The lights are on
Between various leaks and promotional websites, the next entry in the Assassin's Creed series wasn't exactly a secret. However, today Ubisoft officially announced Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, a continuation of the saga with new features, characters, and a story chronicling another chapter in the life of Ezio Auditore. Brotherhood will be set in the city of Rome, where players can expect about 15 hours of new adventures that involve striking at the heart of the Templar order. However, instead of the usual solo gig, Ezio will be recruiting and leading a team (one might even call it a "brotherhood") of assassins. These characters may assist players on a mission directly, but they can also be deployed to different parts of Rome. A few old allies will be showing up as well, including Caterina Sforza and Leonardo.It also appears that a variation of the Villa-building in Assassin's Creed II will be making a reappearance in Brotherhood. You'll be able to invest your money in the crumbling districts of the city, getting the citizens on your side and gaining the allegiance of factions. Collecting art for you home and improving the surrounding town was one of the most engaging aspects of the last entry, so it's exciting to consider how the team will expand upon it.So far, the most talked-about new feature in Brotherhood is the addition of a multiplayer feature. Assuming the roles of Templars-in-training, players will square off against other players using a variety of classes and signature weapons. How you'll utilize these classes and weapons is still a mystery; Ubisoft is currently only specifying that the multiplayer will have "different game modes."Another hazy element is exactly how Brotherhood fits in with the series' larger mythology. Ubisoft hasn't clarified how (if at all) Ezio's continuing story in Renaissance Italy correlates to the near-future conflict involving Desmond Miles and Abstergo. Without spoiling the ending of Assassin's Creed II, it's safe to say that Ezio's role in the generation-spanning conspiracy seems to be complete, so I wouldn't be surprised if Brotherhood were set entirely in the past, with Desmond, Lucy, and Vidic not making appearances at all. The team behind the game still has plenty of time to roll out the details, but we won't have to wait too long to play it. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will be hitting store shelves this holiday season – just a year after Assassin's Creed II, which means that your assassination skills won't be too rusty when Ezio takes to the rooftops again.
Email the author Joe Juba, or follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Game Informer.
I want more Desmond. Of course this will be fun but a larger emphasis on present day stuff would keep series fresh rather than relying on a tried and true formula.
I really hope this turns out to be an awesome game.
Hmm... i'm interested in the assassin lady with the fan; she could be fun to play in multiplayer.
If it doesn't fit into the "big picture" it will feel a little more like a really big, really expansive, really expensive DLC. Don't get me wrong, more Assassin's Creed isn't a bad thing...but we should all caution Ubisoft against modeling the Activision way of doing things. Also, what is the proper way to pronounce "Ubisoft". Is it you-be-soft or ooh-be-soft?
It's likely that this will be like the DS installments. Set in the past, without Desmond. But I guess Joe already stated that.
Can't wait
Yeah this does sound sweet, I am interested in how the multi-player side will work.
I don't have an issue with expansive dlc's, like gta iv's were quality, as long as they come with a reasonable price tag. I also hope if they're planning on releasing more games like this they explore some new settings/characters. One of the thing that sucked to me about the main story only being a trilogy is that we'll likely only get to experience one more full story, and I think it'd be cool to explore the areas of a bunch of different assassins and eras.
Is that a crossbow on Ezio's back? Sweet!
i bet it has the same crappy graphics.
Give me a better combat system and I will come back to the series
hmm its looking interesting. ill probably get for my girlfriend.
More great games! waaaa-wooooooooooo!!!!!!!
why does this sound like a MMO all of sudden?
A year after ACII? Hope it isn't getting rushed.
I really like Assassin's Creed, but I'm more interested in finishing the Desmond saga than going through another Ezio story. Don't get me wrong Ezio is quite the character, but the main story arc is what has kept me into this game. Will be waiting for the price drop to play this one.
Need to finish AC2 first, once BF:BC2 came out it completely took my attention away from AC2.
OMG I Can't Wait
awesome, i love the series so far hell i even played ac1 again and after beating that again i played ac2 and beat it again. i hope by the time that acb comes out my assassination skills have not rusted, but being that i am a big fan of the series they probably wont be.