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

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

Keen Dreams: Assassin’s Creed, and Resident Thief – Starring Samuel L. Jackson

The Keen Dreams series is all about video games in dreams.
There we were, on the first floor of a dirty, dishevelled apartment building. Me, and Samuel L. Jackson, or someone who looked and sounded just like him. We were on the run, and we headed down the stairs to the ground floor. But it was too late to make our escape that way, seeing as they had all ready driven up to the parking lot outside.
So it was back up the stairs, up to the top floor where we navigated a series of obstacles as fast as we could. Sam led the way and I followed, doing exactly what he did so to minimise the chances of screwing up and getting lost or something. Then at the worst possible moment, as Sam was climbing up a ladder or scaffolding, part of it broke, and he came crashing down on to the floor boards below, unable to get back up. He must have been seriously hurt, but he urged me to carry on.
“In here?” I asked him as I climbed up the structure.
“No, in there!” he responded, pointing to a narrow little passage way that looked like it would be difficult to get through. But I did, and as I was climbing along the platform which hung above the room on the other side, the platform gave way, and I too fell down to the floor below. What luck.
What luck indeed – seeing as during the fall, glints of gold twinkling in the darkness caught my eye, as well as the unmistakeable Nazi symbol, emblazoned on a flag in the corner.
I lay still though, although not as seriously injured as Sam was, because the group of thugs at that moment came waltzing in to the room I had been in only seconds ago. They immediately walked over to Sam, who lay on the ground. He made no effort to try and get away. He only yelled, “Happy New Year!” as the thugs got nearer. I watched them through the holes in the wall where bricks were missing, and lay still, waiting for the gunshot.
Then it came, and Sam was gone.
To be Continued?…

Keen Dreams: Assassin’s Creed, and Resident Thief – Starring Samuel L. Jackson

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

Assassin’s Creed III Set in Rome, Continues Story of Ezio

For the first time in the series so far, the next title in the Assassin’s Creed series, Assassin’s Creed III, will be a sequel to Assassin’s Creed II, continuing the story of Ezio.

This time it’s set in Rome, Italy, and Ezio will “strike at the heart” of the Templars. New features in AC III include cooperative multiplayer. The game is said to be released this year.

In related, and perhaps slightly worrying news, Ubisoft says that the Assassin’s Creed series is going to see more frequent sequels. The same was said about Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Prince of Persia, and even… Driver.

If you think it’s too soon after Assassin’s Creed II to see a sequel this year, you’re not the only one. I think it should be made law that a worthy sequel to a game must be in development for at least three or four years. Yeah, I’m looking at you Infinity Ward.

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Source: TVGB

Assassin’s Creed III Set in Rome, Continues Story of Ezio

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

Went Christmas Shopping, Got a Good Gaming Deal

Well, the Christmas tree has been put up, and of course now it’s all about the last few weeks before Christmas…and that means Christmas shopping.

I’ve been going through a lot of brochures lately looking for some good local game deals, and I did see a few which interested me.

So, off I went to the local mall, Tygervalley, and I was looking at some classic games. A lot of them have are available at between R49,99 and R99,99, and not just “old” games - games like BioShock, Mirror’s Edge, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed and Resident Evil 4, good games that were released in the last two or three years.

I was looking at some of the good old games and I was tempted to just take them all (the mall, get it?) but I was looking for some games in particular; ones I hadn’t played before. I came across a good deal in Operation Flashpoint. It’s the full game, plus the two addons, Cold War Crisis and Resistance. A 3-in-1 deal for R49,99. I played the demos of these games years ago, but I haven’t yet played the full versions of these games after all this time. After being kind of disappointed with Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, I picked this up and bought it. I’ve read that the original is better than OFDR.

I still think that it was an odd choice, but I mean, at R50, if it doesn’t turn out to be so good, it’s no real loss to me.

I was also looking for a copy of Thief: The Dark Project, seeing as my disc isn’t working anymore, and I also want to get a hold of Deus Ex, ever since I saw it on Destructoid’s list of Top 50 games of the decade.

