Whether you have already picked up your copy of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood or not, you're probably aware that the title will offer a significant multiplayer portion on top of the singleplayer campaign. For a franchise so heavily focused on storytelling and hand-to-hand combat, it's unclear how successful Ubisoft's first attempt at online gameplay will turn out to be. The new launch trailer may not give many details, but it will certainly convince some skeptics that the multiplayer could offer some completely new experiences.

Ubisoft has already given fans a look at some of the characters that will be found in the online portion, as well as an in-depth look at how the developers see the game modes playing out. While the overall idea of various players hunting each other down has become clear, Ubisoft wants to make sure that potential combatants realize just how deadly and intense the online game modes will be.

Maybe after seeing the launch trailer you'll understand how important it will be to keep looking over your shoulder. If the video is anything to go by, you never know who might be watching:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jc054uW7aQ

There is certainly a healthy dose of brutality and savagery on display in the trailer, so Ubisoft is clearly not aiming for the squeamish. While their recent TV spot may have been a more abstract look at Brotherhood, this launch trailer shows us the grit. The variety in the methods of execution being shown are hopefully a sign of the open-ended nature of the multiplayer, since watching an enemy dispatch your character in a triggered animation could get old fast.

It remains to be seen how fans will embrace the new section of this installment of Assassin's Creed, and if the team's efforts to incorporate it into the game's narrative will offer more depth. Whether fans take to multiplayer or not, Ubisoft has made it clear that the new online modes are just one of the many additions to Brotherhood that the series will be adopting in the future.

If the online community doesn't approve of Ubisoft's attempts, there may not be enough time to remedy the situation given how soon the next in the series will be arriving. Starting work on another game so soon means the team is clearly taking a risk, but given our experiences with the multiplayer, they have reason to feel confident.

The wait to deal out death as the one-handed nobleman or the crazed harlequin is finally over, with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood available now for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.