Checked out "Assassins Creed 2" during E3. While not a major gameplay departure from the first one, it's looking pretty excellent, especially the new cityscapes. But I was more curious about the ending of the first game. We're about to get into spoiler territory here, so be warned.
(Spoilers)
At the end of "Assassins Creed" present-tense Desmond (played by Nolan North...of course!) discovered a secret message on the wall above his cell. The message said a lot of crazy things (written by the previous inhabitant of the cell) and features mentions of Japan. It led many to believe that the next game would feature this setting and, probably, ninjas.
(/Spoilers)
Well, it doesn't. "Assassins Creed 2" is set during the Renaissance in Italy. So where does all that other stuff come from? Patrice Desilets, the Creative Director for "AC2," was quick to clarify, saying, "Those messages never had anything to do with the next game. It's more about the overall story, the war between the Assassins and the Templars."
So does that mean we won't be seeing ninjas anytime soon? "Not in this game." Ah well, there's always "Mini Ninjas"...