News content from the official Ubisoft Assassin's Creed website.

News update 11/19 through 11/26/2010:

-Character information and insight-Jeff Yohalem, Scriptwriter:

We last saw Leonardo da Vinci in the Villa Auditore before Ezio left for Rome. Leonardo never stays unemployed for long, and this time he has found quite a powerful patron. You’ll have to play the game to see where he’s ended up. I think it will come as a surprise.

Leonardo has always been defined by two things: endless invention/delight with the world, and thriftiness. He keeps his money very close and hates to part with it.

I’ve heard comments from players who are surprised by our light-hearted treatment of Leonardo. The Leonardo illustrated by his self-portraits and the popular consciousness has always been so grave, when, in fact, he is described much more like our characterization in first-hand accounts from the day.

Leonardo is such a great character to write, because so little is known about his actual temperament. Scenes with him offer a great opportunity to surprise players and challenge their preconceived ideas of how a genius is supposed to behave.

In Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Desmond has begun to come into his own. When we first met him, he couldn’t have cared less about the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars, but by Assassin’s Creed 2 his friendship with Lucy has deepened. He decides to stand up for the Assassin cause. Escaping from Abstergo, Desmond joins the Assassins, learning the skills necessary to fight the Templars through the Bleeding Effect. By Brotherhood, he has become a real member of the team, not an outsider. His pessimism has gradually given way and you’re going to see scenes in which he drives the team forward.

If you explore all the optional content in 2012, you’ll see how Shaun, Rebecca and Lucy have become a sort of family for him. However, Desmond has always been slow to act, a skeptic. He’s not really in a position to take the lead yet. it’s going to take a major event to really force him to grab the reins.

I think players will be pleased with Desmond in Brotherhood. He really begins to have some fun and it’s contagious

New Enemies for a New Challenge – Alex Pedneault, Game Designer

In previous entries, we briefly mentioned some of the new enemy NPCs that were added to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. We’ll go over them in more detail today.

First, let’s go over how the archetypes were created. In Assassin’s Creed 2, we wanted enemy types that really challenged the player in each of the three game-play pillars: social stealth, fighting and free running. This is how we came up with the three basic archetypes: the Seeker, the Brute and the Agile. For example, the Seeker will challenge the player by searching hiding spots at all times, the Agile can follow and catch up to the player, and the Brute is, well, a Brute.

For Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood we kept these three enemy types but decided to give them specific fight abilities based on their appearance. The Seekers can now throw sand to blind you and use their long weapons to their advantage. The Agiles keep dodging to avoid most of your attacks. The Brutes can’t be countered or disarmed, and can use their heavy weapons to do slam attacks. Of course, we still have the Militia and the Leader, which are the "basic" fighters.

We then asked ourselves what we could add or improve upon for the archetypes so we looked at what was added in the game: improved horse navigation, crossbows and firearms, and the new Wolfmen lairs. We decided to create new archetypes that fit these new features:

• The Horsemen: These are the best horse riders in the Borgia armies. They are harder to take down from their mount. They will resist hijack attempts, and can receive more damage. In fights they will attack you while mounted. If you try to flee from them, they can use a crossbow to shoot bolts at you. You better have a good strategy when you meet them; they’re probably the ones you want to take down first.

• The Crossbowmen/Riflemen: They are the new "archers" in our game. They can now move and chase after you while shooting at you and can even join fights on the ground (but they tend to stay back). Don’t think you can trick them like the old AC2 archers, these guys will really investigate if they see you on roofs and change their position to get a better line of fire!

• The Wolfmen: These are enemies specifically created for the LGS(Linear game-play sequence) They are a mix between Militia and Archers. They can throw knives when they are pursuing you, but can also fight Ezio with daggers in melee combat. They move in a different way from other enemies, so reading their attack patterns is not as easy as it seems!

• The Swiss Guards: They are the ultimate archetypes. They challenge the player in all of the three Assassin’s Creed pillars (free running, social stealth and fighting). They run like Agiles, they can detect the Assassin on sight and they fight with a sword in one hand, and a matchlock gun in the other. To make matters worse, they can resist most of Ezio’s standard moves, such as counter-kills, disarms, and grabs. These guys are a real threat to Ezio and one of the reasons he now needs a Brotherhood to help him on his missions.

