Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Info Overload

I tend to let these things collect, and end up doing one big megapost as it were, instead of doing little ones.

There’s been a lot of information going around about the latest in the Assassin’s Creed series, called Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. It all started out as I recall with a teaser on Facebook.

"It is the time of our rising. A new age enters and a great battle looms. Templar destiny is at hand and waiting for you."

After some box art was leaked, then a viral website with a teaser video opened up this week after some people received letters from a Dr. Warren Vidic, one of the characters from the series.

“Dear [Whomever],
Hello and welcome to the new era of Abstergo Industries. I am Dr. Warren Vidic, the head genetic researcher and lead on the Animus Project. I would like to extend to you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will ensure your place in history. An offering to you to welcome a new dawn of man. Take this image and answer my call. A great battle looms to finish the past and begin the future. JOIN US…and see a new era rise.

Dr. Warren Vidic”

 

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is not really a sequel in the series, but mainly a spin-off, or a continuation of the story in Assassin’s Creed II, with Ezio making an appearance again. Rome is a location thought to be in the game, and Ezio is said to enlist help from the Brotherhood of assassins, which you can recruit. The singleplayer is said to be 15 hours long Also a new multiplayer will feature as well.

It’s a collaborative effort by several Ubisoft studios, and will be available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 by the end of the year.

By the way, you might be interested to learn that there is an Assassin’s Creed II: Game of the Year Edition coming out this month, on May 21st.

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Sources:

Teaser Website
ShopTo outs Assassin’s Creed II: Game of the Year edition [VG247]
Next Assassin's Creed viral website opens for business [D’toid]

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Info Overload

Ubisoft DRM Assassinated: Playable Assassin’s Creed II

                                                         

                                                 “HAHA! Your turn!”

I have it on good authority that there is a playable, pirated version of Assassin’s Creed II. Only afterwards did I read online on multiple websites that  the hacker group known as Skid Row has cracked Ubisoft’s controversial, “unbeatable” DRM.

They even left a message:

"Thank you Ubisoft, this was quite a challenge for us, but nothing stops the leading force from doing what we do. Next time focus on the game and not on the DRM. It was probably horrible for all legit users. We just make their lives easier."

There’s a modified exe file and crack which allows a player to play the game without a constant internet connection. This all on torrent sites worldwide, and has been since last week. It took less time than even I suspected.

It’s not the first time that Skid Row tried. They attempted it a while back but Ubisoft denied that it had been cracked. There were also some attempts by hackers to attack Ubisoft’s servers which caused further complications and downtime for legitimate players. Not sure if this was Skid Row or not.

Jim Sterling of Destructoid summed it up perfectly:

“Ubisoft has absolutely no sympathy from me, and if this hack truly works, then it only stands as proof that excessive anti-piracy measures never work. All it does is give the publisher a power trip over the more loyal consumers while pirates just sit back and wait for the latest way around the restrictions. Ubisoft bred a lot of bad blood with customers over this stupid idea, and now it runs the risk of previously loyal gamers, as well as hardcore pirates, screwing with its games.

I am certain we'll see a lot of retaliatory piracy in this case too. Ubisoft has nobody to blame but itself.”

So then, it’s up to you: buy the game and play it legally with all the difficulties that come with it, or pirate the game and get the crack so you can play it offline as intended.

I of course do not condone that sort of thing, and ask you to please spend hundreds of Rand on the game, and be frustrated because you can’t play it due to having an insufficient connection, or no internet at all.

Come on. Be legal. Deal with it. At least you bought the game and supported the developers and publishers, even though you can’t play it.

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Source: Ubisoft's controversial 'always on' PC DRM hacked [CNET]

Ubisoft DRM Assassinated: Playable Assassin’s Creed II

Ghost Recon Short Film Going to be Made

Ubisoft made a series of short live action films based on Assassin’s Creed II last year before the game’s release on consoles, of which I managed to catch one or two. Now they want to do the same with Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. And the film is going to be directed by Academy Award [Oscar] winners, Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy. The film that won the Oscar was a short film by the name of Logorama.

Ubisoft will reportedly spend somewhere around $10 million to make this 20 minute short film, a prequel to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which is being written by Tim Sexton, who had something to do with a little film called Children of Men, which has been regarded by some as one of the best science fiction films of the last ten years.

