The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

I guess I'm on 360 as well.

As am I

Giga's currently the only PS3 player then. He'll need at least three others for a solid squad, but then again he'll have Ian on his team so it all works out. Rob, what are you playing on?

I'll have a PS3 by then, so I think I buy it.

I have a PS3, and my PSN is HTN2.

I'm getting really excited for all this planning, guys. I'm still finding new strategies for AC II. I found one for the very first assassination today (Uberto).

PS3 for me, if I'm getting it... =D

Well good, now Giga has some company at least. Yeah, two members isn't really gonna help THAT much, but then again you will be playing with Ian, so I think as long as you guys don't run around in circles you're gonna pitch a shutout every game

...Does Ian even know we're putting him in this group? Maybe someone should tell him... xD

I haven't actually grouped him yet, but I'm assuming he's picking up AC2B, and I don't think he'll be able to resist multiplayer. But I could be wrong, maybe the PS3 team will have some sort of a setback without him if he chooses not to, but I have faith in you guys. Between Stab, Asaic, and myself I think the 360 team is a safe bet anyway

I'm not sure, Ian seems like more of a "lone hero" kind of player, but I've never really met the guy, nor seen any gameplay of him on another game. I've been surprised before, though.
So, Stab is official for the 360 squad?

Well I know he has Xbox Live, and I'm sure he'll want to dominate by any means possible. And the publicity we get from doing this helps the site, so I don't see why he wouldn't want to do this.

Yes, good point. We should all probably post our Xbox Live/PSN names on here so we can add each other sometime before Brotherhood comes out. Mine is "GreatJoey Fogey" (no quotations, obviously, but the spaces are just like it's shown.)

If AC:Brotherhood supports the concept of a clan, I'm all in favor of us identifying ourselves with "THB" and will do so myself. I know I can count on you guys to represent The Hidden Blade proudly and our values of stealth and mastery of the hidden blades. THB will be the most feared clan on Xbox LIVE.

As far as being an official member of the squad, what all would that involve? My schedule is such that I don't have many gaming hours per week or much control over when I find time to play. I'd love to play co-op with other THB members if they happen to be online but I wouldn't be able to commit to scheduled hours.

EDIT: Yes, I would be able to record co-op play and publish highlight reels to this site.

Are you kidding? That Stab guy is totally gonna hold us back.

Probably no different than myself. I'm usually gaming during the night when most other people are sleeping.

I'll basically hop online during common hours from time to time whenever I can, and if somebody from here is online, I'll join up with them. The rest of the time I guess I'm on night watch duty.

I will be joining Giga and the others .

Who says we need hours? If you're on, party up, and if not, do your own thing!

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/704762/Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood-Wil...

According to this, there will be a beta for the game. There aren't any details about it, it just says there WILL be one. I'll be watching the E3 special on G4 for gameplay and news so I know what to expect. I'm guessing they'll announce a date at least for the beta.

In that case, count me in!

I think we should have the first recording be of the first playthrough of THB members. Seeing how we adapt to a new game, and of course, the first time together as a clan.
Then, all videos following that should be of stunts, glitches, strategies, etc.
Stab, why don't we put up a new Youtube channel for THB, just called "TheHiddenBlade" or "THB"? We can link all of our accounts to that, and the site would get more rep. Since it's a multiplayer game, we can all send in our fantastic videos and it will all be under one banner. Anyone agree that this is an epic idea?

Do you mean our first multiplayer experience? The single-player will be far too long to record. I also tend to really take my time to explore and experiment. It'd be far too boring for others to watch. I'd be groaned off the face of YouTube.

I won't be touching multiplayer until I've exhausted single-player and really learned the game. I'm not going to jump into multiplayer blindly when my (and this site's) rep is at stake.

I wouldn't object to my first multiplayer experience being recorded, but I won't be doing it myself. I don't want that extra distraction my first time out. I'd rather focus solely on the experience. I'll wait until I'm confident that I won't be embarrassed before I make my own videos.

I don't need to worry about experience

I've showed some of my friends the stuff I and most of the people on this site can do and I've actually quoted a few of them as saying, "Shit, dude, you guys are like the MLG of Assassins Creed. I wish I could do this stuff..."

Well, I'm not that good at games anymore these days. Most of my videos are multiple takes spliced together. Let's just say that I'm a better video editor than gamer.

My videos are more for tutorial type stuff, rather than trying to show off 'expert gameplay' or the like. I stick to my strengths.

15+ hours of single player campaign, right?

No idea. I haven't read anything on the game yet. Whatever length it is, I'll be completing it first.

Most games have a learning curve that is provided by the single-player experience. Far too often I see people jump right into the multiplayer aspect of games first thing and then get frustrated or acquire a negative opinion of a game because they don't like the gameplay or controls. It's usually because they don't know WTF they're doing.

Playing through single-player first will introduce them to the various gameplay aspects step by step and will give them places to practice the newly-learned moves and abilities to see just how useful and effective they can really be. The remainder of the single-player experience allows them to put it all together and get better at the game as a whole. At that point, a person could confidently load up multiplayer and really enjoy it.

Even though I have plenty of AC experience, there will be some changes in this game; a variety of new characters obviously means a variety of new abilities and gameplay quirks. I have no desire to struggle to learn this stuff while getting my ass handed to me by someone who is already experienced. That would be very frustrating and would ultimately create a negative view of the game as a whole. I would rather practice on my own first, then bring my best to the table when I'm ready.

I guess that we'll be able to get used to the new gameplay mechanichs with the Beta, right? At least we'll see the most basic changes they make to the game before the complete game is released. Are we expecting Brotherhood for a November release as the others AC games?

Who could possibly have more experience? You'll be the only one online a week before street date.

Oh yeah, Asaic has that distinct annoyance/advantage...

Of course I meant the multiplayer experience, but only once there are several THB members in the squad/party in the same game. It would be an epic start of an epic series. We need a grace period after that particular video is made, though. You know we HAVE to put out a video on the beta. It's only a multiplayer beta, not a singleplayer. Let's get used to that on our own time, then start some parties together and set up a time to record. Does that sound good?

What is this beta people are talking about? Do we even know if it will be a public beta? Will it even be free? Will it not have limited access?

Most betas aren't just a free downloadable game available to the masses. I hope you guys aren't getting your hopes up too much.

I will love seeing video of Team THB pwning everybody. Folks in Canada, Hawaii, Saudi Arabia, Up North, In The Dark Shadows and everywhere else will hear me cheering you on.

There isn't any news on the beta, whether it would be public or restricted to AC 2 owners (like they did with the Halo Reach beta and ODST owners) or anything like that. I'll bet you anything it will be free. Microsoft and Sony never send out a trial game that costs money. And since it's a beta, there will be a limited time to play. If it was labelled as a "demo," then anyone could download it for free even long after the initial game has released. This is just the link that says there WILL BE a beta and it will be shown/talked about at E3 next month.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/18/ubisoft-confirms-assassins-creed-broth...

Hell yes!

This post can be taken seriously or as a joke, either way I don't care. But I've been thinking of a killstreak reward system for deathmatch similar to that of Modern Warfare 2. Here's what I've got:

3 Kills: Eagle's Reflex (chase cam available for activation, allows you to see incoming enemies from behind)
4 Kills: Eagle's Chance (random killstreak reward)
5 Kills: Eagle's Vision (see the people/players around you, friend or foe, and find the ones undercover)
6 Kills: Eagle's Tricks (call in a group of thieves)
7 Kills: Eagle's Beauty (call in a group of courtesans)
8 Kills: Eagle's Talon (call in a group of mercenaries)
9 Kills: Eagle's Speed (run/climb twice as fast)
11 Kills: Eagle's Ride (mount a horse)
15 Kills: Eagle's Flight (take control of a glider)
25 Kills: Eagle's Kill (End Game)

Perhaps we should also have some deathstreak rewards. You can only pick one:

3 deaths: Bounty (killer's position is alerted to all teammates)
4 deaths: Glow (enemies in front of you highlighted in red)
5 deaths: Back from the Dead (spawn near your killer)

And while we're at it, how about some perks?

Blue Section:

Speed Kills: Run faster (Master: Faster hidden blade assassinations)
Knife Life: Pick up throwing knives from felled enemies (Master: Over-capacity throwing knife belt (30))
Up in Smoke: Smoke bombs last longer (Master: Over-capacity smoke bomb pouch (5))
Sleight of Hand: Faster gun reload (Master: More rapid attacks with sword)
Weapon of Choice: Full assassin arsenal/everything on the weapons wheel (Master: Max ammo for all weapons)

Red Section:

There Will Be Blood: Significant damage boost to all weapons (Master: Stronger close-range attacks)
Swift of Foot: Climb faster (Master: Swim faster)
Lack of Patience: Earlier killstreak rewards (Master: Better chance of higher killstreak reward from Eagle's Chance)
Blade in the Crowd: Invisible when blending with people (Master: Invisible when blending anywhere else)
Juggernaut: Significant health boost (Master: Cannot be locked on by enemies)

Green Section:

No Fear: No fall damage (Master: Jump higher)
Iron Lung: Unlimited hold-breath underwater (Master: Better gun accuracy)
Total Stealth: Invisible to Eagle Vision (Master: Any noise made by player is muted)
X-Ray Vision: See through smoke bombs (Master: See inside haystacks and wells)
Brute Force: Wield a heavy weapon and spear (Master: Sprint with weapon in hand)

Thoughts?

Of course they won't (and legally couldn't) charge money for a beta, but the majority of the time you have to buy another (often unrelated) game to get access to a console beta. Hence, it's not free, per se. A lot of people would tell you the Halo 3 beta cost them $59.99, and it came with a bonus copy of Crackdown.

Point is, I doubt many of us will shell out for some other game just to get a limited ACB beta. I have a feeling that there won't be many of us on this site playing it. And to futher respond to the reply to one of my earlier posts, my view is that I'd rather learn the game properly through the intended single-player learning experience than by trial-and-error in a buggy and incomplete beta. I've had enough betas ruin a game for me in my time. I've learned my lesson.

Good point Asaic.
They are capable of giving the invitation with some Ubi game.

@FLAE
Nice job man. Those are great ideas; I suppose that we are to apply them to a game scenario on a district filled with NPCs.

Alright, well, it was just an idea.
I mean, the only reason I'll be playing the beta is to know what to expect from the game, even if it is incomplete, they never change it drastically. Maybe a few bugs and such, but nothing more, really. Sorry, I'm just a huge fan and dedicated player. I'm excited!

Those are brilliant ideas, FLAE. I hope we get a similar game-type in the finished product. Cross your fingers!

i'll be playing on 360, assuming i'll get it to begin with.
again, i'll wait for gameplay clips before deciding

See you there! (hopefully)

Fingers crossed that one gameplay mode includes glider dogfighting.

If they could ensure some way for both players to not crash into each other and die in 90% of glider-vs-glider encounters, I'd be all for it.

Though I would love to get my glider caught on fire, then kamekaze my opponents.

Just joined the site as a member. been reading around it for a while and using a few of the tricks from stab and ian. I had to join after reading this stuff about AC2B multiplayer.

I'm on ps3 (although don't have online yet... still!) but will definitely have it by release date.

Just hope multiplayers as good as the ideas given here

Welcome aboard, patrickd! We're always looking for more available THB members for ACB. I lost count, but it seems as though we have slightly more PS3 players than 360. We need more people...

+1 for me in the recruiting field

Welcome to the site.

Actually, you've got it backwards. Although the PS3 team used to be in a huge drought of players, they're pretty close now, but the 360 squad still has more.

Oops! My mistake. Well, I guess we're pretty lucky.

yeah it seemed from reading the rest of the posts that there were a few more 360 players

also, I didnt really say but I think the multiplayer ideas all seem pretty good. I reckon theyd all be possible but just wonder whether theyd bother to have so many multiplayer game types on one game.

out of the 13 game types suggested I think I'd most like to see:

Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch
Blade In The Crowd
Mosh Pit
Capture The Flag
The Eagle And The Apple

these are my favourites because while 3 of them are classic types and would definitely work well the other 3 are pretty unique and would probably only work well in a game like AC. If the ubisoft don't use the ideas on this site i really think theyre missing something

For anyone who might not have seen it, I found a video analyzing the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_veCtONsms

The room at 1:49 is interesting, multiple animi, but not in the glass casings we've seen the others in?

I saw a comment under the video (it may be pushed back by other comments by the time most of you read this) that said we don't know anything about subjects 1-15 (16 being the foreshadower of information and 17 being Desmond, obviously.) I was thinking about this. Maybe some of the subjects aren't dead and the multiplayer storyline, if there is one, takes place with some of these pawns.

We really don't know anything about most of the Subjects, true. But we do know that Subject 12 was involved with the Philadelphia Project somehow, or at least they gathered information about said project from Subject 12.