GamesRadar - Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed II Special Edition Unboxing (News)

Nov 14, 2009

Gamervision: As you might know by now, Gamervision takes Collector's Editions very, very seriously. You can be sure that at least one person in the office will be picking up one or another, and then chatting about it the following day. What can we say, we love plastic stuff! It's also cool to see developers try and one-up each other, each trying to give gamers more bang for their buck. As of now, the winner is likely BioShock, which came with a fantastic Big Daddy figure for a measly $10, or Modern Warfare 2 with it's night vision goggles, since, you know, they technically have a use outside of sitting on a shelf.

That crown might be shifting, however, since we've been sent some images of the new Assassin's Creed II Special Edition that make it look like the new lord of all things materialistic. Yes, yes, we already knew what was in the box, but the images below give a great sense of scale, and show exactly how awesome the $80 box is.

Assassin's Creed Renaissance announced (News)

Nov 6, 2009

ConnectedConsoles: Penguin Books and Ubisoft announced today a groundbreaking partnership that will bring together the worlds of gaming and publishing in a unique collaboration.

The new book, Assassin's Creed Renaissance, is based on Ubisoft Entertainment's blockbuster interactive entertainment game Assassin's Creed II®, and will be published in association with Ubisoft.

Ubisoft hint at more Assassins Creed in 2010 (News)

Nov 5, 2009

ConnectedConsoles: 2007 was the year that Ubisoft released their new IP Assassins Creed, which was highly enjoyable for some, not so much for others. It's almost exactly two years to get Assassins Creed II made (which will be released on November 20). Though Creed fans may not have to wait too long to see something else based on the game.

Xmas games line-up is 'best ever' (News)

Oct 28, 2009

Ubisoft says that Assassin's Creed II leads exceptional product slate – despite trade's lean release schedule

Ubi "interested" in Assassins Creed Multiplayer (News)

Oct 22, 2009

ConnectedConsoles: Ubisoft are "interested" in bringing a multiplayer campaign into the Assassins Creed series at some point.

Real-Life Assassin's Creed Weapons Seem Like A Good Idea (News)

Oct 15, 2009

Kotaku:Ubisoft has given prop makers Atlanta Cutlery and Museum Replicas rights to make weapons, clothing and accessories based on the Assassin's Creed license, quickly solving all of your Halloween costume woes.

Desmond to Escape Abstergo Industries in Assassin's Creed II? (News)

Oct 1, 2009

Gamervision Reports: "Earlier today, we covered the news that Kristen Bell would be reprising her role as Lucy Stillman in Assassin's Creed II. In the press bundle, a bunch of images of the actress reading her lines was supplied, as was a few images giving a first look into AC2 outside the Animus. Generic images? Maybe, but after looking into them (and reading into the game's story a little deeper) it might actually have given us a whole new look at the sequel.

So let's start with a few things we know: Desmond returns, will access his ancestor's history, and will have more to do with the game than occasionally wandering around. That's really all we have to go on. However, if we look at these images closely, there's more than meets the eye. Maybe."

10 game ads that are horribly up their own ass (Feature)

Oct 1, 2009

Most game ads are usually a bit rubbish. But we can forgive them, because whether pushing Z listers ‘enjoying’ entertaining interactive products or offending our ears with a cheesy, booming voiceover, most of them are just charmingly clueless. The following ads are guilty of a much worse crime, though. They all utterly adore themselves. Self-indulgent, self-loving bullshit, below you’ll find cynical commercials that have ...

Xbox 360 Top 10 Games List (News)

Sep 20, 2009

As Xbox 360's 4th reunion nears, I have decided to take a look back into this great franchises success. There have been many years of graphical improvement, multiplayer updates, and revised campaign techniques that we have all experienced together. Many companies have thrived because of the success of the Xbox 360 and many ground-breaking games have revolutionized the games industry. Below will be a Top Ten List of The Best Xbox 360 Games of all time, based upon single player and multiplayer.

Assassin's Creed Limited Edition $30 (News)

Aug 25, 2009

Game Crazy has marked down Assassin's Creed Limited Edition for only $30. Check your local Game Crazy stores to see if they have the game in stock.

