Assasin's Creed 2: Battle of Forli (Ehh...)

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Link to a good review, followed by my own:

So I downloaded Battle of Forli expansion yesterday & beat it this morning.

...

Short version, it really isn't worth your money.

Longer version. The expansion fills in the plot holes, like how Enzio was able to track down all the pages of the Codex. It also expands on the character of Caterina Sforza. Machiavelli plays a part as well, but you really wouldn't know it, as he has few lines, and doesn't really do much for the story.

Primarily, the missions pit you up against a larger than normal number of guards & adversaries. Thing is, the engine wasn't designed for this army style combat, and you begin to see the strings.

For instance, there are at least 2 timed missions where you need to push through several brigades of troops to get to your target. I just didn't bother to engage these brigades, and just ran straight to my destination.

And for whatever reason, the AI for my ally troops got REALLY stupid the more guys I had working with me.

...

So no, I wouldn't suggest you buy it for anything other than story purposes, and if you're a completest.

=
As an aside, I am fairly honked off about the fact that Ubisoft did not throw in the Templar Lairs of Home Invasion, Over Beams/Under Stone & Shipwrecked, along with the downloadable content. For those of you who don't know, the Templar Lairs are bonus levels that were sold with extra special Black edition of Assassin's Creed sold over in Europe.

Stateside, we were able to get one of these Lairs, depending on where we purchased our game. Best Buy was Shipwrecked & Home Invasion was Gamestop, not sure if who did Over Beams/Under Stone (if anyone).

[Mirai Gen]

I really liked Assassin's Creed II, and I probably should have been nicer to it, but when I heard this it sounded like Ubisoft's usual "The Rest of the Game" now available for purchase.

[Aeria]

Considering there are more parts coming out... I think I'll wait until they're finished, and then just get them all as a pack, which they'll likely release, and for cheaper. Until then, if I want more missions I'll just play the game again -- It's the only way to rewatch the cutscenes anyway!

[Sky Warrior Bob]

There's only one more download level on the way Aeria, and while its in the better designed Florence area, after this level, I honestly might pay more attention to reviews.

Of course, now that I think more on this expansion, I think Ubisoft rushed it a bit out the door. The AI got really stupid in these extra levels (For instance, there was a mission where I needed to tackle an escaping monk. Except mine got stuck running back & forth in the small enclosure you start off in. Had I not thought this was an assassination mission, I wouldn't have even had to bother re-playing the mission.)

Still, I'm really itching for those extra Black levels. I really liked Shipwrecked, and would love some more.

-
Also, has everyone played the Paying Respects level? It hasn't any combat, but its a nifty freebie level for your Uplay points.