Wow, can you believe all the awesome games that are just around the corner? Next week everyone gets out of Infinity Ward's way for the release of Modern Warfare 2, and the week after that, well, Ubisoft puts us back to work as hired killers, this time in Renaissance Italy, as Assassin's Creed II comes to stores. A new video out from Ubi today (which is calling it a "vignette") gives a deeper introduction to the various factions that will assist Ezio in his missions. From the courtesans, to the thieves, to the mercenaries, the allied forces working in secret to help the hero on his way will each introduce a different aspect to the gameplay, and will help Ezio learn the skills of the stealth kill.

From the looks of this video, er, vignette, the groups of helpers scattered throughout the game's world in ACII will have more varied interactions with Ezio and the enemies than in the original game. While Altaïr had help from various urchins throughout the cities of the first game, these groups often did little more than just standing in the street, weakly attempting to block pursuers. This made sense because Altaïr was a trained assassin, and really just needed minimal help from others. Ezio, on the other hand, seems more of a fish out of water. He's not a proficient killer, and he needs more robust help. Apparently this time around, allies will have more to do- the courtesans will coo at bad guys to distract them, the thieves will teach Ezio how to become a skillful climber, while the mercenaries will instruct in the ways of the blade, as well as stand beside you and join the fight.

Overall, it looks as though ACII goes a long way to not only keep some of the successful elements of the original, but actually enhance them quite a bit. One of the most anticipated games of the year, Assassin's Creed II will be out in North America on November 17th.