If video games were... candy bars? (Feature)

Aug 18, 2009

Sometimes, games are so good we say they're 'good enough to eat'. That's usually not strictly true, of course - DVDs, Blu-Ray discs and the human mouth do not mix. But what if games were turned into candy bars? Now there's an idea.

If our Photoshop attempts are anything to go by, there's a huge market of untapped potential just waiting for some entrepreneur to take a lucrative bite. Just try not to dribble on the keyboard, ...

Neocrisis: Games on Demand is Live (News)

Aug 7, 2009

Last night Microsofts controversial Games on Demand service went live. The games on demand service promises to deliver full retail Xbox 360 games for download and play straight to your hard drive.

Assassins Creed Collectors Edition for £9.98 (News)

Jul 8, 2009

LivePlayStation: Games like Assassins Creed should have Collectors Edition's available. Assassins Creed 2 will have a collectors edition, so, to celebrate the upcoming release of the sequel to what is one of the greatest next gen games available,GAME (The UK's Biggest Gaming Retailer) are selling the originalAssassins Creed Collectors Edition for an amazingly low price of £9.98.

The Top 7… sexy horses every stud should ride (Feature)

Jul 6, 2009

It’s not easy being a horse, especially a diabetic horse who loves sugar cubes and games. As a proud member of the Equidae family, I don’t give a damn about the new protagonist in Assassin’s Creed II or the stupid non-animal flying device he’ll pilot. I just want to know if Ezio will be riding a freaking horse through the Tuscan countryside. Will he get to mount a Salerno, or perhaps a San Fratello? ...

Assassins Creed II Gameplay Footage (News)

Jun 11, 2009

Microsoft has made available today on the XBL Marketplace, a 4 minute clip that showcases gameplay with developer commentary.

Assassin's Creed 2 Multiplayer And DLC (News)

Jun 10, 2009

IncGamers reports Assassin's Creed 2 will have DLC, but more interestingly, fans might see multiplayer modes...

Ubisoft Already Planning Assassin's 3 (News)

Jun 9, 2009

Speaking to IncGamers, associate producer Vincent Pontbraind said the Assassin's Creed team were already talking about the next Assassin's Creed.

33 iPhone games for REAL gamers (Feature)

May 12, 2009

If you’re fortunate enough to own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you’re also unfortunate enough to have tried browsing the gadgets’ application store. With over 35,000 downloads currently available, finding the quality in all that quantity is growing increasingly difficult, frustrating and costly. ...

Assassin's Creed 2 Trailer TV Debut This Weekend (News)

May 8, 2009

With a teaser campaign having already begun, the game's first "full trailer" is set to premiere this weekend, during Five's broadcast of The Da Vinci Code. The teaser trailer will reportedly air first, before a brand new trailer will aggressively push awareness of one of the hottest tips for 2009 videogame releases.

TalkRadar 43 - Not for adults? (Feature)

Mar 20, 2009

DOWNLOAD (Right-click, select "Save Link/Target As")MySpace | iTunes | TalkRadar forums 03-20-09 | 1:51:34 | Intro song by AnamanaguchiWARNING: Explicit ContentTalkRadar Archives

The Top 7… games you either love or hate If you’re in the middle, you’re in the crossfire.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars ReviewRockstar's small step backwards is still a giant leap ...

Confusing game endings explained (Feature)

Feb 17, 2009

Astrophysics are a touch bewildering. And love is a bit of a noodle-scratcher. But a convoluted, multi-layered plot about a genetically engineered pensioner; now that’s really complicated.

The following game endings are all either vague, slightly ambiguous or just downright indecipherable without advanced degrees in picking up on minuscule - but vastly important – plot details. In an effort to make things a little easier, ...

Saling the world: Halo 3, Call of Duty top U.S. Xbox 360 sales (News)

Feb 6, 2009

Danny Cowan from Gamasutra writes:

"Gamasutra's weekly column, "Saling The World", covers the top five sellers for every available platform in the United States, Japan, and Europe, providing an important update of sales patterns worldwide.

