With Assassin's Creed 2 set to be one of the highlights of E3, Faceoffgames takes a more in-depth look at the game.

Could you introduce yourself and explain your role in the project?

My name is Sébastien Puel. I am the Producer on Assassin’s Creed 2. My role is to manage the production team and to ship the best game possible.

On which platforms will Assassin’s Creed 2 be available?

Assassin’s Creed 2 will be available on PS3, X360 and PC during Holiday 2009 . I am in charge of the PC, X360 and PS3 versions.

We are also developing a developing a separate game on the PSP that expends the Assassin’s Creed Story, due at the same time.

Who is in charge of the development?

Core development on the PS3, X360 and PC versions of the game is handled by Ubisoft Montreal.

We also have smaller teams working on specific parts of the game in other Ubisoft studios to help us deliver the scope and quality we are looking for

How is Assassin’s Creed 1 linked with Assassin’s Creed 2?

Assassin’s Creed 2 is the sequel to Assassin’s Creed. The events in the present start right where the first game left off but the Animus will plunge you into a very different & fresh historical period. Overall we are building on the strengths on the first episode, its unique sense of freedom and immersion and adding a lot more depth, variety and scope to the core gameplay.

Storywise, Ezio is a descendant of Altair and the connection between the two games will be revealed through an encoded book very much like the one Leonardo Da Vinci is famous for writing.

What new things can we expect in Assassin’s Creed 2 that distinguishes the experience from the original?

What we do in Assassin’s Creed 2 is quite simple: take the best of Assassin’s Creed and bring it to the next level! Assassin’s Creed was an astonishing experience; I believe it brought entirely new elements to the industry: allowing players to fluidly navigate an urban environment while enjoying breathtaking views and full freedom of control. And beyond gameplay innovations in the area of free-running and crowd, the team also pushed for innovation in storytelling. Assassin’s Creed was the first game to immerse players in a believable and mature experience inspired by historical events. Of course we will keep and improve on all those elements with even more gorgeous city landscapes, more animations, a new and even more exciting historical setting, more ways to interact with the crowd … But our main focus is to bring diversity and depth to the gameplay: more variety in missions and objectives, more weapons, more diverse assassinations and a deep character progression.

What is the storyline of the game?

Once again, Desmond will be exploring his DNA to relive an ancestor’s life, however this time with a very different goal and it’s a very different kind of ancestor. Ezio Auditore Da Firenze; a nobleman who lived at the end of the 15th Century in Italy is our new hero. His family is betrayed and murdered by the ruling families of Italy, and Ezio must uncover the arts of his ancestors in order to avenge their death. To his allies, he will become a force for change - fighting for freedom and justice. To his enemies, he will become a boogey man – dedicated to the destruction of the tyrants of Italy. Through Ezio’s quest for vengeance, Desmond and the present day Assassins will uncover the crucial piece of the conspiracy that was hinted at in the first Assassin’s Creed game. The Templar/Abstergo plot is bigger than could have been imagined with consequences reaching to every detail of modern life as we know it.

Why did you choose the Italian Renaissance as the next setting for Assassin’s Creed?

When we created the Assassin’s Creed franchise, we knew we wanted to talk about pivotal periods in History. Moments where everything changes, that define the world in which we live. That is exactly the case for the Third Crusade: this period defined the balance of power between Civilization and Religion for the centuries to come.

So when we started Assassin’s Creed 2, we asked ourselves the same question. What is an even more exciting defining moment in History? The answer was pretty easy to find: in a few years and in a very precise place, a handful of genius radically changed EVERYTHING; they invented a modern vision of the world, where men were at the center rather than God. They invented a new way of representing the world (the invention of perspective), they changed politics, architecture, created the art of modern war and diplomacy – they even invented the banking system as we know it! One man even invented planes, helicopters and tanks! Those men were Machiavelli, Leonardo Da Vinci and the Medici to name a few. The place is Italy. The time is the end of the 15th century and it is called Renaissance, literally a Rebirth.

What can you tell us more about the art style of the game?

