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Though Uncharted 2 may have snatched away most of the Game of the Year trophies, Assassin's Creed 2 stands out as another of 2009's most acclaimed and successful titles. Lead game designer Patrick Plourde candidly discussed Ubisoft Montreal's development process at one of the final panels during this year's Game Developers Conference and gave some surprising insight into what happens when a project's scope is altered in the midst of development.

From the outset, Assassin's Creed 2 took aim at the commercial success of the first game, as well as its vocal group of detractors. "I'm not gonna lie about it," Plourde said, "some people liked it, some people despised it. That's the way it is."

The way things would be took a surprise turn in the middle of 2008, months after the game had begun development in earnest. As Plourde puts it, a "curveball from upper management" requested a change in the game's scope. Ordinarily, ambitious plans may get trimmed down as a launch date draws near, but Ubisoft had decided to increase the number of features dramatically.

It's been almost a month since a new Assassin's Creed game was released on iPhone. For those of you suffering from withdrawal, Ubisoft today launched Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer on the App Store, and we recommend that you get it -- soon. Even if you aren't sure about the game, or don't even like Assassin's Creed, or are borrowing an iPod Touch from someone, you should get it. Because, for the next two days, ACII: Multiplayer is free (regular price is $2.99). The App Store listing confirms this promotion, so the release definitely isn't a mistake this time.

As for the game itself, ACII: Multiplayer features a top-down perspective from which players attempt to find and kill each other, while blending into crowds in such a way as to avoid being spotted first.

Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer (Free):

Talk may be cheap, but so is murdering people in 15th century Italy -- for now. Walmart is selling Assassin's Creed 2 at a discounted price of $36, both online and in-store. For some reason, the PC version of the game is still full price, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.

As for other titles on sale, it would appear this reduction in price is isolated only to Assassin's Creed 2.

[Thanks, Luis]

Earlier this week, PC Gamer got its hands on a retail copy of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 for PC, only to discover that its digital rights management was a bit ... shall we say, "restrictive?" Aside from the initial online registration procedure, the game allegedly requires a persistent connection to the online game server in order to continue stabbing fools. In practice, this means if you were to lose the connection during play, you'd lose your progress and, if and when the connection was re-established, you'd be kicked backed to the last checkpoint -- not exactly diggable management, right?

Ars Technica followed up with Ubisoft on the DRM issue (that also affects The Settlers 7), which said, "As long as you do not quit the game, the game will continue to try to reconnect for an unlimited time ... once the game is able to reconnect, you will immediately be returned to your game ... AC2 reconnects you at the last checkpoint ... There are many checkpoints so you're back to the point where you got disconnected in no time."

Ubisoft also assured that the required internet connection speed is supposedly minimal. "Our online services platform will require a maximum of 50kbps of available bandwidth, so even with the slowest connection, gameplay won't be affected," an Ubisoft representative told Ars. That said, it seems that gamers lacking an online connection (or, say, those on a plane or in the armed forces, as Ars points out) may be out of luck if they're hoping to play Assassin's Creed 2 on PC.

Heads up, dear readers -- we know you're excited to check out the recently released Assassin's Creed 2 DLC, Bonfire of the Vanities, but before you blindly snatch up the new content from your console's designated online marketplace, make sure you check the descriptions. There are actually two different versions of the Bonfire DLC: one that includes the new Bonfire of the Vanities game sequence and the three secret Templar lairs which were included in the game's "Black Edition" (560 / $6.99); and one that only comes with the new sequence (320 / $3.99).

Make sure you purchase the one that suits your needs! We'd hate for your enjoyment of the new stabbing opportunities to be sullied by buyer's remorse.

[Thanks, Rene.]

Are you looking for an addictive multiplayer shooter with a rabid, unimaginably skilled player base that will simply eviscerate you, a first-time player, during your first hundred matches? Good news, masochist: Amazon has discounted Modern Warfare 2 for the Xbox 360 down to a cool $40 (the PS3 version is selling for $50). The zombie apocalypse sim Left 4 Dead 2 has also had its price reduced to a couple of Jacksons, as have both versions of Assassin's Creed 2. Update: You can also score a copy of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for only $20.

Wait! We know you're excited about these delicious deals, but allow us to play the devil's advocate: Would you rather purchase all three, or -- for roughly the same price -- buy the entire series of Miami Vice on DVD? We're sorry to put you this position. We expect your decision by the end of the day.

The second of two promised Assassin's Creed 2 DLC add-ons is set to release on February 18 on Xbox Live and PSN, a recent Ubisoft press release reads. On top of a release date, Ubisoft has offered two new screens and some details on Bonfire of the Vanities (AKA Sequence 13), which will be comprised of ten memories following Ezio's attempt to aid Machiavelli in freeing Florence from the influence of one Savonarola. It's up to Ezio to target key citizens under Savonarola's control and attempt to win them over through diplomatic discourse, including meetings over tea and the occasional quilt party. Oh, wait -- sorry, we had that wrong. He kills them. All.

The chapters of the lost memory sequence take Ezio to several of Florence's well-known locales, such as the Palazzo Medici, Santa Maria dei Frari and -- wait, the Arsenal Shipyard? What, did you run out of awesome Italian names, Ubisoft?

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

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.

Not to be confused with Assassin's Creed 2: Discovery, Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles is now available on the WebOS platform. The previous Gameloft-developed iPhone port of the poorly received DS title was a bit easier to stomach due to a drastically reduced price, and the same applies here on WebOS -- you can download it from the App Catalog now for $6.99.

Altair's Chronicles takes place before the events of 2007's Assassin's Creed debut.

[Thanks, Jared]

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.