Assassins Creed: Brotherhood Product Details

Released on 19/11/2010

• Assassin's Creed expands into a Brotherhood

  Fans of stealth-action will no doubt be rejoicing at the news that Ubisoft has confirmed a 2010 release for the latest game in one of its most popular franchises - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

  Described as an "episodic instalment" by Eurogamer, the title will introduce multiplayer modes to the series for the first time. Meanwhile, the solo campaign follows the exploits of returning hero Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as he continues to battle the Order of Templars. Having been given the title of Master Assassin, Ezio now has control over the Brotherhood of Assassins, with the action moving to Rome, setting of the last game's climax.

  Switching sides for the multiplayer, you'll be helping out the Templars on behalf of the mysterious - and probably evil - Abstergo Industries. Expect multiple character types, and a variety of ways to take out your prey - Ubisoft has revealed several weapons including an axe, a fan, a syringe, a dagger and a hooked metal claw. Further details are thin on the ground at the moment, but expect more news at E3 in June and throughout the rest of the year.

  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in late 2010.

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood to get multiplayer beta

  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood to get multiplayer beta

  What with Halo: Reach and Blur, multiplayer betas are the new demos, aren't they? Good news for any history fans: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the next game in Ubisoft's staggeringly successful time-hopping stab-'em-up series, will be getting a multiplayer beta before its autumn release.

  Ubisoft confirmed the news in the firm's fiscal year financial call (thanks VG247). They also added that Assassin's Creed II has gone on to sell a whopping nine million copies.

  There are no details yet as to how the multiplayer component of Brotherhood will work - it's a first for the traditionally single-player series, after all, but the thought of being let loose over a huge, vertical stretch of city with other human players to track down is too good to ignore. Ubisoft has also yet to reveal how players would gain access to the beta, or how long it will run for. Hopefully, we should be learning more on the subject at E3, which kicks off in just under a month in LA.

  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was formally announced last week, and is scheduled to hit shelves later this year. Very little is known about the game at the moment, except that it will continue Ezio's story from Assassin's Creed II. It will be available for the PS3, 360 and PC.
  

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Preview

  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

  There was a two year gap between the first Assassin's Creed and its vastly improved 2009 sequel. For the next game in the series that gap has shrunk to just one year - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood arrives on November 16th of this year. With such a compressed turnaround, you'd be forgiven for worrying that Brotherhood was going to be little more than a hastily thrown together compilation of leftovers, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

  With joypad in hand, it's obvious that Brotherhood contains almost as many changes and improvements as Ubisoft's Montreal studio squeezed in between the first two games. This is an organic evolution of a fascinating story, rather than lazy cash in.
  

  
  Our protagonist is once again that charismatic rogue, Ezio Auditore. Now firmly established as a master assassin following the events of the second game, Brotherhood opens by yanking the rug out from under our hero. Having bloodied their noses, the Templars get their revenge by descending on Ezio's family fortress and demolishing everything you worked so hard to build up. From the ashes, it's up to you to restore the Assassin's order to its former glory.

  It's here that the Brotherhood aspect comes into play. As you travel through the game, set almost entirely in 16th Century Rome, you'll meet prospective assassins. Perform helpful tasks for them, and they can be recruited into your order. RPG flavours start to creep into the broth at this point, as you can send your trainees to undertake tasks and assignments of varying difficulty. If they do well, they'll level up and become better assassins. If they fail, because you gave them a mission they weren't ready for, then they'll meet a sticky end and you'll lose a potentially useful ally.

  The stronger your brotherhood, the more options you'll have during your own missions. No longer a lone operative, the game lets you call on your fellow assassins to help out with tricky objectives. Having trouble sneaking past a phalanx of rooftop guards? Ezio just whistles and his loyal brethren slink out of the shadows and despatch your foes, enabling you to concentrate on your target.

  That alone would make Brotherhood sufficiently different from its predecessors to make it a worthwhile follow-up, but the improvements keep on coming. While horses were a convenient mode of transport in the last game, they're far more integrated into the action here. No longer forbidden to enter cities, you can gallop down busy streets to pursue people or escape from guards. Mounted combat is also more interesting, with the solitary saddle-bound slash augmented with a variety of aggressive horseback abilities.
  