So, the effort put into this and the resulting quality should be pretty good.

There’s been no word on when the movie will come out, but the game will be out by the end of the year sometime, so 2010 would be my guess…

P.S. I need some new Ghost Recon images to use in my posts, I know. There should be some new screens in OPM sometime soon. Do us a favour and upload some… anybody?

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Sources: Heat Vision – Big Download

Ghost Recon Short Film Going to be Made

Video Games Coming out This Week [03-07 – 03-13, 2010]: Assassin’s Creed II PC, Resident Evil Gold

      

                             

AAA’s Targets of the Week: Assassin's Creed II, BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition

Yes, this week seems to be another stacked one. We have Assassin’s Creed II for the PC, which seems to have jumped forward a week – it was supposed to come out on the 16th initially, but now it’s the 9th. DRM issues aside, I can’t wait to get my hands on this game!

In addition to that big release, there's also been confirmation that BioShock 2’s first DLC, Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, will be out this week for all platforms (PC, Xbox 360, PS3), barely a month after the release of the original game which has done very well for itself.

Another bunch of DLC that’s coming out this week is in the form of Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition, a retail edition of Resident Evil 5 but this time packed with the two DLC packs, Lost in Nightmares, and Desperate Escape – but only for the console versions of the game. Doesn’t look like anybody’s bothered with the PC, as usual.

As for the rest, no doubt everybody’s excited about Final Fantasy XIII [13]. Apart from that being one of my favourite numbers, I’m not really into the whole FF thing. And there’s Warhammer 40, 000: Dawn of War II Gold Edition, as well as Supreme Commander 2 for the Xbox 360. The PC version saw a release last week.

Available links will as usual take you to game detail pages at Amazon, Direct2Drive, Steam, etc., where you can pick up the game of your choice, or just browse like most people do.

Full list of titles coming out this week:

PC

Assassin's Creed II [Amazon - Retail] [Direct2Drive - Digital]
Battle of the Immortals [Free MMORPG]
BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack [GFWL]
Order of War: Challenge [Steam]
Project Runway
Rise of Prussia [Digital Distribution]
Sam & Max: Season Two - Beyond Time and Space
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising [Steam]
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Gold Edition

Xbox 360

BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack [XBLA]
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 Limited Edition Bundle
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
Scrap Metal [Xbox Live Arcade]
Supreme Commander 2

PlayStation 3

BioShock 2: Sinclair Solutions Test Pack [PSN]
Final Fantasy XIII
Mega Man 10 [PlayStation Store]
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
Yakuza 3

PSP

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Portable

Nintendo Wii

Calling
Max and the Magic Marker [WiiWare]
Racquet Sports
Racquet Sports with Camera Bundle
Sam & Max: Season Two - Beyond Time and Space
The Daring Game for Girls

Nintendo DS

50 Classic Games
Foto Showdown [DSi Only]
Imagine: Sweet 16
Spectral Force Genesis
The Daring Game for Girls

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Sources: Shacknews - Gamespot

Video Games Coming out This Week [03-07 – 03-13, 2010]: Assassin’s Creed II PC, Resident Evil Gold

It’s March, and it’s Man’s Month

Well, like I said the other day, it’s the end of February, and the end of everything lovey-dovey and slushy as “Valentine’s Month” is finally over.

I’m now going to explain why it’s Man’s Month and how it came about. Firstly, DSTV started calling March “Man’s Month” within the last couple of years, and adjusted their TV programming to reflect it with plenty of action movies. This was to make up for a whole month of those poor saps otherwise known as married men, having to sit through romantic films, otherwise known as chick flicks, bored out of their mind.

March also comes from the name Mars, which is the Roman God of War, and men are warring, vicious, and violent by nature, don’t you know.

This is also quite appropriate because March has a hell of a line-up when it comes to games, and one of them actually happens to be God of War 3. In addition to that, there’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Supreme Commander 2, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, Just Cause 2, Assassin’s Creed II for the PC, Metro 2033, and Command& Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. There’s a whole clump of these titles arriving on the 16th of March or so, right in the middle of the month, and more or less the Ides of March (I think it’s actually the 15th, but who cares), when Julius Caesar was murdered. Very manly.