This week's charts, with data taken from February 5th, 2009, find Halo 3 and Call of Duty: World at War at the top of North America's Xbox 360 software sales charts, while Star Ocean: Second Evolution and Mario Kart DS drive sales on portables.

Data for "Saling The World" comes courtesy of the public sales information on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.co.jp, with sales split out for each platform and territory, and pre-orders disregarded. This results in a true sense of what games are selling worldwide on the real-time updated service, as follows..."

News Roundup: New Capcom Game, Sony Cuts Back, and Killzone 2 is Out in the Wild (News)

Jan 22, 2009

Today's roundup starts off terribly sad, but the final story helped us get through it.

Assassin's Creed for a New Era? (News)

Nov 26, 2008

During the taping of Bonus Round, Pachter let slip that Ubisoft would be changing the time-frame of the unannounced-but-inevitable Assassin's Creed sequel from 1191 to "several hundred years in the future" or more specifically, "sometime in the 1700s." While the time change was presented by Pachter as fact, he went on to speculate that the French Revolution could be a potential setting

Assassins' Altair promotes PEGI (News)

Aug 29, 2008

An Assassins Creed-themed PEGI video hit Danish television this week, of a man dressed as Altair telling parents about violence and the appropriateness of certain games for their children.

We'll Have To Wait For More Assassin's Creed (News)

Jun 20, 2008

In a new article lauding what it calls Ubisoft's "ascent" as it contends for third place (behind Electronic Arts and Activision) in the industry, Forbes heard from Ubi's North American president, Laurent Detoc, on its strategy for spacing the Prince of Persia games.

As the article points out, Ubi's first franchise re-up happened in 2003, followed by two more titles back-to-back. And then three years of radio silence. Why?

The publisher's doing well enough now financially, the article explains, that it doesn't have to rush out franchise follow-ups and can afford to cool its heels a bit in between to spur demand. Detoc also told Forbes that they can afford to whet your appetite for the next Assassin's Creed by making you wait:

"When we bring it back, there will be more anticipation for it," Detoc says.

'Metal Gear' Series To Continue After 'Metal Gear Solid 4' - MTV Multiplayer (News)

May 19, 2008

MTV Multiplayer writes:

"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" is finished, announced series creator Hideo Kojima at Konami's press conference in San Francisco last week.

The last adventure of Solid Snake is almost ready for gamers. It's been a long time coming - more than four years of development - but on June 12, "MGS4? will finally become a reality on PlayStation 3s worldwide.

Fans can stop worrying, though; this isn't the last "Metal Gear," explained associate producer Ryan Payton in an interview with MTV Multiplayer. "I think there's been some misconceptions that this is the last 'Metal Gear,'" said Payton. "This is really just the last chapter of the saga of the Solid Snake story."

More after the jump...

Ubisoft 2007 Sales Jump 36% To $1.46 Billion (News)

Apr 24, 2008

Developer and publisher Ubisoft has announced its full year financial report, with sales rising 36 percent to 928 million euros ($1.46 billion), and a holiday quarter up 10 percent to 217 million euros ($340.5 million) on strong sales of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Assassin's Creed.

Full year sales were up from 680 million euros the year prior, and fourth quarter sales from 197 million euros, a stronger showing than the company's expected 165 million euro fourth quarter.

VideoGamer.com Rumour mill - Beyond Good & Evil 2 in development, Siren 3 announced, Prizerfighter to come on PS3 and more (News)

Apr 16, 2008

Videogamer writes: "Welcome to the Rumour mill, VideoGamer.com's run-down of the big rumours currently doing the rounds in the video game industry. Every week we'll hunt down the juiciest stories and give our opinion on how legit they are. So, whether you want the ridiculous or the plausible, read on.

Beyond Good & Evil 2 in development

The Rumour: Final Fantasy designer Yoshitaka Amano has joined Ubisoft and will be working on Beyond Good & Evil 2.

Verdict: It's a title fans have been crying out for and we'd certainly love to see a sequel, but Ubisoft hasn't so much as hinted that a sequel to its 2003 action adventure title is coming. Despite almost unanimous critical praise the game wasn't a commercial success and with so many blockbuster franchises in the Ubisoft locker it would be a risk to choose this over a new game in a franchise with a stronger fan base.

