Want the skinny on this year’s hottest action adventure? We’ve chatted to Assassin’s Creed 2 game director Benoit Lambert. He’s the head honcho, the big cheese, the man who knows everything there is to know about The Creed.
Read on, and find out what to expect from the second installment of the time shifting adventure. New weapons, a 1000 page script and hidden levels. It’s all in there, as well as a peep at the possible future of the series. Read on for the details, direct from Lambert himself.
Setting the game during the Renaissance
We started work at Assassin’s Creed II in 2007, from January of that year, we knew it would be set in Italy during the Renaissance. It’s a great time period, a pivotal time. People were trying to express their feelings and it led to the French Revolution. It was unique time in European history. We had two historians working with us on the game and the detail is as exact as possible.
The next Assassin’s Creed game could be set at anytime
At the end of Assassin’s Creed, people thought it would be about Japan next and we talked about the Maya people. We’ve also discussed the French Revolution as a setting. The history of the world is amazing – look at China, Russia, North America. We really can expand Assassin’s Creed in any direction.
Read our Assassin’s Creed 2 first play report!
You’ll do lots of swimming in Assassin’s Creed II
We’ve been doing water in games for a long time but it’s always a challenge. I’m really pleased with what we’ve created. The animation is very strong. We have Venice and you can really enjoy moving through the beautiful water. You don’t have to deal with the smell though thankfully.
There’ll be more gameplay in the future this time
When you’re playing the game you’re Desmond in the future, playing the game through Ezio. In Assassin’s Creed, we did not offer much for Desmond to do. But there are mote things for him to do in this game as well as the 40 missions and secret passages Ezio has to deal with.
Introducing Etzio
Ezio and Altair are both assassins but their motivations are very different. Altair was not a very funny guy. He was dedicated to the cause. Ezio is completely different. He’s bourgeoisie and enjoying his life with his family. Something happens to him and he’ll have to find a way to avenge his family. He’s more human. He likes women and life. Or to put it simply – he’s Italian!
Assassin’s Creed 2: 5 new features we love!
It’s a richer, deeper game
We’ve worked a lot on the cinematics – there are 3 hours of cut scenes, 30 new characters and a 1000 page script. You follow Ezio through 30 years, you really can see the evolution of the character.
Fighting’s even more fun
You can still fight with a weapon or your fists but there are new ways of fighting. You can fight with your hidden blade, you can fight with your bare hands and be more efficient. You can disarm your enemies and use their weapons against them, you can now take hostages and make opponents wait. There are also various types of opponent – seekers who will hunt you down, agiles which are fast and will dodge your blows and counter-attack – they’re like flies – and brutes which can take a lot of damage but are pretty slow.
Assassin’s Creed 2 arrives 17th November
Look out for the hidden places
We’ve also added hidden linear maps which challenge players on free-running and test their skills. You don’t have to play them but you can choose to. It’s like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider. Play them and you learn more skills.
Why Assassin’s Creed II is a big step up
The Assassin’s Creed series is like an Aston Martin. It doesn’t have shiny things everywhere but the graphics are amazing and the story is very immersive. It is very refined. You can now buy weapons and clothing which adds a lot to the game play and the crowd is far more advanced – you can blend in with them and bribe them – use courtesans to distract guards and hire mercenaries to help you in fights. The challenges are constantly changing and your strategies have to as well.
