The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Here's some more info... It says a new Multiplayer mode? Maybe a Play,Create & Share similar to what Infamous 2 did in their game creating missions? Wait and see if it's true or not, but I've been hearing rumors it's gonna have a create mode.

http://www.gametrailers.com/news/assassin-s-creed-revelations/3328

Create mode would be epic. Like a more serious but still fun LBP

That would certainly make the MP fresh, giving us new options for online play~

I've copy/paste the whole thing

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

- Ezio is looking for seals in Revelations. These seals hold the memories of Alair. They'll allow Ezio to peek into Altair's life (just as Desmond uses Animus to peek into his ancestors lives).
- You'll control Altair through these sequences.
- The bulk of the game is set in Constantinople which will be split into 4 huge districts (Constantin, Beyazid, Imperial and Galata)
- You'll also visit Cappadocia
- Ezio is over 50 years old in this game
- Ezio has a new item called the hookblade which allows him to use ziplines throughout the city. UBI says that it speeds up navigation by about 30%
- You can also use the hookblade to reach out and pull enemies in for a combo
- Ezio can now make bombs through a crafting system. UBI says that there are over 300 bomb types
- They've modified the control scheme so that circle/B will control the hookblade and triangle/Y will control project weapons and bombs
- Eagles vision has become eagle sense. "Eagle sense let's you focus on a character and see where he's been," Amancio says. "You'll get an approximation of where he will go. If you're able to detect the path a guard will take, you can run ahead, set a bomb, and create a trap or an ambush."
- They've expanded on the Borgia Towers concept in order to create a new system. Throughout the city there are Assassin's Den's, you'll need to complete various assault scenarios in order take down the Templar presence (UBI says that there's more variety than in the Borgia Towers). Once you obtain a den you'll be able to upgrade the buildings in that region along with adding ziplines across the rooftops. You'll also be able to change the guards from being hostile to neutral.
- You can lose control of you dens as you gain notoriety. You'll be able to send your own troops after the templars if you're unable to make it back to the specific den that's being attacked. You can do that by making it to any of the other dens that you currently control. You'll also be able to install a master assassin to control a specific den and you'll never have to worry about it being taken over.
- The assassin leveling mechanic has been increased from 10 to 15
- In order to make the world more immersive they've done away with traditional side missions in favor of random events. For example you may be traveling through a city and notice a shop owner being robbed or a little girl asking for help
- They're using a new type of capture facial technology called Mocam that GI describes as an "intriguing amalgamation of traditional animation, performance capture and the fascinating new style of performance on display in games like LA Noire."
- Desmond is placed back inside Animus where he finds a safe mode called the 'Black Room'. You'll be able to access Desmond's lost memories through that back door
- The gameplay during Desmond's game is described as narrative-fueled puzzle sequences. "Through the manipulation and creation of geometry with the game world, Desmond seeks to reintegrate the splintered layers of his subconscious."
- Multiplayer is returning but this time they're trying to give more focus to the narrative since that's a big part of AC
- You'll be able to custom your character appearance and weapons as well as create guilds.

This sounds like such a big improvement. I'm hoping the enemies are made tougher and the Assassin recruits are not as all powerful as before (no arrow storm, please). I'm excited that you can let Assassin's Dens get taken over to play them again, and since I've been following Guild Wars 2, I'm extremely happy about the random events. They'll make the city feel so much more alive than when you have to select them from a list in the pause menu to replay them. Sure, after 20 hours of having all other content complete, they'll get repetitive, but walking around a lifeless city feels even more repetitive.

I hope there are oportunities to use the hook blade during actual freerunning, it certainly seems so since it's been mapped to the catchback button. I'd bet the prioritization of bombs and increased customization means it's going to be difficult to clear entire rooms with conventional weaponry. As I'm said, hoping enemies are tougher. Hoping the Assassin recruits are given better customization and more uses, if they have to be there, I'd like to care about them. (by more uses I don't mean I want them to be overpowered in combat)

Desmond's being trapped in his subconscious thing sounds interesting, I hope they still show some present day assassins, like the ones who saved Desmond. Multiplayer being more customizable and focusing more on narrative sound good.

All in all, I can't wait, hope we see more of it soon, and have found in my scanning of the comments on these articles that I really, really, REALLY hate the words "Cash Cow" and "Milking". Ezio still has an interesting story to tell, plus we can get to find out more about what happened to Altair and what's happening to Desmond. And 2012, we can finally stab security officers before they pull their guns while wearing a white hoodie and jeans. Hopefully not in America. ; )

There are over how many bomb types? (It's hard to imagine what all those bombs could do besides blow up. Perhaps they'll have different effects?) And it's great that there seems to be simulated crime in the game, I sort of had an idea for that.

Some more new info! Warning! Spoilers ahead for those who didn't finish Brotherhood!