  
  In fact, combat in general is much improved - an especially pleasing development given that the swordplay was perhaps the one element that still felt less than satisfying in the first sequel. Ezio on the defensive, his fighting style becomes, by necessity, more about the offensive. Now much more than just a block-and-strike minigame, enemies will no longer patiently wait their turn to attack, putting the emphasis on fast decisive early strikes rather than well-timed parries. Get in there, run 'em through and move on to the next. No mercy. There are also more environmental attacks that you can make use of, including cannon emplacements for scattering incoming foes.

  And as if all that wasn't enough, Brotherhood also introduces multiplayer to the series for the first time. The details of this are being kept secret for now, but those lucky enough to have sampled the thrills of online parkour-based assassination have emerged from Ezio's brave new world raving about the possibilities.

  With a virtual Rome three times the size of the previous game's sprawling Florence, and a far more muscular framework to build the clambering and stabbing around, it seems that this is one series that continues to get better and better.

• Raiden to appear in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

  Raiden to appear in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

  The Konami-Ubisoft love-in continues. After the surprise appearance of Assassin's Creed's Altair in Metal Gear Solid 4, Ubisoft has returned the favour by paying tribute to sword-wielding cyborg ninja Raiden, including him in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

  Raiden, the star of the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid: Rising, appears as an unlockable character skin in Ubisoft's stealth-and-swords spin-off as a reward for completing a virtual training mode in the Animus. There's no news yet on whether we can expect to see Brotherhood protagonist Ezio make a cameo in Rising, but given the obvious mutual appreciation between the developers of both franchises, we wouldn't bet against it.

  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is set to arrive in just a fortnight and is already looking the business, with a full-length single-player campaign bolstered by a number of multiplayer modes which see players stalk each other through the streets and across the rooftops of the game's 15th century Rome setting. It's hitting Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 19th with a PC version to follow early next year.

  You'll also have to wait until 2011 for Metal Gear Solid: Rising, which will launch across the same three formats at some point in the next 12 months.
  

• Gamescom 2010: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood to be roughly 15 hours long

  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was on show at Gamescom and drawing huge crowds and little wonder, considering the enormous popularity of last year's Assassin's Creed II.

  Brotherhood is a direct follow-up to Creed II, seeing players once again taking charge of every writer's worst nightmare Ezio Auditore Di Firenze (try saying that after a few shandies), and the demo went down a storm with gamers on the show floor.

  It starts with Ezio in bed with his lovely lady wife in the villa built up throughout ACII; only to be disturbed by a cannon ball shooting through his wall. Leaping through the big hole in the wall, players assume control and run across the besieged battlements, using a cannon to take out the enemy towers which have drawn up and are laying siege to the citadel.
  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

  Next it's all fast horsemanship, dynamic platforming and improved hand-to-hand combat, with Ezio leaping onto a horse, then switching to vaulting across rooftops to take out the guard captains. The enemy AI is notably enhanced here from Assassin's Creed II, with guards able to stab Ezio in the back as he performs blood-letting finishing moves on their comrades.

  Sadly, Ezio makes it across the township just in time to see his uncle Mario killed in cold blood; which is the catalyst for a fast-forward to his revenge mission set in Rome a few years later, and the main quest of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

  Rumours from the show abound that Brotherhood will be 15 hours long, making it around the same size as Assassin's Creed II. That's impressive, especially considering they've had just a year to make it.

• Assassin's Creed 3 takes shape

  Assassin's Creed 3 takes shape

  We've only just started to scratch the surface of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood here at Gamestation - Ubisoft's latest open-world parkour classic is available for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 - and with multiplayer and the new assassins' guild recruits to manage, the game's going to keep us busy for quite a while. Not so the development team, however, who have announced a sequel will be hitting shelves around the world in 2011 - and a recent survey offers a few insights into what we might be getting.

  According to Eurogamer, the survey, conducted by Global Market Insite, asks gamers what they'd like to see in the next Assassin's Creed game, and some of the options include enhanced Eagle Vision, allowing players to see patrol paths of guards and detect when enemies are lying during interpretations, a new bomb mechanic, allowing players to use smoke bombs and flash-bangs to get out of tricky spots, and a full-blown co-op mode.

  Two questions also dig at whether players fancy a new lead character and time period, or whether they want to stick with Ezio in a game set outside of Italy.

  Exciting stuff! We'll keep you posted on how the development of the Assassin's Creed series shapes up. Meanwhile, back to Brotherhood!

• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood heads BAFTA list

  It's more good news for Assassin's Creed fans after yesterday's revelation of a May announcement of the next game in the popular franchise. BAFTA has released its list of nominations for this year's videogame awards, and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has received the most nods of any game, featuring in a total of seven categories.

