Though we had little more than names to go on before, Ubisoft let some details slip today about the two forthcoming chunks of Assassin's Creed 2 DLC, due at the end of January and end of February respectively. In "Battle of Forli" ($3.99), you'll defend Forli (surprise) from the Orsi brothers with the aid of Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza. With six new memories, the DLC will allow you to "accomplish a daring rescue and prevent the Piece of Eden from falling into the hands of the Templars." Also, the flying machine is back!
In "Bonfire of the Vanities" ($4.99), you and Machiavelli will free Florence from "the grip of the mad monk Savonarola" by offing his underlings in ten memories. There's also a new district of Florence, and a new move for Ezio: the spring-jump, as if his similarity to Luigi wasn't already striking enough.
As many have speculated, the two additions fill in the missing sequences (12 and 13) from the game, meaning the DLC is a great buy for people who love murder and people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
So in order to play the WHOLE game, we'll have to buy the two segments of it that were torn out for sale at a later date.... isn't this exactly what everyone's been afraid of when it comes to DLC since day one?
Yeah. I'm not happy about this situation. I love Assassin's Creed 2 and really want to play this content. But I totally don't want to encourage Ubisoft to charge for content that was clearly made before the game's release. (I highly doubt they hired these voice actors AFTER the game was released, for example.)
I didn't really have a problem w/ the Fallout 3 DLC. Each pack gave me around six hours worth of additional play time, some new weapons, and Broken Steel fixed my one major problem w/ the game - it allowed me to keep playing after beating the main story. As for the AC2 content, it seems priced fair for what you get, but it just seems a little shady to remove two chapters from the game and sell them a few months down the line as DLC - I just can't get behind that.
Although I loved Fallout dlc, it had inconsistencies when it came to play time. 6 hours each, really?
Operation Anchorage: 2 hours The pit: 2-3 hours Broken Steel: 2 hours Point Lookout: 4 hours Mothership Zeta: 1 hour
The difference is that Bethesda didn't actually have 5 segments of the game that were obviously cut to make way for the DLC. They were exactly what they were suppose to be: add-ons.
I'm quite happy that I rented this game. Now I can wait for the GOTY edition, or I can rent the game again, buy the DLC, and play it.
I guess this is what my uncle kracker told me, "its Business" Dang, I played AC II like there's no tomorrow following http://bit.ly/assasins-creed-II-insane-walkthrough then now hearing this new chapters with a caveat of a price tag is something that sounds not so good to the ears.
Yes, because Assassin's Creed 2 was such a small, short, and not very deep game. Only like 20 hours or so, and you can tell they cut corners EVERYWHERE. And for a sequel, it's not like they added much, just a new story, locations, weapons, combat, puzzles, Assassins Tombs, an economic system, an upgrade system, a flying machine, and an informative database. Not much really.
Ubisoft does not "owe" you anything. You bought the game, now they want to sell you more stuff. Did they likely start working on this a month or two before the game was released? Yes! Does that mean it an everything else they decide to sell you later is unconditionally and rightly yours for free? NO! If you didn't like the idea of not getting a full game you didn't have to buy the Assissins Creed 2, you could have waited until next your when they will more likely than not release a Game of the Year edition with the DLC packed in.
I'm not trying to imply the game is bad, or that it isn't an improvement from the original. It's a good game, and a worthwhile play. The problem here is that the game was sold with two chapters missing - 12 and 13 are there, they're just listed as corrupted memories. If the game would have included only twelve chapters, and the additional two were sold later as newly discovered memories or some such thing, I would have welcomed another trip into the Animus. Seeing as the final chapter is 14, it's pretty clear that 12 and 13 were meant to be part of the main story, but were held back so that they could be sold later. There's a huge difference between creating additional content, and holding content back for sale later. AC2 is a good game, a fun game, and an enjoyable experience. It isn't, however, a complete game. Two chapters are missing, and now we know they're missing because Ubi wants us to pay for them later. I'm all for additional content - it's a great way to extend the life of a good game, but when I drop $60 on a game, I expect to get the full game - not just most of it.
