assassinscreed
Latest
Ubisoft apologizes for 'Assassin's Creed' bugs with free add-ons and games
Ubisoft may not have a way to turn back time and release Assassin's Creed Unity without a slew of glitches, but it's at least trying to make amends to jilted gamers. The studio has announced that it's giving every Unity owner a free copy of the upcoming Dead Kings add-on that they'd have previously had to buy. That's not a radical concept in itself (Driveclub's developer is doing the same), but Ubi is going one step further by giving Season Pass holders their choice of free game, such as Far Cry 4 or Watch Dogs. And for that matter, it's scrapping sales of the Season Pass altogether. Existing subscribers will still get extra content, but latecomers will have to buy extras one at a time. The company is clearly aware that it did something wrong -- let's just hope that it learns its lesson and takes its time polishing future games. [Image credit: King_Anesti, Steam Community]
Ubisoft pulls 'Far Cry 4' from Steam, then puts it back (update)
What happened not too long ago with Electronic Arts and its Origin platform appears to be happening with Ubisoft too. As Kotaku has noticed, Ubisoft's trio of tentpole releases for this fall -- Assassin's Creed Unity, Far Cry 4 and The Crew -- are no longer available on Valve's game store, seemingly disappearing overnight. Curiously, older entries in each respective franchise are still available (and reasonably priced) on Gabe Newell's one-stop PC-gaming shop. Even weirder yet? VG247 has spotted that ACU and FC4 are now listed on Origin. No, it doesn't make a lot of sense especially considering Ubisoft has its own digital storefront. We've pinged the outfit's PR team for details about what's up and will update this post should we hear back. Update: As many in the comments have pointed out, all three games are in fact available on Steam once again. What was behind their removal? For now at least, Ubisoft isn't saying.
'Assassin's Creed' and 'Watch Dogs' lead Jade Raymond has left Ubisoft
The driving force behind some of Ubisoft's most successful franchises and best moments is no longer with the game maker as of today. Jade Raymond, executive producer on Assassin's Creed II, Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell: Blacklist, has left the company after ten years of service, the company announced. To do what, exactly? That's anyone's guess. She's been in the AAA space for a good portion of her career, working on The Sims Online prior to joining Ubisoft and being a key voice in the creation of the first two Assassin's Creeds. Given her experience running Ubisoft's Toronto studio, though, it might not be much of a stretch to imagine her going indie and assembling a quick and nimble team entirely of her own -- it wouldn't be the first time we've seen it happen.
Engadget Daily: Galaxy Alpha and Xperia Z3 reviews, the new 'Smash Bros.' and more!
Interested in upgrading to the Galaxy Alpha or Xperia Z3? You've come to the right place. Today, we take both handsets for a spin, journey through the historical roots of Assassin's Creed: Unity, play a whole bunch of the new Smash Bros. for 3DS, and more. Read on for all our news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Playdate: We're livestreaming 'Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor' on PS4! (update: game over!)
Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They're fun!
Stroll through modern Paris as the voice of Gollum narrates its bloody past
Should you want to take a virtual stroll through Paris before neck-stabbing your way around the City of Love in Assassin's Creed: Unity, the game's publisher Ubisoft has you covered. With the Project Widow web app, you can explore La Ville-Lumière in a Google Street-View-esque fashion, picking up tidbits of trivia and watching game-themed rap videos (seriously) along the way. The disembodied voice of mo-cap master Andy Serkis cropping up, however, is the real treat. As noted by Joystiq, his in-character accounts of the Bastille and Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom from the view of a French Revolutionary are pretty great stuff. Maybe, just maybe, if the voice of Gollum had taught my world history class I wouldn't need a video game to help me catch up on Louis the XVI's excesses.
'Sunset Overdrive' shows Ubisoft just how easy it is to put female assassins in a game
We're pretty big fans of Insomniac Games' upcoming Xbox One release Sunset Overdrive 'round these parts, but now that love has grown a bit more. In the latest episode of the development team's web series, noticed by Eurogamer, it was revealed that you can create a female avatar in the game. What's more, if you want to be a dude in a skirt, you can totally be a dude in a skirt -- Insomniac isn't really worried about it either way. The funny part of this is that the female character that's shown is dressed in garb that looks pretty similar to what we've seen a certain male killer from Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 wear. If you're asking yourself what all of this means, well, last week Ubisoft said putting playable female characters in the franchise's next entry, Assassin's Creed: Unity, would require resources the team simply doesn't have.