A new system that we introduced also allows us to modify groups of soldiers that patrol Rome based on the sequence the player is currently in. For example, if you go to a Borgia tower at the beginning of the game, you’ll see that Leaders and Militia guard it. If you go back to a later sequence in the game, you will see that Brutes and Leaders now guard the tower. That’s the way we raise the difficulty throughout the game. We’re confident these newcomers prove to be an interesting challenge!

Animus Project Update 1.0 DLC Available Next Month For Free

London, UK - November 24, 2010 – Ubisoft announced today that the Animus Project Update 1.0 downloadable content (DLC) for Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system will be available for download on December 14^th, 2010 on XBOX LIVE® and PlayStation®Network. The DLC will be made available for free.

The Animus Project Update 1.0 will include a brand-new game mode and brand new map for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Multiplayer. The game mode, Advanced Alliance, will make the original Alliance Mode with target identification and engagement more difficult than in original Alliance Mode, thus providing a more challenging experience for players. With three teams of two players each, Advanced Alliance is a tougher test for players and rewards teams that use stealth techniques to hunt their targets.

Located on a rocky tidal island of Normandy in France, the new map, Mont Saint-Michel, offers breathtaking scenery sure to enchant all. Its particular topography of narrow streets, high-perched bell tower and multi-leveled architecture is perfect for hunters and predators alike to surge from out of nowhere to execute their prey. To survive, recruits will need to use free-running and narrow roads to their advantage.

"We are very thrilled to be able to offer the first Multiplayer DLC for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood for absolutely free," said Sebastien Puel, executive producer, Ubisoft Montreal. "We wanted to say thank you to our fans for making Brotherhood such a huge success its opening week. We are very proud of the unique and innovative Multiplayer mode it offers, and hope the fans enjoy the new content."

All content from Wikipedia, made for the iPhone app "ACB Guide"

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a historical fantasy third person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, and is due for release on Microsoft Windows in Q1 2011. The game is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed II, with Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Desmond Miles returning as the main protagonists, and it takes place right after the conclusion of the previous game's story. It is the first game in the main series to feature a multiplayer mode.

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a third person action-adventure with main emphasis on sandbox style gameplay in an open world of Italy. Like the previous installments, the gameplay's core mechanics are based on parkour movements, crowd-blending stealth, assassinations and melee fighting system. The combat system will have several improvements and for the first time in the series, the game offers a multiplayer mode alongside 20+ hours of singleplayer gameplay.

The game introduces a brand-new management system: the player can recruit new members by destroying any of twelve "Borgia towers" around Rome where papal troops are stationed, then rescuing disgruntled citizens in their districts from harassing guards. The player as Ezio can then send them to assignments around Europe or call them for support during missions (if they are not already occupied). Tasking the novice Assassins is essential to make them gain experience, and the player will be able to customize their appearance, skills and weapon training by spending the skill points they've earned. Assassins can die on missions, from which they will not return. The player will master new gadgets, such as Leonardo da Vinci's parachute, which can be used when jumping from tall buildings. Along with poison darts, a faster acting poison, a crossbow, and the ability to hold and throw heavier weapons like axes.

The player will have to rebuild Rome, which has fallen into ruins due to the corrupt rule of the Templars over the Papal States and concentrating all the wealth in the Vatican. Just like the village of Monteriggioni in Assassin's Creed II, the player will be able to invest in the city to witness its evolution and unlock rewards. The player will have to conquer and destroy Borgia's towers to free city zones from the family's influence. Completing this unlocks new missions and opportunities. Rome is the biggest city ever created after the first two installments (Rome is three times bigger than Florence from Assassin's Creed II) and includes five varied districts: Vatican, Downtown, Tiber, Country and Antique. The players will be able to explore the entire city of Rome, visit a part of Naples, Spain and Monteriggioni.

The combat system has been upgraded to be faster and more dynamic. Striking first and offensive actions will be more deadly in Brotherhood than previous games where counter-attacks were the most efficient. This made the player wait until the AI strikes which slowed down the pace of fighting. The AI in this game is thus more aggressive and enemies can attack simultaneously. To dispatch them, Ezio can use melee and ranged weapons at the same time as well, introducing the hidden pistol in combat. It has been shown that Ezio can throw axes and spears toward his enemies. There are new enemy archetypes in addition to those seen in Assassin's Creed II such as horsemen, arquebusiers, papal guards and others.

