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Joystiq Weekly: Street Fighter 5, Captain Toad review, PlayStation's 20th and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Judging by how many uploads of Street Fighter 5's announcement trailer have been pulled, we're thinking Capcom doesn't want us to know about it just yet. Considering it seems to be a PS4 console exclusive, we're wondering if the reveal slipped out ahead of PlayStation Experience, this weekend's gathering in Las Vegas to talk all things PlayStation. We can find out together as the event plays out over the next 48 hours, but PlayStation news isn't the only thing happening this week – The King's Quest series is getting a new entry, we reviewed Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Telltale Games' Game Of Thrones, and Managing Editor Susan Arendt explained the Danganronpa series' remarkable conveyance of how depression works. Those and many more stories are waiting for you after the break!
The next 'Assassin's Creed' will be set in Victorian London
When Ubisoft surveyed Assassin's Creed fans in 2011, two possible video game locations piqued our curiosity: Feudal Japan and Victorian England. With each annual release, we've clamored to see if either had been chosen as the developer's next virtual playground. Well, for one historical backdrop that time has finally arrived. Kotaku reports that next year's instalment will take the ongoing Assassin-Templar tussle to the streets of London in the 19th century. Code-named Victory, players will be hiding in the rafters of Charing Cross station, battling atop racing stagecoaches and chasing thieves down dingy cobbled streets. Ubisoft has seemingly confirmed the leak, so it's possible that, just like Assassin's Creed Unity last year, we'll get an official trailer sooner rather than later. Kotaku has some screenshots for your perusal, but in the meantime you'll have to visualize a gruesome Jack the Ripper assassination for yourself. Of course, if you're one of the people that's been affected by the bug-riddled Unity, it's probably best to retain a fair degree of skepticism right now.
Ubisoft confirms next Assassin's Creed for Victorian London
The next major entry in the Assassin's Creed series will reportedly be set in London. According to sources close to Kotaku, the game will take place in the Victorian era, which makes some sense of the reported codename for the next rooftop-leaping game, "Victory." Expected to launch in fall 2015, Victory will seemingly be the first game in the series developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the studio named as the lead of the game by the publisher in July. The report also notes that Victory will be the only Assassin's Creed game to launch next year, and is not planned for previous-generation systems (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360). We've reached out to Ubisoft for comment, and will update as we learn more. Update: Ubisoft has confirmed the leak, offering the following comment: "It is always unfortunate when internal assets, not intended for public consumption, are leaked. And, while we certainly welcome anticipation for all of our upcoming titles, we're disappointed for our fans, and our development team, that this conceptual asset is now public. The team in our Quebec studio has been hard at work on the particular game in question for the past few years, and we're excited to officially unveil what the studio has been working on at a later date. In the meantime, our number one priority is enhancing the experience of Assassin's Creed Unity for players." [Image: Ubisoft]
Ubisoft details third Assassin's Creed: Unity patch
After Ubisoft issued a second patch for Assassin's Creed: Unity late last week, the publisher gave a glimpse of the next update for the game, which is expected to fix more of its technical issues. The third update will be "larger in scope" compared to the previous two, patching bugs "like Arno getting stuck on certain areas of the map," and issues with getting in and out of cover. AI and crowd behavior will be tuned in the coming update as well as co-op multiplayer matchmaking and connectivity problems. Ubisoft also expects to fix situations where the game crashes for players, missing menu items and HUD pop-up errors as well as some of the game's performance issues, such as framerate drops. While Ubisoft said the patch will "dramatically improve" the experience for Unity players, it noted that "this next patch won't solve every problem." [Image: Ubisoft/King_Anesti]
Metareview: Assassin's Creed: Unity
As Assassin's Creed: Unity leapt down to PC, Xbox One and PS4 today, it was met with a mixed critical response. Our review of the game got hung up on plot issues and buildings, the latter in a very literal sense, with a middling score that plunged through the floor much like our hero Arno did during our time with the game. "Assassin's Creed Unity is the best and worst of Assassin's Creed," Weekend Editor Sam Prell discussed in his take on the game. "It's hard not to appreciate everything that it gets right, and you'll have a good time if you can wrangle some friends for co-op, but it's impossible to ignore where Unity falls tragically short." For a sampling of the varied opinions from other reviewers, head past the break.