'Assassin's Creed: Unity' gets redesigned open world, ships October 28th
Earlier today at Microsoft's Xbox One E3 event, we got a glimpse of four-player co-op in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Unity. But the developer's giving the new title a proper unveiling at its own show, with an extended trailer showing in-game footage and a release date: October 28th. Alex Amancio, Creative Director for the title, said that his team "redesigned the building blocks of Assassin's Creed" for Unity to let players "carve [their] own unique path through the game." Gameplay for Unity focuses on assassin Arno Dorian and looks to feature more of the same stealth and murder mechanic we've seen in previous installments of the franchise. This time, though, all that cloak and dagger carnage takes place during the French Revolution.
Watch Ubisoft's E3 press conference right here!
Seeing Assassin's Creed: Unity and The Division this morning at Microsoft's press conference was just a tease, and we expect to see much, much more at publisher Ubisoft's own briefing. Aside from that, expect to hear more on Ubisoft's open-world racer The Crew and possibly some other franchises that've been missing in action for a few years. The second to last conference of the day starts at 6 pm Eastern, 3 pm Pacific and you can watch it below.
'Assassins Creed: Pirates' now available as a free-to-play browser game
Here's the thing about Assassins Creed: Pirates (you know, aside from the obvious swashbuckling theme): It was made specifically for phones and tablets. In fact, Ubisoft warned from the get-go that we probably wouldn't see a PC or console version. Starting today, though, you can play it on your computer after all -- well, sort of. Ubisoft just released a free browser-based version allowing you to play in the browser, using either touch input or a mouse and keyboard. What's nice, too, is that although Ubisoft developed the web game with Microsoft, it actually works with every major browser -- Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and, of course, IE. As a bonus, it runs full-screen, something most web-based titles can't do.
Assassin's Creed: Unity brings a French flair to stealth action on PC, PS4 and Xbox One
We hope you're making good progress on Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, because there's already a sequel on the way. Ubisoft has unveiled Assassin's Creed: Unity, a follow-up that takes the stealthy game series to Paris during the French Revolution. Clearly, you can expect guillotines to play an important role. You'll get a tiny hint of the experience in the teaser video below. However, it's worth noting that the trailer only shows Unity coming to PCs, the PS4 and the Xbox One -- there's no mention of the Wii U or previous-generation systems. We've reached out to Ubisoft to check on platform support, but there's a good chance that the developer is focusing all its attention on higher-end hardware this time around.
Ubisoft kills online pass system after Assassin's Creed 4 shipwreck
Ubisoft has sent its online pass program to Davy Jones' locker following players' complaints over gated content in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. Before, if players wanted to access the game's online multiplayer features, companion app and related bonuses they would have to input a single-use code that came with new copies of Black Flag. Not any more, though. The French publisher has completely scrapped the Uplay Passport system from all upcoming games and is providing free codes via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for players who don't have one (e.g., because they bought a used game or borrowed it from a friend). With Electronic Arts dropping its online pass system earlier this year, Sony doing the same for its first-party software and Ubisoft finally following suit, one of the game industry's more awkward experiments could finally be behind us.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag swabbing decks on Wii U, PlayStation 3 / 4, PC, Xbox 360 and next Xbox
The Assassin's Creed video game series -- beyond its trademark murderous historical fiction -- is known for arriving in annual installments. 2013 is no exception, with French publisher Ubisoft recently revealing Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, a pirate-centric next entry in the long-running franchise. Unlike last year's game, which took players through the American Revolution as a half-British / half-Native American named Connor, AC4: Black Flag puts you in his grandfather's swashbuckling boots as Edward Kenway of The Caribbean. Kenway's the captain of a pirate vessel known as "The Jackdaw," which promises a new twist in the AC series: open-world naval combat. While the last series entry teased naval combat, Black Flag is built around that gameplay; AC4 also borrows from recent Ubisoft highlight Far Cry 3, with Kenway battling sharks below water while diving for booty (a takeoff on the hunting found in that game, as well as in the last AC entry). Of course, the conceit of the AC series has always been that you're a modern man named Desmond Miles, a member of the ancient Assassin's Guild, and that you're experiencing your assassin lineage through a machine called the "Animus" in order to save the world. That story line led Desmond through a variety of eras in previous games, ending with the American Revolution in Assassin's Creed 3. Without spoiling that game's final moments, it's safe to say that Desmond isn't joining the cast in Black Flag; rather, you're simply a modern day Templar (the long-running rivals of the assassins) searching for more secrets about the enemy. Ubisoft reps wouldn't tell us much about how the modern day will play into the new game's story, but did admit that it'll play a major role.%Gallery-180306%
Wii U titles listed on Amazon let us see Nintendo's all-new packaging design
Although it shouldn't come as a surprise that Nintendo would be redesigning its software packaging to accommodate the new "U," it's still nice to get an early peek at what we can expect from the Japanese gaming giant come "this holiday" season. As you can tell by the Avengers: Battle for Earth title above, the design only sees slight changes near the top, where it's clearly left the white and gray accents for a more colorful blue and yellow coating -- not to mention the expected addition of the Wii U branding around the center. There are other games out in the Amazon wild besides the Marvel one here, including Just Dance 4 and Assassin's Creed 3. You can check those out at any of the source links below.