Plausibility rating: 2/5"

Assassin's Creed - Can't quit the game (Video)

Apr 10, 2008

A beautiful, richly convoluted, sci-fi-tinged romp through the back alleys of Damascus, Acre and Jerusalem during the Third Crusade.

The Top 7... Nudity You Didn't Notice (Feature)

Mar 31, 2008

Your parents and politicians are right. Gaming is a filthy pastime. Sex! Perversion! Nudity! The stuff is pretty much everywhere... even in the places they - and you - never thought to check. What do we mean? Well, developers have been sneaking smut into their games long before, and after, the infamous Hot Coffee scandal. No genre, from racing to side scroller, is safe. No generation, from 8-bit Nintendo to today, is innocent. ...

59 levels to play before you die: A - D (Feature)

Mar 21, 2008

As you rebuild civilization and restore your people's faith in this sim/action hybrid, you'll find yourself honestly caring about your subjects' helpless lives. Nowhere is their plight more touching than Kasandora, where you help a starving desert tribe grow into a bustling village, only to see an old man die in the dunes. His last wish is for rain, which you grant. ...

PS3 vs. Xbox 360 ports - Microsoft's rebuttal (News)

Mar 4, 2008

In response to GamePro's article, Microsoft's global marketing director, Albert Penello, offered the following response:

"We have to disagree with your conclusion that the trend of Xbox 360 versions of games being best is changing, especially when you look at the entire catalog of multiplatform titles available. We also feel there were some key features of Xbox 360 games that deserved a little more play in your reviews. For multiplatform console owners, Achievements and Gamerscore have to be listed as an influencing factor to purchase the Xbox 360 version; their success and popularity is undeniable. The fact that other consoles have not implemented anything like this across every game should not be a reason to leave these features out of consideration. Plus, with Xbox 360 the capability for controller rumble comes standard, not as a future option and you get all the benefits of Xbox LIVE and its community of more than 10 million members.

'The cold, hard truth' is that Xbox 360 has the best games - and industry reviewers and consumers agree. Xbox 360 has more games with an aggregate review score of 90 or higher than the competition combined and multiplatform titles regularly sell better on Xbox 360. The majority of games are still lead developed for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE simply makes games better. The competition between platforms is great for gamers and in 2008 we are going to continue to work with developers to push the boundaries of our platform and the LIVE service to make sure the best game experiences continue to be on Xbox 360."

Assassin's Creed's new investigation types detailed (News)

Mar 4, 2008

The biggest flaw Assassin's Creed had was that even though the game world was magnificently realized, there wasn't much to do in it except the same things over and over again. And after being forced to it nine times, this mechanic had outstayed its welcome for far too long.

Assassin's Creed 2 Confirmed? Survey Found (News)

Feb 29, 2008

UPDATE: This story has been requested to be removed.

Jesper Kyd's Assassin's Creed Score Wins Elan Award (News)

Feb 18, 2008

From the article: "Jesper Kyd's original score for ASSASSIN'S CREED (Ubisoft) was awarded 'Best Original Musical Score in a Video Game' at the 2nd Annual Elan Awards www.theelans.com, the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and the Animated Arts. The awards show was hosted by Seth MacFarlane"

The Top 7... Assassins (Feature)

Feb 6, 2008

On some level, roughly 95 percent of games have always been about assassination: go to point A and kill prominent entity B, fighting your way through goons C through Z to get there. Most games tend to come up with a morally justifiable pretext for all the violence, but more and more, we're seeing games that drop the act and let you be what you've secretly known yourself to be all along: a remorseless killing machine bent on destroying your targets. ...

Assassin's Creed DS Accidentally Revealed (News)

Jan 30, 2008

Titled Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles, the game's touch screen will apparently be used to interrogate suspects and pickpocket those around you, while the top screen features a fully 3D environment for you to explore. Other than that, though, we don't have much else to go on -- but we'll let you know when we do.

Ubisoft delays Assassins Creed and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (News)

Jan 29, 2008

Ubisoft has revealed via its release schedule that Assassin's Creed will be available in retail stores on March 28th 2008 for both the PC and DS, giving them both a month's delay.

