Xbox 360
What a difference time makes. When the first trailer of Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed was unveiled in 2007, gamers the world over salivated at the prospect of an immersive, sprawling stealth epic the likes of which hadn't been seen since Hideo Kojima first graced us with Metal Gear Solid.
The final product was, unfortunately, not as groundbreaking as players had anticipated. While technically accomplished, the game often felt a bit like a broken record, with endless lines of repeated dialogue, cut and paste environments and soul-destroying mission repetition. While some publications were perhaps a bit too harsh on the game, there was no denying that this was the start of a great series and now all eyes are on the forthcoming sequel, slated for release this Christmas. While little has been seen, the game is already looking to make amends for the mistakes of the past.
This time around, Desmond hops back onto the Animus to delve into the past of his great ancestor Ezio Auditore Di Firenze; ruthless assassin and snappy dresser on a quest for revenge. Set during the Italian renaissance, our protagonist will cross paths with iconic historical figures such as artist and inventor Leonardo Di Vinci and painter Sandro Botticelli. Di Vinci in particular will play a pivotal role in the story as he creates some of Ezios gadgets that he'll be using to take down enemies and travel the games vast cities.
New gadgets means new tricks and the recent e3 convention gameplay trailer gave players a glimpse at what they can expect. The section shown sees Ezio sneaking his way through a festival, full of dancers and fireworks illuminating the starry sky. It all looks superb and seems miles away from the repeated locales of the original. Waiting for the hero at the top of a vast tower is a glider that Di Vinci has crafted to help you soar into a compound and take out your target.
Swooping across the city streets looks like a riot and Ezio can even dangle down and kick guards in the chops as he soars along Batman-style. Reaching the enemy compound, the footage shows Ezio sneaking up behind two guards and killing them with his dual wrist blades at the same time. It looks slick and effortless, resonating the kind of cool that seemed absent from the original game. He then leaps into a hay cart, only for a guard to notice and investigate. As he approaches the cart, Ezio leaps out, grabs his enemy, stabs him, then pulls him into the hay to conceal the body. It's very clever stuff, meaning that you really aren't safe hiding anywhere and this creates a sense of urgency and tension that any stealth game worth its salt should invoke in the player.
The trailer ends with Ezio taking out his target and the environment collapsing around him as he enters the backend of the Animus, allowing his victim a chance to utter his last few words. It looks very slick and miles away from its predecessor. Combat looks impressive too, as a pack of guards rush into the compound to take you down.
Enemies don't just come in sword flavour this time, with a reported 30+ weapons on offer to Ezio and his foes. The familiar counter attacks and contextual actions remain, but the whole thing just looks so much more organic, as opposed to the fragmented system used in the first chapter.
Guards also come in Militia, Elite and Leader classes, each with varying degrees of agility, strength and technique. For example, Elite class includes Brutes, Agile and Parano guards, each requiring a different approach to beat. Agiles are adept at traversing the landscape of the game and will hound Ezio across rooftops and up the sides of buildings with ease, requiring a degree of skill to shake off. Brutes on the other hand, are slower but devastating in combat, while Paranos have heightened awareness meaning they can see through your tricks and attempts to fool them.
In terms of scale, the game uses a similar layout to the original, with three main cities and the surrounding countryside to explore. Specifically, Ezio will be painting the streets of Venice, Florence and Tuscany a deep shade of claret while the freedom to swim expands the play area even further, with Venice in particular offering players a range of escape routes while being chased. You can now simply hop into the drink and swim off to lose guards or hold your breath under water to fool them.
Another welcome change is a day/night cycle that sees the sun soaked streets gradually become illuminated as the day goes on, seeing the horizon become littered by hundreds of window and street lights. It all looks very sharp and far removed from the muted colours and bleached visuals of Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus.
So that's the technical guff out of the way, what's actually going on? Desmond, still held prisoner by the Templars, is forced to dive into Ezio's past using the Animus and live out his days as a master assassin. The renaissance period is known as a time of great change, where the most powerful families in the world began to emerge with money and influence sought after by many. But why is Desmond reliving Ezio's past in particular? Excruciatingly, we'll just have to wait until the end of the year to find out.
One thing is for sure; it's clear that the developer has paid close attention to the criticisms aimed at the first instalment and if the latest gameplay trailer is anything to go by, it looks like all of the niggles and complaints have now been remedied. Then again, only time will tell if the new changes have turned Assassin's Creed into to the exemplary series it should have been from round one. We have every faith in Ubisoft Montreal based on what we've seen so far and as always, we'll have more info nearer the time.