"First, this is not AC3, it's sort of an expansion like Brotherhood was. This game is supposed to clear up all the questions thusfar and bring a closing to the stories of "current characters".

The game takes place in Constantinople at the beginning of the 16th century. The city is ripe with Templar activity and they fiercely battle the Ottoman. The city is said to be bigger and more populated than Rome, and will be split up into 4 large districts.

You will once again be in the shoes of Ezio, who is now in his 50s. The game starts with Ezio going to Masyaf, the home of Altair in AC1, to look for information on Altair and the Creed. Ezio discovers that Masyaf has been overrun by Templars and after doing some investigating he learns of an extremely powerful artifact hidden inside of Masyaf. To get to it, he must find 5 ancient seals in order to gain access to it, however the Templars are also going after it.

Ezio will make new friends, such as Suleiman, Yusuf Azim who is also a master assassin, and Sofia Sorto who makes Ezio question what his life would be like if he had never had to become an assassin.

The Seals that Ezio seeks will also give you a glimpse of Altair's life and you will get a chance to play as Altair during these small sessions.

Ezio will of course have an all new arsenal, but two of the main things are the new Hookblade, which will be attached to the hidden blade and allow Ezio to climb faster, grab enemies, ride on zip lines, and be 150% more badass. It's basically just a small blade with a curved end.

The other new feature is Bomb Making. You will be able to craft over 300 different types of bombs from flash and smoke bombs to explosive and even bombs that drop caltrops to stop chasers.

Eagle vision will also be much more advanced, you will be able to see where somebody, for instance a guard, has recently been or soon will be so you can lay traps in advance.

Borgia Towers will return but will be much more advanced and offer more variety. Assassins will be more in-depth and you can even get missions from them as well as lose control of a "Den" you have previously taken over.

There will be random missions, such as a merchant being robbed or a woman being assaulted that you can choose to do something about or just leave alone.

The game is using Mocam which is the same technology being used by L.A. Noire

The cinematic camera is also being changed.

Desmond is in a coma from the end of Brotherhood, and the two assassins who find him put him back into an animus, as such he is basically trapped inside his own mind. Players will play as Desmond as he tries to reconstruct his mind and wake back up. Through doing this, players will also get a look into Desmond's past life. Desmond is basically looking for a "nexus" of where him, Ezio, and Altair all come together and why they do.

Finally, multiplayer will return but they promise it will be much better. Multiplayer will now be more story-driven to allow players to get a more in-depth view of the Templars and what they stand for. There is a new gamemode that will involve mutliplayer story quests. There will be more customization and more characters as well."

Ooh, looks at desmond's past life! Multiplayer story quests? Colour me excited!

it all sounds so awesome! the only thing I think they could mess up is the enemy retaking "dens". I remember a game that had something similar and they would take it every mintute

Well you can install an assassin master and he'll be able to stop all raids on any bases. The problem with the Borgia towers was once you're finished, they're done. I know for a fact that I WANT them to be retaken every two seconds, so I can do them again. I'll never install assassin masters.

I just got the GameInformer mag with AC: Revelation. I can't wait till november

#1, does it have any new screens?
#2, SCANS. NOW. OR EVEN PICTURES.

There was some interesting info posted here:

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5251069024/m/1801028429/p/12

Scans are up!
http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/1767773-post1.html

A quote:
"Game matchmaking should be faster than ever"
Considering Brotherhood's matchmaking, I wouldn't call that an achievement.

Looks like they're bringing back some of AC1's art style.

Very awesome, wasn't able to find anyone who sells Game Informer in my town so this is much appreciated~ x3

Also, I'm liking the new characters very much...! =D

This.

I've got some lithographies from Prince of Persia: TFS with a sketchy, watercolour finish:

The concept art in the scans really reminds me of these - the last one even bears a resemblance to Hagia Sophia. There's a real sense of nostalgia created by the Revelations images and I can only hope the actual game captures some of this.

Loads of interesting and exciting information in the article too! Also, The new Multiplayer characters are great, especially The Vanguard - why are the female characters always the best?!

One thing I'm worried about is the caption talking about how Ezio is at the height of his power. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, MAKE EVERY GUARD STRONGER. Combo chaining is all good and well, but SOME enemies need to not be completely killed by getting hit with a combo attack, and ALL enemies should be much better at breaking your chains.

One thing I would like, that would please everyone is to add a difficulty mode/difficulty modes.
You could easily fit a difficulty mode into this game, maybe AFTER you beat it once without knowing of such things, when you click New Game or whatever, Difficulty modes are unlocked.

You could make them just Assassin and Master Assassin, to choose from after beating the game one time.
Maybe make the second one difficult with restrictions on certain things.

