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Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's premise explained by developers in hoods
Are you wearing your hooded cloak and and trying your best to look inconspicuous? Good, then you're ready to watch the first developer diary for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. (That, or you just really want to be ready for your office's next Halloween costume contest.) In the video you'll find after the break, the game's key staffers provide a brief story primer and tease a pretty epic-sounding tale that begins immediately where Assassin's Creed 2 ended. They also discuss Brotherhood's recruitment system, which totally sounds like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's. Oh, and there are some live-action bits that look nowhere near as good as this. (And we bet your costume looks way better than theirs!)
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood collector's edition comes with jack (in-the-box)
We're sure Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will be jam-packed with surprises. "Boo! I just jumped out of some hay and killed you," "Sproing! I was on that rooftop and jumped down and killed you," and so on. But we're not at all surprised that the game is receiving the collector's edition treatment. Heck, perhaps one day the "standard editions" of games will become so rare, everything will go topsy turvy and they'll be the collector's editions! But we digress. So, here it is, the AC: Brotherhood collector's edition. Complete with a ... jack-in-the-box? Yep, no matter if you buy the $100 set at GameStop or some other games purveyor, the package will include a freaking creepy charming Assassin's Creed-ized take on the classic childrens' toy (GameStop has a harlequin, for extra creepiness, while everyone else has a plague mask-donning doctor). Also in the box (along with the just-talked-about box): two exclusive single-player maps (Aqueduct and Trajan Market), an art book, a "hard copy strategy map" of Rome (read: it's paper!), the game's soundtrack and a disc containing trailers, a making-of video and a preview of the AC: Brotherhood comic. The set will arrive day-and-date with the standard edition on November 16.%Gallery-99110%
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood beta leaping to PSN Sept. 13
You've only got a little bit over a month to get ready for the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer beta. Ubisoft has announced a start date of September 13 -- and remember, it's exclusive to PS3. The only way to get access to the beta in North America (for now, at least) is by pre-ordering the game at your local GameStop. There are apparently only a limited number of slots available in the beta, so tokens will be doled out to customers on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you already pre-ordered, you can bring your receipt to a GameStop starting on August 9 for entry. The beta entry process for those who live on, say, any other continent in the world is still unknown, but you can be sure that we've asked Ubisoft for more info.
Kill some time with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer footage
How is it possible to make a harlequin seem tough? The right combination of rock music, self-assured strutting, parkour, and stabbity, according to this trailer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's multiplayer mode. We thought it was odd that the Harlequin character featured so heavily in this video, since it's a GameStop pre-order exclusive -- and then the GameStop ad kicked in at the end. Oh. Promotional consideration aside, the trailer is a very stylish look at the game's multiplayer, which tasks players with spotting assassination targets (other players) in crowds and then successfully ending them using each character's unique abilities. There are also new character renders and a few new screens, which you can find by sneaking up on our gallery very quietly.%Gallery-98091%
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood producer envisions more multiplayer for franchise
While some still lament the addition of multiplayer to the Assassin's Creed franchise, it seems likely that the online features of Brotherhood will be revisited in future iterations of the series. Speaking to Videogamer, associate producer Jean-Francois Boivin addressed why fans are so opinionated on the subject. "I think there's this dichotomy in the gaming world, that ... people who are sold to single-player don't necessarily care about multiplayer," he explained. "The wink we give to that in our universe is that the single-player [game] is Assassins, and the multiplayer is The Templars. I think in the end we're giving a lot to the single-player, because we're giving a full single-player campaign - so they won't feel cheated with Brotherhood." Boivin hopes that the addition of a competitive angle to the Assassin's Creed universe will open up the series to a new audience, beyond fans of the single player experience. "Hardcore multiplayers might say 'I'm going to try this multiplayer. Hey, this universe is kind of cool! I might look into the single-player,'" he mused. But will we see multiplayer in Assassin's Creed 3 (or whatever the next title might be)? While not a confirmation, Boivin admitted that "there's a lot of room for expansion in that universe," and envisions "a multiplayer component being there for a long time." Presumably, that would mean about two years from now.