Visual quality and historical accuracy are big parts of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. From a strict technical point of view, we have the chance to work with great tools we’ve developed internally for Assassin’s Creed – and that we have been able to improve upon. Assassin’s Creed 2 will feature better lighting and even more detailed environments than the orignal. But certainly, the most important thing is that we are now playing with some of the world’s most beautiful urban environments: Venice, Florence, Tuscany are all a real treat for the eyes in 3D, just as in real life. Our art team managed to perfectly render not only the streets, houses, water canals and beautiful palaces of those cities, but also the unique mood and light of Italian cities of the 15th century. We have also implemented a new night and day system. Walking at night alone in the maze of Venetian streets is a real fantasy come true…

We see that Ezio has a new appearance and probably a much different personality from Altair. What have been your inspirations behind the design of Ezio?

The Assassins’ brotherhood lives on; its creed remains timeless although its members change over time.  Ezio is at first glance a young Renaissance nobleman but Assassins’ blood flows through his veins. Like Altair, he is mysterious and has extraordinary natural talents; he is master of his emotions and is very efficient in the art of killing. But at the same time, Ezio has his own unique past: he is well mannered and able to interact with all different classes of society. As he is Italian, we also wanted to give him a special … inclination for women: he is a seducer. Most importantly, Ezio’s quest will first be driven by vengeance, a strong will to retaliate against those responsible for the fate of his family. This honorable will to avenge his loved ones will lead him to unknown territory and something much bigger than his own quest for vengeance and justice…  

Can you describe some of the new skills and movements that will make Ezio a master assassin?

Ezio will have a whole new set of skills in different fields – to navigate the world, to stay out of sight, to fight and to assassinate. In terms of navigation, we wanted to adapt our main character to the new environments of the second game. Since a good part of the action takes place in Venice, Ezio is able to dive and swim. He is also able to board and drive gondolas in Venice! Expect to be able to strategically use those new skills to your advantage for various missions.

The free-running in the cities is more fun and fluid than ever. We have developed new abilities and cool moves that will feel fresh and keep the player challenged while climbing a building. For instance, the new “climb leap” move gives the player the opportunity to launch himself a couple of meters high in the air while climbing a vertical building to reach a higher ledge that would be inaccessible without this move.

Many new skills concern the fighting system – without naming all the new possible moves, Ezio can master a great amount of new weapons: long pikes, axes and warhammers to name just a few. As those are heavy weapons, Ezio won’t have to carry them all the time: he will now be able to disarm his enemies and use their weapons against them. He will also use his hands more efficiently when fighting, performing various punches, kicks, grab movements and head butts... Holding your enemy by the collar and hitting him with your forehead is quite soothing…If you happen to be burning with vengeance like Ezio is.

One hidden blade is fun but two is better. This time, Ezio will have one hidden blade on each arm. Imagine all the possibilities in new assassination moves, counters and upgrades using two hidden blades. My favorite one is the double kill, which gives you a great sense of power.  Finally, we’ve added a lot of new assassination moves. You can pounce on your enemy from virtually anywhere in the city:   rooftops, hiding spots, water, ledges etc … 

These are just but a few of the new skills Ezio brings to the table; he has many more tricks up his sleeve…

The Renaissance is famous for having been the crucible for some of the most talented and renowned figures of history. Will we be able to meet some of those historical figures?

This was one of the main reasons why we chose Renaissance and Italy. When you decide to go there, you’ve got a hell of a cast and lots of information on them! Leonardo Da Vinci, for instance, is one of the main secondary characters of our game. For Ezio, he is at the same time a friend, an adviser and … a weapon crafter. Leonardo is an expert when it comes to decoding and understanding ancient texts. He is the one who will decipher Altair’s ancient codex for Ezio.

The player will also be able to meet some of the Legends of this time: the Medici – who invented the banking system, Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza etc... When doing research on these historical characters, we were fascinated by all the cool stories we could tell about them, there is so much political intrigue that we didn’t even have to make that much up. The renaissance is the birthplace of the big Italian families that we think of today as the mafia. We are proud to say that the Assassin’s Creed franchise is one of the rare games that can serve as a source of historical information.

The entire game play/mission structure in Assassin’s Creed 1 was semi-linear and kept the same structure through the 9 assassinations. Will Assassin’s Creed 2 feature more missions and a wider variety in the structure and how the story unfolds?

