assassins creed
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Hold up, Assassin's delayed in Aussieland
What do you get when you mix the highly anticipated Assassin's Creed launch with Australia, manufacturing issues and some freight problems? Well, you get an Australian / New Zealand Assassin's delay, that's what you get. Our fellow fanboys in Aussieland will have to wait an extra seven days before they get their Assassin's Creed fix due to troubles getting the discs out to retail. And it's a shame too, because we know how much Aussies love their Assassin's (and cuddly kangaroos). Feel free to vent your frustration on the nearest Ubisoft employee or postal worker ... just don't say we sent you.[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Metareview: Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Sometimes, we almost wonder if gamers really wanted Assassin's Creed to actually make it onto shelves. Not that they don't want to play the game per se, but because they seem so gosh darn infatuated with that pretty Miss Jade Raymond that they couldn't bear to go a couple years without playing another game produced by her. End run on sentence. Why? Because that equates to a decrease from the googolplex of daily postings and interviews on her game, her wardrobe choices, and thanks to some blogs, comments on the same parts one of hundreds of thousands of other women you've seen in your life has she's equipped with. (If I see stat modification comments in this post I swear to some higher power the outcome -- for you -- will not be pretty.)
Shipping this week: leap of faith edition
The holiday onslaught continues this week with nine new games for the Xbox 360. Assassin's Creed is arguably the most anticipated of the bunch -- and it's likely many gamers will be buying a copy on faith alone -- but we're sure there are plenty of people out there interested in the likes of BlackSite, Kane & Lynch, and Need for Speed Pro Street. And there are five more games aside from those. What the hell is a frugal gamer to do? Just take a look at all these games. Assassin's Creed BlackSite: Area 51 Beowulf: The Game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Need for Speed Pro Street Monster Jam Soldier of Fortune: Pay Back America's Army: True Soldiers WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 We hope you've paid the bills already.[Via Joystiq]
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.
Video: Assassin's Creed launch trailer
If you watched South Park the other night this trailer isn't anything new to you, but for those who weren't watching the children from Colorado then hunker down and get your view on. Embedded above is one artistically done and both visually and auditorally enjoyable Assassin's Creed launch trailer. It'll get you excited and it'll make you want to stab someone. But don't, because Altair doesn't support stabbing people unless they're marked men. Anyway, enjoy the new Assassin's trailer.
Home made Assassin's Creed wrist blade [update]
[Update: Based on community response, we have decided to remove the video displaying an actual knife. We'd like to point out that it was never our intention to endorse the creation or use of such a device, but rather to point out an interesting bit of gaming culture. We have replaced the video with the LEGO version, which, nerds that we are, we found much more interesting anyway.]We really have no idea how we missed this. It seems some enterprising Assassin's Creed fan created his own hidden knife similar to the one used in the game. It was created way back in July though, so those of you allergic to old news had best look away. The rest of you can marvel at the craftsmanship and ingenuity of the thing. The creator, known as sandman_seven, detailed the construction of the device on the Ubisoft forums (and apparently attempted to sell them as well).Now, while we can't deny the inherent coolness of such a device, it also creeps us out just a bit. So, we urge you to enjoy the coolness, but don't try this at home. If you must make a shank, may we suggest you make one out of LEGOs. To see what that looks like, you need only watch another video embedded after the break.[Thanks, OBM]
Assassins commercial overload during South Park
If you watched last night's Guitar Hero South Park then you know the amount of commercial product pushing that went on. After getting through only half of our (deeply loved) South Park we could only think one thing ... holy Assassin's Creed commercial abuse Batman! Seriously, there must have been a solid ten minutes of Assassins commercials that aired during the 30 minute episode, so much so we don't think there were any other commercials played besides Comedy Central's own. So many commercials, we were starting to wonder if Ubisoft bought a stake of Comedy Central or lined Matt and Trey's pockets with the other half of Assassins' marketing budget. But after the episode concluded and our commercial intake ended, we couldn't complain. We'd be lying to say that we didn't enjoy all ten minutes of the Assassins footage. We'd also be lying if we didn't tell you that later we hopped into our car, headed to our local retailer and picked up a copy of Heroin Hero. It was an interesting night.