On another note, the public holidays this month are all named after males. There’s St. David’s day (today), and there’s the much more well-known St. Patrick’s Day. Not to mention this month is the male equivalent of Valentine’s Day: Steak and BJ day. If you don’t know what that is, just google it, and you’ll see.

And hell, while we’re at it, my birthday is in this month. And it’s the beginning of Fall or Autumn, one of the best seasons of the year.

So, there’s a lot of reasons why March is one of the best months of the year, especially if you’re a man.

It’s March, and it’s Man’s Month

Assassin's Creed Renaissance Novel out now in the US

It seems as though the long awaited novel based on Assassin’s Creed II, titled Assassin's Creed Renaissance, is out now in the US [1]. It became available this week, on the 23rd of February.

The 496 page novel is written by Oliver Bowden and it’s based on the game, Assassin’s Creed II, with Ezio Auditore da Firenze as the protagonist. Unlike the game, the novel is only set in 15th Century Italy during the Renaissance (hence the name of the book), and the modern day aspect with Desmond Miles does not come in to it.

“I will seek Vengeance upon those who betrayed my family. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. I am an Assassin?? Betrayed by the ruling families of Italy, a young man embarks upon an epic quest for vengeance. To eradicate corruption and restore his family's honour, he will learn the art of the assassins. Along the way, Ezio will call upon the wisdom of such great minds as Leonardo Da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli ? knowing that survival is bound to the skills by which he must live.To his allies, he will become a force for change - fighting for freedom and justice. To his enemies, he will become a threat dedicated to the destruction of the tyrants abusing the people of Italy. So begins an epic story of power, revenge and conspiracy. TRUTH WILL BE WRITTEN IN BLOOD”

                                                                – Novel Blurb on Amazon

Of course you can pick it up at Amazon as well as other places. In addition to getting it as a paperback, you can get the Kindle edition from Amazon as well.

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Source: [1] Kotaku

Assassin's Creed Renaissance Novel out now in the US

Video Game Deals on Amazon: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin’s Creed II

Thanks to Joystiq for spotting on Amazon three big titles that are available on consoles for a reduced price. They’re selling for $40 each. Darksiders is also still down at $40 – I tweeted about that deal the other day.

Plenty of good deals on the consoles, then.

PC

Alice in Wonderland - $19.99 - Save $10.00

PS2

Guilty Gear Isuka - $23.20 - Save $14.79

PS3

Assassin's Creed II - $39.99
Darksiders - $39.99

Xbox 360

Assassin's Creed II - $39.99
Darksiders - $39.99
Left 4 Dead 2 - $39.99 
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2  - $39.96
Risen - $49.99 - Save $7.00

PSP

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines - $29.99 - Save $7.00

DS

Rabbids Go Home - $17.99 - Save $10.00

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Sources: Nowinstock.net - Joystiq

Video Game Deals on Amazon: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin’s Creed II

Assassin’s Creed II DLC, Bonfire of the Vanities, out Today, PC DRM Issues

The second DLC for Assassin’s Creed II, Bonfire of the Vanities, should be out today. It was announced earlier this week, for Thursday the 18th.

This DLC as well as Battle of Forli was cut from the original game.

I’m just happy that the DLC will be included in the PC release, which comes out mid-March. Yippee!

For the bad news regarding the PC version, I was just reading that game will require Ubisoft’s new and all ready flawed constant internet connection DRM “solution”, that is suited to people living in a first world country and with easy, cheap broadband access - which South Africa doesn’t have for the most part.

If you aren’t connected you can’t play, and if you lose the connection you get kicked out of your game, to the main menu, and lose all your progress since the last checkpoint.

Sucks to be us. And as a lot of people say, this solution isn’t going to make piracy go away, it’s just going to make it worse.

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Source: 1up – CVG (Computer and Video Games)

Assassin’s Creed II DLC, Bonfire of the Vanities, out Today, PC DRM Issues

Metro 2033 Release Date Confirmed, Limited Edition, No Pre-release Demo

This is one of the games I’m looking forward to most in Q1 2010. On Metro 2033’s twitter account, it was revealed that the game would be released in the US on the 16th of March, the Oz version on the 18th, and the European version on the 19th.

