Assassin’s Creed – Ezio Trilogy Power Ranking

The Ezio Trilogy is widely considered to be the peak of the Assassin’s Creed franchise (which is kinda sad, if you think about it), and I recently sat down to play them all back to back. Whilst they have their flaws, they’re nothing if not unabashedly fun.

I thought it would be fun to power rank the trilogy – pitting each entry against each other in certain categories, and giving each a score out of ten – to see which game truly reigns supreme. If you need a refresher of the entries, here they are:

• Assassin’s Creed 2 (AC2)
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
• Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Plot

BEST: Revelations [8]

This will be a very unpopular opinion, but I think Revelations’ storyline was the best of the Ezio trilogy.

Old man Ezio was a joy to behold, and I really loved the way the writers weaved together his final adventure with Altair’s. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great swansong to the series’ best protagonist.

RUNNER-UP: AC2 [8]

A classic revenge plot, and the story that most fans would say is the strongest of the trilogy. Ezio seeking out and killing those who wronged his family makes for a compelling narrative, one that many AC games since have tried to emulate.

Like with many of AC2’s aspects, I think its plot has aged a little poorly. The revenge storyline is fun, but it zips around at the speed of light and we never get the time to develop the villains before killing them off.

WORST: Brotherhood [7]

Brotherhood’s story is fine, but it’s clearly the weakest of the trilogy.

It doesn’t have the intense personal stakes of AC2, nor the dramatic conclusions within Revelations. Chasing after Cesare Borgia was alright, but hardly the selling-point of the game.

Characters

BEST: Brotherhood [8]

This was an easy pick for first place – you get most of the great characters from AC2, but they’re all more developed this time. On top of that, we have some fun additions within the Borgia family. A no-brainer for top spot.

RUNNER-UP: AC2 [7]

AC2 deserves a lot of praise for introducing so many great characters. Whilst they aren’t as developed as they would be in Brotherhood, it lays the foundations splendidly.

I can’t talk about AC2’s characters without mentioning Ezio – he’s one of those lightning-in-a-bottle protagonists, one that you can root for instantly, and he makes his entire trilogy ten times better.

“WORST”: Revelations [7]

The characters within Revelations aren’t as memorable as their Italian counterparts, but I still enjoyed them.

There are some good villains across the board, the Constantinople Assassins are a nice change of pace, and the chemistry between old Ezio and Sofia was always a highlight.

Side Quests

BEST: Brotherhood [8]

This is one those categories that was really no contest – Brotherhood was the only game that even came close to satisfying my side quest needs.

The Leonardo missions are hard but a blast, commanding your own sect of assassins was a dream come true, and the Romulus and Cristina quests are some of the best AC missions ever.

RUNNER-UP: AC2 [6]

AC2’s side quests are far from bad – a lot of it is similar to Brotherhood, a game I rank so highly, but I guess most of it feels like ticking boxes rather than unique missions.

The feathers were pointless, the races sucked, and the codex pages filled out the endgame with pointless padding. The only side endeavours I truly liked were the “Truth” quest, where you have to find anomalies and delve through their freaky puzzles, as well as building up Monteriggioni.

WORST: Revelations [5]

I completely forgot how pitiful Revelations’ side quests were – I may even go as far as saying this is the worst showing in the entire series.

The Masyaf keys were fun but ended up being compulsory, the tower defence segments are infamous … and that’s about it. The lack of side content really disappointed me, and I ended up finishing the game far quicker than I wanted to.

Setting

BEST: Brotherhood [8]

As a kid, I was blown away by the Rome setting in Brotherhood. It was full of things to do and secrets to uncover, and it felt so vibrant and lived-in. It doesn’t hold up when compared to the recent entries, but for the time it was magical.

RUNNER-UP: AC2 [6]

People tend to rank AC2’s setting highly, and I can totally see why. The developers made something truly special and unique at the time, and getting to explore many different Italian cities and regions must have been mind-boggling.

Unfortunately, I think the developers made a mistake by building wide instead of tall. The multitude of regions feel spread thin and emptier than Brotherhood’s Rome, for example, and I never found myself lingering in one place for long enough to fully immerse myself.

WORST: Revelations [6]

Constantinople should have been a hit. It brings back all of the aspects I loved so much from Rome, whilst providing a fresh, vibrant landscape to explore.

Sadly, this is a case of the setting being rushed out the door. The districts of Constantinople feel so empty and repetitive, and the lack of side content meant the visuals seemed more like dull paintings than busy vistas.

Combat

BEST: Revelations [8]

Controversial opinion, but the chain executions were the most fun AC combat has ever been. Add on top of that Ezio’s new hook blade skill and you could get some gnarly combos and kills.

ALSO BEST: Brotherhood [8]

The game that introduced chain executions, which makes sense. Ezio was turning into a master assassin, so it was so fun to see him in his prime.

WORST: AC2 [7]

AC2’s combat is still fine, but the lack of chain executions means it feels a little stale in hindsight. A bit like banging sticks together until someone’s defence breaks.

Stealth / Parkour

BEST: Revelations [8]

They’ve made leaps and bounds in the stealth and parkour departments in almost every subsequent AC game, but I have to give credit to Revelations for perfecting the Ezio Trilogy’s style.

Stealth is helped by the array of tactical bombs, and parkour has never been cleaner. The hook blade is a clear stand-out – it made traversal of Constantinople a blast, and I always loved launching myself from those hanging lamps.

RUNNER-UP: Brotherhood [7]

Brotherhood has a classic stealth and parkour style. Zipping around on Rome’s rooftops felt like a slight improvement over the previous entry, and social stealth was at its best here. On the whole, good stuff.

“WORST”: AC2 [7]

AC2’s parkour and stealth is practically the same system as Brotherhood, but not as refined. Not bad, but Ezio definitely made a few too many wrong jumps here and there.

Fun

BEST: Brotherhood [9]

Brotherhood is the AC game I’ve replayed most in my life (mainly as a kid when I first got it) and that’s for good reason.

Rome is so fun to explore with a plethora of great side content, the plot and mission design did a good job of keeping me invested, and the whole vibe is so nostalgic. When I think of the Ezio trilogy, Brotherhood is what comes to mind.

RUNNER-UP: AC2 [8]

It’s a little rough around the edges, but AC2 is still a classic. It introduced an entire generation to Ezio Auditore, and the missions are so replayable and engaging.

WORST: Revelations [6]

Considering Revelations topped many of this list’s categories, it’s disappointing to see it placed bottom of the “Fun” category – arguably the most important aspect of all!

Constantinople is a really bland setting that I had no desire to explore, and the lack of side content made the game more of a slog than it needed to be. It’s a shame, as otherwise the trilogy would have been a home run from start to finish.

Overall

BEST: Brotherhood [55/70]

With an average score of 7.9, Brotherhood is the clear winner of this power ranking. It’s not as crisp as I remember, but I still had a blast exploring Rome and taking down the Borgias.

RUNNER-UP: AC2 [49/70]

Averaging 7.0 exactly, AC2 is a good game but I wanted more. Most of my gripes are mainly due to aspects aging poorly, as otherwise this is an excellent effort that turned the franchise into what we know today.

WORST: Revelations [48/70]

With an average score that dips to 6.9, I was slightly surprised when Revelations came below AC2 in the final scores. Then again, with a bland open world and lacklustre side content, it’s not hard to see why.

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: