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Assassin's Creed ad perfects macho slo-mo walk
If you've been watching any of the TV networks (in the States) this week catering to the male 18-49 demographic then you've probably already seen the commercial for Assassin's Creed. The game releases next week and it's time to lay on the marketing thick. We must give props to Ubisoft's marketing and the commercial's creators for sticking with almost all in-game engine scenes. We certainly appreciate when a game commercial pretty much lays out a "what you see is what you get" approach to advertising. It really doesn't hurt that Assassin's Creed is gorgeous. Reviews are already starting to trickle in, but we'll wait until the non-exclusive reviews start getting posted to get a better feel for what the critics are actually thinking. We've seen enough awkward Assassin's Creed stuff over the last six months to stay cautious for now.
Assassin's Creed gameplay video in three parts
If you're anxiously expecting Altair to jump out of the shadows this holiday in Assassin's Creed, here's a little something to hold you over -- or make you foam at the mouth like you've been chewin' cyanide. The three-part gameplay video chronicles an assassination mission in Montferrat: the first video is the intro; the second part is filler; and the third part is the kill and attempted escape (parts two and three after the break). Everything looks good until the third part when you see the combat. Sure, the cutscene killings look cool (a la Heavenly Sword), but the combat appears a bit slow and awkward (one guy fighting when there are ten other people standing around). As we learned during our hands-on time with the game, there won't be a demo for gamers to experience the "different" style of Assassin's Creed before its release. Eh, they've got a couple months to work out the combat kinks ... or longer.
Reasons why Assassin's Creed will pwn!
Over at Assassin's Haven they put together a quick list of five reasons why that not-so-PS3-exclusive Assassin's Creed will rock your socks. Not only are the crowd dynamics amazing, but Altair (the assassin you play) is how Assassin's Haven puts it, " badass". Soon we'll be able to pull out our switchblade, cut some throats, and run around in the Crusades era ... who's pumped about this one? [Via Digg]
Assassin's Creed Collector's Set for pre-order, 12" figurine the prize
Play-Asia is now accepting pre-orders for a region-free Assassin's Creed Collector's Box Set, available for $59.90 -- down from $79.90. The cheapest shipping option to the US is $15.20, bringing the order total to $75.10, which is roughly $15 more than the $60 standard US version.Your $15 buys a 12" (painted) Altair figurine, which if worthy, will round out your big-boy toy collection -- next to Fierce Deity Link and the Colossus -- atop your gaming altar. Can we get a "amen?"[Via Cheap Ass Gamer]
Onyx precision guided parachutes
If you've ever fallen out of a plane before (or perhaps been pushed, not that we're bitter or anything), you might've realized that while hitting the ground isn't usually hard to manage, hitting a particular area of ground can be rather difficult. Even more so with unmanned cargo drops, which can land miles from their unintended drop point due to winds or a mis-timed release. Well, Atair Aerospace is bringing some hot "flocking" technology of theirs to bear on the problem, which allows you to deploy 50 or more cargo parachutes in the same airspace, from as high as 35,000 feet, and have them all autonomously glide for as far as 30 miles before landing within 50 meters of a preprogrammed target. The "Onyx" parachutes have parafoil systems to direct themselves, and the flocking and "Active Collision Avoidance" technologies allow the robotic parachutes to communicate with each other and avoid messy accidents. Altair was awarded a $3.2 million contract by the US Army to supply Onyx systems, slightly out-doing our bid of $5.95 and half a box of French fries to use the system for automatic tradeshow schwag deployment.