  
  It seems the members of the BAFTA panel were big fans of Ezio's latest adventure, as it scooped nominations for Action, Artistic Achievement, Gameplay, Multiplayer, Technical Innovation, Use of Audio, and the biggie: Best Game.

  
  In the latter category, Ubisoft's game faces some stiff competition from FIFA 11, Heavy Rain, LIMBO, Mass Effect 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Call of Duty: Black Ops missed out in that category, but was nominated in six others. Mass Effect 2 also had six nods in total, with Sony's gritty thriller Heavy Rain picking up five, while Super Mario Galaxy 2 and indie darling LIMBO both got four. Surprisingly, Halo: Reach only featured in two categories: Multiplayer and Technical Innovation.

  
  Meanwhile, the mass-market success of Microsoft's Kinect ensured a strong showing in the the Family category, with nods for Dance Central, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports and Kinectimals. Flying the flag for more traditional control are LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and the terrific Toy Story 3.

  
  The winners will be announced at a ceremony on March 16, which will be streamed live on the BAFTA website.

• Christmas Round-Up - 24th December 2010

  Was there ever any doubt that Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Black Ops would be this year's Christmas number one? Especially considering it's the sequel to last years Xmas best seller, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2...

  Well actually, for a few weeks, there was - because this year has seen the release of some real gaming crackers! Want to know which ones are the stars this Christmas? Here's the full top 10 - and not a turkey in sight...

   

  1. Call of Duty: Black Ops is an awe-inspiring package, featuring a single-player campaign packed with stunning set-pieces at every new corner. The intriguing plot masterfully strings together the globe trotting missions, each of which will blow you away. As if that wasn't enough it also features a refined multiplayer with unbeatable value.

   

  2. FIFA 11 is the definitive football video game experience. Just when we thought EA couldn't improve on FIFA 10 they introduce new nuanced animations and intricate touches of realism to a game that is already a visual marvel. The mechanics in FIFA 11 have received small tweaks that go a long way in providing added depth to the game, there are countless ways to score a goal and thanks to the introduction of playable goalkeepers, just as many ways to save a few.

   

  3. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is a blisteringlyfast, endlessly fun, finely polished arcade racing game with no equal. Hot Pursuit has a racing model that feels weighty but still loose enough to provide that unique arcade feel. However, where it truly shines is in its online component. The Need for Speed Autolog is a fresh and effective take on online community that keeps racers coming back; hoping beat a few friends and perhaps make a few enemies.

   

  4. Just Dance 2 builds on the winning formula from the first game. The simple controls and fantastic selection of music make is easy for everyone to get involved, making it the social game of choice in households around the world this Christmas. Just Dance 2 comes packed with new gameplay modes such as duet mode, co-op and competitive play, making it the ideal Wii dance game.

   

  5. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is the definitive open-world action game, Ubisoft's third console Assassin's Creed game has enough new content to take out the competition this Christmas. Picking up moments after the events of AC2, Brotherhood sees you take control of Ezio once again, and features a huge variety of side-quests, an intuitive new combat mechanic, sublime platforming and a fantastic new multiplayer mode that is unlike any other game on the market.

   

  6. Gran Turismo 5 sees the return of Sony's legendary simulation racing series to the most powerful video game console on the market, and it doesn't disappoint. GT5 builds on the success of the series by sticking close to the tried and true formula. However, the amount of content in the latest game is through the roof. With over one thousand cars available to drive, dozens of racetracks, special events and online multiplayer Gran Turismo 5 is one of the most feature-packed racing games of the year.

   

  7. Donkey Kong Country Returns is not only a worthy successor to the classic Donkey Kong platforming franchise, but also one worthy of the Nintendo seal of quality. Donkey Kong Country Returns is overflowing with impressively creative and imaginative worlds that constantly provide new and inventive gameplay experiences that demand the kind of quick reflexes and platforming precision that are a trademark of Nintendo platformers. If you thought New Super Mario Bros. was fun, wait until you play this.

   

  8. Medal of Honor faced danger head on by attempting to break into a market dominated by Call of Duty, and manages to do a good job of carving out its own fanbase. The game has tight shooting mechanics, takes place in an unusual but interesting setting and features characters that have unique personalities. Medal of Honor delivers in the multiplayer department too, since it's developed by DICE, the guys behind Battlefield: Bad Company 2, it's not one you can afford to miss.