I noticed something about March 16th. In addition to the whole of Q1 being crowded, March 16th also marks the date that the PC version of Assassin’s Creed II will be released, as well as God of War III.

There will also be a limited edition version of the game, which will include the automatic shotgun as an added weapon and as well as four art cards. but the bad news in all this is that there won’t be a demo for this title. But it looks as though it’s going to be good enough for your money anyhow, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

And they’ve also confirmed among other things on their twitter account that there is no multiplayer in Metro 2033.

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Source: Metro 2033 on Twitter

Metro 2033 Release Date Confirmed, Limited Edition, No Pre-release Demo

Assassin’s Creed II Releasing Earlier in Europe

Assassin’s Creed II will be released on the PC on March 16th, 2010 – in the US. That much I know, but Eurogamer recently learned that the title will arrive on PCs in Europe on March 5th. Nearly a whole two weeks earlier. Quite fitting, seeing as the game is set in Europe (Italy).

No? I thought it was pretty clever…

I don’t know about down here in SA, when we can expect to see it in stores, but I’m hoping that we go along with the European date, obviously.

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Source: Eurogamer

Assassin’s Creed II Releasing Earlier in Europe

Assassin’s Creed II PC Details: Release Date, System Specifications, DLC Inclusive

I don’t know why everyone’s making a fuss of this “new” release date for Assassin’s Creed II. The official word is that it’s March 16th, 2010. But I’ve known that for some time now, at least unofficially, and so have you, probably. If you didn’t, now you do.

Another interesting thing about the PC version of AC2 is that the DLC packs, “Battle of Forli” and “Bonfire of the Vanities”, which were cut out of the game and are being sold to console owners (which is low, low, low, as I’ve said before) are going to be included in the PC release! Just as I predicted, and it’s the right thing to do. So PC owners don’t have to pay for the DLC packs. They come included, just so you know.

The game will be sold as a retail and digital download version. The digital version’s price is quite steep, at $59.99. Also available for digital download only is the Black Edition, which is a few dollars extra. There’s supposedly no word on what’s included in the pack, but I have a feeling that because I’ve seen some mention of this Black Edition before, that it may well give you additional clothes for Ezio to play dress up in. I’m not sure, I just think it is.

As for the System Specifications:

Minimum Requirements:

OS: Windows XP (32-64 bits) /Windows Vista (32-64 bits)/Windows 7 (32-64 bits)Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ
Memory: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista - Windows 7
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 –compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller

Recommended:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
Sound: 5.1 sound card
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick optional (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:

ATI RADEON X1950, HD 2000/3000/4000/5000 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7/8/9/100/200 series

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Source: Big Download

Assassin’s Creed II PC Details: Release Date, System Specifications, DLC Inclusive

Assassin’s Creed 3 Confirmed, Online Play Featured

I’ve only ever played Assassin’s Creed 1, and I’m still waiting on AC 2 which should see a release on PC in March 2010. But in that time, the third game in the main series has been confirmed.

There were rumours going around at one stage that suggested that the game’s setting would take place in WW II and feature a female assassin this time around.

All I know is, if that’s true, there’s going to be a lot of “fail, fail, fail”, and “epic fail” shouted and left in blog comments by the masses when it comes out. Don’t they know that we don’t want WW II games anymore?

Anyway, there’s official talk that says it will feature multiplayer, which could work, and that it will be a properly full game, and not end up with the whole DLC scandal of AC 2. Assassin’s Creed II’s main story consisted of an addition two chapters which were taken out and then offered as DLC packs later on. That’s low, considering some people still thought that the game was too short. Now they know the reason.

The game could see a release sometime possibly in 2010 or 2011, the latter sounding more realistic. They should take more time on it and not go the WW II route. Seriously. No word on what platforms it will appear on either, but I think since the PC and consoles were featured last time and the time before that, it’s a safe bet we’ll all get a chance with it.

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Gamasutra

1up.com

Assassin’s Creed 3 Confirmed, Online Play Featured

NAG Magazine January 2010 Issue on the way, Delayed in Cape Town

January will mark 11 years that I’ve been buying NAG magazine.
Unfortunately for those of us in Cape Town (including me), if you aren’t a subscriber, you’ll only be able to get the issue on the 7th of January, instead of the 24th of December like everyone else. That’s a whole 2 weeks delay! Damn!
So, if you were planning on wrapping it up for Christmas, guess you’ll have one less present on the morning, which has approached so fast. It’s on Friday – can you believe it?

