Assassin's Creed Brotherhood first impressions

Become a legendary assassin in a world of injustice. It's time to join your deadly kin in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

The path of the assassin is often a lonely one. Roaming far and wide in the hunt for your prey, making sure you're not caught by local authorities and maintaining the trust of oblivious townsfolk are all essential skills. As Master Assassin Ezio, all these things come naturally - although it doesn't hurt to maybe have the help of a few friends...

Creed and culture

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is set shortly after the events of Assassin's Creed II. Ezio seeks revenge against a terrifyingly powerful Templar Order which has personally wronged him. The beautiful and unpredictable city of Rome is now the place where blood will be spilt in the name of vengeance.

As with the previous Assassin's Creed titles, Brotherhood has you roaming a city which is alive with citizens going about their daily business while you are tasked with missions which help you towards your ultimate goal - the untimely death of Cesare Borgia. However, even with new gadgets at hand, such as Leonardo da Vinci's parachute, Ezio cannot bring this about by himself.

As the skilled assassin, you can organise your Brotherhood to rise and fight against the corrupt Templars. You do this by hiring new members, each with their own traits and customisable abilities and appearance. While many start off as novice assassins, you can build up their experience by assigning pan-European missions to them. Success earns skill points which make your recruits more effective - and utterly deadly if you call upon them during your own tasks for a spot of immediate assassin assistance.

"Brothers gonna work it out"

If it's respect among fellow players you're after, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood brings even more to the table by offering multiplayer modes for the first time in the series. Playing across a variety of detailed maps, you choose from a selection of character classes (each with their own signature weapons and techniques) and then show the world your assassination skills.

Very little has been revealed about the multiplayer modes so far, although the character classes of Doctor, Soldier, Merchant, Banker, Executioner, Courtesan, Hunter, Barber, Priest and Blacksmith have been shown, as has the Wanted mode. Wanted places you in a bustling city with up to seven other players, each given the objective of finding and killing your target without being seen by the people who are also hunting you.

It's a tense and exciting affair, especially when you've been spotted by your target which starts a chase across the city. Only guile and subtlety can result in success, as you have the ability to disguise yourself once you're out of the hunter's line of sight. Then your mission can start anew...

If you want to try out the multiplayer of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood make sure you don't miss the multiplayer beta on PlayStation Network, exclusive to PlayStation 3, in September 2010 - and keep reading eu.playstation.com for more information.