You know, I disagree with most of that list, but that’s life, huh?

I actually want to go back there with my brother or even on my own again, just to see if I missed anything, and perhaps pick something else up.

Went Christmas Shopping, Got a Good Gaming Deal

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

Borderlands Soundtrack Coming Out in December

Didn't think there was a sound track in Borderlands? Well, yes there is, and it will be out this December in time for Christmas.

It features the talents of Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco, Raison Varner, Tim Larkin, and Jesper Kyd. Jesper Kyd is especially well-known in the industry, and is probably recognized as the artist responsible for the Hitman series and Assassin's Creed.

Hitman Blood Money contains one of favourite game OSTs ever, and it was composed by that man.

Well anyway, here's the track list. Note that it doesn't contain “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage the Elephant. There are some bonus tracks added though.

1. Prelude (Jesper Kyd)
2. Welcome To Fyrestone (Jesper Kyd)
3. Enter Skag Gully (Raison Varner)
4. Fighting Off The Skags (Raison Varner)
5. Removing The Bandit Threat (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
6. Traversing The Deep (Raison Varner)
7. Fighting Sledge's Minions (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
8. Welcome to The Bunker (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
9. Smoking Out The Bunker (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
10. Burning Rubber and Shooting Bullets (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
11. The Junkyard Vista (Jesper Kyd)
12. Welcome to The Trash Coast (Raison Varner)
13. The Rakkhive Emerges (Raison Varner)
14. Assaulting Krom's Canyon (Raison Varner)
15. Battling Krom's Minions (Raison Varner)
16. Fighting Krom and His Gun (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
17. Trash The Bandits (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
18. Trash The Bandits Some More (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
19. Welcome To The Wastelands (Jesper Kyd)
20. Traveling To The Vault (Raison Varner)
21. Destroying the Destroyer (Raison Varner)
22. Bonus - Bring Your Guns (Jesper Kyd)
23. Bonus - Borderlands (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
24. Bonus - The Old New Haven (Tim Larkin)
25. Bonus - Exploring the Mine (Tim Larkin)
26. Bonus - Exploring Overlook (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
27. Bonus - The Threat At Overlook (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)

You can pick up the Borderlands OST from Amazon.



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http://twitter.com/GearboxSoftware/statuses/5805128094
Destructoid

Borderlands Soundtrack Coming Out in December

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

Musical Association with Video Games: What are you Thinking?

Friday the 13th

Do you remember that old word association game, that some people claim is used by psychologists and such on their patients? Well, when you listen to music, with a particular track, there’s usually some sort of thought that comes into your mind, and every time you listen to that track, that’s what pops in your head. Sometimes it’s easy, because the theme of the song pretty much does it all for you- it’s literal. But other times, there’s some inexplicable idea that revolves in your head when you listen to a song, maybe because it can be interpreted in many ways.

Well, I’ve just been thinking about it lately, and I have some examples of video games I think about when listening to some music tracks. I’ve been listening to Megadeth’s latest album, Endgame, since it came out back in September, and there’s a track on there by the same name, “Endgame”, and when I listen to it, I first think about Thief, particularly those Hammerites, and Cragscleft prison in Thief: The Dark Project. This is probably because of the theme of the song. "Endgame" deals with the infamous Guantanamo Bay Facility. As the song progresses however, I start to think about Wolfenstein 3D or Spear of Destiny, especially like a boss level at the end of an episode. Why I think it’s perfect in this sense, is because of the lyrics:

“This is the end of the road; this is the end of the line,
This is the end of your life; this is the end.”

Also, another track that makes me think of Wolf 3D is “To Live is to Die” by Metallica, especially part of the intro riff.

Another example: While listening to "The Unforgiven", by Metallica on their black album, it may be because of James Hetfield’s emphasis on the part of the song which makes me think of Duke Nukem 3D, when you kill those alien troopers and they scream.

"What I've felt,
What I've known..."

