Here are a few details regarding renovation of city facilities:
- Tunnel entrances - similar to the fast travel stations in AC2, there are 18 spread throughout Rome. Once renovated, you can use them for fast travel
- Blacksmith shops - 17 of these need renovation, and there are some kind of quests associated with unlocking additional items.
- Banks - instead of the single chest in the Villa, you can renovate 10 banks, and make withdrawals from any branch. The more renovation you accomplish, the more periodic deposits are made into your account. The deposits occur in 20-minute intervals.
- Medical shops - know as the Doctor's shops in AC2, there are 15 to renovate
- Faction buildings - 9 empty buildings are throughout Rome which you can renovate and install whatever faction you like - mercenaries, courtesans, of thieves. Once established, there will always be ready groups of allies you can hire.
- Borgia towers - with each of the 12 towers you ignite, you get the opportunity to add more assassin recruits.
- Horse stables - if you renovate any of the 9 horse stables, you'll have ready horses.
Here are a few details regarding the assassin recruits:
- At least one way you gain recruits is by saving them from mercenaries. These opportunities arise by igniting Borgia towers.
- Visit a chicken coop to manage your assassins. At the coops, you can: upgrade the assassins and send them on missions to various locations in Europe. These missions gain them experience points and florins.
- When you are near an enemy, any recruits you don't have on a mission can be summoned by focusing on an enemy (L1) and pressing the L2 button. The assassins will come seemingly from thin air and assassinate all of the enemy in the near vicinity
- There is a HUD meter that indicates how much remaining time is available for you to summon the recruits - summon them too often and you run out of time. Wait a bit, and the meter recharges.
- Exercise care, the recruits can die, so don't send novices into difficult battles. Have them gain experience by sending them on missions.
Here are some general details:
- The bodies of the enemy now contain all kinds of things to loot - medicine, poison, darts, bullets, and of course florins. So far, there has been enough medicine to loot that I've not had to visit a doctor.
- Leonardo returns in this game, and has been recruited by the Borgia to build war weapons that you have to destroy - another line of missions. In addition, you can purchase the double blade, and what he calls the jump glove (the skill you needed to learn from Rosa in AC2).
- The fighting mechanics are similar to AC2, but expanded. For instance, you can kick your opponent while you attack him to lower his guard. On the other hand the enemy can grab and hold you so their friends can hack at you. The graphic sequences are so much better - closer, more detail, better effects. It is as far above AC2 as AC2 was above AC1.
- You can now purchase a sheath that holds the double-handed weapons.
- The small chests strewn throughout Rome contain quest items - things that are used for unlocking items in shops. While you can sell these quest items for florins, it is best not to else risk not having that last "something" that is needed to unlock a new weapon. These items are diverse - incense, ivory, powders, spices, etc.
There are many Borgia districts - maybe 12 or so - when you ignite a Borgia tower, the Borgia is eliminated from that district, which allows you to start renovation. Once ignited, the Borgia tower becomes an Assassin's tower.
The treasure room:
In a level 5 difficulty area I found a treasure room that consisted of 4 iron-barred walls, with a jail cell like door. Evidently the Scrolls of Romulus - the ones you collect in the lairs contain the keys that eventually unlock the door. In addition to treasure, there is a beautiful set of armor.
Update: This is the Brutus armor which never degrades. In addition to the armor, you get the daggers of Brutus, which allow you to fight with them in hand-to-hand combat as well as throw them. When targeting a group of guards, you can often kill three with a single triple dagger throw.
Sadness at the death of friends (major spoiler):
Spoiler
Uncle Mario dies at the hands of Cesarae early in the game - while it is still in the linear portion of the villa sequence, and Ezio kills Lucy (against his will - his dagger hand is being controlled by someone else) in the surprise ending, which obviously is leading into the next version of the game.
Spoiler
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Ending (HD) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJnvh71UgsQ&feature=related#ws)
wow, that was a major spoiler :)
Now you won't want to play the game :(
really. You got that wrong ;D I don't care about spoilers, the thing is to play it on your own and see all of it for yourself. Until then you'll have no time to remember those spoilers, and even if, doesn't really matter.. :)
I know... I was just kidding. You and I have quite similar approach to gaming - we don't care if we know what is going to happen because our experience is likely to be different due to the open world nature of the games we play.
I'm playing AC2 again (PC), and am trying completely different techniques - not better, just different. I actually appreciate reading spoilers because it allows me to make more reliable decisions once I arrive at a particular point in a game.
true :) I basically reacted upon that VERY sad looking "smiley"
How's this? :)
:D
Spoiler
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it is MUCH better :) :-X
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