Forget swords and hidden blades. Ezio is developing an entire arsenal of new weapons to help him get through his adventure in Constantinople. Though bombs have long had a (limited) role in the Assassin's Creed

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"In order to craft bombs, the player needs to access one of the several bomb crafting tables that have been hidden throughout the city by the Assassins. Those tables are also present in the Assassin's HQ and in the dens the player controls," Alexandre Breault, the game design director of Revelations told us. "The crafting system has been designed in order to favor experimentation on the part of the player. As soon as you have the three types of components (shell, gunpowder, effect) you can build a bomb."Working with those three components couldn't be easier, and three broad categories devices (lethal, tactical and diversionary) of can be created with them. Players will be able to create and store one type of bomb per category. So if another type of "lethal" bomb is needed, the existing ones will have to be dismantled in order for something new to be developed.The selection of a shell, the first step in bomb creation, affects how a bomb can be used. Some allow for impact detonation while others function with tripwires. The type of gunpowder used determines the radius of the bomb if you need something to happen on one enemy or a crowd of citizens. Finally the "effect" can customize what the bomb does, whether it's releasing a poisonous gas or a flood of coins."There are a lot of possibilities - more than 100," Breault said. "The way the system is built, there are no bad combinations and it's not possible to lose components. As long as you have one shell, one kind of gunpowder, and one effect, you can craft a bomb."Of course, bomb making could be cumbersome if it was difficult to acquire materials to make them. Fortunately, components break down into three rarities, meaning some bombs will definitely be more readily available than others. Common items will obviously be the most accessible, being sold at shops or even given to Ezio when he accesses the crafting tables where bombs can be made. Uncommon ingredients must be discovered throughout the city or even looted off guards.Revelations also features some very rare elements, which are often located in remote areas, sometimes only through missions that your assassin's guild must complete in other countries. Many ingredients will also have to be unlocked through missions, ensuring the bomb-making mechanic will continue to grow throughout the game.Bomb making is yet another example of the Assassin's Creed franchise evolving through basic gameplay changes that have a ripple effect on everything else in the game. Creating certain types of bombs can change the way players approach a mission. Walking past some guards and dropping a poison device next to them could eliminate major opposition once a target is assassinated. Lobbing something more diversionary into a crowd could lure guards away from a target, giving Ezio direct access to a location. Bombs are simple in concept but have limitless applications. In Assassin's Creed Revelations , more options than ever are available.