DLC coming to Assassin's Creed II early 2010

Ah, so can't get enough of Assassin's Creed II eh? We know, the game is simply one of the best out there now. And for all those who haven't bought this amazing sequel, you're doing yourself a disservice; the game is that awesome. Seriously, it's packed with amazing content and lush graphics, the story is awesome and you'll enjoy up to 40 hours of play from it.

There's not much to dislike at all. Indeed its only contender this year is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves which we give the crown but still, there's no reason to be missing out on ACII, that is unless you don't have the cash to collect it yet.

Adding even more content to what's already a blockbuster title, Ubisoft announced two bits of DLC for the game, both expected to be released in 2010.

In January, "Battle of Forli" will be released and then "Bonfire of the Vanities" in February. The download will take up 1GB of space and will be available for both PS3 and Xbox 360, however no concrete release date was given.

12/02/09 Ernice Gilbert

Assassin's Creed II sells 1.7 million units in week one

Ubisoft has just confirmed that Assassin's Creed II sales are up 32% above the first installment.

1.7 million copies of ACII went flying off store shelves worldwide and the publisher could not be happier. The only contender to ACII for the holidays it seems is Modern Warfare 2. It'll be a battle royal no doubt.

PR:

− SALES UP 32% IN WEEK 1

LONDON, UK – November 24, 2009 – Today Ubisoft announced record first week sales performance for its Assassin’s Creed™ II video game with 1.6 million units sold through worldwide according to internal estimates. This represents 32% growth over the first week sales of Assassin’s Creed. Launched in November 2007, Assassin’s Creed remains the fastest selling new video game intellectual property ever in the U.S.

Assassin’s Creed II has received an overwhelmingly positive reception from gamers around the world and from the video game trade press with to date an average user rating of 94% on Gamespot.com and over 91% average critics score according to GameRankings.com.

Assassin’s Creed II invites players to become Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who’s been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy. Ezio’s subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into a captivating and epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new game play elements, diverse weapons, incredible depth and lasting appeal and a profound character progression that will appeal to fans of the original Assassin’s Creed as well as entice players new to the brand.

Video Thirst: First 11 minutes of Assassin's Creed II

Our friends at VG247 have just grabbed the first 11 minutes of play from Assassin's Creed II.

Mind you, this Video is spoiler ridden so don't watch if you're spoiler hater. Don't watch.

The game will be on store shelves tomorrow in the U.S and Friday in Europe for PS3 and Xbox 360.

11/16/09 Ernice Gilbert

At Ubisoft, sales declined 52% compared to last year

Ubisoft, the company behind the highly anticipated game Assassin's Creed 2 saw sales tumble around 52% for the first-half of its fiscal year ending September 30th, compared to 2008.

First-half sales totals were down 51% at $246 million with Q2 revenue at $123 million.

Those numbers didn't come as a surprise to Ubisoft which was expecting the drop. The company is still on track to meet its goal of $1.5 Billion in sales for the year, thanks to blockbuster titles like Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell: Conviction.

"As expected in the first half of fiscal 2009 - 10 the market was difficult for both Nintendo DS games and for our back-catalog titles with a few new released," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. "The second half of the year should be significantly more favorable with a return to strong growth and profitability."

"Although the environment is still uncertain and the full effect of the sharp drop in consoles prices are yet to be felt, Ubisoft has the advantage of a diversified and very high quality lineup crucial for the holiday period," he continued, "including the blockbusters Assassin's Creed 2 and James Cameron's Avatar: The game for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and a wide-ranging portfolio of very well calibrated games for Wii such as Your Shape, Just Dance, Shaun White and Rabids Go Home."

"Growth is expected to be even stronger in the fourth quarter, fuel by the releases of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, Red Steel 2 and RUSE."

Get the full thing through GI.biz

11/05/09 Ernice Gilbert

There'll be no Assassin's Creed 2 demo

The first Assassin's Creed title did not have a demo which really ticked off a lot of fans and disappointment spread all around. Well get ready for more reasons to be upset..