“Update: Due to some unforeseen delays with the distribution of the DVD, the January issue will only be on shelves in Cape Town on the 7th of January. Subscribers will not be affected.”

It’s too bad, because this issue looks like it’s going to be a good one. Features include a Dead Space 2 interview, and reviews of all of 2009’s big hits: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed II, Dragon Age: Origins, and Left 4 Dead 2!
The DVD will contain demos of Avatar and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, as well as the usual truckload of videos and trailers and lots of other stuff.
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http://nag.tidemedia.co.za/?p=5743
http://forums.tidemedia.co.za/nag/showthread.php?p=253220#post253220

NAG Magazine January 2010 Issue on the way, Delayed in Cape Town

Destructoid Murders Assassin's Creed II in Review

Well, I was going through my feeds, when all of a sudden I cam across a review of Assassin's Creed II, by Jim Sterling, naturally one of the more cynical, negative journos or bloggers out there.

I was surprised to see that after reading through the review, which was overly negative, in my opinion, the game scored a 4.5. By Dtoid's standards, that's an average game, but try and tell that to a lot of "Assassin's Creed fanboys". I wouldn't regard myself as one of those, but I was just a little shocked to see this. It's one of the only bad reviews I've seen about the game.

Mind you, it is the console version, so perhaps when I get to play the PC edition next year, it will be better. That happens sometimes.

Besides, I've also read recently that reviews are very low on the list of things that get a person to buy a game anyway.

Destructoid Murders Assassin's Creed II in Review

GameStop Breaks the Rules…Again, Releases Games Early

GameStop broke the street release date for Modern Warfare 2 last week, without permission from evil publisher Activision. In defence of their actions, it was said that the top brass of GameStop gave the go-ahead and it was released early.

Now it seems they’ve done the same thing with Assassin’s Creed II and Left 4 Dead 2 this week. The release dates for these two games were broken too. So, gamers probably aren’t complaining. They can get the game early. But publishers, developers, and other retailers are likely less than impressed, or pleased.

Then again, people hate Activision and Bobby Kotick as of late anyway, and the company made loads off of Modern Warfare 2, and not to mention a big fat truckload of pocket money for “Psykotick”.

GameStop always seeks to get the competitive edge over other retailers, at perhaps at any cost. Whether it’s releasing games earlier than the set release date, or letting GameStop employees play new games before selling them, so they’re classed as second hand; stuff that’s frowned upon by others. And second hand goods are what keep the retail chain going, according to reports.

To their credit, GameStop has come around to the fact that digital distribution is the way of the future, after analysts said that the company was doomed to shut down if it didn’t adapt. It’s now broadening its online capabilities as of this year.

Now people are talking about what devs can do to stop GameStop from ruining their plans as far as
release dates are concerned. It seems as though lately, even if a game is sold by a retailer earlier than planned, games like Left 4 Dead 2 are locked, so they can’t be played before that date. But can this actually stop GameStop and other retailers from doing this? Maybe the issue will be taken to court, and perhaps there will be some sort of penalty for committing the act, or even made illegal.

Oh, by the way, payback is a b1tch: a GameStop was robbed the other day, and 100 copies of Modern Warfare 2 were nabbed.

It seems there is justice in this world after all.

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New Jersey breaks street date for AC II and L4D2
MW2 was released early without permission from Activsion
Heist Nets 100 Copies of Modern Warfare 2 [Robbery]

GameStop Breaks the Rules…Again, Releases Games Early

Video Games Coming Out in November 2009- 10/15 - 10/21: Assassin's Creed II

Picks of the Week- Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II: Discovery, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, Left 4 Dead 2, The Sims 3 World Adventures

Well, this week it's all Assassin's Creed by the look of it, with titles coming out for PS3, 360, DS, iPhone, and the PSP. The PC version of Assassin's Creed II will come out for the PC next year.

Besides that, there's another title that everyone loves to hate coming out this week: Left 4 Dead 2. And also the expansion for The Sims 3, The Sims 3 World Adventures.

