Ezio and Leonardo

He(Leonardo da Vinci) maintained his repugnance for weapons used treacherously or for assassinations, such as poisoned arrows, but designed many ingenious and deadly devices himself, offering them to the warlords who were his patrons.(Vezzosi, 1997, p.63-66)

Currently, I am studying through the OU short course, A178 Perspectives on Leonardo da Vinci. It's a very well designed course that gives the student a fuller and more rounded appreciation of the works of Leonardo and the time that he lived in.

When I initially began playing Assassin's Creed II, I was dubious over the use of Leonardo da Vinci as an outlet for your character(Ezio) to procure weapons and assassination devices. I began to think that Ubisoft had created a darker side to Leonardo to suit the game's background and storyline. But as I have progressed through the said OU course, I can see that Ubisoft have been clever and utilised a side of da Vinci's character that many may not have realised he possessed.

I have yet to complete the main storyline in ACII but have acquired a few items for Leonardo, who has in turn helped Ezio with weaponry etc. Not sure if the following guide is correct, maybe you can confirm this if you've finished the game, but I'll be interested to see how other items are incorporated into the game world of Assassin's Creed II(especially the infamous flying machine):

Hidden Blade	Enables Assassination Technique	Sequence 02, Memory 03
Hidden Blade Armor Plate	Deflect weapons with the Weapon Hand	Sequence 03, Memory 02
Double Blade	Hidden Blades in both hands – EnablesDouble Assassination Technique	Sequence 04, Memory 01
Poison Blade	Second blade for the Empty Hand – Enables Assassination by Poison	Sequence 05, Memory 07
Pistol	Firearm added to the Empty Hand	Sequence 09, Memory 01

Bibliography
A.Vezzosi (1997) Leonardo da Vinci - Renaissance Man, London, Thames & Hudson.