In Assassin's Creed II gamers will take on the role of Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who's been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy, in a quest for vengeance.
The press release promises a game set in an open world environment with more variety in missions,new gameplay elements, diverse weapons and character progression. The game has already been in development for more than two years by the original creative team behind the original title, Ubisoft says.
"Our creative team is working hard to top the experience of Assassin's Creed," said Patrice Desilets, creative director at Ubisoft. "We've made improvements to every aspect of the game. We've plunged ourselves into the stunning history of the Italian Renaissance so that we can offer fans a unique, varied and innovative Assassin's Creed experience."
Seems some people are getting early copies of this month's issue of Game Informer. You know. The issue that has a ton of details on Assassin's Creed 2.
Provided, of course, that this is all correct (we haven't seen the magazine ourselves), here's some of the stuff you can expect from the sequel to one of 2007's biggest games:
- Your range of weapons has been greatly increased, with new armaments including two swords, two "smaller blades", a mace, spear and an axe.
- No more silly drownings, as Altair can now swim.
- As expected, Da Vinci's workshop features in the game (it's set in 1476), and yes, you'll be gliding around on those wings of his.
- The game stars real characters of the time, including Machiavelli and Florence's powerful Medici family
- There are now "16 unique mission types". And, thankfully, no more pickpocket or eavesdropping ones.
- Tracking down hidden flags will now net you in-game rewards, rather than a simple sense of self-satisfaction.
Check out the trailer: