E3 2009 Preview
This is what you’ll hear
as you take Ezio, our new protagonist that is related to both Desmond and
Altair, and take him into the air with gliders that Leonardo Da Vinci has
provided. Well I take that back; they may not call you a bird or a plane, but
they definitely will scream out that Ezio is a flying demon. So what does this
do to our beloved Assassin’s Creed franchise? It’s going to make it soar!
Ubisoft Montreal is
readying to deliver the ultimate assassin experience as Ezio can do everything
that Altair could do, and much more. Ezio effortlessly transcends any building
or obstacle in his way and can execute any living thing in high fashion (if
murder is a fashion that is). The demonstration was placed in Venice as Ezio is
out to take down Carlo Grimalde – a man who is a threat to his family. As Ezio
walked among the crowd that was set before him, it was evident that they don’t
look as sharp or brilliant from far away, but the closer you get to them, the
better the NPCs look. In comparison to the Jerusalem setting to the new Venice
setting, the latter wins hands-on with its colorful presentation and lively
world that it presents. People are laughing and partying without a care in the
world for what’s going on as Ezio eliminates foes in plain sight.
Returning to
Assassin’s Creed 2 is the ability to ride horses. Not only did the
representative say that they are being improved, but she stated that this is the
definitive version that is improved in almost every area. Remember lying in a
haystack as a guard dumbly walked around trying to figure out where you went?
Well this time around, they’ll poke and prod the haystack in effort to find you.
This is where you are able to pull them into the haystack and swiftly kill them.
The combat has been fine
tuned as Ezio can grab weapons from a foes hand and use them to his advantage.
Grabbing a halberd from a soldier or an axe from a brute, the odds can swing in
a matter of seconds in your favor. If you’d rather eliminate your opposition by
more cunning ways, players can take Ezio and perform a variety of assassination
moves. One of the assassination moves involved Ezio stabbing two guards at the
same time with hidden knives from his sleeves. One thing that is for sure is
that the stealth kills this time around are much more involving and eye-popping.
Another addition to his weapon repertoire is the ability to use smoke capsules
to escape a chase.
Lastly, about the winged
glider, Ezio has a large amount scattered about the city to escape peril at any
chance. When gliding, Ezio must fly over steam that is emitted from boats or
houses to gain more altitude to continue flying. Along the way, archers and
soldiers will do anything they can to take you down from the air as they have
never seen anything fly in the air as such. There will be times where Ezio can
swoop down and drop kick enemies off their ledges to eliminate any threats for
his escape. This truly is going to be an entertaining feature that fans of the
original will learn to love and adore.
Assassin’s Creed 2
arrives on the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360 November 17.