What if this DLC was planned because of the fact that there was not any room left on the disk to store the two chapters, or maybe the corrupt memories in the game was planned from the beginning, but someone later on said why not fill those in? Each DLC is atleast 1gb in size, so its not like the stuff is on the disk and its just unlocking it, no its really adding a substantial amount of new content.
I look at it this way, Ubisoft is a business first, and as a business they are trying to make money. So to make money, they sell extra stuff. The story of AC2 by itself is complete, you know the beginning, middle, and end, and if Ubisoft never released this DLC, everyone would be happy with the game. But Ubisoft is adding in a couple chapters that were missed, its no different then if you read a book, and the author comes out with another book that takes place between two chapters. So all in all, if you don't want the DLC, don't buy it, nothing is forcing you to.
** fudge, I accidentally posted this as a new comment - gonna put it here too - sorry. I guess that's the price I pay for trying to type coherently at 4am.**
Swagman
If you've been reading my comments here you know I more or less agree with you on a lot of points - it's a great game. AC2 provides a good amount of play time, and an enjoyable game experience, but I still have to cry foul on the fact that two chapters were removed for sale at a later date. Seeing two corrupted memories in the game makes me feel like something isn't there that should be.
"Only in videogaming, can a publisher practically gift wrap a bargain for consumers, and people still find a reason to cry foul about it."
Only in video games can a publisher pull this kind of crap. If you paid for, and watched a movie on Blu Ray, let's say a three hour long movie, that had a 20 minute stretch of a blank screen with the words "footage corrupted" on the screen. Two months later, you are given the opportunity to buy that footage for a small fee - sound fair? Now let's say the movie didn't have that blank spot, but two months later, a short film set in the same universe came out for sale - sounds a lot more reasonable to me.
The only reason a publisher CAN pull this kind of crap is if people accept it and pay for it. Publishers and developers are businesses - cold-hearted snake-in-the-grass businesses. They're going to try anything they can to make a buck. Some of it works out well for the companies, and the consumers. Some of it scares the crap out of me - I don't want to reach a point in gaming where I pay $60 for a full game, and find I have to pay more for the ending, and this AC2 content feels an awful lot like a step in that direction.
Mike, you don't seem to have undertsood what Swagman was saying really.
Say that Ubisoft had not done the whole "Memory Missing" thing. These stories of helping Catalina Sforza and rescuing Florence are not really part of the main story of ***POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT*** Ezio trying to stop Rodrigo Borgia.
The only reason you think that they were "ripped out of the game" is because they are presented as corrupted memories. In reality, the reason Ubi wil have done this is to make it fit in to the game when the DLC was eventually released, rather than just arbitrarily tacking them on afterwards. At the end of the day, unless you have some kind of inside scoop that you're not sharing with us, you have absolutely nothing to back up your claim that this would have been on the disc. And had they not been labelled as memories 12 and 13 or whatever, I can't see people thinking like this.
Ubisoft are a business. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know how these companies run, but it wouldn't be suprising if the reason they invest more time and money into DLC packs in the first place is because they know they can make an extra return on the game.
I want extra content but not at the risk of losing content that i should of had in the first place.... for that reason and that reason ALONE i will not buy this dlc
You don't seem to have gotten my entire point either. No, I can't say for certain that these levels would have been in the game if it weren't for DLC. I can, however, say that several signs point that way. The fact that they're levels 12 and 13 instead of being a newly discovered memory dealt with later down the line, combined with the fact that it just isn't cost effective to do two separate sessions of recording the voice acting implies that this content was in production while the core game was in production. That on it's own I don't have a problem with - it happens often. What's disturbing here is that the presentation of the DLC, and where it fits into the game suggests that it COULD have been intended as part of the core game originally. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't - you don't know, I don't know - no one outside of Ubisoft knows. What I do know, is that I don't feel comfortable with the possibility that the content was removed from the core game, and I REALLY don't like the possibility that if this flies, next time it might be a bigger part of the core game that gets left out / held back / created later.
No to play the whole game you only need the game. To play the ADDITIONAL, EXTRA, ADDED, but not NEEDED or REQUIRED parts of the game that people worked their butts off to make and that they were paid actual money to create... those you have to pay more for.