Assassin's Creed comic confirmed, likely set in Russia
As we deduced early last month, Assassin's Creed is getting the comic book treatment -- but based on the teaser video found after the break, the time period and setting will be pretty far removed from 15th-century Italy. Set to be fully revealed at next week's San Diego Comic-Con, the three-part mini-series by artists Cameron Stewart (Batman & Robin) and Karl Kerschl (The Flash) coming this fall will apparently take place in Imperial Russia and somehow involve the Tunguska Event of 1908, an explosion that is the source of some supernatural theories. The series is coming from Ubisoft Montreal's UbiWorkshop, which the publisher describes as being charged with "leveraging Ubisoft intellectual properties in entertainment mediums outside of video games, such as comic books." It's interesting to note that the first piece of Assassin's Creed related comic book artwork to emerge from UbiWorkshop (which has been replaced with this one, depicting a "steampunk samurai" Assassin) actually teased an Egyptian setting -- maybe we're due for mini-series, plural. If you're going to be attending SDCC, the "Assassin's Creed: Behind and Beyond the Brotherhood" panel (which will also feature Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood writer Jefferey Johalem) is on July 22 at 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. PDT, in room 7AB. No Templars allowed.
Assassin's Creed producer not surprised by Desilets' departure
On the eve of E3, Patrice Désilets, creative director of the Assassin's Creed franchise, unexpectedly left his position, just as Ubisoft prepared to woo the media with the first in-depth look at this November's Brotherhood sequel. Looking to quickly bury the distraction, Ubisoft called Désilets' departure a "creative break" and said that his work on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was "essentially done." While we still have yet to hear from Désilets himself, his close colleague, associate producer Jean-Francois Boivin, was not surprised by the creative director's leave. "I totally got where he was coming from because he's been talking about taking a break for a long time," Boivin told UK-based GamerZines. "In regards to Brotherhood, he did everything that he needed to do," Boivin assured, echoing Ubisoft's initial statement. "Patrice is a very public figure for the franchise, and he's very much the visionary for the Assassin's Creed license, but he's not the only visionary. It wasn't Patrice who did game design necessarily, and we have over two hundred very talented and creative people that work on the license." "We know what we're doing," Boivin insisted, addressing concerns that the series would be lost without Désilets, who had shepherded it for six years. "I'm not at all afraid of the future quality of Assassin's Creed games." Earlier this week, the producer was also not afraid to admit that the franchise could use a break after Brotherhood's release this fall. As for Désilets plans? "Right now he's watching the World Cup," Boivin said. (The World Cup ends following Sunday's final.) "Who knows what the future will hold for him."
One vote at Ubisoft for giving the Assassin's Creed franchise a year off
"I don't think there's going to be an Assassin's Creed in 2011," Ubisoft associate producer Jean-Francois Boivin told Eurogamer. "I think we're going to let it breathe a bit and really focus on bringing something new and exciting for the next time around." Since the release of Assassin's Creed 2, we've seen the release of three Assassin's Creed games, with two more on the way. Boivin seems justified in being concerned with franchise fatigue, even citing the case of music games like Guitar Hero, whose releases Activision has pledged to curtail. "Honestly, I think for the benefit of everybody – and business can come back and override everything I say because at the end of the day it's about selling games," Boivin said, "I believe that this license needs a breather. You can't plough a field every year. Once every three years – or once every something – you have to let it breathe." We think he's right about one thing -- that the corporate side of the company can override even the best creative decision to sell some games. Which is exactly what's going to happen in 2011.
Preview: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (single player)
Years have passed for legendary assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze since avenging the death of his family for Assassin's Creed 2. Relaxing in his villa in Monteriggioni after a romp between the sheets with a lady friend, Ezio is shaken out of a peaceful cuddle. An attack on the town is in full swing and -- after a cannonball crashes through his bedroom, crushing his armor -- Ezio rushes out to find waves of enemy forces at his doorstep. Outside his home, Ezio's uncle explains that his status in the region as a legendary assassin has split factions and incites a war between families. To counteract the mass-scale attack, Ezio pushes toward defensive cannon emplacements scattered on the wall of Monteriggioni. It isn't a scene that will end in the assassin's favor; rest assured that Monteriggioni will fall. This is the beginning and the basis for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. %Gallery-95487%
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood gets exclusive content and beta on PS3
Jack Tretton just announced during the Sony E3 press conference that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will not only receive exclusive content on the PS3, but will also receive exclusive access to the game's multiplayer beta. We're not sure what that content will feature, but if we were to wager a guess, we'd say "it includes more things you can stab."
