Assassin's Creed II is an upcoming sandbox-style action-adventure video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft, the sequel to Assassin's Creed. It is set to be released worldwide in Christmas 2009. While not much is known of the plot yet, it has been confirmed that the player will assume the role of a nobleman and assassin named Ezio Auditore de Firenze. Like in the first game, Ezio is an ancestor of Desmond Miles, the modern assassin that has been captured by Abstergo Industries; as well as being a descendant of his ancestor Altaïr. Ezio is a young noble who lost his family to rival families. He is shown to have dual hidden blades. The game is set to take place in Renaissance Italy, during the Carnival of Venice in the year 1476, which is 285 years after the first game. Like Assassin's Creed, characters based on historical figures will be present in the game including Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza, and Lorenzo de' Medici. Locations mentioned thus far as being included in the game are Venice, Florence, the Tuscan countryside and Rome. Specific landmarks include St Mark's Basilica, the Grand Canal, the Little Canal, and the Rialto Bridge.
According to the developers, Assassin's Creed II will enable the player character Ezio to swim, allowing the player to use the canals of Venice as hiding spots for as long as the character can hold his breath, and to drag guards into the water as a means of assassination. Leonardo Da Vinci will be featured in the game, providing a host of new weapons and contraptions for Ezio to use. It has also been announced that there will be many more mission types (approximately sixteen) for the player to engage in. there will be many new weapons to choose from including an axe, a hammer, a mace, a spear, two different sword types, a halberd, and two smaller blades. Ezio will not be able to carry each weapon all the time (except for his hidden blades and throwing knives) however he will have the ability to disarm his opponents and use their weapons against them. The game will apparently have a much more sophisticated combat system. The player will have to use a variety of tactics depending on what type of enemy he is fighting.
The health system has been adjusted to allow for a more dynamic and participatory experience. Meaning, that the "memory sync" system used in the first game only helps to recharge your health up to a point. More grievous injuries will require a trip to one of the many street-side doctors, who can help you return to full strength. As well as using water as a hiding place, Ezio can hide in a pile of wool or a fish cart or other places. Unlike in the first game, the player can now blend in with any crowd rather than a group of scholars dressed in white. A night and day cycle has been added to the game, giving the sense of a passage of time.
Ubisoft stated that 240 people are currently working on the title.
-anik
Source: http://www.gamerrequest.com/forum/vi...c.php?f=7&t=23