Difficulty setting would solve the whole "no penalty to getting the guards on you" problem that has been there to some extent through the entire series. (Even AC 1 guards were not that tough. they just had the possiblity to be able to take you out if you weren't paying attention.)

This is a rhetorical question, right?

Yes, yes - a thousand times yes! Exactly.

Haha! Yes, Lisa, definitely rhetorical

Im sick of having to make my own restrictions in games like these to make it more challenging. This is because the first time through the game,which is always the best imo, is when I want to enjoy the game and experience most of its features, play it like the devs want you to. By the time I replay the game and put restrictions on I have already mastered most of the game and its too easy anyway. Its like replaying MGS self imposed restrictions, I already know where all the guards were.

Something really interesting MGS did, it had a mode called Infinity Missions. This was similar to VR, heres the difference. Each time you load up the mission, you spawn on a random map in a random spawn location. The goal you are supposed to travel to is random every time, and the guard patrols are random. You start with no weapons and must procure them on site. In other words, you cant beat the stage just by doing trial and error, and every time I sit down to play them its a different challenge! Seeing as AC takes features from MGS like VR, im hoping they can somehow do something similar, like you spawn in one location of a district and you gotta get to a certain building without killing any guards, or without being seen.

That kinda went off topic lol and we most likely wont see it in this game, maybe AC3?

I miss killing anyone and not desynching. it was the only reason i beat AC 1, but after i fell in love.. with the game and story...

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/13/ac-revelations...

Little bit about the story - spoilers for ACB.

Dang, you beat me to it...! xD

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/17/the-characters...

Article on the characters

No way! That character has a spear on his back! I knew this day would come.
http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/ubisoft/assassinscreed...

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/20/assassin-39-s-...

Raphael Lacoste is back as art director! Awesome news!

More info about the locations... :3
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/23/the-places-you...

not really anything new there.

I guess, I don't recall anything about the underground city talked about before though...
If so do point it out for me...

Cappadocia (underground Templar city) was mentioned in the original GameInformer article:

http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/1767773-post1.html

EDIT: The scans have been deleted but it is mentioned in the magazine.

Oh well, the link is still good for anyone who hasn't read the article... =/

BTW, you can find it article here Pat... =P
http://gamenyusu.com/component/content/article/8-all-news/452-assassins-...

Yeah its still good. It basically summarises everything that is in the magazine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClloTWxH7Lg

Teaser Trailer. Eff yeah.

Can't wait for June 6th, MUST SEE...!!! x3

The trailer is definitely CG, but with the new Mocam tech, will anything like this be achievable?

Mocam doesn't improve textures or anything, but it improves facial shapes and helps with lips and expression looking natural while talking. (or not) They also said they're using for the "mood" system, which changes character model's expressions during normal gameplay.

But anyway, the article said they're working on making their in-game cut-scenes even more dramatic and cinematic, and we know how much they updated the Brotherhood engine in a year.

I expect the game to look a little better. Looking back at AC2, I wonder how I never noticed that all of it's characters were oily-skinned and ugly. Bro hood's stuff was a leap up.

I think he was saying they used mocam for the trailer as well.

As for the trailer, can't wait to see more at E3 (game footage mainly but the trailer looks great).

Article on assassins dens:

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/27/the-assassin-t...

Also if you go to the main page there's a link where you can ask the devs a question for their next podcast.

*Desmond enters the Sanctuary under the Villa Auditore and walks up to Ezio's "ghost".*

Desmond: "He looks so...old. He must have come back way after the attack..."

Is this where Ezio finds the seals he uses to relive Altair's memories? Or is this where Revelations ends? It looked as though he was walking up to Altair's statue.

Also, maybe he used the Apple to create a new Armor of Altair (since it looks like he's wearing it in that scene). Either that, or Ubi didn't know how he'd look in Revelations.

He is definitely wearing the Armor. I figured maybe he finally recovered it from the rubble there.

They touched upon this in the podcast (go to the gameinformer site for the link to the 1 hour podcast about AC:R). Basically they said they don't know if they'll show that scene - or where it'll end up at - but they did mention something like they think it'll be touched upon.

Besides going back there to leave the clue for Desmond, not sure what else he might have done.

AGREED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But if they add the option to "uninstall" assassin masters, i would sometimes install them when i need to, and then when i don't need more i'll uninstall them. ;D
But if they don't add this option i'll NEVER install assassin masters.
Can't wait til november...

Indeed, i guess Ezio came before going to Constantinople, i think he went there to see if he could find any clue. AND THEN he go to Constantinople and Masyaf to find the rest of the seals or some clues.

For the comment you said about he used the Apple of Eden to create a new Armor of Altair. I disagree, i guess Ubi dressed Ezio with altair's armor because they didn't know what outfit ezio would use on revelations. ;D

*Also sorry for my bad english*