A casual observer may think that Ubisoft is in the business of making videogames. The truth is that the developer has its characters appearing not only on platforms, but in comic books, animated shorts, and even live action films. With the team set to raise the stakes and explore seriously new territory with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, players may need to be given a little background to truly grasp the weight of events in the new installment. Ubisoft looks to do just that with the animated film Assassin's Creed Ascendance.

The film is being developed by the studio's multimedia geniuses at Ubi Workshop for digital distribution on November 16th. The new medium allows the creative team to explore a storytelling vision and execution that is more "theatrical" than the open-world narrative that the Assassin's Creed series is known for.

The launch trailer for Brotherhood shows that the scope of Ezio's journey has greatly expanded, and the events leading to his new role and his new enemy apparently warrant an entire short film. Ubi Workshop's website explains the purpose of the project in terms of the series as a whole:

"Bridging the narrative gap between Assassin’s Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Ascendance follows

Assassin Ezio Auditore as he struggles to remove the treacherous Borgia family from their papal throne.

Ezio will  learn the brutal truth behind Ceasare Borgia's rise to power.

Fratricide, betrayal, torture... Cesare employs any tactic to achieve his ambition - ultimate control of Italy.

Ezio has found his nemesis."

The project had already been teased by Ubisoft, but now we have the official trailer for the downloadable film that will lead players into the new story of Brotherhood. Have a look:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpfi25P2mVo

It was easy to tell from the previous two trailers that Ezio's nemesis Cesare would be a larger and more realized character than previous enemies, but his importance may have been underestimated. To gather an even greater image of what Ubisoft is planning for Brotherhood, they have also released a 'making-of' video of what to expect from Ascendance:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rAHBQAMjS4

If Ubisoft manages to pull off their narrative aspirations, Brotherhood could really be something special. Assassin's Creed 2 was a game we loved, and if they manage to bring some story into multiplayer, the various game modes alone would be worth playing.

It will be curious to see just how important the story is to fans, or if the development team is confusing the love of epic battle with the love of throat-spearing.

We'll find out when Assassin's Creed Ascendance is released on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and other digital channels on November 16th, 2010.

Source: Ubi Workshop