Quite a packed week actually.

Links as usual go to product pages at Amazon, Gamestop, GamersGate, etc.

PC

Strength & Honour 2 (ezgame online store)
Hidden Secrets: The Nightmare - Downloadable version
The Princess and the Frog
The Sims 3 World Adventures
Left 4 Dead 2
King's Bounty: Armored Princess (GamersGate)
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Elven Legacy: Siege (GamersGate)

PS2

SingStar Latino (Gamestop)

PS3

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen!
SingStar Latino (Gamestop)
Planet 51
God of War Collection
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II: Black Edition
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Tony Hawk Ride (with board)
NCAA Basketball 10

Xbox 360

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen!
Gyromancer (XBLA)
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Tony Hawk Ride (with board)
NCAA Basketball 10
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II: Black Edition
Left 4 Dead 2
Planet 51
Stoked: Big Air Edition

DS

The Princess and the Frog
Imagine: Artist
Planet 51
My Ballet Studio
Foto Frenzy
Personal Fitness for Men
Personal Fitness for Women
Petz Hamsterz Superstarz
Petz Dogz Talent Show
Discovery Kids: Spider Quest
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral
Junior Classic Games
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

Wii

My Ballet Studio
The Princess and the Frog
Jambo! Safari: Animal Rescue
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
Planet 51
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral
Street Fighter II': Champion Edition
Cocoto Festival
JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island
Crazy Chicken Tales
Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen!
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Pokemon Rumble
Formula 1 2009
EA Sports Active More Workouts
Just Dance
Tony Hawk Ride (with board)
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
New Super Mario Bros.

PSP

Echoes
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
PSP 3000 Limited Edition Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines Entertainment Pack- White
LittleBigPlanet
Formula 1 2009

iPhone

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery

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Gamespot

Video Games Coming Out in November 2009- 10/15 - 10/21: Assassin's Creed II

Video Game-Inspired Fan-Fiction Novels Coming Your Way

It seems as though video game-inspired fan-fiction novels are all the rage at the moment. There are three coming out by the end of the year that I’ve read about: Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance, Splinter Cell: Endgame, and the one I’ve heard most about, The Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City.

The first to hit will be The Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City, written by by Greg Keyes, which will be published by Del Rey on the 24th of November. There were recently hints in the novel’s blurb that alluded to a fifth Elder Scrolls game, and this blurb was subsequently taken down, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure that Bethesda would never drop one of their most successful franchises. There’s and excerpt from The Infernal City available online right now at randomhouse.com. It’s not bad, I guess. I had a read of it today.

The second one, following close behind, is Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance, written by Oliver Bowden, which will be published by Penguin on 26th November, just after the game’s release, which is scheduled for the 20th. It’s funny because there was initially a trilogy of books planned for the Assassin’s Creed series, including The Invisible Imam, but they were cancelled. There’s a description of the novel, Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance, on Amazon.

The third one I’ve read about is to be published by Berkley, and indeed based on another Ubisoft game- Splinter Cell: Endgame (not to be confused with EndWar, another Tom Clancy title, or Megadeth’s latest album, Endgame). This one is going to be released in December, and is based on the Splinter Cell series. In addition to this, there will be a novel based on HAWX, predictably called Tom Clancy's HAWX. They are both written by a "David Michaels" which is said to be a pseudonym used by many different authors.

When's the last time that Tom Clancy wrote a novel, anyway? It's just become a brand name.

The only novel that doesn’t have a tie-in title to speak of is the Elder Scrolls novel, it seems.

Video Game-Inspired Fan-Fiction Novels Coming Your Way

Ubisoft has Good and Bad News, and Assassin’s Creed II

So, it seems as though Assassin’s Creed II’s pre-orders are up 80% over the original, and from what I’ve seen, it seems justified.

Hell, on Amazon, you can pre-order Assassin’s Creed II for the PC and get $2.00 off. That’s right.

Assassin’s Creed: Lineage was recently the most viewed video on YouTube when it was released, and drove a lot of traffic and likely more interest in the series.

On the bad side of things though, because most of the year passed, and no Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft says that their sales fell by 52%.

Ubisoft has Good and Bad News, and Assassin’s Creed II