   

  9. Wii Fit Plus encourages players to maintain a healthy lifestyle through regular exercise. The game makes getting fit fun by providing a variety of exercises with set goals for the player to achieve using its innovative balance board. With over 15 new balance games, six new strength training and a number of yoga activities you'll not only get fit but you'll also have fun doing it.

   

  10. Professor Layton and the Lost Future is easily one of the best games in the popular puzzle series. It wastes no time in getting to the good bits and immediately throws a series of creative puzzles at the player. Make no mistake, this game will require you to get your brain into gear but that won't take much convincing since the puzzles are masterfully woven into an intriguing time-travelling adventure that you'll want to see to the end.

  Published: 24/12/2010

• Do you have what it takes to write the book on Assassin's Creed?

  CVG has spotted a post on Ubisoft UbiWorkshop site that should be pretty interesting for fans of the Assassin Creed series. It a call to arms for any knowledgeable super-players to help with the construction of an Assassin's Creed Encyclopaedia.

  Here what it says: "As the more faithful among you know by now, we are working on an Assassin's Creed encyclopaedia (well my human colleagues are, I mostly make sure they do it right).

  "A huge task by all means," admits the poster. "So, we need somebody to help them advance the project. Make no mistake, this is a job offer, not some petty human crowdsourcing trick."

  The post goes on to explain that applicants should have "excellent English writing skills", and "an accurate knowledge of the Assassin's Creed universe". Also, they don need to have any past experience. Equally, while it would be ideal if the candidate lived near Montreal, they could work from home.

  If youe interested, send an email to volt@ubisoft.com, along with encyclopaedia entries concerning either a main or secondary character from the series, the Animus or a historical event the series has covered. Best of luck!

• Ubisoft eyeing up the movie biz?

  It made some seriously cinematic games over the years, but now the French publisher Ubisoft is taking the plunge and opening up a movie division with the ultimate aim of creating films and TV shows based around its video games.

  That according to the Hollywood newspaper Variety, anyway thanks for the spot, Eurogamer who announced last week that Ubisoft Motion Pictures is being formed, headed by Jean-Julien Baronnet, who already worked with famous directors like Luc Besson, the man behind Leon and The Fifth Element.

  It early days, so wee not sure yet which Ubisoft games will be getting the big screen treatment, but Ubisoft already been sending out questionnaires asking gamers if they want to go to the cinema to see movies based on Ghost Recon or Assassin Creed.

  We reckon that Ezio Auditore renaissance adventures would be particularly well-suited for a life on the silver screen: Assassin Creed has action, adventure, and a weird sci-fi twist that should ensure blockbuster dominance.

  As Eurogamer points out, though, Ubisoft already had a bit of a run-up at Hollywood, in the form of last year Prince of Persia movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. What did you make of that one?

• Assassin Creed Revelations announced

  Ubisoft has just won a place in our hearts that it will hold for the rest of time. According to Eurogamer, the French publisher just announced Assassin Creed Revelations, the latest chapter in its brilliant action series, and it sounds like a belter.

  The game heading for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this November, and it will apparently be the final chapter in Ezio story. The star of Assassin Creed II and Assassin Creed: Brotherhood will be heading to a new city, Constantinople, to stab people up in the Ottoman Empire.

  Templars are making trouble again, but there will be new gameplay tweaks, too: youl be able to manipulate memories to decipher mysteries and get a glimpse of the future, and the multiplayer content has apparently been refined and expanded, with the addition of new maps, characters, and modes.

  "Delivering the final chapter of the Ezio trilogy is an important milestone in the Assassin's Creed franchise for us and for our fans," said creative director Alexandre Amancio. "Assassin's Creed Revelations includes lots of new features and some significant surprises. We can't wait to show our fans what we have in store at E3 this year."

• Ubisoft lifts the lid on Assassin Creed: Revelations

  Last week we got to hear about Assassin Creed: Revelations, the latest instalment in Ubisoft brilliant sci-fi action adventure series that will hit the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this November. Now, wee getting some real info on what we can expect from the title.

  According to the latest issue of Game Informer thanks for the spot, Eurogamer Revelations sees you back in the shoes of Ezio Auditore, who now well over 50 years old. Ezio on a quest to locate seals that hold memories of his ancestor Altair, and when the player tracks any of these down, they'll be able to play through some special Altair sequences.

