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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!]

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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?

Sony replaces faulty Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines download

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 24th 2009 at 5:00PM }

"Yes, there was an issue with the original download," a Sony Europe spokesperson has told Eurogamer. Said issue, which rendered PAL digital copies of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines dead on arrival, was rectified by replacing the PSP file on the European PlayStation store -- though this came at a cost to those who had already been greeted by the defective copy's never-ending loading screen. According to the spokesperson, "It was pulled from the store and we are issuing replacement codes for those people who purchased the content before 12PM GMT on November 20."

Developed by Griptonite Games, Bloodlines follows the protagonist of 2007's Assassin's Creed, complete with 3D free-running and an Altair native control scheme.

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.

Talent, not just tax breaks, drawing devs to Canada

by Justin McElroy { Nov 20th 2009 at 6:00PM }

Tax breaks are a great way to get developers interested in Canada, according to minister of economic development and trade for Ontario Sandra Pupatello, but they may not be the best way to keep them there. Pupatello worries that while trying to entice devs, competing provinces could drive tax breaks to an untenable position. She says that nuturing a talent pool should be the bigger focus, an approach that has worked in Ontario.

"We knew that Ubisoft establishing a significant footprint in Ontario would in itself would help tell the story of what's available," Pupatello told Develop. "Why would Ubisoft come unless they knew that they were going to get absolutely the best talent?"

Uh, free health care and the staggering availability of Tim Hortons?

Users report faulty digital copies of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 20th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Some of those eager to immerse themselves in Altair's portable crusade in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines have allegedly been denied entry into the Animus. This has, in turn, led to animosity being expressed on Sony's message boards and our tips line. According to complaints, the downloadable version (the game is also available on UMD) freezes during its initial loading screen, regardless of PSP model.

Based on user comments, the hobbled file originated from the European PlayStation Store and has since been bumped off -- to be replaced with a working version soon, hopefully. We'll keep an eye on things (and your comments below) while we await a response from Ubisoft.

Update: Sony has replaced the faulty download and offered replacement codes to those affected.

Source -- Official PlayStation Forums
Source -- EU PlayStation Blog comments
Source -- Youtube video [Thanks, Gian]

DigitalFoundry compares Assassin's Creed II on 360, PS3

by Justin McElroy { Nov 19th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Okay, if you want honesty: we can't usually tell the difference between Xbox 360 and PS3 clips when put side-by-side. We've been gaming since characters were less detailed than gingerbread men, so comparison clips always look like two gateways to the future chugging along next to each other. But if DigitalFoundry tells us there's juddering, then we're inclined to believe them, no matter what juddering actually means.

Luckily, the team seems to be pretty happy with the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed II, following the original iteration's disappointing performance on the platform. That said, though the two consoles versions are much closer to each other this time, the site still leans towards the Xbox 360 version of the game for its sharper picture and smoother performance.

For what it's worth, we think they're both winners.

Avatar's third dev diary is all about choices

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 18th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Okay, okay – we'll admit that the transparent dry erase board thing is a bit on the "too much" side of things, but Avatar's third dev diary contains enough interesting information about the game in it otherwise that we feel okay forgiving the clip's director. The emphasis here is on the game's many choices, and, more specifically, the one major choice which mirrors the movie's plot. Will you choose the path of the human and murder a tall blue alien ... thing, or stand up for all that is righteous and good in the world? The choice is yours (you monster!).

Gallery: James Cameron's Avatar (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Assassin's Creed 2 first Ubisoft title to incorporate 'Uplay' service

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 17th 2009 at 10:15PM }

With the launch of Assassin's Creed 2 today, Ubisoft has officially lifted the veil on its Achievement/Trophy-like "Uplay" program. First revealed at E3 (though minimally detailed), Ubisoft claims it to be an "online destination where gamers are at the center of a connected gaming universe," intended to link all Ubisoft titles across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Players can access the Uplay portal through the web or in-game, with AC2 being the first title to include the still-in-beta service.

Of the "four primary services" Uplay includes – titled "Win," "Help," "Share" and "shop" – only Uplay Win is currently available in the beta. Ubisoft explains Uplay Win as "[enabling] players to collect units based on their actions in the games and exchange them for rewards such as exclusive in-game content or digital items," the first of which are an Altaïr outfit and "access to the Auditore Family Crypt" (among other things). We've yet to fully plunge the depths of Uplay's offerings in Assassin's Creed 2, but if there's anything really exciting, we'll be sure to let you know all about it. Keep it locked!

