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Assassin's Creed 2 writer defends perceived slow start as 'necessary'

by Ben Gilbert { Dec 7th 2009 at 4:30PM }

Though Assassin's Creed 2 has been enjoying near-universal praise from critics, apparently some folks have taken umbrage with the game's intro as it pertains to Ezio before he becomes a calculated killing machine. When VG247 recently asked the game's writer, Corey May, how he felt about that complaint, he told them that "it was necessary to spend time with Ezio as a carefree adolescent."

While he admitted that the development team could have "refined the sequence so that it either moved faster or provided the player with more action-oriented activities," he remained steadfast that "it needed to be more than a token five minutes." May said the developers will try to "sharpen" the experience next time around, but even if the execution may have been perceived by some as less than perfect, "the idea of the beginning of the game" is what mattered most to him.

We're behind you, Mr. May. Stabbing dudes sure is a ton of fun, but a little bit of context goes a long way.

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

Assassin's Creed 2 glitch breaks the game [update]

by David Hinkle { Dec 4th 2009 at 7:05PM }

Now that Assassin's Creed II has been out amongst the crowds, slinking its way into millions of consoles, gamers are stumbling upon some of its secrets. While you may be stuck tracking down those last few feathers, others are discovering ancient beasts and, according to CVG, game-breaking glitches.

Some gamers apparently found themselves stuck controlling Desmond in the Hideout after DNA Sequence 11, a direct result of shutting off their system after the game autosaved. When they later booted the game back up, they were unable to return to the Animus and continue Ezio's 15th century adventure. CVG didn't comment on whether this was affecting Xbox 360 or PS3 gamers, or both.

We've contacted Ubisoft to see if this is the first it's heard of the issue and also urge you to contact us if you've encountered it.

Update: Ubisoft has acknowledged the "SQ11" glitch. Posting on the company's message boards, community developer "Atmon" confirmed that Ubisoft is aware of the issue and is "glad to say that it will be solved through our upcoming patch," but did not suggest a release date for said patch. In a separate thread, Atmon continued to dance around the issue of a release date for the patch, explaining that upcoming server maintenance is unrelated to fixing the glitch.

Assassin's Creed 2 getting double dose of DLC starting January 2010

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Dec 1st 2009 at 2:10PM }

Ubisoft has announced -- rather cryptically -- that Assassin's Creed 2 will receive two batches of downloadable content over the coming months. The first, entitled "Battle for Forli," will launch in January, 2010, followed by "Bonfire of the Vanities" in February. You're advised to have either a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 (fairly important components for playing the base game, we might add), along with at least 1GB of free space for each download.

Ubisoft has promised to divulge more information later this month. If we were to don our speculation hats in the meantime -- if only to cover up our Robert Langdon hair -- we'd say that "Battle of Forli" will continue the story of Caterina Sforza, who made a brief and undignified cameo in the game as a boat tutorial. The second DLC, "Bonfire of the Vanities," will likely concern the mass burning of sinful objects in Florence. Remind us to toss some of those evil feathers on the bonfire.

So there's this squid in Assassin's Creed 2

by Justin McElroy { Nov 25th 2009 at 3:40PM }

As if you needed another reason to love Assassin's Creed II, the video just below the break shows that it also contains our very favorite kind of squid: a secret squid. Apparently, staring into a pool in the last chamber of the Santa Maria Delle Visitazione for just under a minute will net you a visit from the sizable cephalopod you see in the image above.

Just as a warning, the video has a couple of instances of profanity. Why you'd want to sully such a beautiful moment is, frankly, beyond us.

[Thanks, Sean!]

Continued →

OPM: Ubisoft writer claims 'pretty exciting' Far Cry 3 in the works

by David Hinkle { Nov 24th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Kevin Shortt, master wordsmith at Ubisoft Montreal, has allegedly confirmed to Official PlayStation Magazine UK (via CVG) that Far Cry 3 is in development at the Canadian super-studio. Most of you know that we had no problem heaping copious amounts of praise upon Far Cry 2, one of our Top 10 games of 2008, so a third installment is most certainly welcome in these parts. Sadly, Shortt didn't say whether Ubisoft has decided to go with Africa again for the setting, but offered that what he's seen of the game looks "pretty exciting."

So ... that's pretty exciting, right?

Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed II sold 1.6 million in first week

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 24th 2009 at 10:45AM }

A recent Ubisoft press release has revealed that the company is just so darn proud of its latest bundle of joy, Assassin's Creed II. According to the publisher's own internal estimates, the game has sold 1.6 million units worldwide in its first week of availability -- a 32 percent increase over the launch week sales of Assassin's Creed the First. The company also touted the game's impressive critical reception, highlighting the game's 94 percent user rating on Gamespot and an average critic's rating of 91 percent on GameRankings.com.

We're glad to hear Assassin's Creed II is doing so well despite being the follow-up to a fairly polarizing blockbuster. Also, here's a cool Digital Foundry time-lapse video showing off the game's day and night cycles. Yeah, we know that has nothing to do with what we were just talking about. Deal with it. We drop non sequiturs like Ezio Auditore drops corrupt, 15th century Italian noblemen.

Rumorong: No Splinter Cell Conviction demo with Assassin's Creed 2

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 17th 2009 at 5:20PM }

[geekadelphia.com]

Joystiq has confirmed that the blurry video and NeoGAF forum member's claims of a Splinter Cell Conviction demo voucher shipping inside Xbox 360 versions of Assassin's Creed II were nothing more than an enticing balloon full of hot air. As the picture you see above reveals, copies of ACII sold by GameStop included a Splinter Cell Conviction leaflet meant to solicit pre-orders of Ubisoft's next big game, while a similar leaflet (included in our Amazon.com copy) contains a URL and code ("CONV1C71ON") for ... ringtones and wallpapers? Yes, sad, but true. Looks like we got our hopes up for nothing, folks.

[Thanks Eric!]

Review: Assassin's Creed 2

by Justin McElroy { Nov 17th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Just for a second, think about the pitch meeting for the first Assassin's Creed.

"Well, he's an assassin, right? But he doesn't have guns or anything, instead, he's got knives and parkour. Oh, and the game takes place in 12th Century Jerusalem. Can we have millions of dollars now?"

When you think about what a big risk Assassin's Creed was, you could almost forgive Ubisoft if it wanted to rest on its laurels for the second game and make it a well-earned, slightly updated victory lap to celebrate having the guts to follow through on an original vision.

But worry not, friends. Ubisoft has taken the rougher but ultimately more rewarding path, and pushed the series forward so far with Assassin's Creed II that it leaves the original looking like a mere proof of concept.

Continued →

Assassin's Creed 2's final dev diary takes us into Ezio's villa

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 10th 2009 at 1:00AM }

Like so many fancy Italian citizens in the Renaissance, Assassin's Creed 2's Ezio Auditore di Firenze has a sweet villa in the country to run off to whenever he's feeling overburdened by his ... ahem ... work. In this latest (and final) developer diary for next week's big game, we are introduced to the quaint villa where Ezio holds a vacation house. A perfect place to store weapons, explore family relics, and think about the world – a place where he can improve the economy to his own benefit and make life easier for himself.

We picture the villa as a fully realized (and mid-1400s-styled) version of GTAIV's many save houses, but, ya know, with assassin stuff instead of gangster stuff. But then again, being an assassin is pretty gangster. Uh oh, this is way too confusing – we'll have to get back to you after Assassin's Creed 2 comes out next week.

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

Assassin's Creed 2's Ezio is a really popular guy

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 5th 2009 at 2:31AM }

We can just see Ezio now, dashing from one social circle to the next like a débutante on her coming out party. And how could we picture anything else after watching the latest developer diary for Assassin's Creed 2, where the game's main character is depicted as a card-carrying socialite.

So what if one of those groups happens to be full of vicious mercenaries? They'll help him learn how to fight! And sure, another group might be made up of "courtesans" (see: ladies of the night), but they'll teach him all about sneaking! And another group is full of ... well ... you get the gist, right? The game's handful of factions will assist Ezio as he murders his way through Renaissance Europe.

One final thing: even if you don't care about each group, make sure you stick around for the surprise treat nestled after the end splash screen. You'll thank us.

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

Splinter Cell: Conviction collector's edition seeks revenge on your wallet

by Randy Nelson { Nov 3rd 2009 at 2:50PM }

click to revenge-size

In Splinter Cell: Conviction, superspy Sam Fisher is seeking revenge for his daughter's murder. In the Splinter Cell: Conviction collector's edition, you'll find a varying degree of bonus items -- some cool, some silly -- that Ubisoft is seeking $79.99 for.