  Elsewhere, Constantinople provides the setting, with four different districts to adventure across. Youl also be heading out into Central Turkey at times. In terms of new gadgets, youl get a hookblade that allows you to zipline around as well as mess up baddies, and there will be over 300 different bomb variations for you to craft. Eagle Vision, meanwhile, has become Eagle Sense, which lets you see the paths patrolling guards will take, so you can work around them.

  Wee already super excited about this one, but it safe to assume we'll hear more at E3. We'll keep you posted.
  

• Soulcalibur V - Preview

  Stage of History

  It's no big secret that fighting games have returned to the forefront in recent years. While it once seemed as though the genre was destined to remain a curio of a bygone era, the release of Street Fighter IV resulted in an inundation of outstanding new games like BlazBlue and Dissidia: Final Fantasy, as well as retro revivals like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Mortal Kombat. But if all these fighting game characters were to feature in a massive battle royale - where Ryu could dragon-punch Sub-Zero in the face, and Paul Phoenix could compare hairstyling tips with Cloud - who would be left standing?

  For our money, it would be a character from Namco's long running Soulcalibur series, and while tiger uppercuts and torpedo dives do respectable damage, nothing says you're dead quite like being hit in the face with a demonic soul-rending claymore. This is the premise by which Soulcalibur has always lived, and while other fighting games prefer to go hand-to-hand with the odd fireball thrown in for good measure, the Calibur dress code states that "if you can carry it, then you can wield it". And for the imminent release of Soulcalibur V, a whole new generation is waiting to test their mettle.

  Soul Searching

  Upon entering the new select screen for the first time, Soulcalibur veterans will recognise the familiar faces of wandering samurai Mitsurugi, the ever buxom Ivy, and an "Elvis lookalike wielding a pair of nunchuks" in the form of Maxi. All of these characters retain their classic hack-and-slash moves in addition to some subtle changes. But while the allure of the familiar will be hard for some to resist, the more spontaneous among us will want to sample one of the new characters, such as Taki's ninja apprentice, Kilik's gluttonous successor, and Sophita's twin children Patroklos and Pyrrha who were separated at the age of three.

  Rather than two halves of a locket or a matching pair of rings, the twins inherited their mother's sword and shield collection - which they weave through the air in a similarly distinctive style. But in terms of characters that use a completely different fighting force Soulcalibur V introduces a fortune teller named Viola who fights with a combination of finger-blades and a hovering crystal ball, as well as the mystical Z.W.E.I. who can summon his wolf spirit E.I.N. while wielding his tri-handled sword. And for Assassin's Creed fans, there's even the opportunity to build some hidden blade combos with the cloaked Ezio Auditore.

  High Calibur

  The improvements don't stop at the select screen either, and with a number of underlying system changes that are designed to make the game more balanced and competitive, this feels like the most refined Calibur yet. The most obvious addition is the new Critical Gauge that opens up a trio of advanced techniques as you both receive and deal damage. This includes Critical Edge super-moves that have Siegfried impaling his opponent on a row of jagged icicles, in addition to the flexible Brave Edge specials that dramatically expand your combo creation options.

  Defensive players also have access to a revised Guard Impact that now takes a fraction of your Critical Gauge to perform, but as a trade-off, it can be used as a catch-all for high and low attacks. These new manoeuvres are rounded off with a new Just Guard that works similarly to the parry system from Street Fighter III, and a new Quick Step that lets you dodge and counter any predictable strikes with relative ease. And while this mechanical analysis may fly over the heads of fighting game virgins, suffice to say that Soulcalibur remains one of the most accessible fighters out there.

  Ivy League

  This focus on accessibility even stretches to the available game modes, and while our preview time was mostly limited to Arcade and Versus, we did get to sample some of the other single-player features. This included a Story mode that stars Patroklos as he searches for his lost sister and the fabled swords, a Quick Battle mode that lets you fight against a huge list of AI opponents while collecting over 400 titles, a Legendary Souls mode that houses some very tough battles, and a deep character Creation mode that lets you alter the fabric of any item of clothing.

  But funky hats aside, our lasting impression of Soulcalibur V was that despite some welcome tweaks to the fighting formula and an expanded lineage of characters, it's still the same game we know and love. It's just now there's more layers of depth for those who want to put the hours into the training room and a more comprehensive mix of modes for casual players who just want a fun fighting game with impressive visuals. That's what we expect the full game to deliver, and that's why February 3rd can't come soon enough.

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