You can keep hating on DLC and we can keep expecting our games to have less and less content and developers no longer interested in supporting the franchises we love after their honeymoon period has passed.
I will support the ones that I like and not buy the ones I do not.
As soon as someone can explain to me how a group of developers working on a separate portion of additional material that is not in any way hindering your enjoyment of the "official" campaign by not being included at the original price is a bad thing or one that doesn't deserve to be profitable for those involved... I'll change my tune.
Although I am unsure how this came about I think several whiners know nothing about the game making/programing procedure. Say its a month before gold, the title in in QA, it has 12 chapters and is complete in budget and time frame. Some developers have time are now being tasked with starting the DLC which has a seperate budget and time-frame, they have an idea to put two new chapters in, the assets and work for the chapters wont be completed until months after the game goes gold but they come to their lead and suggest that putting in two corrupted memory's would be cool.
Games have budgets and time-frames, rather then thinking all DLC has been left out of the game, why cant people understand that because of DLC we are getting more game that would may have never seen before. I'll admit some DLC is bad but the reaction this cheaply priced DLC and the ho haw over Maw's 'deleted scenes' is ridiculous.
Also Mike how can you even make a comparison to the movie industry, the movie industry not only holds material back but gets you to buy the whole product again in a directors cut or extended edition (comparable to a GOTY game) if anything DLC gives us a better model 'just' to buy the extra scenes without buying the whole game again.
First off, read the rest of my comments, if not the rest of this thread - I totally understand and accept how DLC works. I have purchased and enjoyed a great deal of DLC this console generation. I'm not a DLC whiner - that is to say, I don't complain every time new downloadable content comes out that it should have been on the disc, or that the devs are trying to rip me off, or anything like that. However, when I see DLC that raises a red flag for me, I'm inclined to say something about it. This DLC raises red flags for me. I'm not going to rehash everything I've said before - read the rest of my comments, and really take a second to absorb them before calling me a whiner, or anything of the sort. The one point I will make one more time just for you is that whether the AC2 DLC was produced before or after the game went gold, it's presented in a fishy manner. Two chapters in the campaign that aren't accessible right off the bat are being sold later, and at the very least, it's reasonable to ask questions, and not blindly trust that Ubisoft has our best interest at heart.
As for the movie comparison, yea, GOTY editions are akin to directors cuts. In a movie, some scenes get cut for time, or continuity - the scenes were often filmed, and fully produced, and could easily have been in the final movie except for a directorial decision preventing them from being in the final cut. What my example references is a scene intended for the final cut that's blacked out, and sold at a later date - it just doesn't work in other industries like it does in gaming.
The heart of my argument here is that DLC should enhance the game experience for anyone who chooses to purchase it - not detract from the game experience for anyone who doesn't. It seems at best possible, and at worst probable that the AC2 DLC breaks this rule, and I'm just not OK with that.
The argument that because they're labeled as 12 and 13 they must have been taken out of the game is silly. They're labeled that way because that's the chronological order of the story, not the order of production.
To me, this seems like perfectly sensible DLC material. They've added two bits of DLC that are tangenital to the main story and the only thing unusual is that they are, in the chronology of the story, before the end of the game.
These are just extra bits. They have nothing to do with the main storyline, so they definitely weren't "torn" from the game. AC2 would have been too long and winded if these parts were in it originally. C'mon.
These new chapters sound pretty substantial, and the mix of historical figures involved gives them an extra kick for this nerd. Since I loved the game, I'm definitely intrigued. I wonder if we'll finally be able to cross that bridge in Florence with "Bonfire." Meeting Medici on that thing but not being able to cross it was a bit maddening. Depending on how they price these, I'm on board.
Still dont think your arguements hold water. I didnt feel like I missed anything at all by having those chapters closed off. Not one point in the game did I say to myself. "aha obvious plot hole thats found in those missing chapters!" You get the main experience. Nor did I think to myself, man this game is short (other than I loved it and as usual with games you love wished it would just keep going and going, but 20 + hours on this type of game is unheard of).