Gallery: Ubisoft's Uplay

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!]

Ubisoft, Sony, EA and Disney sued over voice recognition patent

by Andrew Yoon { Nov 17th 2009 at 4:06PM }

CJ Sorg

On November 10th, Bareis Technologies, LLC filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft, Sony Computer Entertainment, Electronic Arts and Disney Interactive Studios, claiming that various games, including Tom Clancy, SOCOM and NASCAR titles, infringe upon a patent filed in 1996. "Optical disk having speech recognition templates for information access" describes a process "integrating automatic speech recognition technologies into optical disk players for command and control purposes."

As is typical with lawsuits of this nature, the plaintiff is seeking "no less than a reasonable royalty" for the supposed use of this "stolen" technology. Should the case make it to court, the plaintiff will have a few hurdles to overcome. Primarily, lawyers will have to prove how a patent largely targeted towards accessing specific music tracks on audio CDs is applicable to the video games in question.

Considering it's been over seven years since the debut of the first SOCOM game, it's surprising that the plaintiff has waited so long to file this suit. Perhaps it's telling that the company going forward with the lawsuit has done so little in the thirteen years since filing the trademark that it has no web presence whatsoever.

[Via GamePolitics]

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.

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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Barabbid Obama

by David Hinkle { Nov 16th 2009 at 3:15PM }

There aren't many new videos to watch in this week's Nintendo Channel update that you haven't already seen online, but Ubisoft does give us a quick look at creating "Barabbid Obama" -- or just "R'Obama," in the streetz -- in Rabbids Go Home, the obvious highlight in this week's post. Oh, and we do learn one very important fact: Rabbids enjoy wearing thong underwear. What? Hey, even Rabbids need to feel sexy sometimes.

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Rumor: Splinter Cell: Conviction demo voucher in Xbox 360 Assassin's Creed II

by David Hinkle { Nov 16th 2009 at 12:40PM }

Look, Sam Fisher is a master of espionage, so it's entirely believable the man could sneak his way into the packaging of Assassin's Creed II this week. Heck, now that his daughter is gone, he's thrown the rulebook out the window and part of his new anything-goes persona could very well be to synergize like he's never done before. Thus, this rumor that all copies of Assassin's Creed II on Xbox 360 will come with a download voucher for a Splinter Cell: Conviction demo.

One user over at NeoGAF claims a copy of Assassin's Creed II on Xbox 360 came with said insert, while further evidence from HipHopGamer shows what appears to be the alleged insert (it's since been removed from the original video; but Kouppa-Network Live still has it up). Logic points to the demo being the same portion of gameplay we checked out back at E3, though there's no evidence to verify that.

We've contacted Ubisoft for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

[Thanks, tmacairjordan87]

Source - NeoGAF post
Source - HHG video with insert reveal removed
Source - Pulled video showing insert

Ubisoft aims to 'quickly' soar to a 10% market share

by Xav de Matos { Nov 14th 2009 at 4:00AM }

During the BMO Capital Markets Digital Entertainment Conference, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told attendees his company aims to capture a 10 percent market share in the flooded games industry. According to Guillemot (via GamesIndustry.biz), Ubisoft currently stands at "around 6 percent," but the executive believes his company can expand its reach using a multi-tiered strategy to raise its share very "quickly."

At its core, Ubisoft's plan was detailed as a three-pronged approach: A focus on present and future consoles, online and social networks and entertainment convergence. In June 2009, Ubisoft revealed the cross-game interface social media and digital platform, Uplay -- a web-based service it hopes will allow developers to better connect with players. Apart from this "confluence" concept, Ubisoft has continued its convergence strategy by expanding its marketing reach to gamers through various forms of media and through the use of its movie license agreements.

"We have many opportunities to gain market share," Gillemot said during the event, echoing statements made during its Q2 earnings call last week regarding the importance of leveraging upcoming technology from Microsoft and Sony. And let's face it, if pre-order data is to be believed, Ubisoft will soon be diving into giant wells of loot following the release of Assassin's Creed 2... and that has to help the company inch closer to its 10 percent goal.