American Chart for Week Ending 19th January 2008 (News)

Jan 24, 2008

VGChartz is reporting for Week Ending 19th January 2008, the American Chart was as follows:

Hardware Total:

DS: 161,736 (+36%)
360: 70,769 (-16%)
PSP: 67,102 (-6%)
PS2: 59,473 (-2%)
Wii: 55,141 (-4%)
PS3: 47,536 (-10%)

Total Software:

360: 805,220
Wii: 722,008
DSL: 596,161
PS2: 531,297
PS3: 347,921
PSP: 217,08

Top 10 Software:

1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 82,379 2,896,309
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare(360) 71,689 3,046,068
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) 68,551 2,766,635
4. Assassins Creed(360) 58,031 2,064,721
5. Wii Sports (Wii) 55,141 8,651,583
6. Halo 3 (360) 50,074 5,182,309
7. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (360) 47,488 1,779,871
8. Mario Party DS (DS) 43,143 673,196
9. Wii Play (Wii)40,862 4,485,905
10. More Brain Training (DS) 36,406 1,552,208

Ubisoft Q3 Sales Spike 44% with 'Exceptional Showing' from Assassin's Creed (News)

Jan 23, 2008

French publisher Ubisoft has announced its third quarter fiscal results for the all-important holiday period ended December 31, 2007. Sales climbed more than 44 percent to 450 million euros ($625.81 million), significantly better than the guidance Ubisoft had provided for 410 million euros (which itself had already been raised back on Dec. 13). For the first nine months of the fiscal year Ubisoft's sales were up an impressive 47.2 percent to 711 million euros ($988.78 million).

The publisher's solid performance and continued growth were largely driven by the success of Assassin's Creed, which sold five million copies, and its expanded casual business Â¿ most notably its new Imagine line, which sold 2.5 million units. In Europe, Assassin's Creed was the best-selling game in 2007 for the PS3 and the second best-selling game on Xbox 360. In the U.S. it was the second best-selling game in 2007 for the PS3and the third best-selling on 360. Ubisoft also reported "excellent sales" for its other casual games series such as the Petz line and the My Coach franchise.

The Rest of Europe / Others Chart for Week Ending 19th January 2008 including Software sales (News)

Jan 23, 2008

Software Total:
DS: 609,840
Wii: 570,059
PS3: 238,450
360: 203,563
PS2: 134,850
PSP: 24,268

1. Wii Sports (Wii) 119,835 6,379,604
2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) 96,291 1,322,339
3. More Brain Training (DS) 83,439 3,111,330
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 68,012 1,563,768
5. Brain Training (DS) 65,928 4,900,545
6. Wii Play (Wii) 55,725 2,715,265
7. New Super Mario Bros (DS) 47,174 3,855,957
8. Assassins Creed (PS3) 46,113 1,137,639
9. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS) 40,318 681,888
10. Nintendogs (DS) 39,444 8,685,024
11. Pokemon Diamond / Pearl (DS)38,614 3,267,347
12. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune 38,285 545,022
13. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2) 34,657 2,157,160
14. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3) 31,894 928,084
15. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) 30,592 962,322

Portal, BioShock Lead Game Developers Choice Awards Nominees (News)

Jan 22, 2008

Valve's Portal and 2K Boston/Australia's BioShock lead the nominees for the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards with five nominations each, including the coveted Game of the Year title, organizers have announced.

The Game of the Year category also includes Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4, which follows with four nominations and, with both games receiving two nominations each, Harmonix's Rock Band and Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy.

2007 Game of the Year Critics 10-8 Revealed (News)

Jan 22, 2008

Game Critics Awards: "The judges of the Game Critics Awards are honored to announce the first annual Game of the Year awards. Considering games across all platforms, released commercially in North America between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007, the judges have voted to decide on the best of the best for the year.

To arrive at the top ten games of 2007, the judges applied a points system. Each judge nominated 10 games and awarded a score between 5 and 30 points to their chosen games, with a total point allotment of exactly 100. The cumulative total for each nominated game was then calculated to generate the ten highest scoring games. More details are available in the rules section".

