Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is an upcoming direct sequel of 2009's Assassin's Creed II. Featuring Ezio once again, the game pictures him, now a legendary Master Assassin, leading his newly found brotherhood in a hunt for Templars in Rome. This is also the first game of the series to include a multiplayer mode of any kind.

Desmond Miles will make an appearance in Brotherhood, so the main storyline does progress. His voice actor Nolan North has admitted to be working on a new Assassin's Creed game and game developers announced that his story would "take an interesting turn."

Story
Following the events of Assassin's Creed II, Desmond Miles relived more of Ezio Auditore da Firenze's memories. However, after a surprise Templar attack on the town of Monteriggioni, led by Cesare Borgia, the Assassins were brought to the verge of extinction, and the Apple of Eden was lost.

With his uncle Mario dead and his villa in ruins, Ezio traveled Rome, the center of power and corruption and home of the Templar Order in Italy, in order to regain the Apple and bring the Templar Order to its knees once and for all. Not only would Ezio have to succeed in destroying the threat of the Templars, but Desmond himself faced problems of his own.

Characters
Below is a list of known characters to appear in-game:

Renaissance Assassins
 * Ezio Auditore da Firenze
 * Mario Auditore
 * Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
 * Ezio's Apprentices

Modern-age Assassins
 * Desmond Miles
 * Lucy Stillman

Templars
 * Rodrigo Borgia
 * Cesare Borgia

Allies
 * Leonardo da Vinci
 * Caterina Sforza

Multiplayer characters

Note: Ubisoft has stated that some of the multiplayer characters will make an appearance in the Single-player game as targets for Ezio to kill.



Each character in Multiplayer will also have several options for custumizable apearences that can be unlocked
 * The Doctor
 * The Courtesan
 * The Executioner
 * The Banker
 * The Priest
 * The Hunter
 * The Barber
 * The Merchant
 * The Blacksmith
 * The Soldier
 * The Harlequin (limited edition/pre-order exclusive)
 * The Officer (limited edition/pre-order exclusive)

Weapons
The weapon wheel in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood remains the same with the addition of the Crossbow. Also, there are smaller symbols added to the set weapon symbols, such as the Hidden Gun paired with the Longsword, the Throwing Knives to the Short Blade, and the Poison Darts to the Poison Blade. These symbols represent the weapon that can be combined with the current weapon. This combination is shown in the E3 2010 Demo of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and in a screenshot when Ezio kills a guard with his Sword and then quickly shoots another with the Hidden Gun.
 * Singleplayer

''Note: Weapons with an asterisk (*) next to them are introduced in Brotherhood. '' Multiplayer Abilities
 * Longswords
 * Crossbow*
 * Double Hidden Blades
 * Poison Darts*
 * Hidden Gun(s)
 * Daggers
 * Arquebus* (unknown if usable by player)
 * Spears, Halberds and Pikes
 * Throwing Knives
 * Warhammers and Maces
 * Calivers*
 * Wheellock Pistols*
 * Axes
 * Multiplayer
 * Axe - used by the Executioner.
 * Fan - used by the Courtesan.
 * Syringe - used by the Doctor.
 * Dagger - used by the Priest, Harlequin, Merchant, and Officer.
 * Switchblade - used by the Hunter.
 * Claw - used by the Banker.
 * Razor - used by the Barber.
 * Warhammer - used by the Blacksmith.
 * Short Blade - used by the Soldier.
 * Hidden Gun (used as an ability)
 * Smoke Bomb (used as an ability)
 * Throwing Knives (used as an ability)
 * Morph
 * Speed Boost
 * Disguise
 * Decoy
 * Poison
 * Power Charge
 * Firecrackers

Other Tools
Other than the weapons, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will include some old and new tools available to Ezio Auditore.
 * Horses
 * Advanced Flying Machine
 * Mounted Cannons
 * Merchandise Lift
 * Chase-Breakers
 * Parachutes
 * Boat Cannon
 * Chariot Machine Gun