As for the movie comparison, I ppoint out lord of the rings trilogy. I knew what stuff they cut out from the books, yet the theatrical versions were great films. Then comes along the special additions with almost an hour in each movie added. 3 hours of content! That longer than 2 standard movies! Am I pissed? Hell no, it extends my enjoyment of the work, just as this dlc will bring me back to play the game again where I might not have ever picked it back up if I couldnt find a lull in new games I want to play.
If you buy a game with dlc you do not get the whole game experience without buying all the dlc, so there must be very few games you actually think are good these days. I dont have all of the map packs on halo 3, but I still like that game and dont begrudge bungie for having a business model. Your argument about content that was done before the game shipped is valid, but only if the final project seems piece-mealed out. You feel like it is, most of us feel as if we got a hearty helping of great game even without these chapters.
Note to developers, if you are going to piece-meal out games, make sure the core product is a robust full experience like AC2!
I definitely will. Can't wait to get back to the Renaissance and kick some more corrupt Templar butt.
Since the retail version of AC2 is a complete game, I don't think this is some kind of DLC scam. Just feels like the downloadable stuff adds more richness and gameplay experience, which I'm willing to pay a reasonable price for.
From Kotaku, quoted for truth: "I wish Ubisoft hadn't presented them as missing DNA segments. It makes it feel as if you are paying to complete the game, and that's no way for a man to feel"
Clearly cutting out parts of the game to make room for premium DLC? Why not just make the ending cinematic premium DLC? Or premium DLC that adds the feature of outputting to your speakers?
I don't think it feels like a rip-off. I mean, sure, they probably should have put everything into it...but did you play AC2? It took me almost 30 hours to complete (granted, I collected just about everything there was to collect, and nabbed all the achievements), and the story didn't feel incomplete at all. Maybe people wouldn't bitch if they hadn't announced them as missing sequences...they should have called them 10.5 and 11.23475...but then everyone would complain about how it was partially incomplete...nevermind. There's no pleasing us, is there? (:
They knew they were going to release some dlc and made room for it in the game in a unique way so it wouldn't be jarring (*cough* Fallout *cough*)
Response? "Rawwwr raaage! It should be on the disc! Raage!"
What these people don't seem to realize is that if they weren't planning on releasing the dlc, these extra two segments STILL wouldn't be in the game. It would still be the same thing that we experienced at release.
See, I played the game through before knowing they would release this DLC, and I thought it worked out really well. The skipped chapters were DNA memories, sure, but the main story of the game didn't need these large side-quests. It felt more like the Good Parts version of the Princess Bride. "Let's skip this potentially interesting but totally irrelevant side-story to finish up the main quest you've been holding your breath for the resolution of since the first trailer."
Yeah, I'd have to agree with the later sentiment of how things were done. I didnt feel cheated out of the two memories that were missing. They did somewhat explain that they were corrupt during the sequence though I can't recall exactly how they did it. It'll be interesting to see if they keep with the story line and maybe start the DLC where you left otf. You've reached the hideout that you were heading for, and start up the animus and go into the now corrected memories to see if there was something that will further help your current quest. I didnt really time how long the game time was for me but I did manage to grab all the achievements and only skipped the side quests of races and assasination. But i enjoyed the game immensly and will gladly purchase the additional content come January and February. And, besides that, say they had added them to the game from the get go and they did want DLC after. How exactly would you add and explain DLC to the game after pretty much beating the game without starting on the third game. I think its a valid way to explain how we arrive to the DLC planned. Plus its reasonably priced 10 bucks is hardly one take out meal for most of us.
"It'll be interesting to see if they keep with the story line and maybe start the DLC where you left otf"
It's funny you say that. One of the DLC's actually adds the ability to go back and play other missions you already completed. A feature that was in the first Assassins Creed. So now we are paying for features that should have already been there.
You skipped the assassination sidequests? Silly, those were the only GOOD ones. I tried the races and such, but they were pretty dull. The Assassination ones were cool because they were all a bit different, and were opportunities to use some of the skills you rarely used in the main quest (poison blade, for example). Essentially, after trying 'em all, I skipped everything BUT the assassination missions.
