Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (known also as 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. This is also the first game of the series to include a multiplayer mode of any kind.

Desmond Miles may possibly make an appearance in Brotherhood, as his voice actor Nolan North has admitted to be working on a new Assassin's Creed game.

Story
Following the events of Assassin's Creed II, Ezio Auditore da Firenze is now a legendary master assassin. However, following a surprise Templar attack on the town of Monteriggioni, led by Cesare Borgia, the Assassins are brought to the verge of extinction, and the Apple lost.

With his uncle dead, and his Villa in ruins, Ezio must now travel to Rome, center of corruption, power, 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.

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

Assassins
 * Ezio Auditore da Firenze
 * Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
 * Mario Auditore

Knights Templar
 * Rodrigo Borgia
 * Cesare Borgia
 * Lucrezia Borgia

Allies
 * Leonardo da Vinci
 * Caterina Sforza

Multiplayer characters



There are twelve known multiplayer characters, all of which are known to be Templars. In addition, there are various other characters that appear in the pictures, but have not yet been confirmed to be playable;
 * 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)
 * The Female Harlequin
 * The "Caramel Hunter" (pictured on right)
 * Two Unidentified Characters (pictured on right)

Weapons
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will be featuring many familiar weapons in addition
 * Singleplayer

to an array of never before used weapons including the long-awaited crossbow. Multiplayer Abilities
 * Longswords
 * Crossbow
 * Double Hidden Blades
 * Poison Darts
 * Hidden Gun(s)
 * 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 and Officer.
 * Switchblade - used by the Hunter.
 * Claw - used by the Banker.
 * Razor - used by the Barber.
 * 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 avaliable to Ezio.
 * Horses
 * Advanced Flying Machine
 * Mounted Cannons
 * Lift
 * Chase-Breakers
 * Parachutes

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-on (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, and new combat elements will also be introduced, rewarding those who attack first, for example.

It is also likely that the player (through Ezio) will have to train apprentices, help other assassins, and confront enemies along with them.

Ezio's abilty 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. Ezio may also have the ablity to select and bring along a group of assassins to assist in his missions, Ubisoft has said that in Brotherhood leadership is as vital a skill as the ablity to use a sword. Also mentioned was the ability to select an assassin as Ezio's "personal assassin", 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 Animi 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 manualy, as pre-set maps.

One of the multiplayer game modes has been announced in the July edition of Playstation magazine. This mode is called "Wanted". Six to eight players are dropped on a map where they find and kill each other. Each player is given a target, which is another player. Your goal is to find and kill your target without being seen or killed by your own predator. If you break your cover and your target sees you, a chase sequence will commence. They will try to catch and kill you and you will have to hide from them.

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 and 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 NPCs 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 accidently kills an innocent person he will lose his contract. Therefore, observation is the key to success in this mode. Ubisoft hints that each multiplayer character will appear in some form in the single-player mode too.

No further specifics about game modes are known.

The Beta comes out in early Autumn.

Physics and Effects
Ubisoft has stated that the graphics will be improved upon, as well as several physics in the game. Ragdolls will fall much more realisticly 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.

In Assassin’s Creed II, some PC players have stated that ragdolls such as a Messenger are more likely to fall unrealisticly, due to their cape that 'clips' through their body. In some instances, ragdolls would have fallen with their arms clipping through their backs and legs. These certain instances mostly happen when Ezio picks up a body and throws it back on the ground, however it could happen anytime.

Controlling the Assassins
During the game you will have the option of sending Assassins to different areas to complete tasks. You will have the ability to send new assassins to other European countries and complete missions to gain status. Once they have proven themselves effectively, they can accompany you on missions in Rome. The new assassins are recruited when Ezio rescues them from harassing guards, which leads them to join the Assassins. You can have the ability to train young Assassins and have them do jobs for you.

If an Assassin fails to pass a mission, he 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's 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.

Trivia

 * In the E3 2010 Single Player Walkthrough, the "Press Start/Enter" menu backround changes from the original Animus in Assassin's Creed to the Animus 2.0 in Assassin's Creed II, hinting that the Animus Desmond uses might change, like if he was captured by Abstergo, or indicating that the Abstergo Animus is used for the Multiplayer.

Trailers
In the cinematic trailer there are 12 papal guards in addition to Cesare making 13 Templars. This is significant because the Templars were disbanded on Friday the 13th (some how making that day and number unlucky). It is unknown whether or not Ubisoft put this in for that reason or just for cosmetic reasons.