ruined the pacing. Nine assassinations is a bit of a push, with it veering close to what made the first Assassin’s Creed tedious. It’s not that polished either, with some noticeable graphical tearing and a few audio issues throughout. The pack can be purchased with Templar Lairs (at additional cost), which add a few more places to explore and some neat jumping puzzles. All in all it’s not a bad sequence if you overlook a few minor faults, so if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed this is worth looking into.