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Assassin’s Creed II closed with a lot left to answer and while we may have to wait until the inevitable sequel to find out what’s really going on Ubisoft has released the first of two planned downloadable expansions for the game. The Battle of Forli takes players to the famed city to play a behind-the-scenes role of the actual historical battle that took place in the late 1400’s and continues Ezio’s journey.

The Battle of Forli largely centers around Ezio coming to the aid of Caterina Sforza and Niccolo Machiavelli after arriving at the city in search of a safe hiding place for ‘The Apple’ only to find it’s under attack. Ezio’s need for a sanctuary is a rather thin plot device to get him to the battle, but it doesn’t matter because focus quickly shifts away from Ezio entirely and to Caterina and the developer’s interpretation of her actual historical personality.

Seniorita Sforza is unique in the storyline of Assassin’s Creed II as she is the only female protagonist with real gall. Her shouting matches with the invading Orsi brothers are entertaining and make her likable instantly. This is important because in a very short span of time players must go from knowing Caterina as a mere acquaintance to rescuing her entire city. Christina Rosato’s voice work does a fantastic job bringing the character to life from the moment we’re reintroduced.

It’s unfortunate then that Niccolo Machiaveli, the historical figure most players are more familiar with, sort of just fades in to the background. One could argue that it’s to minimize historical inaccuracy, but Assassin’s Creed II revels in the non-cannon history they make up. From the moment his name appears players will assume that Machiaveli will play a similar role to Leonardo DaVinci, when sadly he becomes nothing more than an objective point to protect.

What sets The Battle of Forli apart from the rest of the Assassin’s Creed II experience is that, where Ezio was primarily on the offensive for a majority of the game in the DLC the tables turn leaving the player on the defensive. This positioning doesn’t bring about radical change to the game’s core structure, it’s still about sneaking behind people and shanking them, but it twists the strategy enough to make it interesting.

The other major difference is that most of the combat in The Battle of Forli exists within large skirmishes between Senorita Sforza’s guards and the invading forces, giving Ezio a frenzied melee to engage. This makes fighting a very different beast as the usual one at a time bar-room brawl setup no longer applies and players must actively engage opponents who may already be clashing swords.

From start to finish the core missions will last the average player anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes, not a particularly long time for a DLC expansion that can’t be replayed. The content does feel a little like it could have been included in the core game, but considering the 320 MSP price point fans of the game should be able to pony up with little regret.

Assassin’s Creed II: The Battle of Forli is a short-lived experience filled with a few really fun highs. You’ll meet some interesting characters a fair number of guards to kill and ultimately leave mostly satisfied. Some additional content would have been nice, but for what it promises The Battle of Forli delivers. Fans who can’t get enough Assassin’s Creed II should absolutely consider the DLC, but for those who expect this to revolutionize the game you will be sorely disappointed.

Assassin’s Creed II: The Battle of Forli was released on January 28th 2010 for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation 3 via Playstation Network.