I thought I should say something about E3 considering the amount of incredible titles shown this year and announced for later on. To start off I'm want to mention who I thought won for all three press conferences and that would be Sony for a number of strong reasons. I'm sure everyone else watched the shows and enjoyed them so there's no need to state them. It was good to see the event back at it's original home in all it's glory, it was without a doubt one of the best. This is what I thought was the best in show and it is...
Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal)
There were a number of sequels this year, but none stood out quite like this. Assassin's Creed II continues the story of Desmond Miles, a descendent of a line of assassins who has been captured by the Abstergo company in order to acquire information on the pieces of eden which will lead them in realizing the modern day dream of the templars. This time around you will continue within the Animus as a nobleman-turned-assassin named Ezio Auditore di Firenze. This is as a result of his entire family being murdered. It will take place during the Renaissance within Italy in the year 1486. A few locations have been confirmed already and they are Florence, Venice, Tuscany and Rome, all will be free to explore throughout the game. The maps have been said to be much larger than the first game and will contain less free space meaning everything will be filled with detail. It is rumoured that you will actually meet Leonardo DaVinci who helps you during your quest, you will get to experience his inventions in this such as the flying machine pictured above and advances done to the hidden blade through his discoveries.
There have been many great improvements to the gameplay elements for this installment not to mention the graphical difference is impressive, The main emphasis they worked on was to make being an assassin the main focal point. You can now assassinate almost anyone you feel is necessary to get the task done and from almost any point. The combat is much improved, being able to disarm enemies, use their weapons for short periods of time and kill them with it. The addition of smoke bombs aid in escapes. You can now swim in this one to suit the environment and give the art of escapism a more realistic feel.
There is more of a variety when it comes to missions so nothing is straight-forward anymore, infact there are missions that incorporate more than one task and ability to be completed. The dive has been kept, but there are seekers who tend to notice these among other more intelligent enemies that will make thinking on your feet key to successfulling escaping. With all the additions this is one I look forward to start playing, there's going to be a lot of surprises come this fall and as of right now it's my most anticipated title of the year. If you haven't yet seen the cinematic trailer I'd suggest you check it out. Let me know what you think about Assassin's Creed II and your favourite features for it.
