Assassins-Creed-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Speaking in an investor call, following the release of Ubisoft's fiscal third-quarter financial results, company CEO Yves Guillemot made it abundantly clear as to why another Assassin's Creed will unsheathe its stabby things before April 2011. According to Guillemot, Assassin's Creed 2, which launched in November 2009 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, has shipped 8 million copies. The original Assassin's Creed had sold just as many by June 2009 -- roughly 18 months after its debut.

Although details regarding the new Assassin's Creed -- set to star Ezio and some online friends -- remain slim, Guillemot wasn't mum on milieu: "This time, [Ezio] will strike directly against the templar's order in Rome." Can this Rome be built in a year, just in time for Holiday 2010?

Ubisoft's latest sales report details the company's proposed fourth quarter fiscal year releases -- the period beginning January 1, 2010 until March 31, 2010. It's pretty much everything we expected, with profits for Ubisoft relying on four key titles, three of which are on the PC platform: Assassin's Creed II: Director's Cut, Red Steel 2, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom and Silent Hunter 5: Battle for the Atlantic.

However, other notable titles will also release during this window, including Racquet Sports and the upcoming Assassin's Creed 2: Multiplayer on iPhone -- oh, and a bunch of new Imagine games, obviously. Outside of detailing these games, Ubisoft also announced that its popular Anno series is coming to the iPhone. Exact details on the game haven't been revealed, but it's a safe bet that city planning and real-time strategy will somehow be involved. Head past the break for the full list of releases.

Source - Ubisoft Q3 sales report [PDF link]

Okay, internet, deep breath. In. Out. Good. Now, the news: It turns out that the recently revealed iPhone title, Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer, is totally, 100 percent NOT the multiplayer Assassin's Creed game that Ubisoft announced last month. While Ubisoft didn't see fit to respond to our (multiple) inquiries, the company informed MTV's Multiplayer that the two different projects are, in fact, two different projects. Specifically, when asked if the iPhone game and the multiplayer project were the same, an Ubisoft representative responded, "Nope."

Of course, that doesn't mean it's not another iPhone game. We'll just have to wait and see.

We thought that, for a change, we'd give you the facts before we got into the crazy, reactionary speculation. There is a page on Ubisoft's website announcing an odd-looking, top-down multiplayer game for the iPhone called Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer. In it, you attempt to kill three other players across WiFi before they kill you. Last month, Ubisoft announced a new Assassin's Creed game with a multiplayer mode that would feature Assassin's Creed II star Ezio. It did not note a platform. OK, facts out of the way.

BWAH?! It's not, right? No, they can't be the same thing. At least, we're pretty sure they're not. ... You know what? We're just going to call Ubisoft. Well, it's early on the West Coast yet. We'll email. Don't you worry, dear reader, we're going to get this all sorted out.

[Via Touch Arcade; thanks, Colmiak]

Like, for serious this time! We know the game initially snuck into the App Store, only to evade our attempts to download by vanishing into the night almost as quickly as it came, but now it's back for good. Ubisoft has announced that iPhone and iPod Touch users can now download Assassin's Creed II: Discovery for $9.99 -- around twice the cost of hiring a pack of 15th-century prostitutes to distract some guards for you. Nowadays, you don't even want to know how much that costs. Thanks, inflation!

Download Assassin's Creed II: Discovery - $9.99

Sony's official Playstation blog has posted a rundown of what's new in Home this coming week, and it looks like you'll have a few different costumes, personal spaces, and even a couple of contests to pick from. First up, the costumes: Not only will the Bioshock suit finally be available, but there's a special edition Ezio costume from Assassin's Creed II as well. There's a brand new personal space named London Pub created by VEEMEE, complete with dart game, beer taps, and working restrooms. And there are new items for the Paris Clock Tower personal space, as well as Fantasy and Victorian clothing bundles to buy.

As for contests, they're currently running MAG contests in Central Plaza (where you can get free t-shirts of the game's factions), and Zombieland contests that ask you to answer trivia questions posted around the environment. Other than those promotions, new stuff ain't cheap: The London Pub is $5.99, and the other items and costumes will cost you, too. But what's the cost of one beer at a swanky authentic pub when you could buy a virtual copy of the whole place?

Initially scrapped from the main game due to time constraints, Battle of Forli seems like an acceptable casualty in Ubisoft's war to complete Assassin's Creed 2. Considering the grandeur of Ezio's quest, it's easy to see why this man got left behind -- or woman, rather.

In a significant upgrade from her brief role as glorified gondola tutorial, Caterina Sforza assumes the role of leader and custodian of Forli, the drab, melancholy settlement that acted as a rest stop on the way to Venice in Assassin's Creed 2. Ezio's unacknowledged meddling with 15th-century history proves to be the biggest draw of this DLC subplot, even though most of his participation involves putting sharp things through soft spots.

Assassin's Creed 2 on PC will apparently land at European retailers (both digital and brick-and-mortar, presumably with both hidden blades extended) on March 4, an Ubisoft rep has told Joystiq. Like the North American iteration, AC2 on PC will have the "Battle for Forli" and "Bonfire of the Vanities" DLC packs included in the "Director's Cut" version of the game. You've got about two months to get started on building that dream PC you've always wanted to handle the game's specs -- we suggest you get crackin' immediately.