Finally, If I listen to "Wherever I May Roam", like a posted about the other day, while listening to the intro, I think about Assassin's Creed, and as the song progresses I get images of Quake II, because parts of the song remind me of the Sonic Mayhem composed track that plays when you're in the factory levels, like the Processing Plant.

Megadeth's "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due", and Motörhead's "Assassin" also turn my thoughts to Assassin's Creed.

Weird, you say? Well, you do it too, you know.

Musical Association with Video Games: What are you Thinking?

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

Classic Metal Tracks That Should Have Been on the Assassin’s Creed Soundtrack

Guy Fawkes Night

Speaking of soundtracks, and of the Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack in particular, I was just thinking of something for a post, which has been in the back of my mind since last year while I was playing Assassin’s Creed.

If they had to have metal tracks in the soundtrack for the original Assassin’s Creed, which ones would they use? I came up with three so far, that all have a kind of middle-eastern Assassin type of feel to them, which I would listen to while playing the game:

Metallica- "Wherever I May Roam"

This track, the intro in particular, is played with an electric sitar, and sounds quite appropriate, almost reminding me of Sabu from the old ECW, if not the game.

Megadeth- "Holy Wars…The Punishment Due"

So the theme of the song actually had more to do with the IRA years ago, so I’ve read, but the name of the song and parts of it just remind me of the crusades, like in the game, with the battle between the Franks, or Crusaders, and the Muslims.

Motörhead - "Assassin"

The title of the tracks pretty much says it all, I think, but it’s all that there is some drums and stuff going on half-way through the track that get the kind of feel I’m thinking of.

I might add some more later on when I come across a track that I feel fits the criteria I'm looking, or listening for.

Classic Metal Tracks That Should Have Been on the Assassin’s Creed Soundtrack

Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack out This Month, Before the Game

This month, before the game is even released, the soundtrack for Assassin’s Creed II , composed by none other than Jesper Kyd, will be out. Jesper did the original Assassin’s Creed OST, and is no doubt also famous for doing the OSTs for the Hitman series of games, among others.

The album is available on Amazon. I've included links to the individual MP3s as well.

Here is the track list for the game:

Disc 1/2
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01. Heart 3:58
02. Venice Rooftops 3:17
03. Ezio's Family 3:57
04. Florence Tarantella 1:51
05. Home In Florence 4:29
06. Approaching Target 1 3:35
07. Approaching Target 2 6:06
08. Venice Fight 2:01
09. Florence Escape 2:49
10. Tour Of Venice 3:15
11. Flight Over Venice 1 5:09
12. Back In Venice 1:32
13. Dreams Of Venice 4:23
14. Home Of The Brotherhood 3:26
15. Leonardo's Inventions Pt 1 2:11
16. Venice Combat Low 1:44
17. Venice Escape 3:26
-------------------------------------------
57:09

Disc 2/2
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01. Darkness Falls In Florence 4:05
02. Sanctuary 4:05
03. The Madam 1:04
04. Approaching The Target 3 5:52
05. Flight Over Venice 2 5:18
06. Ezio In Florence 2:18
07. Venice Industry 3:09
08. Stealth 2:22
09. Venice Combat 2:03
10. Notorious 1:14
11. Night Mission In Venice 2:11
12. Chariot Chase 3:20
13. The Plague 3:30
14. Wetlands Combat 2:48
15. Wetlands Escape 2:36
16. Leonardo's Inventions Pt 2 2:47
17. Hideout 2:40
18. The Animus 2.0 4:14
-------------------------------------------
55:36

Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack out This Month, Before the Game

The Verge is Dissing Assassin’s Creed Again

I don’t mean to sound like this, like some sort of disgusting fanboy, but just wait a minute while I get this off my chest.

I liked Assassin’s Creed a lot, and Assassin’s Creed II is one of my most anticipated titles for this year (well, it was, until the PC version was delayed until 2010). So, it irks me a little when I have to listen to some people run it in to the ground all the time.

