All Entries Tagged With: "Assassin’s Creed 2"

Originality In Gaming: An Observation Of The Industry Today

Right now if you were to ask me which game I thought would win game of the year 2010 my response would probably be a sequel of some kind. Things have become quite banal in games as of late. Personally, it seems like we just see one big shooter after another, with various tidbits of unique titles here and there. It’s the middle of July, meaning there are less days left in 2010 than there are days that have gone by. What fresh noteworthy game has come this year? As difficult as it might be, try to limit your response to non-sequel games also. You may find that the pickings are quite slim. For perspective, let’s reflect on what made 2009 a great year in gaming and explore whether or not there is still hope for the rest of this year.

Assassin’s Creed 2 for $30

You now have no excuse to not own Assassin’s Creed 2. It was one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2009, and recently Gamestop announced that they will have it for sale for 30 dollars. Not to be undersold, Amazon matched Gamestop’s price and offer free shipping.

New Release Rundown – Week of 3/7

Hello folks! I get to take over Evan’s job for a week since he’s attending all sorts of game-related events out on the West coast. He even got to go to the Final Fantasy XIII launch party in San Fransisco last night. Aren’t you all jealous? Speaking of Final Fantasy XIII, it most definitely heads up our list of new releases this week, making its way to the PS3 and, for the first time in franchise history, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, as well. In fact, I’m taking a break from delving into the worlds of Cocoon and Pulse to write this up for you all.

Other notable releases are Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition for both major consoles, Yakuza 3 and Mega Man 10 for the PS3, as well as Assassin’s Creed II for the PC (if Ubisoft can manage to keep the abomination is calls its DRM servers online for more than a few hours at a time). Some nice DLC for Bioshock 2 also makes its way to all three versions of the game this week for those of you who can’t pull yourself away from Rapture. Check out the full after the break. What are you looking to pick up this week?

PlayStation Store Update 2/18

Hey everyone, I am posting this on time this week. First thing first, sales. Capcom has MvC2 on sale this week and will have a different item on sale for the next 3 weeks. Also, Ubisoft has a large sale on some of their offerings. There are no new releases this week, and also the I think Sony should rename their PS1 classics to just releases. I don’t recall playing any of the games available this week. This week we have a demo for Yakuza 3 as well as a demo for the PSP iteration of Eye of Judgment for Qore subscribers, just check the February issue. For DLC we have ACII Bonfire of the Vanities and a costume for Dante’s Inferno. The biggest DLC is the Lost In Nightmares add on for Resident Evil 5. This will clear up the details of Jill and Chris’s venture to Spencer’s Estate, you’ll remeber that flashback if you played RE5. MAG Avatars are available, so now you can show all your buddies what faction you have pledged your allegiance to. For videos, you can watch the latest episode of Pulse featuring the always beautiful Christina Lee. Also, this week marks episode 1 of The Tester, which is a reality show where contestants compete to become a PlayStation Tester. Expect my impressions on that tomorrow.

Next Assassin’s Creed 2 DLC on the Way

The next DLC sequence for Assassin’s Creed 2 isn’t all that far off.  Through Ubisoft tweets we’ve gotten our blood-stained hands on a couple screens from the new content, as well as a release date.  Look to save Florence once more on February 18.  Yes, that’s only two days from now, folks.  If you’re looking forward to this, you definitely won’t have to wait long.

This new content finds Ezio teaming up with Machiavelli to free Florence from what is undoubtedly a corrupt monk by the name of Savonarola.  Like much of the original game, this is a work of historical fiction that seems to come awfully close to real life. “Bonfire of the Vanities” isn’t something Ubisoft just pulled out of their collective under-carriage, it is an actual term that refers to the burning of objects that are thought to be sinful. Given the fact that this monk’s name is Savonarola and one of the most famous falò delle vanità occurred at the hand of a similarly named Dominican priest (Girolamo Savonarola), there is probably no small connection between the game and the actual event on February 7, 1497.

Keep your eye glued to Xbox Live Marketplace or the PSN after their updates this week to get your hands on this no doubt exciting piece of additional content for Assassin’s Creed 2.  While you wait these next couple days, you can mill over the two released screens below.

Assassin’s Creed 2: Battle of Forli DLC Review

By the time you have finished reading this sentence, you could have played through the Battle of Forli…twice.  Kidding aside, I noted what time I sat down to play the game and was finished within an hour.  That’s not skipping any cut scenes, and includes failing a mission once. That does include one trip on Leonardo’s flying machine which, I’m pretty sure was put it so people could get the achievement related to it without having to play through it again.