Twisted Pixel's highly combustible Xbox Live Arcade platformer and object of Joystiq adoration, 'Splosion Man, will headline the upcoming Marketplace schedule (as relayed by Major Nelson) with a temporary 50-percent price reduction. After dropping to 400 ($5) for the week of February 1, 'Splosion Man should prove more challenging to blow off than up.

Other highlights include Chime, February 3's non-profit Xbox Live Arcade release from Zoe Mode and OneBigGame, the Halo 3 Mythic 2 Map Pack, and the first part of Assassin's Creed 2 downloadable content, "Battle of Forli." Expect a Joystiq review on that closer to its January 28 launch.

Joystiq's #2 game of 2009 is finally leaping onto PC on March 16. Ubisoft doesn't seem too apologetic about the four-month delay, pricing the game at $59.99 (a higher price usually reserved for console releases) for both retail and digital versions. However, the PC edition of Assassin's Creed II will act as a pseudo "director's cut" of the game, and it will include two upcoming DLC episodes, Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities.

In addition to the standard PC version, Ubisoft has announced a special "Black Edition" of Assassin's Creed II for $64.99. The press release is incredibly vague about what extras it may contain, simply referring to them as "additional content." An Ubisoft representative remained cryptic about the bonuses, too, promising a "reveal in February," which suggests that the content could differ from the "Black Edition" released on consoles.

Check out the PC specs after the break.

Ubisoft has just tweeted what we've all been waiting for: the release date of the first promised bit of DLC for Assassin's Creed 2, "Battle of Forli." The add-on will be out next Thursday, January 28, for a meager sum of 320 / $3.99 on Xbox Live and PSN. We say "meager" because, well, Ubisoft could totally get away with charging us more. We very much liked that Assassin's Creed 2 game, but shh, don't tell them that! We wouldn't want to give them any ideas for pricing the "Bonfire of Vanities" DLC next month!

The "Battle of Forli" has players defending the Forli base against the attacking Orsi brothers. Ezio enlists the aid of Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza in this task across the segment of six new playable memories.

We're in the thick of awards season, and video games are no exception. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced its finalists for the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ("The 'Racties" -- we're kidding but that's what they should be called), and, as you might have guessed, award hog Uncharted 2: Among Thieves leads the pack with 15 nominations. The rest of the nominees include more of the usual suspects from 2009: Assassin's Creed II with 10 noms, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with nine and Batman: Arkham Asylum with eight. This year's awards also features three new categories, including Outstanding Achievement in Game Design and Portable and Social Networking Games of the Year.

You can find a list of selected categories and their nominees after the break, or check out the Academy's full list in PDF form. The awards will be given out at the DICE Summit on February 18 in Las Vegas, where Activision's Bobby Kotick is scheduled to keynote. We can only guess that he'll go all Kanye on the podium if Modern Warfare 2 doesn't win.

Besides that hidden blade you've fashioned for yourself out of old rollerblade bearings and a letter opener, there hasn't really been a great way to get the feeling of Assassin's Creed 2 while on the go. Sure, there's the Nintendo DS game, the first AC on iPhone, and the limited time accidental release of Assassin's Creed 2: Discovery a few weeks back, but now we've finally got an official release date of February 1 for the DS-to-iPhone port.

Like the DS game, Ezio's adventures on the iPhone will take him to 15th-century Spain where he's tasked with rescuing assassins that are "being held under the guise of the Inquisition," when he learns of "a Templar plan to sail west and discover the New World." What a bunch of discoverers those guys are -- sheesh! In preparation for the game's imminent release, we've got a handful of new screens below.

We've just received a press release revealing which titles will be vying for top honors at the 10th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, held in conjunction with GDC 2010 on March 11. If you're not familiar with the show, picture the Kids Choice Awards, only ... with video game developers choosing the winners instead of teenagers. Or, alternatively, imagine the VGAs, only without all the half-naked women, pot references and awards named after highly caffeinated soft drinks.

You'll see some familiar names on the full list of nominees posted after the jump. Uncharted 2 netted seven nominations, Flower managed to grab five, and Assassin's Creed II ended up with four. Will Ezio be snubbed by Nathan once more in the Game of the Year runnings? We'll find out at GDC!

Unsurprisingly, Ubisoft is targeting its new, multiplayer-enhanced Assassin's Creed game at the six million of us who bought Assassin's Creed 2. An Ubisoft rep told CVG that the new game will "take place with the same hero, which is Ezio, and will follow-up the story that took place in Assassin's Creed 2."

This, combined with the new multiplayer, makes us believe that the new game will be a spin-off and not Assassin's Creed 3 -- since, presumably, a full-on sequel would highlight a new assassin and a new time period. Oh, and if you were worried that you weren't going to be able to pay $60 for it, you can rest easy: CEO Yves Guillemot said that the game will be sold at a "full price point".