Ubisoft is considering cooperative online multiplayer, a crafting system for bombs, and improved Eagle Vision in the next Assassin's Creed sequel, according to a U.K. marketing survey currently being taken.
The survey, I suppose, stands as some confirmation of a sequel to Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. Ubisoft's CEO has said there will be "something around Assassin's" releasing in 2011, but didn't specify what. So, absent a title or a release date, the existence of another sequel to this huge hit is hardly a surprise.
But a look at the survey's 13 questions gives some idea of what the developers have in mind as they build it out. From NeoGAF, whose forum member iNvidious01 found the survey:
Would you like to see ____ in the sequel to the ASSASSIN"S CREED: BROTHERHOOD?
1) An upgrade to the assassin's blade that increases the fluidity and speed of free-running
2) An enhanced Eagle Vision: see the patrol paths of guards, spot clues to complex navigation puzzles, detect when characters are lying during interrogations, etc.
3) An intuitive crafting tool that lets you create custom bombs from dozens of ingredients found throughout the game world
4) Tactical use of a variety of bombs suited to unique contexts and situations (smoke, poison, flash, explosive, etc.)
5) An additional objective where you and your Assassins guild fight against the Templars to gain control of a city, district by district
6) Playing as a new Assassin, in a different historical time period
7) A continuation of Ezio's story as the leader of the Assassins, set outside of Italy
8) Deeper connectivity between all the Assassin's Creed projects (eg. an action you make on the Facebook game will impact your game experience on the console; events that you read about in the comics will be related to the storyline of the videogames, etc.)
9) Online Cooperative Mode
10) Offline Cooperative Mode
11) The availability of new maps for the Multiplayer
12) A choice of additional Multiplayer characters with new skill-sets
13) Playing new Multiplayer modes
14) A deeper team-based Multiplayer experience (guilds / squads that have common objectives, new tools for clan management, etc.)
15) A customization of the Multiplayer experience (logos, avatars, objects, team names, etc.)
I tried to take the survey but it rejected me, saying I didn't fit its demographic criteria. That could be because they've already had enough responses from 37-year-old guys with my income profile; or maybe the survey's closed.
As for what I'd answer, I'd go with cooperative multiplayer, the Assassins/Templars territorial control, and improved Eagle Vision, which has had an extremely limited application despite being, narratively anyway, a core talent of an assassin.
As for what I could live without, I really don't care for integrating this game to a Facebook game; the crafting system leaves me cold, and I'm not fired up about tactical bombs either.
Ubisoft Posts Assassin's Creed Survey With Sequel Ideas (Crafting, Co-op, More) [NeoGAF via 1Up]