Assassin’s Creed II PC System Requirements

Remember that game that released alllllll the way back in November? That one where you play as an assassin in Italy? Well, it is coming out on PC in March and the folks at Ubisoft were nice enough to give us the specs for the PC version of this game. This game doesn’t require a beast of a computer in the least. You could play this on a computer that you would buy at your local best buy, which is nice.

I guess the PC purists will have to wait for this title a bit longer, but it is one that is definitely worth the wait.

Specs :
Minimum Configuration:
SUPPORTED OS: Windows® XP (32-64 bits) /Windows Vista®(32-64 bits)/Windows 7® (32-64 bits)
Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ
RAM: 1.5 GB Windows® XP / 2 GB Windows Vista® – Windows 7®
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 –compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller

• This product does not support Windows® 98/ME/2000/NT

Recommended Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
Sound: 5.1 sound card
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick optional (Xbox 360® Controller for Windows recommended)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI® RADEON® X1950, HD 2000/3000/4000/5000 series
NVIDIA GeForce® 7/8/9/100/200 series

Assassin’s Creed 2 Finally Comes to PC

During my playing of Assassin’s Creed 2 (which I still have yet to finish…reviewing games gets in the way!), I was checking out the official forums that Ubisoft had set up for the game.  One of the constant questions over there was, “When is the PC version going to be released?!”  Well, now we know: March 16, 2010.  That might not be the biggest news, though.

Along with the release date, news came down the pipeline that the PC version is going to be the same price as the console version – $59.99.  Now, usually the PC version of a game is priced about $10 cheaper than their console cousins, but not in this case.  Now, before the Internet implodes upon itself with nerdrage, hear me out.  The PC version will come with the two pieces of DLC that gamers playing on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will have to pay for.  So, would you rather pay $49.99 then buy two pieces of DLC extra or just pay for the DLC up front and not even go through the hoops of buying it later?

Needless to say, PC gamers can now get their stabby-stab on in March.  Who knows if I will have actually finished the game by then.  Maybe…maybe not.

DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2009!

Welcome to the 1st Annual DualShockers Games of the Year Awards 2009! To conclude this year, we have 11 awards to give away to a whole host of the best (and worst) games of 2009. However, our awards may be a bit different from what you see everywhere else. The categories are: Sexiest Female Character, Sexiest Male Character (we had to), Best Multiplayer Game, Best Graphics, Worst Graphics, Worst Plot, Best Downloadable Title/DLC, Best Exclusive Game, Biggest Let Down, and our pick for 2009’s Game of the Year. Uncharted 2 lead all titles with 5 Nominations, and there’s also a surprising winner for biggest let down of 2009. Make sure to also check out our bonus award for our most anticipated title of 2010. Also, make sure to celebrate (or cry about) your titles winnings or losses in the comments section! Enjoy the awards, we know we did!

1) Sexiest Female Character

And The Nominees Are:

Harley Quin – Batman: Arkham Asylum

Lucy Stillman – Assassin’s Creed 2

Chloe Frazer – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

And the Winner for the Sexiest Female Character of 2009  is….

Chloe Frazer !!!

This sexy little femme fatale has had gamers from all around the world wrapped around her little finger. Yes, the time for “raiding tombs” has peaked – step up… Chloe Frazer! That’s right! Our first award for the year goes to Uncharted 2’s latest leading lady! Here at DualShockers we applaud voice actress Claudia Black and the hardworking game designers at Naughty Dog for creating not only the sexiest virtual woman we’ve encountered this year, but one of the deepest – most three-dimensional character’s we’ve seen this gaming generation. Commiserations to the talented (and equally as sexy) Kristen Bell and every mentally ill boys’ pin-up, Harley Quinn – but this year Uncharted 2 becomes the first title to scoop the frosty ice-cream of achievement into their glorious bowl of victory. A poor joke? Some may laugh, others may criticize – but what do you all care! You’re all probably Google searching her right now, ready to fap away.

2) Sexiest Male Character (yes, we went there):

And The Nominees Are:

Nathan Drake – Uncherted 2: Among Thieves

Chris Redfield – Resident Evil 5

Super Mario – Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

And the Winner for the Sexiest Male Character of 2009 is….

Super Mario !!!

