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Shattered Memories

Two months ago, it would have taken an industrial crane and the power of all the king's horses to wrench the Assassin's Creed 2 disc from my console (well, that or a swift press of the eject button, I suppose). Two months and a Platinum trophy later, the first of two pieces of downloadable content, supposedly wrenched from the finished game for time constraints, has arrived. Naturally hopes were high that this would remind us just why the game was voted our Game of the Year for 2009.

The Battle of Forli represents Memory Sequence 12, one of the two segments skipped in the game due to "corruption" (Sequence 13 is coming on February 25th). Players who've already completed the Assassin's Creed 2 story will be instantly taken to the sequence upon reloading their existing save game, while those (aka lazy fools) who haven't yet made it past Sequence 11 will find it inserted seamlessly into the proceedings. On offer through this DLC are six new story missions, and a "special" mission, which attempts to make right one of the few complaints about the main game by giving you permanent access to Da Vinci's flying machine.

At first glance, six missions might not seem all that much, and in all honesty, they can be polished off in the better part of an hour. One might argue that the short running time should be expected, given the price that you're paying for the content, but at the same time you wonder how such a small piece of action could possibly have slowed down the development to the point where it had to be removed. However, the cliffhanger ending to the piece leads one to believe that February's Bonfire of the Vanities, which will open up previously uncharted areas of the map, is more likely to have been what led to the double cull.

The story of BoF features Ezio linking up with two characters he met fleetingly during the main story, Caterina Sforza and Niccolo Machiavelli, as he leads them back to and protects a castle in Forli, while trying to maintain control of the mysterious Apple of Eden. The initial missions revolve around a lot of walking, fighting and babysitting, as you try to reach your target without either of your comrades dying. I know what you're thinking - "Yay! Escort Missions!"

While there were often moments during the main game where you'd walk along characters and they'd have their own health bars, in this sequence you actually feel like your allies are in danger for once, and the chances are that at least one of them will wind up getting themselves killed somewhere along the line. Those who cannot stand playing child-minder will no doubt be delighted to see those first three missions followed up by one on a time limit. Are you trying to make us angry?

For anyone who worked their way emphatically through the game, there is a definite sense of "Is that it?", when the content reaches its conclusion, and you can't help but wish they'd maybe waited another month and released the two missing sequences together instead of splitting them apart for the extra cash. When you factor in the lack of additional trophies/achievements, plus the fact that your efforts here don't add to your overall completion percentage and there's a general air of disappointment. That being said, while Ezio's return to our screens is short-lived and somewhat lacking, it only serves to leave you hungry for more. Roll on February 25th.

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