Guillemot says developing for PS3 is no harder than 360
Seems that talking up about the PlayStation 3's development process is in style -- first IO Interactive said how fun it was, now Ubisoft's own Yves Guillemot is claiming that it's no harder than programming a 360 title. Perhaps that's stretching it a little. Ubisoft is saying that, from a development standpoint, the two consoles can yield them equal results, working on the respective strengths of each console. In addition, he feels the rest of the year will be excellent for the PS3, with the price cut and lineup of good games.As for the rumor that it costs a lot more to work on the PS3, well, it's still true, but not a major hike in price due to Ubisoft's complete cross-platform engine thingy. "What we do now is create for the PS3 and 360 at the same time, and it doesn't cost more than 10 per cent extra to develop for the other machine ... Before it was costing us more, about 20 per cent, just because it was difficult to learn the PS3 hardware, but now our engines are done and we can easily develop for both machines." Good stuff, we guess. Hopefully this means less delays for PS3 versions of games as well as equivalent gaming experiences.
Kristen Bell gets digitized for Assassin's Creed
We'll admit it -- we're fans of Ms. Bell, from the spunky, spitfire junior private eye she played in Veronica Mars to the unseen, but ever present blogger in Gossip Girl, and even the lead in the god-awful Pulse. So, naturally, when she let it slip last December that she was contributing to Assassin's Creed, our hype meter exploded under the pressure. Now, giving us a little taste, Ubisoft released the first image of what Kristen Bell looks like in the game. Despite a less than flattering hair style, the actual rendering looks extremely similar. Speaking about Kristen Bell, producer Jade Raymond stated she "is a remarkable actress who was able to bring her character to life in a dynamic way that I don't think anyone else could have done properly." We'd still prefer some QT with the less creepy Bell any day of the week, though.
Video: Shedding some light on Assassin's controls
The one worrisome question mark we've hard regarding Assassin's Creed has been the game's control scheme. We've wondered how exactly combat will play out, how fleeing enemies works and if the counter weapon system would be effective and enjoyable. And it's possible the Ubisoft crew heard our worried cries, because today they tried to calm our Assassins anxiety with a new video titled Developer Diary: Fight System. It's a super brief and basic overview of how the controls work during fights and combat in Assassins, but maybe it'll put your control worries to rest ... if at least for a bit.
Penny Arcade's take on Assassin's Creed DS
It's difficult to imagine what steps Ubisoft will take to adapt Assassin's Creed for the Nintendo DS, what with the console game's "next-gen" graphics and mature themes, but the theorists at Penny Arcade took a stab at predicting its presentation, holding up a bloody, lacerated comic to demonstrate their prophecy.We wouldn't be too upset with their proposed game, a marriage between Assassin's Creed and Animal Crossing. Not every console title can make as successful a transition to handhelds like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Compared to some of the other multiplatform titles that've appeared on the DS -- Peter Jackson's King Kong and TMNT, for example -- the game sounds like a treat. We would be lucky if Assassin's Creed DS turns out to be half as good as this infantalized Assassin's Crossing concept.See also: DS Daily: Card-based RPG or minigame collection?
Famitsu reviews Assassin's Creed: 37/40
As if we needed further proof that November will assassinate your wallet, Famitsu has heaped glowing praise atop Assassin's Creed. According to a forum post on the Ubisoft forums, Famitsu has given the title a very respectable 37/40, with the individual reviews standing at 10, 8, 9, and 10. Incidentally, Famitsu handed the same overall score to Halo 3. There are some tiny scans of the reviews on the forums, but our Kanji is a little rusty. Thankfully, someone went to the trouble of summing things up. Apparently, the Famitsu reviewers were impressed by the story, presentation, and addicting acrobatics, noting that Assassin's Creed is a true next-gen title. Some knocks against it are the one button combat, confusing map, and occasional camera problems. All in all, it sounds pretty solid. Good news for gamers, bad news for bank accounts.[Via Evil Avatar]
Assassin's Creed is gold, strikes November 13
We always said we'd cut off our left hand ring finger and replace it with a retractable blade to find out the Assassin's Creed release date. Fortunately, Ubisoft didn't make us keep our end of the bargain, announcing the game has gone gold and will arive November 13 -- that's less than three weeks away.In what is now an uncharacteristic move, the game will come out simultaneously on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A limited edition version will be made available at the usual $10 addition ($69.99). As noted by the press release, those who order either version from GameStop will also receive an art book.