Who’d have thought it, eh? Who’d have guessed that an aging, over-weight Italian plumber, rehashed to battle fantastical creatures in a sports venue would actually “take home the gold” for our second award? I’d imagine not you, but you better believe it! Whilst this was the closest category we had this year (with Chris Redfield missing out by a whisker), it seems DualShockers is proudly saying “frak you” to the perfectly handsome, chiseled and witty man of yesteryear – and are opting to support exactly what Super Mario stands for. Yes, he may be short – and he may indeed be irritating to anyone over the age of nine, but the amount of joy he has brought to gamers in all walks of life is something far “sexier” than all those other materialistic things this world has to offer. Well done Mario, SEGA and Nintendo - keep up with the big boys!

3) Best Multiplayer Game

And The Nominees Are:

Left 4 Dead 2 – Valve

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Infinity Ward

Borderlands – Gearbox

And The Winner of the Best Multiplayer Game of 2009 is…

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 !!!

Congratulations Infinity Ward and Activison, you’ve hit the nail on the head once again! If you haven’t heard of COD – where have you been? The biggest selling, most highly anticipated title of “all time” stormed shelves late this year in November, making GTA IV’s multi-million success look like child’s-play! Yes, it may be true that many people complained – stating that Modern Warfare 2 was so grandiose in scale and budget that it lost the entertainment value held dear by many of Call of Duty 4’s beloved, worldwide fans. Well, with a landslide amount of votes it is clear to say that DualShockers have crowned Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 the king of the multiplayer games this year. With improved graphics, physics, gameplay, perks, weapons and AI to name but a few – make sure this is on your pick up list, as we can guarantee you’ll be hearing a lot from it in 2010.

4) Best Graphics 0f 2009

And the Nominees Are:

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Naughty Dog

Killzone 2 – Guerrila Games

Batman: Arkham Asylum – Rocksteady Studios

And the Winner for Best Graphics of 2009 is …

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Another tough call – but the fantastically realistic Uncharted 2 picks up its second award from DualShockers this year! With some of the best character models and in-game animations we’ve seen, combined with fantastic environments and superb lighting effects in both the night-time and sunny sequences – Naughty Dog once again pip many other solid titles to the post. Whilst Killzone 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum were graphically great in their own right, other factors were taken into account (such as frame rates and cut scenes being graphically equivalent to that of the in-game visuals) making Uncharted 2 this year’s best looking title. PS3 owners, now is the time to party!

5) Worst Graphics 0f 2009

And the Nominees Are:

SAW: The Video Game – Zombie Studios

Blood Bowl – Cyanide

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising – Codemasters

And the Winner for Worst Graphics of 2009 is…

SAW: The Video Game

What’s that SAW? You want to play a game? Well I hope it’s not your game – because you’ve just won the award for the Worst Looking Game of 2009! You’ve even lost out to Blood Bowl – and that looks like crap as well! While we recognize you did your best to ‘capture’ the ‘essence’ of the SAW movies, you completely forgot that this is the seventh generation of gaming we’re all playing! We live in an era of “High Definition” where millions of pixels are utilized to present crystal clear, realistic graphical depictions of life. Therefore, giving gamers environments consisting of three dark brown colors blotchily scraped together isn’t exactly our idea of “next gen.” You even have that irritating syndrome where you walk into a wall, and suddenly it all becomes one color with no detail on it whatsoever! WHY!? With a unanimous landslide in the voting arena, DualShockers deem SAW suitable for the PS2. It hurts to say this – we don’t like being the bad guys, you tried and really that’s all that matters. Maybe you should have just stopped half way through and taken a quick look at how you were doing so far? … Then maybe go back to the drawing board… then maybe just stick to the films…

6) Worst Plot in a Game in 2009

And The Nominees Are:

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand – Swordfish Studios

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Infinity Ward

Section 8 – SouthPeak Studios

And The Winner for Worst Plot in a Game for 2009 is …

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

Hey look, it’s 50 Cent! He’s cool, he’s muscular – what a role model for teenagers all around the world. Hahaha – and no Kanye you little whippersnapper, he doesn’t preach that he’s the genius voice of a generation – he just raps, pulls all the ladies and then rides off in his chariot made of gold…. or so we thought! Yes, the award for ‘Worst Plot in a Game’ goes, without a shadow of a doubt, to 50 Cent’s ridiculous Blood on the Sand. For anyone that’s played the game and taken a few moments to review the storyline, do you find yourself saying ‘what were they thinking!?’ I hope so. Good old fiddy’ is out with his band G-Unit, giving the crowds what they want in his latest sell-out tour. After the gig, he is saddened to discover that he can’t be paid actual money, but instead settles for an Indiana Jones-esque Crystal Skull. It didn’t work in Indiana Jones, and it certainly doesn’t work here! Who the hell would offer a Crystal Skull anyway? And why would 50 Cent accept it!? Nevertheless, things go from bad to worse for 50 Cent as the skull gets stolen by an evil organization and what follows is a rampage through many Middle-Eastern locations, killing thousands of soldiers in an attempt to retrieve it. So… what else is there to say? Well done 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. You won something… kind of. Oh but at least the dialogue is good! I mean – we love listening to 50 Cent pointing out the obvious ‘… Oh no! That bitch stole my skull!’ Classic.

7) Best Downloadable Title/DLC of 2009

And The Nominees Are:

GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony – Rockstar Games

Flower – That Game Company

Fat Princess – Titan Studios

And The Winner For Best Downloadable Title/DLC of 2009 is…

Flower !!!

Well done Flower! Blending the concept of nature and gaming together, ThatGameCompany hit the jackpot with their exclusive February release. The brilliant reviews and raving hype were completely justified, as Flower really is the ‘Best Downloadable Title of 2009.’ Whilst fighting against strong competition with our other nominees (Fat Princess and GTA: TBOGT both being fantastic titles) – the utilization of the PS3’s axial movement, and combination of unique and innovative gameplay means that Flower is the best 10 bucks you’ll ever spend.

8 ) Best Exclusive Game 0f 2009

And The Nominees Are:

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Naughty Dog

Left 4 Dead 2 – Valve

New Super Mario Bros Wii – Nintendo EAD

Halo 3: ODST – Bungie

Killzone 2 – Guerilla Games

And The Winner of The Best Exclusive Title of 2009 is …

Left 4 Dead 2

Marginally leapfrogging Uncharted 2 in a race for our ‘Best Exclusive Game of 2009’, Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 is a fantastic, unique and rewarding title, that entertains copious amounts of audiences and really justifies what exactly you are paying for with Xbox Live. We felt it was a game you not only needed to play, but one you had to experience. To players of the original Left 4 Dead game, this may seem nothing more than an enhancement on the original formula (not necessarily a bad thing), but to newcomers it will feel like the best thing since sliced bread. The inclusion of melee weapons, updated Versus and new modes such as Scavenge – Valve has ensured that their rapid year of hard work has not been spent in vain, as Left 4 Dead 2 scoops the medal for our favorite exclusive game this year!

9) Biggest Let Down of 2009

And The Nominees Are:

Halo 3: ODST – Bungie

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Infinity Ward

Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising

And The Winner of Biggest Let Down of 2009 is …

Halo 3: ODST

Some people may argue they weren’t looking forward to a majority of these nominees, but if you owned an Xbox 360 – chances are you were once more sucked into the hype surrounding the latest Halo release. With promises of the game being gorgeous looking, extremely entertaining and far more unique to play. Fans around the world were let down with Bungie Studios’ latest efforts, which arrived as barely an improvement on Halo 3 (a game made 2 years ago). There was very little original about Halo 3, so to rehash the same material in an extremely short, disappointingly mundane new package – Halo: ODST simply has to take the cake for our ‘Biggest Let Down of 2009’.

10) DualShockers Game of the Year!

The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For…Here Are The Nominees (in no particular order):

Assassin’s Creed 2 – Ubisoft Montreal

Left 4 Dead 2 – Valve

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Naughty Dog

Killzone 2 – Guerilla Games

And The Winner of The DualShockers 2009 Video Game of The Year Awards is …

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves !!!

Congratulations to all of the fantastic nominees, but Naughty Dog achieved this year what no one else could – a refined, rich and cinematic experience with absolutely no bugs and very few persnickety flaws. Yes, even Xbox 360 “fanboys” seemed impressed by the feat pulled off by the PS3. The “visually stunning” and “perfectly handled in all areas” story of Nathan Drake, and his exploration for Marco Polo’s Chintimani stone, is one we felt deserving of every award it received, and for us this year – that makes a grand total of 3! One of the co-founders of DualShockers has this to say on just why Uncharted 2 is this year’s best game:

“Uncharted 2 takes gaming to another level in just about everything it does. Of course, just like any other game out there, originality isn’t its biggest perk; but what it does borrow from other games it improves on with brute force. And because it perfects on just about every plausible category, I would dare say that its one of the best games that I’ve embraced in my years of gaming.”                                                   – Yaris Gutierrez, DualShockers Editor-In-Chief

To read the full (double) review, just click HERE and find out more reasons why Uncharted 2 takes home the gold this year.