Assassin's Creed Unity Steelbook Edition only on Uplay
Those with an undying love for physical media should prowl Ubisoft's Uplay store for a peek at Assassin's Creed Unity's Steelbook Edition, a $64.99 target housing PS4, Xbox One and PC downloads of the game. The Steelbook features a stained-glass take of Unity's protagonist, Arno, drawn by illustrator Tony Moore, the same artist that worked with Rob Zombie on an ultra-violent short celebrating the Assassin's Creed series. Reinforced protection for your disc (or voucher) is joined by an official soundtrack and art book, all of which should be heading for your door by Unity's general November 11 launch day. Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann recently followed Unity's stealth-favoring lead, and while he thinks its crouch-activated stealth mode is "effective and snapping to cover worked well on every surface," Ludwig's Arno "often climbed the wrong way" and was hindered by a framerate that "seems to have a lot of trouble keeping up with Unity's huge crowds and vivid lighting, which impacts Arno's responsiveness." [Image: Ubisoft]
Assassin's Creed: Identity launches in NZ, coming soon to an iOS device near you
Assassin's Creed is a massive console franchise that has never really fully embraced smartphones and tablets. Sure, there are several Assassin's Creed games (and some comics as well) on the App Store, but nothing that matches the look and feel of the open-world games that have made the franchise famous. Assassin's Creed: Identity, which just launched in the New Zealand version of the App Store, is looking to change that. Identity looks a lot like the console versions of Assassin's Creed, placing you in the Italian Renaissance period. Spying, researching your targets, and ultimately killing them off is obviously the core gameplay here, but there's also the same pseudo-historical flavor of past games, with backstories of real-life locations as well as period-accurate characters. As many publishers have gotten in the habit of doing, the game launched in NZ as a test market before wider release, but the fact that it's available to the public means it's rapidly approaching a broader release. MCV notes the game is slated for an early 2015 launch. [via Joystiq]
Assassin's Creed: Identity creeps onto iOS in AU, NZ
With no warning, Ubisoft has launched Assassin's Creed: Identity on the Australian and New Zealand iOS App Stores. Despite being a mobile game, Assassin's Creed: Identity is modeled after its console counterparts, only with touchscreen controls in place of a gamepad. It's not as graphically impressive as its predecessors and the gameplay has been stripped down, but if you're looking for a quick stealthy murder fix while waiting for the bus, Assassin's Creed: Identity might scratch that homicidal itch. As with most modern Ubisoft mobile games, Assassin's Creed: Identity relies on microtransactions. A time limit counts down during gameplay, and once it hits zero, the only way to earn more time is to either turn off the game and wait or spend real-world money to purchase Abstergo Credits. According to MCV, Assassin's Creed fans in other regions will be able to play Assassin's Creed: Identity when it goes global in early 2015. [Image: Ubisoft]
Murder is just adorable in Assassin's Kittens Unity
We have so many questions about this video. How did YouTuber Mr.TVCow get those hoodies on the kittens? How many shots did it take to get the perfect scene of kittens falling onto a small pile of hay and running away? Where can we get one and/or all of these kittens (accessories included)? And, most importantly, how long will it take to create a mod that allows us to play Assassin's Creed: Unity as a kitten?
Assassin's Creed Unity's season pass includes game set in China
Ubisoft unveiled a season pass for Assassin's Creed Unity today, and it includes a full standalone game. The pass costs players $30 and "opens up every piece of DLC" for the game, including Dead Kings, a story campaign set after Assassin's Creed Unity. The full game available to Unity's season pass holders is Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, which has players hopping and skipping along the Great Wall of China. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is set in the 16th century Middle Kingdom and stars Shao Jun, a female assassin that trained under Ezio Auditore, star of Assassin's Creed 2. Shao Jun previously appeared in the 2011 animated short Assassin's Creed: Embers as well as the Assassin's Creed Revelations novel by Oliver Bowden. It's noteworthy that Ubisoft is opting for a female lead with the 2.5D side-scrolling platformer, as it suffered criticism for its growing lack of diversity in the past with Unity's co-op multiplayer mode prior to its introduction of Elise, a Templar in the game. Assassin's Creed Unity's season pass will also give players "over 30 new weapons, equipment and outfits" on launch day. The game will arrive on November 11 for PS4, Xbox One and PC, and the season pass content will all be released by early 2015. [Image: Ubisoft]
Assassin's Creed Unity video steals your attention
Ubisoft issued a new walkthrough video today for Assassin's Creed Unity to showcase the game's cooperative multiplayer mode, taking players through a heist mission. The PS4, Xbox One and PC game's launch was recently delayed to November 11.
Assassin's Creed bundles up its American saga for October
Ubisoft will bundle up three games in the Assassin's Creed series for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC for October. Dubbed Assassin's Creed: The Americas Collection in North America and Assassin's Creed Birth of a New World - The American Saga in Europe, the bundle combines three games that are set in the western world: Assassin's Creed 3, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Liberation HD. The bundle will launch on October 3 in Europe and October 28 in North America. Two more games in the series will arrive just weeks later on November 11, as well. Assassin's Creed Rogue will arrive at that time for Xbox 360 and PS3 and Assassin's Creed Unity will launch for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The Americas Collection makes for a nice setup to Rogue, which Ubisoft said will bridge the gap between Assassin's Creed 3 and 4, explaining the game's lack of availability on next-gen consoles. Ubisoft did not provide a price for the bundle. [Image: Ubisoft]
(Not) Seen@PAX Prime: The many outfits of Assassin's Creed
PAX Prime in Seattle was host to many displays that celebrate video game series. Ubisoft's booth included several mannequins donning the outfits of characters from its rich Assassin's Creed series. Honestly, we just couldn't find most of them.
