Axe-Based Chops: Assassin's Creed II Trailer

A new Assassin's Creed 2 trailer, once it gets past its, "Look, a bit like The Da Vinci Code which is a book and film you know!" tedium, shows off some of the melee combat in the game. Which looks mighty meaty. Of course, mighty meaty melee combat is going to be all rather put in the shade as a result of Batman. It's going to be interesting to see if the Dark Broody Knight's amazingly visceral fisticuffs will have the same effect on action games as the Persian Prince's introduction of reversing time: make everything else feel like it's missing something important.

It certainly looks good. Things appear more involved than the original, with slightly more intricate use of the scenery, and coo, look, a Da Vinci-style flying machine. And while the music couldn't seem more at odds with everything on screen if it were two old men blowing into either end of a hosepipe while a third slaps seaweed against an upturned bucket, I found it a rather pleasing accompaniment.

The game is due to appear toward the end of November.