Enemies

 * Papal Guards
 * Brutes
 * Seekers
 * Arquebusier
 * Militia Guards

Singleplayer
Ubisoft claims (through conferences, videos and announces) that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will include new features, especially small gameplay add-ons (i.e.: the flying sequence in Assassin's Creed II, different from the rest of the gameplay). New weapons such as the crossbow will be introduced, as well as new combat elements that reward those who attack first, for example. Additionally, enemies will more likely attack together, instead of just one or two at a time, as seen in previous installments. Ezio will also make use of a parachute throughout the game, most likely designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself. . They are maneuverable enough to land on horses and other specific spots. Unlike in Assassin's Creed II, you can re-play to a previous memory, this was possible in Assassin's Creed II but only secondary memories such as courier assignments or Assassin Tombs. The player will be able to see how Ezio actually completed the missions and then can try and replicate his actions exactly to try to achieve 100% synchronization with that memory.

Ezio enlisted aid by recruiting rebellious citizens who were being bullied by Templars. Upon being saved, each knelt before him and swore their allegiance. Twelve Borgia Towers tyrannized Rome, and Ezio found more allies with their destruction.

Ezio's ability to train and send other Assassins on jobs and missions may have a key gameplay element, in such that their success may have a small impact of the storyline, much like the progression of the game through upgrading Rome. This success will depend on abilities of the Assassins sent, where younger, less experienced assassins will have a higher failure rate than older, more experienced ones. If your Assassins die on a mission, they will not return. Ezio may also have the ability to select and bring along a group of Assassins to assist in his missions, wherein Ubisoft has said that, in Brotherhood, leadership is as vital a skill as the ability to use a sword. Also mentioned was the ability to select an Assassin as Ezio's "personal Assassin," though no further information about this was given.

Multiplayer
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is the first Assassin's Creed game to feature a multiplayer mode. The players are Templars in training at the Abstergo facility. They use the Animus and the Bleeding Effect to train in combat, stealth and free running. The simulation consists of stalking and killing one another. The area in which the Templar assassins train is selected manually, as pre-set maps.

One of the multiplayer game modes, called "Wanted," was announced in the July edition of Playstation magazine. Here, six to eight players are dropped on a map where they must find and kill each other. Each player is given another player as a target, and the goal is to find and kill them without being seen or killed by the player's own hunter. If you break cover and your hunter sees you, a chase sequence will commence, wherein they will try to catch and kill you, until you are able to hide.

In Hunter mode, one player will take the role of an Assassin, while other players play as guards. Before the beginning of the mission, the player will have to choose his class - there is no information how many classes will be available, but each class will have different animations and weapons. After the player has chosen his class, the radar will show him the area where his target is located, as well as the number of enemy players that are searching for him. After the player has found the location where the victim is hiding, they must then locate their target. There aren’t many skins for the NPC's, so the player might find several identical people on the same location. That will make his job a lot harder because he should kill only one person, and if the player accidentally kills an innocent person, he will lose his contract. Therefore, observation is the key to success in this mode.

Another mode recently revealed is Alliance. In this multiplayers are encouraged to pair up with one-another.

No further specifics about other game modes are known.

The Beta comes out in October 4th 2010, exclusively for the PS3. The following countries are participating in the Beta: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States & Canada. In the United States, the beta starts on September 13th, and it ends on September 27th. (Source: Gamestop.com (US))

To sign up, you must pre-order the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood at one of the various shop's taking part in the beta, in order to receive a code for input at this site.

Note: If you pre-ordered Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood at Gamestop already and did not receive a code, you may show your receipt of pre-order to a clerk at Gamestop a few days before the beta to obtain one.

Interestingly, in the recent screenshots it seems all of the characters are customizable and most of them have a female counterpart. However it is not known how the players are able to customize themselves.

Physics and effects
After some criticism from PC gamers about the ragdoll physics in previous installments, Ubisoft has stated that the physics will be improved upon in Brotherhood, as well as several graphical effects in the game.

Ragdolls will fall much more realistically due to the new, edited "Havok" engine. In the other games, ragdolls sometimes would convulse when hitting the floor after being thrown off a building.