Assassin's Creed competitive killing takes a break
The dense history of Assassin's Creed starts humbly in 2007, with polarizing reviews seeing more potential than anything else in the first game. Still, big sales paved the way for Assassin's Creed 2, which took the franchise into 15th century Italy and along an unbroken streak of bigger, annual releases. The addition of competitive multiplayer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood drew extra skepticism around the franchise's expansion, but it endured and grew alongside new assassins - until now.
Assassin's Creed doubles down on stealth and sailing in 2014
The Assassin's Creed franchise has an established, successful record of major annualized releases, but hooded prowlers will have two notable targets this year: Assassin's Creed Rogue, which will sail chilled seas on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and Assassin's Creed Unity, a return to scaling European cityscapes on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Just because Ubisoft can add two major adventures to the series' anthology within the same year doesn't mean you have time for both however, so Editor-In-Chief Ludwig Kietzmann and Contributing Editor Sinan Kubba exchanged thoughts to help you get a sense of which may better suit your interests. If your interest is particularly piqued by Unity, you can watch a full assassination mission within its take on the French Revolution, led by Creative Director Alex Amancio. Of course, you could always trade in your wrist blades for dice. [Image: Ubisoft]
Complete a full mission in this Assassin's Creed Unity trailer
Who needs two and three-minute trailers when you can watch an 11-minute gameplay walkthrough for Assassin's Creed Unity? After all, it's Friday, live a little. Narrated by Ubisoft Creative Director Alex Amancio, this video takes viewers through a full single-player assassination mission, stopping occasionally to admire the architecture of the world. Set in Paris during the French Revolution (circa 1789), Assassin's Creed Unity includes cooperative multiplayer missions that are online-only. Unity will launch October 28 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. It's not the only game in the series that will see its release this year, however: The Xbox 360 and PS3-only Assassin's Creed Rogue will land on November 11. [Image: Ubisoft]
Assassin's Creed Monopoly to prowl store shelves in Europe
If it's popular enough, getting your preferred series printed on a Monopoly board seems like a matter of "when" rather than "if." Fans of the Mass Effect and Legend of Zelda series have had cause for celebration within the past few years, but now aspiring Assassins can jump for joy – er, rejoice in a subtle, non-identifying manner. European outlet Toy Art has begun taking pre-orders for an English version of Assassin's Creed Monopoly, which is priced at €52 ($70) and listed to be available this November. Details are scarce in Toy Art's listing, but it would be fair to expect the Monopoly experience that's turned Sunday afternoons into heated, relationship-testing events for decades: rolling dice, building properties up to bankrupt friends, surprising opponents with death-from-above wrist blades ... hmm, maybe AC: Monopoly won't be quite the same as previous iterations. [Image: Ubisoft]
Rob Zombie's Assassin's Creed short is ultra-violent - surprised?
Betcha didn't see that coming, did you? Who in the world could have guessed that a digital short about the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, directed by Rob Zombie (House of 1,000 Corpses) and illustrated by Tony Moore (The Walking Dead comic), would be so violent and horrifying? Thanks for sharing, UbiBlog! Okay, we kid. Right from the announcement that Zombie and Moore would debut an animated short at Comic-Con this year, anyone could have guessed that the flick would be anything but puppies and rainbows. Still, things get seriously M for Mature here, as the short features plenty of decapitations, grisly injuries and a close-up eye stabbing. Maybe don't watch if you've just eaten. [Image: Ubisoft]
Rob Zombie debuting Assassin's Creed short at Comic Con
We've seen Assassin's Creed Unity's hooded justice-seekers hunt their prey in conceptual trailers and gameplay demonstrations, but it seems like another perspective will debut at Comic Con International in San Diego later this month. A listing for a Unity-focused panel describes the showing of an "animated short" inspired by Unity, which will be shown by musician and film director Rob Zombie and Tony Moore, an illustrator whose work includes Image Comics' The Walking Dead series. Judging by the listing, the panel will also focus on Unity protagonist Arno, general details about the game and "new announcements" for the Assassin's Creed series. If you're able to go, Unity's "Heads Will Roll!" panel is scheduled for July 25 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific in room 6BCF. [Image: Ubisoft]
New Assassin's Creed led by Ubisoft Quebec
Ubisoft Quebec is the lead studio on "a future Assassin's Creed," Ubisoft announced in a blog post. Ubisoft Montreal traditionally heads up development of Assassin's Creed games, in partnership with other Ubisoft studios, including Quebec. Ubisoft Quebec Managing Director Nicolas Rioux breaks down his studio's history with Assassin's Creed: "We were involved in Brotherhood. We were involved in Revelations. We were involved in Assassin's Creed 3. With AC 3 we were working on the biggest DLC for the franchise – The Tyranny of King Washington. After that we were also involved with Freedom Cry. We have the confidence of the brand team and also from Ubisoft to take leadership of an upcoming Assassin's Creed title. The team is ready for the next big step."