Sprint balloons its EVO 3D with three-dimensional titles and content providers
If you're looking to fully leverage the namesake feature of the EVO 3D, Sprint is doing its best to ensure you're not left wanting -- all while keeping your coin flowing its way. First, it's bundling HTC Watch and Blockbuster On Demand, which will offer 3D titles (alongside the 2D fare) and rental prices ranging between $3 and $4. Like we've seen in RadioShack's advert, the 3D version of The Green Hornet is pre-loaded on the phone's microSD card, and the Now Network is also bundling a demo of Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem 3D. If that whets your appetite for three-dimensional playtime (and you've still got expendable income), you might check out Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles and GT Racing Motor Academy -- both $5 at launch in the pre-loaded Gameloft Storefront. For all the bloat they pile on, at least the stores bring decent eye candy. Hop the break for a (decidedly two-dimensional) press release.
Ubisoft founds motion picture division, vows to keep Jake Gyllenhaal working
Quick show of hands: how many of you like playing video games? And how many of you would like to watch movies based on video games you've played? No doubt slightly more sophisticated market research went into Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the game maker's unique approach to adapting games like Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell for film and TV, meaning we'll finally see movies about assassins. Last year's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time film grossed $335 million worldwide, surely thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal's smoldering yet boyish intensity, and the French game publisher clearly wants a bigger slice of Hollywood pie -- it also recently bought visual effects studio Hybride Technologies. You might as well get in line now for Battle Tag: The Movie.
Gameloft breaks 20 million paid apps
Gameloft has announced that it has broken the 20 million download mark across all of its paid apps. That's a huge number, and it shows that the company has really latched on to the iPhone as a huge market for its mobile games. Gameloft hasn't been slow on development at all -- the French company has released 47 games this year, and of those, 42 have hit the Top Grossing top five, and 25 have reached number one. Gameloft hits from the past include Hero of Sparta, the remade Oregon Trail, FPS title NOVA, and the mobile version of Assassin's Creed. They're not done yet -- Dungeon Hunter 2 is due out later on this year, as is the HD version of Assassin's Creed, and an interesting title called Star Battalion. Gameloft's titles are always very well made, and it's good to see that its popularity has landed it a spot in the growing pantheon of successful App Store developers and publishers.
White PSP Assassin's Creed Bloodlines bundle to sell for $199
Did anyone else think that Sony would have finally killed off the UMD movie for real by now? Guess again, suckers. The company just spilled some more details on that Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP Entertainment Pack, and in addition to that sexy white PSP-3000 and 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, your $199 will get you an as-yet-unnamed feature film on UMD. Yes, even as Sony tip-toes into the future with the PSPgo, it's still trying to peddle movies on a garbage proprietary format no one ever really wanted and that most studios have stopped supporting. Old habits die hard, we suppose. Video after the break.
Assassin's Creed 2 unlockables tied to PSP version
Completionists looking forward to strapping themselves in Da Vinci's flying machine in Assassin's Creed II will need to pick up the game's PSP version as well. Speaking during Sony's E3 2009 press gathering, Ubisoft revealed that the upcoming sequel will feature unlockable weapons, which players will only be able to unsheathe by connecting the game to the series' upcoming PSP debut this holiday. Animus compatibility, however, is still a ways off, so we're told.
Ubi's yearly sales up 36% on Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Assassin's Creed
Money continues to pour into the House that Rayman built as Ubisoft announced fourth quarter sales growth of 10% to €217 million ($339 million). In addition, the company saw its wallet grow by an impressive 36.4% over the entire fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 by some €928 million ($1.45 billion) driven by "stronger than expected" sales of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (nearly two million units sold), Assassin's Creed (more than six million units sold), and titles from its casual "Games For Everyone" brands.Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot called 2007-08 a "remarkable year" thanks to "excellent sales" of established brands and a "steady output of new releases...that have performed exceptionally well." Ubisoft also continues to work towards a sales target of €1 billion, or $1.42 billion, for 2008-09, while the exec set the bar high for his company going forward with an expected growth of "at least 15 percent" in the coming year.Lastly, Guillemot boasted of a "particularly strong" line-up of titles in the year ahead, including seven existing franchises, five new releases, and a continued focus on bringing more casual games on the Wii and DS, one of which we think should be based solely around counting money.
