While Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood might appear to be simply a retread of all that was explored in Assassin’s Creed 2, from what we have seen it is way more than that. With an added multiplayer component and a continuation of the storyline from the second game, Brotherhood is very much the successor to Assassin’s Creed 2 just without having a number in its title. A new developer diary from the team at Ubisoft explains many aspects of the game including the major aspects of the story and a complete rundown of the multiplayer.

After having completed his quest for revenge, Ezio Auditore is now the number one target on the Templar’s most wanted list and new baddie Cesare Borgia will stop at nothing to eliminate the skilled assassin. Meanwhile, back in present day, Desmond Miles must use the Animus in order find the piece of Eden hidden within Ezio’s memories that just might be the key to preventing the templars of today from unleashing a destructive weapon.

In Brotherhood, the Animus serves two purposes, one new and one old. The obvious use is that the technology allows Desmond to traverse Ezio’s memories but in Brotherhood the Animus also serves as a virtual training ground that helps hone the player’s assassin skills. New to the game, these virtual training sequences will give add new life to the many modes of traversal present in the game.

Multiplayer in Brotherhood has taken on a unique form that emulates the formula seen in the main game but adds the intelligence of player-controlled characters to create a new challenge. Much like Ezio blends in with the crowd, players will work under anonymous guises in order to get as close to their target as possible before striking. Rather than playing as the white cloaked assassins of the main storyline, multiplayer gamers will inhabit several new identities that carry with them their own abilities, like increased speed, to diversify the selection. On top of that each character will be as customizable as Ezio himself with options to alter costume’s color and appearance. It’s so much better to assassinate in style.

Which element of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood has you more excited: the single player or the multiplayer? Where do you see the majority of your initial play time being devoted?

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood releases November 16th for the PS3 and Xbox 360 with a 2011 release date for the PC.

Source: CVG