Assassin's Creed II - Xbox 360

Morgan Webb recently traveled to Italy to get her hands-on with Assassin's Creed II and interview the makers of Ubisoft's new game.

First, Morgan talks with Patrice Desilets, the game's creative director, about the character of Ezio, the challenges in recreating real world cities like Florence and Venice, and how the team wants different players to experience Assassin's Creed II in their own way. Patrice also drops hints about some of the secrets that Ubisoft has included in the game.

If you haven't been following the development of Assassin's Creed II thus far, Morgan sums the sequel up nicely in her preview:

"While the first game took place during the time of the Crusades, this time it’s the Renaissance, and while there’s still no penicillin, life has certainly improved. Ezio is the son of a rich nobleman, and most of his attention is wasted on the exploits of young men with too much money and too little responsibility: booze, boobs and brawls. Everything changes one day when his family is double crossed, and he dons the assassin’s hood to get his revenge. While Altair from the first Assassin's Creed always seemed a bit of a cipher, Ezio feels like a living breathing human you relate to immediately. He doesn’t start out as an assassin, he becomes one because of the hand that life has dealt him, and you are happy to follow him on this 30-year journey."

Next, Morgan speaks with Benoit Lambert, the game's director, about the new combat engine, enemy types, cities, and even about how the game's story, though it takes license in inserting Ezio into events, follows historical fact. 

Finally, Morgan spoke with Corey May, the writer of Assassin's Creed II. Corey is careful to avoid spoilers, but drops some details about the plot and progression of the game. The Animus of the first game is back and players will once again journey into the life of an ancestor, Ezio in this case, through Desmond Miles. Desmond might also get to do more than just walk around in ACII, but Corey is being extremely tight-lipped about those details.

Stay tuned as we rollout more interviews with Morgan Webb and the development team of Assassin's Creed II shortly.