It all began in 2007 with the introduction of the first Assassin’s Creed title. You either loved it or hated it, and although we have seen a new release each year religiously since then, that trend has been broken, which is slightly disappointing for die-hard fans such as myself. Not all is lost though, because Ubisoft has dropped Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Systems, allowing us to relive the 2009-2011 Classics in Remastered Glory.

In the Beginning

[miptheme_quote author=”Jean from CodeBros” style=”pull-right”]Assassin’s Creed II is by far my favorite from the whole series![/miptheme_quote]Argue with me if you must, but I believe that Assassin’s Creed II is where the franchise actually started. Playing as Altair was okay-ish, but Ezio Auditore de Firenze will always be the most recognizable Assassin to fans and wannabe fans alike. The womanizing ladies-man legend, turned bad ass Master Assassin.

The Ezio Collection combines Assassin’s Creed II (2009), Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010) and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (2011) in one super convenient bundle, allowing for seamless play of the Trilogy. A bonus for Ubisoft Club Members is, as you complete each game in order from The Ezio Collection bundle, you will receive a reward pack that carries over into the next title! Twink Boost FTW!

If you have never played Assassin’s Creed, then this is the ideal place to start. In a nutshell you will be following the development of Ezio Auditore as he matures into the Assassin’s League and seeks Revenge, Justice and Answers respectively in each game.

There are no massively notable upgrades to the games themselves other than the remastered textures and colours and gaming experience in spectacular 1080p resolution.

Assassin’s Creed II still looks chunky, and handles like a dated game, but with all due respect, coming from an animation and programming background, doing what Ubisoft has done, did take a lot of time despite what some people may say. Textures are far more detailed, and are not specifically next-gen level, but are greatly improved when compared to their original counterparts. Naturally, Brotherhood looks much better and Revelations looks absolutely magnificent! (Comparing Title with Title)

The controls have not been changed, so if you are a fan that has played the latest Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Brilliant!), then you will probably find the old control system “erksome” but not a deal-breaker. It helps with Nostalgic Appreciation. Out of the three remastered titles, Assassin’s Creed II would be the most buggy, as I did experience delay spikes or “game-freezing” which annoyed me, but not enough to cause me to hate the game or throw my remote at the Television. As for Brotherhood and Revelations, they handle notably well, and I had no issues with them at all.

…and all that Jazz!

Concerning the Plot, I can confirm that Revelations also includes the continuation of Altair’s story, which is a nice touch. I did not play through all three remastered titles completely, as it has over 80 hours of combined gameplay content, but I did afford each title enough time to complete them till around the 30% mark, gaining a better feel for the improvements (having played and completing them before).

For Newcomers, when taking features into consideration, Brotherhood introduces the ability to have Partner Assassin’s, and Revelations adds in “Tower Defense-Like” missions that help the series’ evolution. However, the originals had Multiplayer features, which have been removed in The Ezio Collection, understandably so, as it stands to reason that this would require Ubisoft to assign more time to remaster each Multiplayer section as well, naturally delaying the launch, which is very cleverly placed a month before the release of the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Movie which will be in Cinema’s this December!

Other than the three remastered games, The Ezio Collection also includes Two Short Films. Assassin’s Creed: Lineage and Assassin’s Creed: Embers. These shorts add more epicness to the already legend legacy of Ezio. Lineage is a series of Live-Action clips that give us a glimpse into the life of Ezio’s “Padre”, Giovanni. Embers is an Animated short film that takes place late in Ezio’s life, rounding off The Ezio Collection with a content rich experience for old and new fans to appreciate.

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Conclusion

I reviewed Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection for Xbox One which is available digitally from the Microsoft Store at R699.00 and a physical copy can be bought from BT Games at R645.00. To echo what I already said, this is a remastered bundle that gives existing fans an opportunity to relive Ezio’s life on next-gen consoles and also sets a platform for new fans to fall in-love with Assassin’s Creed very affordably. It is priced right and well worth the Christmas cash. Should you get it? Yes. When? Anytime is good.