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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

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.

Ubisoft not planning to release Assassin's Creed 2 demo

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 1st 2009 at 7:30PM }

Much like that other highly anticipated Q4 blockbuster, it seems Assassin's Creed 2 won't receive a pre-launch playable preview. According to Connected Consoles, a Ubisoft representative recently confirmed at the Eurogamer Expo that the company has no plans for a demo. We've contacted Ubisoft to try and corroborate this report, and to see if the company has a good reason for not putting out a sneak preview of the title. You know, a reason better than "you guys already know what stabbing people is like."

[Via Kotaku]

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

First Assassin's Creed: Lineage episode is surprisingly great

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 27th 2009 at 10:27AM }

We weren't surprised when the first of three episodes in the Assassin's Creed: Lineage miniseries, created by Hybride Studios, exceeded our expectations. These folks did the effects for 300 and Sin City -- so of course we knew it would look great. Our surprise simply came from the fact that Lineage is a promotional, game-based short film; and nearly all of the words in that phrase seem contrary to high quality. Share in our surprise by watching the first Lineage installment after the jump.

If you'd like a bit of behind-the-scenes info into how the film was created, check out this GamesIndustry.biz interview with Ubisoft UK marketing director Murray Pannel. He does a good job of clearly explaining the game and movie industry synergy -- you know, what James Cameron alluded to during his fateful, four-week-long E3 2009 speech.

Continued →

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

Continued →

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?

Kojima and Desilets trade praise over Assassin's Creed 2 and Peace Walker

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 22nd 2009 at 7:55PM }

Assassin's Creed 2 head Patrice Désilets and MGS: Peace Walker head Hideo Kojima had a war of compliments in the most recent issue of Famitsu. It seems that the two gentlemen have a bit of a game industry bromance going on, lauding the other's current project in a back and forth translated by 1UP. "I think there are three games that stand out above the rest of the pack in the remainder of this year. One is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, one is Uncharted 2, and the third is Assassin's Creed II," said Kojima.

"If I had to give my impression of Peace Walker, I'd have to say that I want to play more," Désilets responded. "It was great fun; I can't wait for the retail version." Kojima expanded a bit on his appreciation for Désilets' "focus on game design" over style, and said that he's currently considering the possibility of them "maybe, kinda" going steady. Okay, we made up that last part.

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.

Spare some coin, get Assassin's Creed for $5 on Steam 'til Thursday

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 21st 2009 at 6:20PM }

How does it feel to have your wicked nature unfurled for all to see? Please, before you head off to the Steam website and take advantage of a temporary, 75 percent discount off Ubisoft's open-world bump-off sim, spare a moment's thought -- and some coin -- for those less fortunate than you.

Before you purchase Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition (now with more missions, etc.!), why not stop by that poor chap on the street corner and send $5 his way? Think of it not only as a magnanimous gesture, but as an act of contrition -- because you just paid the same amount to repeatedly stab people like him as they constantly harass you because you're just trying to follow this guy and you don't have any money anyway and why won't they just stop bothering you man this is so annoying no means no don't you get it.

[Thanks, Astroblack]

First Assassin's Creed: Lineage episode debuts Oct. 27

by David Hinkle { Oct 19th 2009 at 11:04AM }

It's hard out there for an assassin. It was hard for Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, anyway; father of Assassin's Creed II protagonist Ezio. As you can see in the teaser for Assassin's Creed: Lineage above, the dude had a lot on his plate -- and good thing he had a sharp knife, too, to handle all that meat carving. According to Ubisoft, you'll get to see how it went down when the first of three Lineage short films, introducing plot elements leading up to Assassin's Creed II, debuts on YouTube on October 27.

What we really want to know is: How did Giovanni manage to keep his whites so white? With all of that blood flying around, it must have been one helluva laundry day for the 15th century assassin.

Gallery: Assassin's Creed: Lineage (behind the scenes)

Assassin's Creed 2 producer sees franchise expanding beyond a trilogy, maybe into WWII

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 13th 2009 at 9:00PM }

When asked whether or not the Assassin's Creed series would be getting a third installment, Assassin's Creed 2 producer Sébastien Puel thinks the answer almost goes without saying. "I'm often asked if we're doing a third game after ACII... I mean, we could do 35 of these," he (hopefully) exaggerates to Xbox World 360 in the mag's latest issue (via CVG). When the game's creative director told us the second game would be ending with a cliffhanger, we didn't know he meant we'd have to play 35 games to resolve it -- that's approximately 35,000 assassinated fools, by our estimations.

Explaining his hyperbole further, Puel admits that a female assassin isn't out of the question, even confirming "We've had discussions on that very topic." Still, the Ubisoft producer doesn't want to switch the protagonist's gender without a good reason. "World War II, the economies in England and France were run by women because the men were off fighting ... we don't want to just decide we want to change and have a female hero, as the first inspiration is always the time period." To read the full interview in its original context, pick up the latest issue of Xbox World 360 (if you're in the UK, that is).

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

Witness the assassination of Emilio Barbario in Assassin's Creed 2

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 4th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Nothing strikes us as more appropriate subject matter for a trailer of Assassin's Creed 2 than a slow and calculated assassination. The subject in question for this particular video is Venetian "titan of industry" Emilio Barbario, a man whose assassination has been planned by the Venetian Thieves Guild for many years. Let's be honest though -- you're just looking to watch Ezio leap precariously around Venice and stab a bunch of dudes. It's fine! So were we!

And he does just that. From chimneys, from ledges, from rooftops and flower baskets -- the man knows how to drop fools in style. Peep the walkthrough above and marvel in the frustration that you won't be able to touch the game until November 17.

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

Kristen Bell returns as Lucy in Assassin's Creed 2

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 3rd 2009 at 12:10AM }

Okay, fine -- Assassin's Creed's Lucy, the mousey assistant who helped operate the DNA-reading Animus device, was pretty boring. That blame can't really be placed upon the adorable shoulders of Kristen Bell, who voiced the character. She did the best she could with the ... it's not like she had a ... she's Veronica Mars! We can't speak ill of Veronica Mars!

A recent batch of promotional photos have confirmed Bell's involvement in Assassin's Creed 2. She'll perform the role of Lucy again, and she'll perform it flawlessly, like everything else she's ever done in her entire life. Ever.

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2 -- Kristen Bell

Find out what Ezio's deal is in this Assassin's Creed II trailer

by Richard Mitchell { Sep 25th 2009 at 2:05PM }

Ever wonder what makes someone become an assassin? It's really not the kind of job one finds at a career fair. No, it's really more of a vocation that one is compelled to do. For one Ezio Auditore di Firenze, lead character of Assassin's Creed II, the reasons are very, very personal. We'd hate to spoil it for you, so go ahead and watch the latest trailer, fresh from the Tokyo Game Show.

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery confirmed for DS, will use DSi camera

by Randy Nelson { Sep 24th 2009 at 4:29PM }

Seeing how the game was already rated by the ESRB and shown in playable form on iPhone, today's announcement via press release of Assassin's Creed II: Discovery for Nintendo DS/DSi is hardly a surprise -- at least not as much as a guy in white popping out of a haystack and stabbing someone.

Slated for a November 17 release, the game is a side-scroller that supports the DSi's built-in cameras for placing photos of yourself (or, well, anything really) onto "wanted" posters plastered across Spain, where it takes place -- just as can be done in the iPhone version. Griptonite Games is developing AC2: Discovery, which is a very good thing, given how impressed we were recently with its other portable AC title, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines for PSP.