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Not long after Ubisoft pulled back the curtain on Assassin's Creed Rogue the developers have given fans a few looks at the game in action. We went hands-on with Rogue at a recent preview, but thanks to Gamescom, the public can now watch new hero Shay Patrick Cormac advancing the Templar cause on both land and sea. And if fans of Black Flag weren't sure that a shift in allegiance was enough to warrant a standalone game, this video should help make up their minds.

In our experience steering Shay's ship, The Morrigan, through the frozen waters of the North Atlantic, it was clear that most of the mechanics and tech that made Black Flag possible had been adopted for Rogue. But the guided demo above shows that membership in the Templar Order has its benefits, adding a few potent weapons to the ship's arsenal.

Whether stunning ships in the name of the Templa-- er, British, or setting them ablaze, the developers claim that they are out to give players a sense of power and authority they have long been asking for. Repelling boarders may not occur with frequency for an experienced sailor, but it's a safe bet that many players will take the risk just for the role reversal.

Once the shattered icebergs, the broken ice and the snowstorms are survived, the video confirms that the same wrecked ships and traversal of previous games will be maintained, albeit with a slightly colder backdrop. It's unclear how the ships got wrecked in the first place, but for now we'll move onto to the next demo video, taking Shay up against his former Assassin brothers.

While Ubisoft is still keeping quiet on exactly what causes Shay to turn his back on the Assassins - and just how large a role Haytham Kenway will be playing aboard Shay's ship - his motivations are clearly enough to justify his actions. And when it comes to hunting down Assassins in the New World, the video below shows that these enemies may be harder to kill than those of the past.

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The mission is the same one shown to us by Game director Martin Capel as part of our recent preview, showing that Shay will be taking his Templar-granted advantages to land as well. With additions ranging from his new rifle to custom darts capable of both luring enemies and trigger explosions or gas attacks, Rogue seems to encourage a more tactical approach to base assaults.

The videos also show another feature that the developers have been promoting for both Rogue and Assassin's Creed Unity - improved traversal. The last-gen release may not feature the new approach to free-running as its next-gen counterpart, but the designers have increased the ease with which players can gain higher ground. In this particular Gang stronghold, it seems to be working. But whether that same wealth of pathing will carry over to the rest of the River Valley setting, or New York, remains to be seen.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue will be released for PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2014.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.