Assasssin’s Creed 2 is the sandbox-style action adventure sequel to Assassin’s Creed. It is set to be released worldwide on November 17, 2009 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

While not much has been released on the plot yet, it has been confirmed that the player will assume the role of a young noble man turned assassin named Ezio Auditore di Firenze. The main character’s family has been killed and the essence of the plot is to get revenge on the rival families that killed them. Ezio is an ancestor of Desmond Miles, the modern bartender who was captured by Abstergo Industries; as well as being a descendant of his ancestor Altair.

Unlike in the first game, Ezio is shown having dual hidden blades. In addition Ezio is shown having some sort of firearm concealed near his left hidden blade. The game is set to take place in Renaissance Italy in the year 148 (295 years after the first game). Like in the first game, characters based on historical figures will be present. These characters are Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo, Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza, and Loranzo de Medici.

In addition players will now be able to throw down smoke pellets to aid in the escape from large groups. As well as using the water as a hiding place, the player can use a broader array as cover and can now blend in with the crowd instead of a group of scholars. The player will also become more notorious as more missions are completed, however this infamy can be reduced by bribing, removing wanted posters and assassinating witnesses. A day and night cycle has been added to the game, giving the sense of a passage of time, but certain missions can only be performed during the day and others during the night. The game will also feature the ability to hire services from NPCs. Ezio will be able to steal from any NPC and the NPCs can steal from Ezio.

Not since Mortal Kombat’s “Fatalities” have I been excited about multiple options of destruction immediately following my domination of other players. We’re all familiar with the killstreak loadout in COD4; 3 kills gets you UAV, 5 kills gets you an airstrike, and 7 consecutive kills will get the ever powerful helicopter. From the looks of this one minute, 22 second video clip, there will be much more than 3 killstreak awards. More importantly, you can unlock the ability to launch your own pattern of awards. The award focus in this video is the AC-130, which is a slow moving, low flying plane that drops bombs precisely where you ask it to, with the help from a laptop or portable GPS screen that the player looks at on the fly. So no more dropping to one knee and your whole screen turning into map-mode to chose where to drop your airstrikes. I’ll be waiting patiently for Infinity Ward to release more multiplayer screen shots so we all can see the other killstreak awards. If there are Babalities, I might call this the best game ever made before even playing.

Empire was an interesting novel written, somewhat ironically, by Orson Scott Card that has an interesting premise. It muses upon the possibility of America plunged into a second civil war created by the vacuum of power left by the assassination of the President of the United States, as well as several of his closest colleagues. The stakes are high as the nation cannot withstand such a gaping wound for long, and the Restoration immediately makes move to wrest power from the right-wingers that occupy the office at the time of the attack. At one point during the novel, it compares the United States to the Roman Empire in its scope from its prominence to its inevitable decline where it becomes crushed under its own gravity. Oddly enough it is a conspiracy of mammoth proportions that destroys the country and centralizes power in the hands of one man, Averell Torrent. However, we know that this series is a trilogy, and we also know that Shadow Complex doesn’t take place in the events of the first book. So what happens after Mr. Torrent sits upon his perch of infinite power? Does he do right by the people? Does the Restoration become disbanded after its attempted and failed coup? Let’s put it this way, Jason Fleming of the Shadow Complex would be stretched out on a beach somewhere enjoying Hennessy and Coke with his better half and none of us would give a shit about August 19th, 2009.

From what I can gather, Jason Fleming is a hiker. Like all outdoorsy protagonists, Mr. Fleming’s girlfriend, Claire, is just as surefooted on mountain trails. Somehow they happen upon the Restoration, the paramilitary group from the first book, in their travels and this is where our tale begins. Claire is assumed to be a government agent of some sort and is kidnapped which of course is Jason’s cue to action. It will be interesting to see whether or not Averell Torrent becomes the King Bowser in this story because you get the impression that he was behind the Restoration and their terrorist activities in the first book. After all the drama of his ascension, these Restoration gentlemen are still up to their old tricks. Jason Fleming ain’t no punk though…. Jason Fleming’s a gangsta… Jason Fleming ready to trek across a rather expansive 2D world in search of his Claire because, after all, dishes don’t wash themselves.

You start off with a pistol, and like all all enjoyable 2D platformer shooters of the past, you have unlimited ammo. This game has drawn comparisons to other greats such as Metroid and that was one of the conventions it employed: unlimited ammo. Sure you may have to reload your gun every now and again but at least you don’t have to search the land for precious bullets in which to ventilate your numerous opponents. As the game progresses you gain access to upgrades for your weapons and there are even things that go boom in the night like grenades and rocket launchers. Unlike your primary weapons, these explosives are a finite resource not unlike middle eastern oil. If the comparisons to Metroid are valid, it will be a joy to seek out other, more powerful, weapons in order to explore sections of the world previously unavailable. Upgrades to your attire eventually increase your strength and dexterity which allow for some bone crunching melee attacks as well.

The Xbox Live Arcade service will also continue to raise the bar in what we can expect to see as far as fifteen dollars is concerned that’s for sure. I thought that Battlefield 1943 looked amazing but if Epic teaches us nothing else about its work, they can make a video game as beautiful as it is compelling to play. It’s what you can consider pseudo 3D, as the main character traverses a 2D terrain, but you will also encounter enemies in the background as well. That may be a little unusual for those unaccustomed to this at first, but again, Epic has a knack for displaying innovation in the most ergonomic of fashions. Before you know it, you are sending agents of the Restoration to the creator regardless of where they stand foreground or background. The lighting and particle effects that I have seen make the action more organic and give the combat a more visceral edge than some other titles such Bionic Command Rearmed. I thought that the camera zooming in during a brutal melee attack was a nice touch as it really accentuates the brutality of Jason’s eventual augmented abilities. Epic once again has redefined what we can expect for our money. I would hate to be a developer with the intention of releasing a fifteen dollar title on XBLA after this summer, but then again, when someone ups the ante it allows no one to rest on their laurels and that’s a good thing for us as gamers.

For me, this game seems to come equipped with some sentimental value, which is paradoxical considering one can’t reminisce about what hasn’t happened yet. It would seem that 2D platformers that we have all loved at some point, providing we were actually playing them when they were prevalent, represented the pinnacle of gaming due to hardware constraints. Now the diligent programmer can recreate entire cities, as well as the people that populate it, with nearly all of the subtle nuance that is a result of the culture clash within. Even with all of this immersion, I oftentimes yearn for those days where my heart was racing as I clambered through waves of enemies to pump rockets into Mother Brain. I was on the edge of my seat, silently praying that my hands, slick with sweat, wouldn’t miss the button that would send me to the credits and eventually to a half dressed Samus Aran. Now this a rare sensation to be sure, but you can bet your quarters that I’ll be feeling it come August…