Rome waking up beneath the rooftops, Ezio rallying an entire brotherhood to his cause.

No preference ranking here, so let's go straight to the detail. Brotherhood's biggest strength is fun: it sits ahead of 89% of games, the kind you boot up for one session and put down hours later. Rediscovery follows, ahead of three quarters of games, the sort of adventure you'd love to live fresh again. The rest holds around the middle, attachment and controller feel neck and neck, nothing decisive. Where it slips is the soundtrack: right at the bottom, ahead of less than a fifth of games. Take it with care, that verdict rests on few votes, but the trend is clear, people remember the play more than the music.

Among the historical Assassin's Creed games, Brotherhood stays one of the most rhythmic, denser than its neighbors, built for that gentle open-world Ubisoft addiction.

So, for who? For you if you love climbing, planning, getting lost in a living city and racking up hours without noticing. Much less if you want a soundtrack that stays with you long after the controller is down.