Congratulations Naughty Dog, you guys deserve it!

***Bonus***

11) Most Anticipated Title of 2010

And The Nominees Are:

• BioShock 2 (Xbox 360/PS3)
• God of War III (PS3)
• Fable III (Xbox 360)
• Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)
• Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360/PS3)
• Heavy Rain (PS3)

And our final award of the year goes to…

BioShock 2! Yes, 2K Marin’s upcoming release has got us all at DualShockers counting down the days till its arrival on store shelves! Not only is it our most anticipated game of 2010, it has been said to be one of the most anticipated games of all time! It will have a tough job on its hands beating Modern Warfare 2, but revisiting the world of Rapture through the eyes of the very first Big Daddy is something we feel no one deserves to miss out on! One final commiserations to God of War 3 – which was pipped by one deciding vote to the post on our final award this year. Nevertheless readers, stop and take a good look at all of those nominees.

With all of those titles and more to look forward to in this upcoming year – aren’t we oh so lucky?

This concludes DualShockers’ ‘Game of the Year Awards 2009.’ It has been a tough job picking and choosing our favorite titles from these past 12 months, but all we can say is a big congratulations to all nominees and winners who made it through this year! Join us again next year when we’ll be awarding more gold medals to our favorite games of 2010! Have a safe and pleasant New Year and Happy Gaming!

No Assassin’s Creed 2 Demo

Many of us really wanted to get our hands dirty in the Renaissance-esque time period in Ubisoft’s upcoming stealth game Assassin’s Creed 2 a bit before its release. A Ubisoft representative recently confirmed at the Eurogamer Expo that the company has no plans for a demo, as per Connected Consoles.

Personally, if you’ve played the first one, you’ll probably be doing the same thing with a couple of changes here and there. From the looks of it, the game doesn’t really look to have that much big a change. Then again, what do I know? Only a demo could prove that – a demo that we won’t be getting anytime soon. We’ve contacted Ubisoft for some clearer answers. Hopefully, they get back to us and give us some explanation to this announcement.

[via Connected Consoles]

Assassin’s Creed 2 Trophies/Achievements Revealed

If you’re reading this, your one of two things. A.) A big Assassin’s Creed fan who can’t wait to get your hands on the sequel and taking in every little of morsel of information about the new game as your can, or B.) Your a filthy trophy/achievement score. Either way you’ll be happy with the following rumored list of Assassin’s Creed 2 Trophies/Achievements. Some might say that the rumored list, can be somewhat of a spoiler, but unless you work at Ubisoft, you have no idea what anything on this list means anyway. The list was found on Destructiod, who states that the list was found on two other sites, Inside MGC and PS3 Trophies . So, just like they  said over at D’Toid, Ubisoft will probably come out soon and clear up whether or not this list is legit or it came from the bullshit factory. 

Assassin’s Creed 2 Pre-Order Content Isn’t Exclusive

One of my biggest pet peeves when talking about pre-order bonuses are ones that give you game content that you can’t get in any way, shape or form if you didn’t pre-order.  There are a lot of games coming out this fall (although that list has been cut significantly in the last couple months).  Its unlikely that gamers can pre-order everything.  I know I sure can’t pre-order everything that I would like to.  Some games are just going to have to wait.  Giving away in-game bonuses that you can only get when you pre-order might seem cool if you’re actually pre-ordering, but if you’re not, you might feel a bit screwed over.

Its a good thing the retailer-”exclusive” pre-order content for Assassin’s Creed 2 isn’t going to stay exclusive for long.  If you pre-order the game you will receive two pieces of content that others won’t get – Palazzo Medici and Santa Maria Dei Frari.  These are special areas within the game that you can explore and, likely, do plenty of things that assassins do, to your heart’s content.

Producer Patrice Desilets recently talked to Kotaku about the “exclusivity” of these pieces of DLC and explained their plans for allowing everyone to have the content eventually.  “Eventually everyone will have the entire game.”

So, there you have it.  Don’t worry about pre-ordering the game unless you absolutely must show off your epeen to your friends by having the fancy extra areas as soon as you possibly can.