Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: Dissected
22nd Oct 2010 | 08:47
Ezio's story continues in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which is looking more and more like an absolute epic follow up rather than the 2.5 tac-on we all thought it was going to be when we didn't get the conventional Assassin's Creed III.
If you've read our extensive Assassin's Creed Brotherhood preview, you'll know that there's a lot to get your head around and even more to stick your blade into.
We thought it appropriate then, to take the latest trailer, pull it to pieces, hang it out to dry and point out all the bits you really need to give some attention to.
This is the dude at the epicentre of evil in Brotherhood, Cesare Borgia, son of Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) who is ruling Rome during the period. It's the usual case of oppression, military force and ruling with an iron fist.
Naturally Cesare is empty on mercy and full of bravado. The trailer makes the point of showing people hanging and being roughed up by the ruler's son with a voiceover that makes him sound less and less like someone you'd want to have a pint with.
"If I want to live, I live," he spits with venom, seemingly at his Popey dad "If I want to take, I take!"
In fact, just to make sure you realise how much of a tit Cesare is being Ubisoft's made sure to show him taking out Uncle Mario. Fun fact: The gun that Cesare uses - and the gun in general for that matter - wasn't actually invented until about ten years later than Brotherhood's time period, but developers have taken some creative license to cram in the cool.
So Cesare Borgia is running a bit of a muck. This looks like a job for Superman, surely? No such luck we're afraid, Romans, the Man of Steel hasn't been invented yet.
Instead you'll have to make do with this guy, who we think is infinitely more hard anyway.
Ezio is still a steely-eyed glimmer of ghostly white in the bustling crowd, as you can see but he's no longer a killer in training. Ezio's a master assassin this time, a leader rather than a learner, and there've been a few changes of note since Assassin's Creed 2.
Firstly, check the beard. Secondly, Ezio's looking more nimble than ever, spinning and attacking guards in an Arkham Asylum-style free-flow ballet of blood. Gone are the days of hanging around inside a circle of enemies waiting for them to attack one at a time. If the fighting in this trailer is in any way representative of the final game then we're in for a treat.
You'll also notice the crossbow strapped to Ezio's back, a weapon that works in much the same way as the hidden gun in Assassin's Creed II (lock on and charge up the shot fully for maximum accuracy).
If you choose it can also be a tool carried by Ezio's army of Assassin's along with a variety of other weapons.
Check out the guy on the end of the line there. That's a pretty big axe he's packing, so it looks like Ezio's boys will be able to carry everything their leader can from daggers to hammers.
Also of note is that Ezio has conceded to the congestion charge this time around and can ride his horse inside the city walls.
You'll be glad of it as well since Rome is apparently three times larger than Assassin's Creed II's biggest city. It doesn't look any less detailed, however, and we can imagine ourselves wreaking all kinds of havoc from atop our trusty steed in the more crowded areas.
Away from the main mission there are side-quests in the form of Borgia towers, which players can choose to infiltrate before killing the leader inside and burning the structure to the ground.
In true AC style, you'll always reach the top of these towers before setting them alight and getting to the bottom again with a graceful swan-dive, the flames licking at your rapidly descending heels.
And here's something we didn't expect to be revealed at all until you played the game yourself...
Ubisoft seem more than happy t talk about and show off the fact that there's going to be a pretty major face-off between Ezio and Cesare in Spain... 1507 to be precise. Look up the battle on Wikipedia if you want spoilers.
The rest is up to you now. Look at the screenshots, watch the trailer, watch it twice and watch it thrice. See if you can spot any little scraps of detail that we've missed.