Due to arrive on the same day as the standard edition (February 23, 2010) the set will include a comic book prequel to the events in the game; an art book with illustrations from all the previous Splinter Cell titles; a DLC weapon and player skin; a credit-card-sized USB drive filled with art and a making-of featurette; and two stickers: one of the Third Echelon logo and another that looks like those fake bullet holes people slap on their cars to make it appear that they live in a warzone.

Ubisoft's sell-sheet for the CE thankfully displays the game disc and manual, lest you worry they're not included. They go inside the DVD steelcase, which we'd say might be good for deflecting bullets, but appears to already have been used for just that purpose.

Gallery: Splinter Cell Conviction CE

Assassin's Creed 2 pre-orders up 10 to 20% over original

by Randy Nelson { Nov 3rd 2009 at 2:00AM }

Judging by one analyst's estimation, Assassin's Creed 2 is set to escape from store shelves faster than its protagonist can outrun his pursuers. According to Mike Hickey of Janco Partners, pre-orders for the game are running 10 to 20 percent more than those of the original Assassin's Creed, which, as the firm pointed out to Gamasutra, greatly exceeded its initial sales forecast of 3 million units. (It sold 8 million.)

In other words, it looks like Ubisoft's going to make a killing off an assassin.

Rumor: Assassin's Creed 2 Achievements and Trophies surface discreetly

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 25th 2009 at 11:30AM }

Once again, we've bitten the bullet of plotline spoilification for you lot, and measured the believability of two recently released lists of Achievements and Trophies for Assassin's Creed 2. Our initial impression is that they seem legit -- but they also contain references to a number of plot points and gameplay mechanics you may want to remain in the dark about until you get behind the wheel of Ezio Auditore Da Firenze.

Check out the rumored list of Achievements and Trophies after the jump. We'll contact Ubisoft to see if we can confirm their authenticity.

Read: Assassin's Creed 2 Achievements
Read: Assassin's Creed 2 Trophies

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Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed 2 is 'awesome' -- there's no room for bad games

by James Ransom-Wiley { Oct 23rd 2009 at 12:00AM }

Fittingly, there is only one big-name, multiplatform game comfortable in the shadow of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's release next month: Assassin's Creed 2. While it's not the only game willing to test its selling power against the potential "bestselling title of all time" -- Left 4 Dead 2 seems aptly titled; and New Super Mario Bros. Wii should collect coin on its platform -- Assassin's Creed 2 is easily November's second-most significant multi-console release.

When pressed for comment about AC2 going up against MW2 and the possibility of his game (ha!) surpassing Infinity Ward's shooter in sales, Yannis Mallat, CEO of AC2 developer Ubisoft Montreal, admitted to VideoGamer.com that he was not "pretentious" enough to predict a sales outcome, but added, "I can certainly say there is no room any more for average or bad games, but there is still a lot of room for awesome games, and that's what Assassin's Creed is."

Internally, Ubisoft has set its standards high -- two years ago, the first Assassin's Creed moved 2.5 million units in its first month at retail to become the fastest-selling new game IP in U.S. history. Of course, two years ago, Call of Duty 4 was claiming records of its own. Ubisoft would not dare pit AC2 against MW2 in an outright sales challenge, but, in embodying its franchise's ethos, with a little patience, Ubisoft will almost certainly enjoy successful sales of AC2 over the course of the holiday season. After all, who among us has ever been content to settle on just one awesome game when there are many to enjoy?

Watch Ezio grow up in this Assassin's Creed 2 dev diary

by Randy Nelson { Oct 22nd 2009 at 5:30PM }

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (we hear saying that five times fast unlocks an Achievement / Trophy!) isn't going to be the same character at the end of Assassin's Creed 2's 30-year narrative as he is at its outset. Sure, he'll be the same person -- but, as various members of the game's development team point out in this latest video diary, his repertoire of moves and the weapons / gear available to him will evolve the way you play as the character.

Considerably more time, though, is spent pointing out how all of this will make the game less repetitive, clearly meant to reaffirm that, yes, Ubisoft Montreal is addressing one of the chief criticisms of the first game. But, wow, do they try their best to work this fact into the script. Watching the video, we half expected creative director Patrice Desilets to claim that Ezio will be able to groom his facial hair in various ways, thus adding more variety to the game. Kidding (or is it?) aside, the game is looking absolutely fab, and we can't wait to play through it in a variety of ways when it hits next month.