PixlBit

Now that I’ve finally gotten around to playing the latest Assassin’s Creed title, I’ve also gotten the opportunity to play the related DLC, which functions well as a standalone extra after completing the quest, or as an integrated set of tasks into the rest of your objectives. The Da Vinci Disappearance is quite the hefty offering, clocking in at around two hours of gameplay in its single player exploits. The DLC also adds a couple of new modes to the multiplayer mode; your mileage with the new content may vary.

I was initially pretty frustrated with the content as a whole as I couldn’t access it until I beat three sequences in the game (hence the delayed review). It does make sense in the context of the experience, fortunately. Because many of the characters found in the DLC aren’t set up properly until about halfway through the game, their inclusion in the new missions would’ve been awkward and out of place.

The premise for the content is pretty well stated in the title. At the beginning of the first task in the sequence, players run into Leonardo who sends you out looking for Salai, his errand boy (and lover). Upon getting Salai out of trouble and returning to Leonardo’s place, he’s nowhere to be found, his art has been stolen, and the place has been torn to pieces.

As you come to find out, Leonardo has been kidnapped by the Hermeticists who are looking for a secret entrance to a temple that Leonardo has found and has hid clues to in the paintings that were stolen. Over the course of eight missions, Ezio will need to recover the missing painting, locate Leonardo, and gain entrance to the secret temple Leonardo has discovered.

The missions involve a couple new areas, the first of which demands some stealth tactics and quick escape skills. Both reaching and grabbing the missing art was enjoyable and the lengthiness of the missions was appreciated, as it provided a good bit more gameplay on top of the quest proper.

At the conclusion of the DLC, you are treated to a short cutscene, similar to the ones typically found at the end of the Assassin’s Creed games. Just like those, the content is meant to appeal directly to Desmond rather than the people who are actually present. It gives a little taste of what’s to come next and brings further value to the package, especially for dedicated fans.

The multiplayer portion of the DLC also brought a couple of new modes and maps that will likely be enjoyable if you enjoy the mode already. Escort is an eight player affair that has two teams of four trying to assassinate each other’s VIPs. Assassinate is deathmatch mode for six to eight players, wherein no targets are set for assassination like the Wanted mode, but the gameplay is generally similar. The multiplayer modes in Brotherhood were a huge disappointment for me and these additional modes don’t do much to improve that.

If it wasn’t obvious, the DLC is pretty hefty, and will only set you back $10. Given that, for fans looking for more Assassin’s Creed while waiting for Revelations, it’s a great investment, especially if you like Brotherhood’s multiplayer mode. If you’ve had enough of Assassin’s Creed for now, you aren’t missing much, aside from the ending cutscene, which you can check out on YouTube without making the investment.