“We want more of what we call ‘memorable moments’ – like the Da Vinci flying machine,” Ubisoft’s lead AI programmer, Stephane Assodourian, tells me as he mounts a parapet cannon to begin Gameplanet’s singleplayer demonstration Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.

Set immediately after the events in Assassin’s Creed 2, Ezio has returned to his village, Monteriggioni, with Caterina Sforza. Now a Master Assassin, his respite is interrupted as a cannon ball sails into his bedroom.

Ezio rushes to the ramparts on horseback – finally, horses are ridable in cities. Upon ascending the walls, Ezio discovers a truly vast army led by the Borgia family besieges his town. Using the cannon, Ezio must destroy siege towers and the opposing cannons.

Gameplanet wasn’t sold with the flying mechanic in Assassin’s Creed 2, and while it must be said that the destructible physics built into the siege towers make using the cannon particularly gratifying – we can only hope that it’s not a throwaway appendage.

 

It’s also a minor detail. Ezio runs to a tower to show off an additional climbing technique, a swashbuckling ascent courtesy of holding and cutting the rope of a crane.

Beyond, he discovers that the assaulting army has overcome the wall. Assodourian takes the opportunity to demonstrate his own project work, the more aggressive enemy AI. “Strike first, strike fast,” he suggests, as now foes will be smarter about countering any parrying.

A new combat feature is also introduced (and was much needed in Assassin’s Creed II): throwing weapons taken from disarmed foes.

In spite of Ezio’s heroics, Monteriggioni and the Assassin Order falls. This is the stage for Brotherhood. Ezio must rebuild the Order and continue his shadowy war with the nefarious Templars.

 

In Rome, Assodourian demonstrates how the new Brotherhood, now under his command, assists on missions. Ubisoft call the system “BAM,” an acronym for Brotherhood Assistance Move. Ezio can call down his acolytes to dispatch his foes.

All of Ezio’s acolytes are characters that supplement his gameplay. They’re fully customisable, and the player can select their skills as they level up. Should they die in combat, Ezio will have to find a new Acolyte and begin their training anew.

BAM sequences might best be described as special moves with a cooldown. Assodourian performed four for our amusement: The first saw a female assassin appear from out of shot to deliver a hidden blade to the neck of an armoured soldier, before making a swift departure. The second was a volley of arrows from the adjacent rooftops that took out eight heavily armoured guards simultaneously. The third, set inside Rome’s Basilica cathedral was four aerial takedowns of a target’s bodyguards. Ezio – at some remove – used a crossbow (something Ubisoft have always wanted to implement) to kill his objective. Incidentally, the crossbow will also be usable from horseback.

 

Finally, Ezio exited the Basilica to be surrounded by the Vatican’s Swiss Guards – Brotherhood’s most powerful foot soldiers. Ezio calls in his Assassins who deploy choking smoke bombs, allowing for either a hasty departure, or a blade amidst the confusion.

Assodourian chose to fight, concluding that for the first time in the Assassin’s Creed series, NPC versus NPC combat will feature heavily.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has a US street date of November 16th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It will arrive on PC at a later, unannounced date.