The Wolves’ Den once again played host to a video game launch party this past Thursday night. This time, however, instead of a family-friendly party game like Just Dance 2, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, a follow-up to last year’s highly-praised Assassin’s Creed 2, was on display. Students gathered to try out the latest game in the popular series, experiencing both its single player campaign and the new multiplayer mode.

 The event, though for a very different style of game, was similar to the Just Dance 2 party, inspiring a fun, friendly atmosphere throughout the night. Students watched one another play, talked as they enjoyed snacks provided by the event coordinators, and spent time seeing what the new game had to offer.

 The atmosphere was kept fun with the inclusion of a prize raffle throughout the night. Students attending the event could put their name in to win various prizes. These prizes included t-shirts, posters signed by the developers of the game, and other Ubisoft games, such as Shaun White Skateboarding and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction. The grand prize of the night was, of course, a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.

 Elizabeth Hyde, a sophomore in Animal Science, won one of the signed posters early in the night.

 ”It was exciting to be able to win something,” Hyde said. “I wasn’t expecting to win, especially since I’m not that big a fan of the series. It’ll make a nice gift for one of my friends, though.”

 Another aspect of the party that kept the night lively was the fun people had watching one another play, especially when the multiplayer was being tested.

Shanna Wood, a sophomore on wildlife sciences, was quick to praise the multiplayer mode.

“It’s really original,” Wood said. “There’s a great diversity in the different multiplayer characters.

A new addition to the series, the multiplayer in Brotherhood is highly original, bringing the mechanics of the single player mode into a competitive setting. Players take on the role of assassins-in-training, and must sneak around the game world.

Each player is given one target to try and assassinate, while another player will be trying to hunt down and kill them. In order to win, players must kill as many targets as possible, while dying as few times as possible.

Where the game separates itself is in the scoring system. More points are provided for kills achieved through stealth, with players receiving the lowest score for charging their target head-on.

Henry Allen, a junior in media communications, enjoyed the change provided by the new mode.

“It’s definitely a nice change from normal fast-paced multiplayer games like Call of Duty,” Allen said. “In games like that, it can feel like you die every few seconds. It’s nice to have a game that encourages a slower pace.”

Also impressive is the game’s single player campaign. It has been only a year since the last game in the series was released, but Ubisoft has managed to provide a lengthy story mode for players that continues the story of the last game’s protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

The game begins immediately after the final moments of Assassin’s Creed 2, and assumes players have experienced the previous game already. Ezio begins with the majority of his moves from the last title, and is a much more competent fighter from the outset.

The goal of Brotherhood is for Ezio to build a new force of power in Rome. To do so, he must recruit and train new assassins, which can later be called into combat to aid him.

In reality, there is very little new to in Brotherhood, and instead focuses on refining the mechanics of the previous title, while also adding a few new features. Ezio will still take on missions, scale tall buildings, and explore tombs to find hidden treasure.

Ikenna Obi-Onuoha, a senior in agricultural business management, commented on the similarities to the previous title.

“It seems pretty much the same,” Obi-Onuaha said. “Still, there are some little changes, like new mechanics and better facial animations, that are pretty cool.”

The differences that are in the game are still impressive, and provide a continuing sense of progression for the series. A crossbow is available for purchase from stores, horses can now be ridden within city walls, and the weapon and armor upgrade systems are both back.

Another new feature is the ability to renovate the entire city of Rome. At the outset of the game, the city is under siege, and every district is watched over by a Borgia Tower. The player must destroy these towers throughout the games. Once this is accomplished, they can begin renovating shops in the area once watched over by the tower, allowing them to increase the number of shops, horse stables, and secret tunnels available around the city.

All-in-all, the launch party was another fun night for students looking to check out a new game. As for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, though it doesn’t provide much new to the single player campaign, it does introduce a compelling new multiplayer mode, while also continuing the narrative for fans of the series. As such, it provides another worthy title in the series, and is easily recommended to those who enjoyed the other titles in the franchise.