Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: Can You Explore 2012 on Xbox 360?

Short answer: No. You cannot freely explore a "2012" open world in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. The modern-day segments are linear, story-driven sequences—not a playable sandbox.

Timeline Breakdown

• Animus (Main Gameplay): Rome, 1500–1507. You play as Ezio Auditore in a massive open world.
• Modern Day (Desmond): Linear, narrative-only sequences set in the Monteriggioni sanctuary (2012). No free roam, no combat, no crowds—just walk, talk, and trigger cutscenes.
• Subject 16 / Clay Kaczmarek: Accessed by finding Cluster Puzzles (Glyphs) hidden throughout Rome. Solving them unlocks "The Truth" video files revealing the 2012 backstory.

What You Can Do in Brotherhood

• New Game+: Replay the campaign with all your equipment, upgrades, and unlocks carried over.
• Collect All Glyphs: Reveals the full "The Truth" video, a crucial piece of the series' modern-day lore.
• Play Assassin's Creed III: The 2012 storyline concludes there with playable Desmond sequences in modern environments (Manhattan, Brazil, etc.).

The Bottom Line

The 2012 segments in Brotherhood are narrative bridges—essential for the overarching plot, but not gameplay sandboxes. If you want modern-day Assassin's Creed gameplay, AC III is where it happens.