The game structure and the mission system were the most crucial elements we wanted to improve on. We are redefining the overall mission structure to give gamers a more fun, rewarding and unpredictable experience throughout the game.   

There are no more patterns of missions to perform but rather a story that develops through a great amount of mission-giving characters. Some characters will give you an assassination mission, others an escort/protect mission, while some will give you a chase mission etc… There is no limit to the types of challenges we will give players. We invested most of our development time in ensuring that there is a huge amount of variety and depth in the missions required to finish the story. But we also want the player to have a real freedom and opportunity to explore and ‘use’ the world we have created at their own pace.

Have you implemented any new forms of less traditional gameplay?

For Assassin’s Creed 2, there will be various new types of gameplay to break and vary the flow of the game and add intense “WOW” moments, one of them involving the flying machine that Leonardo Da Vinci conceptualized and developed. Ezio will be able to use it to fly around the city to reach hard to infiltrate locations quickly and with the effect of surprise. Travelling with the flying machine will require precision and timing.

What is the significance behind the name of Ezio?

Ezio is derived from the word Aietos (Old Greek) and Aetius (Latin) and means “eagle”. The name Ezio was popularized in Italy based on the historical hero Flavius Aëtius – a 5th century Roman general who defeated Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons.

The choice of the name Ezio follows the tradition of naming our hero based on the eagle icon. Ezio, like Altair, will track his target, circle waiting for the right moment, and then strike with a single killing blow.

  Can you give us more details regarding the economic system?

The Economic System is a totally new feature in Assassin’s Creed 2 that adds a lot of depth to the overall gameplay. As a player, you will be able to collect and use the in-game currency to enhance your gameplay experience. 

Income will come in many different ways. You can gain money by completing some missions or find treasures that are scattered in the city. The crowd is also a good resource: you can now pickpocket anyone in the crowd. However, Ezio will have to be careful as he is not the only one who pickpockets and can be caught red-handed… The assassin will also have the ability to strip/loot soldiers of their wealth once they have been battered and weakened.

Gaining money allows the Assassin to make the most of the tools at his disposal.   Throwing daggers, smoke bombs and other resources specifically tailored to the Assassins can be purchased in the game’s various shops. Ezio has many friends in the city and in exchange for money, members of the main factions – thief, courtesan and mercenary – can be hired to help him elude, distract or even defeat his enemies.

Can you reveal more about Ezio’s new hidden blade upgrades?

Leonardo Da Vinci is the man behind the various hidden blade upgrades you’ll discover. One of those last stage upgrades is the hidden gun blade that you see at the end of the E3 trailer. The hidden gun lets you load one bullet at a time so players will have to strategically choose when they want to use it . Players will be able to buy bullets at various shops.

Another upgrade is the double blade which gives Ezio a secondary blade on his left arm.  And there are many others…

Additionally, Ezio will get to upgrade his assassin outfit with various armor parts. You will to learn more on the armor in the coming months.

What can you tell us of the new guard archetypes?

What I think really enhances the whole approach/combat/escape systems are the new categories of guards. This time, there are 3 different categories of guards: the Militia, the Elites and the Leaders. The Militia is the most common type and has up to three different ranks of guards. With each new rank, these guards get new upgrades – armor and weapons. The Elite guards are a very cool addition to the game. There are three types: the Brute, the Seekers and the Agile. Each of them will challenge the player in a different way and will force you to adapt your tactics. The Brute is all about pure “brute force” and massive weapons to crush his opponent, the Agile has advanced free-running skills to chase like no one can, except Ezio, and the Seeker has very high awareness of any suspicious activity. They all carry their favored weapon ranging from axe, sword to halberd... As for the Leaders of the guards, they are the highest ranked in a group and dictate the moves and behavior of other surrounding fighters…

We’ve noticed Ezio has all his five fingers compared to Altair who only had 4 due to the Assassin’s brotherhood “initiation”. How can you explain that?

Back in the Middle Ages, cutting fingers off was part of the initiation process to become an Assassin and be accepted in the brotherhood. In Assassin’s Creed 2, 300 years later, customs and technologies are changing and our hero is able to keep his five fingers, thanks to the genius inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci.