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Tips for Playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood at Comic-Con

Before you hunker down for multiplayer stabbing at Comic-Con, here's some advice to help you not get stabbed a lot.

July 15, 2010
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Credit: Ubisoft

Early on in Assassin's Creed 2, you run across a room full of, er, "Animii" (shortly before his departure, former Ubisoft creative director Patrice Desilets confirmed that this is the proper plural form of "Animus"), and because at that point you're simply running away, there's little-to-no explanation as to what this room full of Animii is for. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood finally answers that question: said room is a gigantic training room for Templars to learn how to be Assassins.

If you're curious about the single-player and the lore stuff that happens in this follow-up to AC2, then check out the video below for a quick tour of stuff like improved villas and having a fully rendered Rome as your open-world playground. If you're curious about what it will be like to play a multiplayer version of Assassin's Creed, you actually have a chance to do just that -- provided that you hit up San Diego Comic Con next week. For those of you who will, here're some advanced tips so that you don't suck as much as I do when playing.

No. 3 -- Don't Just Stab At Random, Stab With Style

ACB's multiplayer uses a points-based system where you net different amounts of points depending on actions you perform. A simple and straightforward stab nets you something like 150 points, while a Death From Above type of stab (where you jump down from a significant height) adds an extra 200 points. Basically, the cooler and more difficult your actions throughout (scouting, the actual attack, and the escape afterwards), the more points you'll score. Just on ground level and randomly stabbing isn't impressive, but creeping around, then stabbing from a hay bale or a great height, and evading guards with a flourish earns you quite a few points.

No. 4 -- Don't Forget About Your Stuff

As mentioned earlier, besides your natural skill at clambering and stabbing, you have items and abilities to help you out. Always useful is Sprint, which is great for both closing the distance and running away. Smoke bombs defend you in two ways: both as a way to mask your escape after an assassination and a way to momentarily confuse your hunter. Plus, item usage nets points as well (such as flinging a throwing knife from a rooftop or brazenly using a pistol from the crowd). Poison blades remain ever-so-hilarious.

No. 6 -- You Can't Kill Your Hunter

Early on, the developers made the decision that while you can kill your target with but a single stab, you can not fight back against your hunter. In testing, they found that Wanted matches, instead of being cycles of cat-and-mouse gameplay, devolved into isolated pockets of people just punching each other. No, the most you can do to your attacker is counter with a "Humiliation," which is basically a Renaissance pimp slap. I believe a Humiliation move, in theory, shakes off your hunter and instantly re-assigns someone else to go after you -- I say this because I either ended up getting killed or I run away/evade my attacker. Still, when pulled off properly, it does look cool to turn around and show your would-be killer the back of your pimp hand.

Click the image above to check out all Assassin's Creed Brotherhood screens.

No. 7 -- The Exit Is Just As Important As The Kill

Don't forget about getting the heck away from the crime scene once you perform your hit. Thankfully, there're a few options to help out here. Similar to the single-player, you can jump into hiding spots (like benches and hay bales), and as mentioned earlier, there're also gadgets and abilities like Sprint and Smoke Bombs. Finally, you can actually trigger doors (just look for a pair of big metal gates) to close behind you -- which forces your pursuers to look for alternate paths. Shake off your tail via speed or hiding, and you're in the clear (with some points to your name) -- note that these tactics also work against your hunter. I've saved myself several thanks to un-observant assassins looking the other way while I jump into a hay bale.

Originally published on 1UP.com

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