If you’ve played through the Assassin’s Creed games, it’s obvious that a lot of thought went into the world of Assassins vs Templars – especially if you’ve unlocked every last thing in ACII. The writers on the franchise spoke about the process of creating the storyline – “exploring the cracks in history,” as they put it – at their San Diego Comic-Con panel Nothing is True, Everything is Forbidden – writing for Assassin’s Creed. But first – feast your eyes on the new multiplayer trailer.
Lead Writer Jeffrey Yohalem revealed more about AC: Brotherhood’s structure: it’s going to chronicle the struggle that leads to true leadership, based around the principles of Machiavelli’s The Prince. It takes more than just charisma to be a leader, but you’ve got to make a lot of right decisions before people put their life in your hands. In AC: Brotherhood, we’ll see how the returning Ezio will exemplify those qualities in the continuing struggles of the Assassins vs the Templars. Expect almost everyone that you met in ACII (but didn’t kill, natch) to return, albeit through deepened relationships. Characters that seemed merely helpful or 1-dimensional in ACII will reveal themselves to be more complex now.
The writers stressed that it’s important that everything fits into the story of Assassin’s Creed. Even the game’s menus are part of the Animus machine that Desmond channels the past in. Multiplayer mode is no different: “Abstergo has been busy,” said Yohalem. Remember that room filled with Animi (Animuses?) during the escape scene at the beginning of ACII? That’s the Templar-controlled company’s training ground for new, counter-assassins. They’ve been uploading the skills that actual Assassins like Desmond have been unlocking into their most adept pupils, and their training simulation is our multiplayer.
However it fits into the story, it looks like a good time. I’ve heard it described as a modern videogame take on hide-and-seek, and that seems accurate. But with more stabbing. Oh, and two new characters were revealed: a Blacksmith and a Soldier, and based on the Q&A that followed the panel, there’ll likely be more revealed between now and the game’s November release.
Some more highlights from the fan Q and A section:
Q: Will there be more Desmond gameplay in ACB?
A: Yes, it’ll take a very unexpected turn. Things will change quite a bit in the present day. He’ll also be changing his look.
Q: Will there ever be any female assassins?
A: Yes, wait for November.
Q: Will we learn more about the ancient assassins from that room where you place the seals you collect in ACII?
A: Yes. Everything that we have started will resolve… Eventually.
Q: How many multiplayer characters total?
A: A lot. (but not Ezio or Altair, as that wouldn’t make sense in the scope of the story)
Q: Any plans for DLC?
A: Yes, there are plans in the works.
Oh, one last thing. That Russian/red star Assassins logo that popped up a week or 2 ago was not a hint that the next Assassin’s Creed game would take you to Russia. It’s actually a new comic book based on the Tunguska explosion hinted at in ACII.