Horses play a larger role in Brotherhood, not only used as a means of transport (inside the city for the first time), but as a component of acrobatic sequences and advanced combat as well, allowing ranged weapons to be used while riding them. Brotherhood also introduced various types of horse-related assassinations, featuring horse-to-horse assassinations. There will be environmental objects like the flower pot in Assassin's Creed II to move faster inside the city, as well as new objects such as merchandise lifts to quickly climb up high buildings or structures.

Multiplayer

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is the first game in the main series to feature multiplayer mode. It was heralded by many at E3 2010, where it was showcased for the first time. GameTrailers awarded it as the Best Multiplayer Game of the show. Multiplayer portion of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was generally well-received by critics.

The players are Templars in training at the Abstergo facility. They use the animi (plural for animus) seen at the beginning of Assassin's Creed II to access memories of Assassins and to acquire their skills using the "bleeding effect". There are four game modes and different maps, including the areas from the first and the second game like Florence, as well as new maps like Rome, Castel Gandolfo and Siena. The gameplay in multiplayer mode is similar to the core gameplay of the series, as players are required to use their assassination and stealth skills. Players earn points by completing each assassination without being detected and escaping after each kill. Breaking cover makes the player visible to other gamers and makes them easier to assassinate.

The multiplayer mode also includes a leveling system, which allows players to unlock rewards by earning experience points during the matches and gaining new levels. Players can then unlock abilities, perks and streaks. Abilities are active skills, which can be used again only after a cooldown time. Perks are passive skills, which can be equipped before the match and they are active all the time. Streaks are bonuses awarded for reaching certain number of successful or failed contracts.

The multiplayer beta, exclusive for PlayStation 3 users, was announced at E3 2010 . It began on 4 October 2010, with early access for Playstation Plus subscribers from 27 September, and ended on 18 October 2010. Three maps have been playable in the beta: Rome, Castel Gandolfo and Siena.

Game modes

In Wanted, up to eight players are dropped on a map of medium size where they must find and assassinate each other. However, the rule is not the one of a standard deathmatch but rather a cat-and-mouse game. Each player is given another player as a target. The goal is to find and kill a target without being seen or killed by the player's own predator. If the player breaks cover, the target will be warned and will run away, starting a chase sequence. The player with the highest score wins. Points will be removed for dying or killing NPCs, otherwise players would feel the need to kill everyone in sight. A player cannot interact with another player who is neither the target or the hunter of that player, but they can stun their hunter. This mode is very similar to the multiplayer mode of The Ship.

In Wanted, one player chooses a character and is assigned a target to kill. The other players must find and stop the assassin. This mode relies on use of NPC characters to make it more difficult as there can be several characters who look like the target in the same area, and any visual customizations on a player character will be shared by their NPC counterparts. Killing an innocent person cancels the assassination contract.

Advanced Wanted mode is a variant of Wanted mode. There's one difference: the player's radar does not specify the height of the target.

In Alliance, there are three teams, each limited to 2 players. Each team represents a character. The point of this mode is to get more points than the other team, but each team is chased by another and is only allowed to kill one specific team (not the team chasing them, but they will be able to stun the team hunting them). This mode encourages players to work together, as teammates can help each other or they can assassinate their target simultaneously.

In Manhunt there are two teams of four. One team is the hunters, the other is the hunted. Each team looks like a specific character and takes turns being the hunter and the hunted. Hunters obtain points by assassinations, while the hunted obtain points from escapes, stuns, and remaining incognito. The team with the highest score wins.

Characters

Players will be able to choose one of the available characters: Courtesan, Barber, Priest, Noble (Banker), Prowler (Hunter), Executioner, Doctor, Blacksmith, Soldier (Captain), Smuggler, Engineer (Merchant), Footpad,Thief, Hellequin (a female Harlequin, which is available through uPlay) and Mercenary. Two special characters were only available in the selected pre-order editions of the game: the Harlequin and the Officer. Each character has unique assassination moves and a signature weapon. Characters can be customized as the player levels up. These customization options include new accessories, costumes and gender changes.

Plot

The story is set in 2012. After escaping the Templars' attack at the end of Assassin's Creed 2, Desmond Miles and other modern-day Assassins go to Monteriggioni and set up a new hideout in ruined Villa Auditore. After restoring the electricity in old tunnels under the villa, the player once again takes control of Ezio Auditore through the genetic memory of Desmond Miles using the Animus 2.0 (which is the game's memory interface).