At today's EuroGamer Expo, interviewers from Connected Consoles were told by a Ubisoft representative that there won't be a public demo released for Assassin's Creed 2 outside of exhibitions.

This comes as a shock to me because from what I heard about the original game, it's sales numbers were lower because of this very reason, but if Ubisoft sees this as the right choice then more power to them I suppose.

Source

10/31/09 Colton West

Assassin's Creed III already has a location

Part 2 is not even out yet but according to Ubisoft Montreal CEO, Yannis Mallat, they already have a setting for Assassin's Creed III.

"Oh yeah," Mallat said when asked if they knew which parts of history the game will be in.

"We know how to keep secrets. Think about it, Assassin's Creed as a brand is definitely oriented towards reliving pivotal moments in history. So along that path we may revisit some interesting moments."

"And and ending for desmond?"

"Who talked about ending?" Mallat teased.

Pick up the game on November 17th 2009, that's one week after Modern Warfare 2 lands. Get the full vibe here.

10/23/09 Ernice Gilbert

Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed III could star female assassin in world war II setting

This critically acclaimed sequel from Ubisoft won't see the light of day until November 17th, 2009, but game Producer Sebastien Puel is already dreaming of the follow up to the unreleased follow up of the first game. Still with me? Okay. You could only be this bold when you're confident the title you produce will perform well, and if the history of this awesome franchise is any indication, we will definitely have another hit to boot.

Sebastien sees the next installment having a female assassin and taking place in a world war II setting. It's in the latest issue of Xbox 360 World, Mr. Puel said:

"We've had discussions on that very topic," he said when pressed on the possibility of female assassin. "It could be really interesting but we'd need to find the right time, period and place for that."

"Where would that make sense? We don't want to just decide we want to change and have a female hero as the first inspiration is always the time period, but if you're talking about say, world war II the economies in England and France were run by women because the men were fighting."

"So maybe in the context you were a woman in England during world war II. Why not? Nothing prevents us from doing it," he said.

Sebastien also said that they could make 35 Assassin's Creed games, "I'm often asked if we're going to do a different game after Assassin's II...... I mean, we could do 35 of these."

You heard the man, stop asking him to make other games, the wheel is not broken, Why try and fix it?

10/13/09 Ernice Gilbert

Video Thirst: Leonardo Da Vinci is introduced in new Assassin's Creed video

Ubisoft is feeding gamers never-ending thirst for all things Assassin's Creed 2, and now we're introduced to Ezio's arms dealer Leonardo Da Vinci in this new but rather short clip.

This video details Ezio's weapons including his secret gun and dual blades.

The first installment sold over 8 million copies and Ubisoft has gone the extra mile to make sure that Assassin's Creed 2 is way more enjoyable than the first and at the moment, things are looking good. The game received many a praise when gameplay was shown at E3 09' and ever since, the hype train has be working.

Come November, Assassin's Creed 2 will be released on the the 17th day, that's one week after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, leading many to voice their concerns about the game's release date, contending that it's too close to Activision's killer app. However Ubisoft is confident it'll perform well and said they are two totally different games appealing to different crowds, therefore sales won't be affected.

We agree 100% with Ubisoft, after all, all games can't be delayed because of Modern Warfare 2; different strokes for different folks.

10/08/09 Ernice Gilbert

Assassin’s Creed ‘Killer Collector’s edition box revealed

The Collector’s edition of Assassin’s Creed II was revealed via a twitter feed, and inside is truly a Collector’s dream come true. The set comes with the game, art book, statue of the protagonist and GameStop “Exclusive” in-games map. One map is the Santa Maria dei Frari in Venice and the other the palazzo Medici.

The first game sold over 8 million copies worldwide, and Ubisoft is sparing no effort to make this one even bigger than it’s predecessor. Assassin’s Creed II will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on Tuesday November 17th 2009.

08/04/09 Ernice Gilbert