Assassin's Creed goes for gold, stabs it
We'll kids, we've got good news and bad news. The good news is that Ubisoft's medieval sneak-a-thon, Assassin's Creed, has gone gold and has a confirmed release date of November 13. The bad news is that you now have one more game to add to the list. You know the one. That list with all the games you need written on it. Everybody keeps one of those, right? Right next to the list of all the essentials you can live without to save money. You know, things like laundry detergent and toothpaste. You don't really need those things, do you?
UK: Watch Jade and her Assassin's demo at HMV
In celebration of the London Games Festival and Ubisoft's self proclaimed greatness, Assassin's Creed producer (and a person who takes pride in her appearance) Jade Raymond will be demoing the game live, on stage, at HMV.Saturday, October 27th at London's HMV, Jade will be stopping by to demo the latest Assassin's Creed build, be gawked at by groups of hormonal males and will have to constantly wipe the drool off her shoes. The event is open to the general public and will include two Jade presentations, one at 3:00PM and the other at 4:30PM, a Q&A session and an autograph signing too. So, if you're in the London area, be sure to head on over to Oxford Street, stand in line at HMV this Saturday, and get a glimpse of Jade Assassin's Creed. It shall be "good times".
Assassin's Creed achievements stalk the web
Achieve360Points has uncovered the achievements for Assassin's Creed. Most of the achievements are of the "perform a certain action X times" variety. Some of them involve finding flags, making stealth kills, or performing leaps of faith, for example. One of the more intriguing achievements, Hungerer of Knowledge, reads "See 85% of all the memory glitches." We're guessing that has something to do with the mysterious anachronisms seen in the trailers. Also, thirteen of the forty-four achievements are secret and carry a value of 20-50 points. Could these have something to do with the closely guarded plot of Assassin's Creed?Hit the "read" link for the full list of achievements.
Assassin's Creed PS3 skin only at Gamestop
Ever thought your PS3 was a bit ... bland? A bit boring? We're talking about the aesthetic quality of the box itself, not its functions or features. Frankly, we don't find ourselves staring at the machine long enough to really notice, but if you do then there are many ways that you can remedy the situation. Gamestop is, from November 1st, offering a new Assassin's Creed skin. For a few weeks this will allow you to almost imagine that you have the game. "I have Assassin's Creed on PS3" you'll be able to say, without technically lying. The skin includes stickers which attach to the top and bottom of the PS3, so if you have your console sitting horizontally (as you should, really) then half of this skin just became moot. We're hoping that the stickers don't stay on permanently so that once the Assassin's Creed hype dies down you aren't stuck looking like you're stuck in the past.
Video: Assassin's Creed gameplay ... wow
We guess the video above could be considered a spoiler due to it being eight minutes of gameplay footage, but holy wow is it good times and we just had to share it with you. Embedded above and viewable much larger after the break is Assassin's Creed Montferrat Walkthrough gameplay footage and well ... what more can we say other than "wow"? Seriously, if you're willing to give it a look then prepare to fall in love with this game. We're under Assassin's Creed's spell and are liking it.
Assassin's Creed to stalk DS in February '08
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Assassin_s_Creed_confirmed_for_Nintendo_DS_in_Feb_08'; Lending some convincing creed-ence (OOF!) to those nearly forgotten rumors, the DS version of Assassin's Creed has appeared on Nintendo's "holidays and beyond" release list. Those hoping to abandon their Pokémans in favor of, uh, poking a man in the back with a dagger should note that the game falls into the "beyond" part of Nintendo's schedule. Ubisoft's pint-sized bump-off sim is currently set for release in February 2008.Aside from a release window, not much is known about the game. Will it play anything like November's console versions? Will the stylus be used to simulate violent and inevitably controversial slashing motions? We've already sent the appropriate demand to Ubisoft: Your assassinz, let you show me them.
Assassin's Creed confirmed for DS, release in February
It's our turn for the big news today, after Nintendo's US press conference, and Assassin's Creed for the DS is leading the pack. Jade Raymond's action-oriented historical quest has been rumored for the handheld for months, but a huge list of upcoming Nintendo releases confirmed the title's existence. In what form, we cannot yet speculate, but suffice to say that we're hoping for the best rendition Ubisoft can squeeze out of a pair of screens, and not some minigame-fueled spin-off.Lesson: apparently, we should really, really listen to GameStop-fueled rumors, because they are so often true.