On The Verge, Pippa called Splinter Cell: Conviction “Assassin’s Creed: Modern Warfare”. OK, so that might be more of a dig at Splinter Cell: Conviction, but still. Then I had to listen to Muhammed “Mo” Nagdee, one of those deplorable sports fanatics, who only appears on the show when FIFA 10 or some racing game bonanza is on the card, run his mouth off with some other guy about how Assassin’s Creed didn’t “do it for him”, and other nonsense.

Then the other day “Pipsqueak” Tshabalala was doing a little intro on the latest Assassin’s Creed II trailer (the one with the prostitutes), and coughed and muttered under her breath, “Prince of Persia rip-off”.

Strike three.

Tshabalala is trying too hard to be cynical and whatnot these days. I think the whole tattoos and bad girl image is fake, myself, and she’s usually uttering some nonsensical rubbish on The Verge and PlayR. I wish they’d get someone else. She’s starting to get on my nerves. When the show goes off air, she’s pulling faces and making funny noises. She’s clearly insane or immature, or both.

And not to mention her hairstyle. She looks as though she cuts her own hair...blindfolded.

The Verge is Dissing Assassin’s Creed Again

There Won't be an Assassin's Creed 2 Demo

I was just reading that there won't be an Assassin's Creed 2 demo. I wasn't really expecting one, since there wasn't one for the original either. I don't know if it's really one of those games that you can have a demo for, although I could be wrong. John Callaham of Big Download was right though when he said: "It seems more and more high profile games are doing away with demo releases, at least before the game is released."

I think about Wolfenstein, and how the demo was released about two months after the full version came out.

Peter Molyneux is of the opinion that demos ruin the experience of a game. But I think on more than one occasion, it has stopped me from buying a real bomb of a game, by sampling it first.

There Won't be an Assassin's Creed 2 Demo

Ghost Recon 4 Named "Predator" and Ubisoft Trademarks "Assassin"

Earlier this year it was revealed that there would be a Ghost Recon 4 sometime in the future. Now this game has cropped up again, because it's been rated by the OFLC, and the name is Ghost Recon Predator.

I'm hoping somewhat that this isn't like the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter games- at least the first one. That was quite forgettable in my mind. Now, I liked the original Ghost Recon a lot. There's a lot of joking around about the supposed unoriginality of the title and writers and commenters on the story are joking that it may feature the Predator.



I don't know about that though, because Mr. Predator is preoccupied with other projects like the several Aliens/Predator/AvP projects in development. It would be cool to go back to the jungle and swamp atmosphere of the original instead of the more urban environments of Advanced Warfighter, anyway.

In a bit of related news, Ubisoft has trademarked the name "Assassin", which would likely (not confirmed) have something to do with the Assassin's Creed franchise, seeing as there's a whole lot of "Assassin" there.

Ghost Recon 4 Named "Predator" and Ubisoft Trademarks "Assassin"

Possible World War 2 Setting and Female Lead in Assassin’s Creed III

Okay, we haven’t even gotten Assassin’s Creed II yet, and their talking about the sequel to that game, Assassin’s Creed III. The only thing is, the guys are talking about making the third game set during World War II, and having a female assassin as the playable character.

This is just talk, and I don’t think it’s anything official yet, but I would NOT like to play this game. Why? Well, we don’t need another World War II game. That much is clear. There are nearly 200 of these and we don’t want another one. It would probably end up like the failed Velvet Assassin that came out earlier this year.

And about the female assassin thing: I don’t mean to be sexist or anything, but that might and might not work. We’ve seen from the Tomb Raider series among others that a female lead can indeed make a game, but so far we’ve had two male assassins in the Assassin’s Creed series (three if you count that Ben Stiller lookalike, Desmond Miles), and I’m not sure of the switch to using one of the opposite gender would go smoothly. The devs say they are looking for a time period where a female assassin would work, and WW II just happened to come up. But unless it’s something completely original, and it likely won’t be, it’s going to fail miserably.

Still, I can’t wait to get a hold of Assassin’s Creed II! The console versions should be out by the end of November, and the PC version only next year.

Possible World War 2 Setting and Female Lead in Assassin’s Creed III