Controlling the Assassins


During the game, you will have the option of sending Assassins to different areas to complete tasks. Ezio manages The Assassins Guild by using the pigeon coop communication system set up by Machiavelli, to send messages to his apprentices. You will have the ability to send new assassins to other European countries and complete missions to gain status.The cities you can send Assassins are Florence, Venice, Barcelona, Rome, London, Calicut, Lisbon, Constantinople and Cologne. Once an Assassin has proven themselves effectively, they can accompany you on missions in Rome. The new Assassins are recruited when Ezio rescues them from harassing guards, which inspires them to join the Assassins. Before rescuing and recruiting the novice assassin's Ezio has to blow up an observation tower where a Borgia commander along with a bunch of soldiers rule and make sure the local area remains under their influence and power. Once the deed is done and the tower is destroyed "save missions" will be unlocked and Ezio can start recruiting young assassins.



If an Assassin fails to pass a mission, he or she can't be used again. You can also customize the assassins' armor and weaponry, and each one has a different personality. Later on, you can use experience points they've gained to upgrade their fighting and free-running abilities.
 * So far, it is known that you will be able to train at least twelve assassins, male or female, at a time and possibly bring up to five, including the "personal Assassin," on missions.
 * So far, Ezio and Desmond are the only known playable characters in the singleplayer game campaign.
 * If you look closley at the customization hub you will see that the empty assassin slots have the borgia tower symbol. This give a close idea that citizens that need rescuing will be near the borgia towers.


 * It is also possible that there will be more than one citizen near borgia tower locations.
 * In Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Dev Diary #1, it shows how effectively Ezio can use his apprentices.

Limited Editions
Three special Editions have been revealed so far for the game. Europe will have the 'Codex' and 'Auditore' Edition. The Codex Edition will only be available through Play.com, while the Auditore Edition will be available through other retailers. North America will have the 'Collector's Edition' with the exclusive Harlequin figure available at Gamestop, while the Collectors edition with the Doctor figure is available at other retailers

The Codex Edition

 * Renaissance Collector Chest.
 * Altaïr's exclusive Codex.
 * Hard Copy Strategy Map of Rome.
 * Multiplayer characters cards.
 * DVD of the Assassin’s Creed: Lineage short-film (european version only).
 * Bonus Disc.
 * Exclusive Making-of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Video.
 * Digital Sneak Peak at the comic book series.
 * Trailers.
 * Game Soundtrack.
 * 2 Exclusive single player maps: Aqua Gear & Trajan Market.
 * 2 Multi player characters: Harlequin & Officer.

The Auditore Edition

 * Transparancy box with 3D thermoformed portrait of Ezio Auditore and "Animus" effect.
 * Multiplayer character cards.
 * Aqua Gear exclusive single player map.
 * DVD of the Assassin's Creed: Lineage short-film.

The Collector's Edition

 * Collectible black package
 * The Harlequin Jack-in-the-Box Collectible exclusive to GameStop customers only or The Doctor Jack-in-the-Box if purchased at other participating retailers.
 * Two Exclusive In-Game Single Player Maps.
 * Hard Copy Strategy Map of Rome.
 * Exclusive Art Book.
 * Bonus Disc.
 * Exclusive Making-of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Video.
 * Digital Sneak Peak at the comic book series.
 * Trailers
 * Game Soundtrack
 * Helmschmied Drachen armor (The special armor is only available if purchased at Amazon.com)

Special Edition

 * Trajan Market Map Pack.
 * Officer Multiplayer Character.

Trivia

 * In the E3 2010 Single Player Walkthrough, the "Press Start/Enter" menu background changes from the original Animus in Assassin's Creed to the Animus 2.0 in Assassin's Creed II. As all of the characters in the multiplayer mode are Templars, it can be seen that they are using Abstergo Animi.
 * The outfit of Ezio's apprentices look similar to that of the assassin guards on the first game. Ezio's own outfit has also changed, being more plain and simple rather than flashy robes from Assassin's Creed II.

Other Videos
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Videos