Ezio now confirmed to be part of the lineup in Soul Calibur V.
I do think it’s hilarious how the amoral, murderous killer-for-hire Assassins keep on a-prancing about, talking of justice and freedom. News Flash: once you’ve abandoned all mroality, you can’t really claim a moral high ground by definition! I still think that the ending of the gam series will be the Assassins finally triumphing and immediately creating a new age of terror, because you’ve been playing the villains all along. 
I for one find the moral progression of the gameplay itself amusing too. In Assassin’s Creed the first, Altaïr’s MO was (or at least was supposed to be) to be one in the crowd, suddenly spring out, stab the evil bad man right in the face with his switchblade, and then vanish right back into the crowd (if necessary after a little bit of dazzling acrobatics). At no point were you forced to, or even had any incentive to stay and kill the guards who were more or less just regular joes or the local cops. You could, but it was mostly a dangerous waste of time.
Besides, the whole point of the creed was to inspire the people by being that blade in the crowd who did just the right, minimum amount of killing to get the job done (or so you’re told, anyway).
Fast forward to Ezio and, you know what, let’s just murder those guards over there. All of them. No reason, I could just use the pocket change. Who wouldn’t stab a dozen dudes for 4 bucks and a shiny new throwing knife ?
Yeah, but that’s partially segregation between dicking around gameplay and mission gameplay. There are a plenty of secondary “full synchronization” objectives in Brotherhood that tell you not to get caught, and there are several areas (even among the sandbox, like at least a few Borgia towers) where you’re liable to get stunlocked with guns if you try to Rambo your way in.
Yeah, that’s one thing I really liked about Brotherhood, reminded me of the *Hitman *series where you can absolutely walk in the front door all guns blazing if you’re a good enough shot, or you can go the extra mile and fire one single bullet in your target’s noggin’ in the entire level in which case you’ll get a little kudos (although amusingly, in 2 the kudos took the form of more and more guns… that you can’t use if you’re going for Silent Assassin ranks).
That being said, even with the full synch challenges, there are quite a few missions that are just “go over there and kill a bunch of nameless dudes because… they kinda sorta are linked with the Borgia somehow ? Who cares, really, you know you want some hot stabbity action and your goons could use the XP”. Which is pretty much the opposite of the Assassins’ stated purpose/strategy, which calls for killing only when you have to, and only the handful of people whose death will really change things around. Killing the first domino, so to speak.
I noticed that, too, Kobal. While I was well-paid for kiling Bordia mesengers and various enemies of the Medicis, it was more than a little morally dubious. Ezio officially became what he supposedly hated in record time. IIRC, it was only about a year even in the “official” time that he graduated to full-on cold-blooded murder for hire, if that.
Of course, the fac that Machiavelli is your ally against the Borgias is kinda funny. The man disliked (for good reason) the Medici, and admired (for equally good reason) the Borgia, who are just a little more complex than the game indicates. Then again, the historical accuracy of the games varies wildly from scene to scene. I’ve never imagined a game which painstakingly recreates large chunks of 15th-century Florence and Venice, but plops a giant othic cathedral into Acre.
This is a game where clinging too tightly to preconceived notions will rip you to shreds. Al-Mualim, through his own actions, made it very clear that “The Creed” is whatever the hell the top honcho says it is. And since Ezio Auditore Da Firenze is the top honcho…well, there’s a reason for all those weapons, amichi.
The thing you gotta understand is that the Assassins do the bare minimum of killing and then melt quietly into the shadows when it’s convenient. It often isn’t. You will get into big fights, and you have to know how to win them. (For Altair, it’s easy: COUNTER. Counter, counter, counter. Never be the first to attack unless an enemy gives you a clear opening.) The other thing you gotta understand is that guards are always fair game. The Assassins do not consider them innocents. Ever. Meaning, among other things, that if you don’t want to be seen, slaughtering the guards with your crossbow is just as effective as trying to sneak by them.
You should never have any problem with any fight in Brotherhood if you use some sense. Remember that Ezio is heavily armed and not afraid to fight dirty, and in Brotherhood he has help. If for some reason smoke bombs, poison, and your Assassin recruits aren’t enough, hire some mercenaries. (I don’t see what’s so challenging about the Borgia towers; I got them on my first playthrough without breaking a sweat, and I didn’t even know then that I could look up the captains’ behavior patterns in the DNA menu.)
