Having played through and reviewed Battle of Forli, the somewhat underwhelming add-on for Ubisoft’s historical sandbox epic Assassin’s Creed II, I admittedly had reservations about Bonfire of the Vanities, the second promised piece of DLC for this title. Still, it would have been unfair of me to overlook the thirteenth chapter of Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s enthralling adventure knowing how much trouble Animus whiz Rebecca Crane went to to repair Desmond’s final, corrupted memory sequence.

Set nine years after the events of BoF, BotV introduces you to Girolamo Savonarola, an oppressive Luddite priest with a severe distaste for the Renaissance, who takes control of Florence after the death of its de facto ruler Lorenzo de' Medici. With the Apple of Eden in his possession, Savonarola wastes no time in demanding that the city be purged of all vanities: paintings, literature, music, cosmetics, and anything else that might bring about lax morality. The bonfires begin.

To free the Florentine citizens from the monk’s authoritarian reign, Ezio must assassinate Savonarola’s nine lieutenants (in whichever order the player decides) before taking down the tyrant himself and recovering the treasured artefact. Though this sounds quite straightforward, stealth is mandatory in killing seven of the nine; get yourself spotted, or misjudge the timing of that all-important fatal blow, and you’ll be whisked back to the beginning of the objective quicker then Leonardo da Vinci can decrypt a codex. Three or more restarts later and BoF starts to seem insultingly easy by comparison.

In particular, I found bumping off the merchant extremely challenging, which involved sneaking aboard a well-guarded vessel, undetected, and silently doing away with the seaman. First time around, clinging to the side of the boat and pulling unwary sentries overboard worked wonders until my target eventually spotted me. Second time around the same tactic got me noticed almost instantly, and my third attempt was equally unsuccessful. Trial and error is very much the name of the game here so expect to have the unforgiving enemy AI truly test your patience.

Surprisingly, BotV is considerably more enjoyable than BoF because indiscreetly knifing your way to your mark simply isn’t an option. Each mission is well-crafted, long-lasting and intended, and delivers that sought-after achievement factor upon its completion. Unfortunately, there's a 'but'. Ubisoft has again neglected to include that bit of innovation we DLC addicts crave. There are no more trophies to unlock, no more upgrades to earn, and no more weapons to acquire. There is the newly-included Spring Jump to consider, a protruding platform likened to a diving board that can propel Ezio further than ordinary acrobatics allow, but it's essentially redundant, and you’ll maybe only come across one or two of theses on your travels if you're lucky. 

If you’re prepared to invest a few extra pennies however you can download a ‘deluxe’ package, which in addition grants you access to three Tomb Raider-esque Templar Lairs originally exclusive to the game’s collector’s edition. The puzzle-filled areas of Santa Maria dei Frari, the Arsenal Shipyard, and the Palazzo Medici all offer generous monetary rewards, and offer at least another hour or so of entertainment (consider them to be a well-deserved break from all that killing you’ve been doing lately).

All things considered, BotV turned out to be a decent piece of bonus content. In fact, Ezio’s profound and evocative concluding monologue reminded me just how brilliant Assassin Creed II really is – so much so I think I’ll play it through a second time, start to finish. I invite you to do the same.