Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood golden

Last year, Assassin's Creed II brought Ubisoft's signature action-adventure series to Renaissance-era Italy with the introduction of protagonist Ezio. This year, the storyline will continue with the follow-up Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, which went gold today.

The game is slated to premiere on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 16 as scheduled, with a PC version to arrive on February 22. The former two versions will also be available in $100 collector's editions (pictured), which will include two exclusive single-player maps, a physical map of the game's Rome, an art book, a making-of video, a soundtrack, a jack-in-the-box figure, and a first look at the upcoming Assassin's Creed comic book.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's single-player component sees Ezio assuming control of an assassin network, commanding the combined effort to rid Rome of its corruption and the Templar order. In the multiplayer mode, players will apparently be able to align themselves with the pharmaceutical company Abstergo--which kidnapped the series' contemporary protagonist Desmond--and aid the Templar order. Players will have a range of characters to choose from in multiplayer, each of which has signature weapons and assassination techniques. Brotherhood's online component will also include a variety of different competitive modes.

Thus far, the Assassin's Creed franchise has sold more than 19 million units worldwide, with Assassin's Creed II shipping 9 million units by itself. For more on Brotherhood, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.