Ezio's story begins in 1499 as he exits the vault, still confused by what he saw inside. He escapes Rome with his uncle Mario Auditore and arrives at Monteriggioni. Soon after that, his city is besieged by Cesare Borgia, son of Rodrigo Borgia. Assassins are overpowered by this attack and the entire city is left in ruins. Mario dies in the attack and the Apple of Eden, the mysterious artifact of great power, is lost. Ezio escapes with his family and decides to travel to Rome, the center of the Templar Order in Italy. As a Master Assassin, Ezio will have to reestablish Assassin brotherhood in Rome and destroy the the Templars, as well as his new arch-nemesis, Cesare Borgia.

Following the deaths of Rodgrio, Cesare, and the generals of the Templars in Rome, Miles discovers that Ezio hid the Apple of Eden in another vault underneath the Collesium, in the ruins of the Temple of Juno. Finding the Apple, Desmond activates it, and is forced by the Apple and the instructions of one of the Ancestors to stab Lucy Stillman to "balance the scales." Desmond passes out as the credits roll, during which two men place Desmond back within the Animus.

Development

A new Assassin's Creed episode featuring multiplayer was announced during Ubisoft's 2009 fiscal third quarter results while not revealing its name. In early May 2010, a GameStop employee published on Internet some images of a pre-order box featuring the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood title while Ubisoft was teasing the game on Facebook and Twitter. Ubisoft then confirmed the authenticity of these pictures. Brotherhood has not been numbered unlike Assassin's Creed II because players, and even developers themselves would have expected a new setting and a new ancestor while this is only the continuation of Ezio's story.

While still in development, Creative Director Patrice Désilets left before the game's presentation at the E3 2010. Ubisoft and Production Manager Jean-Francois Boivin stated that he only took a "creative break" after completing his task on Brotherhood.

A teaser trailer of the multiplayer mode was released on the official site before the E3. A cinematic debut trailer was diffused during Ubisoft's E3 2010 press conference along a walkthrough of the game's beginning.

The game is being developed by five Ubisoft studios with Montreal as the lead, and four other developers: Annecy, Singapore, Bucharest and Québec City. The multiplayer mode is mainly developed by Ubisoft Annecy, the studio responsible for creating multiplayer mode in Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.[29][30] Ubisoft also announced plans for DLC after the game's launch, but its content hasn't been detailed yet. From the perspective of performance, Ubisoft have commented that they hope the gaps between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will be even smaller with Brotherhood.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has reached the gold status on October 28, 2010.[32]

Music

The music in the game was composed by Jesper Kyd, who created the scores to previous Assassin's Creed games. The soundtrack was released digitally on November 16, 2010. A physical release of the soundtrack on audio CD accompanied selected retail editions. However, the track-listing is altered from the digital release. The CD has 22 tracks in total.

Retail Editions

The are different special retail editions of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Different editions are available in different regions. There is also a certain number of pre-order bonuses, which may vary, depending on the retailer. Some retailers also offered the access to the multiplayer beta on the Sony Playstation 3 system as a pre-order bonus.

PlayStation 3 Version

All versions of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for PS3 feature exclusive free additional downloadable content called the Copernicus Conspiracy which will be accessible for download on PSN from November 16, 2010. Players will have access to several new missions featuring the famous Renaissance astronomer Copernicus. Extra content includes courier, assassination and protection missions - Ezio will be tasked with foiling the conspiracy against Copernicus and defending his philosophy.

Reception

Reception of the game has been very positive. It currently holds an aggregated score on Metacritic of 91 the Playstation 3 version and 90 for the Xbox 360 version respectively, both signifying "Universal Acclaim". Eurogamer praised the game, giving it a perfect 10/10 score. Game Informer gave the game a 9.25/10, commenting that the ability to raise a group of followers was a significant enhancement to the previous title's gameplay, and praising the new multiplayer mode as something never before seen. The magazine's review also gave very high marks to the graphics, sound effects and voice acting. Its lone criticisms were with the game's story, namely that it may be difficult for new players to approach and that it is complicated, carefully treading the "fine line between a good mystery and overly obscure nonsense."