As for morally dubious actions, Shaun Hastings himself warned about using cheap labels like “good guys”. Yes, there is plenty of moral ambiguity. There always was. I don’t see smiling bandit’s doomsday scenario, however; the Assassins don’t strike me as have any use for terror. It’s really just the clash of philosophies: The Templars want peace and harmony and believe that the only way to achieve this is to destroy freedom. The Assassins want to preserve human freedom, and if humanity uses it to royally screw up the world, so be it.
Anyway, from what I’ve seen, Revelations looks like it’s going to be good. All I really need are new, exotic locations, kick-awesome weaponry, death-defying escapes, and the anguished screams of enemies learning too late the difference between seein’ me and stoppin’ me. The Altair flashbacks are just gravy.
Because of the free upgrade at Gamestop if you preorder I just ordered mine.
I won’t play it right away, as Saints Row comes out the same day, but I figured I’m going to get the game for Christmas anyway, I may as well get the upgrade.
Or do a massive kill chain. I really liked that addition in Brotherhood, really speeds up those fights where you’re cornered by 30 blokes and don’t really have a way to (or can’t be arsed to) escape. In the previous games you’d just pile counter upon counter. No danger, but it’d take forever. In this one… well, it feels like you’re the Goddamn Batman from Arkham Asylum, dancing quickly from guard to guard and flowing gracefully from hit to dodge to riposte to hitting again.
Only Ezio does it with a two-handed axe :eek::p.
Oh, of course. Very handy to use against the tougher enemies (seekers and brutes). Of course, you still have to counter anyone who tries to interrupt your bloody dance, but if you can pull it off (I admit I’m still having trouble with this), you can rack up incredible streaks.
Bottom line, if you’re ever in a fight you can’t win, you’re doing something seriously wrong. I expect that adding explosives to the equation will not change this at all.
Yeah, but I felt so guilty about those guards. In AC2, even, they were prettye asy to massacre. I kept thingking, “Damn, I’m wiping out bodyguards and thiefcatchers for doing their job. When we get to the modern era, am I going to shanking mall security and gutting rent-a-cops?”
I pre-ordered it. It seems like it’s being released at a bad time though. I also ordered Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Uncharted 3 which is released on Nov 3rd. Assassin’s Creed is being released on the 15th. That gives me less than 2 weeks to play Uncharted, which I know I’ll enjoy a lot more. I guess they’re trying to cash in on the Christmas crowd; but if I had to choose just one; it’d be Uncharted.
Yeah, no kidding. LA Noire, Arkham City, Saint’s Row the Third, Revelations, Anno 2070 and Sword of the Stars 2 all hitting the shelves in the same couple weeks… how am I supposed to work in these conditions ? 
Initial impressions after six hours of gameplay…
I’m underwhelmed. So far, it seems like Ubisoft pretty much recycled most of the material from Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.
The most glaring defect would have to be the plot. Ezio is in Constatinople, but there’s really little reason for him to be there. After six hours, I still feel like I’m just going through the motions, running errands asked of me even though I’m the established Big Shit of the Assassin’s Guild. I have no plot-driven force behind me.
What would at least somewhat remedy the lack of plot would item collections and upgrades. Ezio, however, starts with all of his gear from Brotherhood (sans the inexplicably missing crossbow and armor), so there’s no real promise of a Shiny to keep me engaged.
Third is realism. Ezio is 50 goddamned years old. I can suspend belief a little bit when it comes to being able to parkour like a 20-year-old, but falling four stories and landing safely on your feet or driving a speeding stagecoach off a cliff and slamming against hard rock with only a slight injury is the equivalent of jumping the shark in my book.
Finally, the tower defense mini-game is pure dookie. I keep my notoriety at “Secret” just so I don’t have to play that ill-conceived piece of crap.
I understand Ubisoft only had a year for development, and maybe they set the bar too high with Brotherhood. I really hope this game gets better. What a let-down after so much anticipation. 