Accessories' Creed (News)

Jan 3, 2008

DS Fanboy:

"Does anyone else find it suspicious that Assassin's Creed is due out on the DS in one month and we still haven't heard even the most basic of information? We haven't seen one screen -- we don't even know what kind of game it is. We could interpret this seeming blackout in one of two ways: first, and most likely, that the game isn't actually going to come out next month; and second, that Ubisoft knows they have dead weight on their hands and hopes to slip it quietly out to stores, where people will buy it for the front cover."

TeamXbox Readers' Choice Awards 2007 (News)

Jan 3, 2008

TeamXbox Readers' Choice polls closed down on January 2, and all of the results have been tallied. Here are the results:

Â¿ Developer of the Year: BioWare
Â¿ Sports Game of the Year: skate
Â¿ Action Game of the Year: Assassin's Creed
Â¿ Best Sound of the Year: BioShock

Â¿ Role-Playing Game of the Year: Mass Effect
Â¿ Fighting Game of the Year: Virtual Fighter 5
Â¿ Hardware/Peripheral of the Year: Xbox 360 Elite
Â¿ Sleeper Hit of the Year: Crackdown

Â¿ Best Graphics of the Year: Call of Duty 4
Â¿ Xbox Live Arcade Game of the Year: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Â¿ Best Visual Style of the Year: BioShock
Â¿ First-Person Shooter of the Year: Call of Duty 4

Â¿ Best Story of the Year: Mass Effect
Â¿ Music/Rhythm/Party Game of the Year: Rock Band
Â¿ Racing Game of the Year: Forza Motorsport 2
Â¿ Multiplayer Game of the Year: Halo 3

Â¿ Game of the Year: Call of Duty 4

View the full report for other nominees in each category.

ELSPA Weekly Chart - Xbox 360 (News)

Jan 2, 2008

The battle between Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4 continues at the top of the Xbox 360 chart...

Live Activity for week of 12/17 (News)

Dec 26, 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Sensible World of Soccer
2. Arkadian Warriors
3. Tempest

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

ActionTrip's 2007 Game of the Year (News)

Dec 25, 2007

ActionTrip's 2007 Game of the Year voting poll registered 10673 participants. 1809 registered users voted for Call of Duty 4, 1279 for Halo 3, 1192 for Assassin's Creed, 837 for "None of the Above", 716 for BioShock, 710 for Crysis, 627 for The Orange Box, and so on. The rest of the results can be viewed in ActionTrip's voting poll section.

Â¿ People's Choice: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Â¿ Runners-up: Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box

Â¿ Game of the Year (ActionTrip Staff): Portal
Â¿ Runners-up: Mass Effect, Halo 3, BioShock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, The Witcher

Â¿ Best Action Game: Halo 3
Â¿ Runners-up: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, God of War II, BioShock, Crysis

Â¿ Best Strategy Game: World in Conflict
Â¿ Runners-up: Supreme Commander, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Â¿ Best RPG: Mass Effect
Â¿ Runners-up: The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer

Â¿ Best Sports Game: FIFA 08
Â¿ Runners-up: SSX Blur, NHL 08, Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Â¿ Best MMOG: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Â¿ Runners-up: Tabula Rasa, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Â¿ Best Rhythm/Music Game: Rock Band
Â¿ Runners-up: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Â¿ Babe of the Year: Joanna Krupa

The Bitbag Editor's Choice Award Winners (News)

Dec 25, 2007

The Bitbag editor picks the winners for:

Â¿ Best 3D Action Game
Â¿ Best Racing Game
Â¿ Best RPG
Â¿ Best Fighter
Â¿ Best FPS
Â¿ Best Strategy Game
Â¿ Best Sports Game
Â¿ Best War Game
Â¿ Best Mecha Game
Â¿ Achievement In Excellence
Â¿ Best Handheld Game
Â¿ Best Graphics
Â¿ Best Sound
Â¿ Best Online Multiplayer
Â¿ Developer Of The Year
Â¿ Game Of The Year

Los Angeles Times: Best and Worst of the Year (News)

Dec 23, 2007

What makes a good video game? Strong visuals are important. Good controls are essential. A well-crafted concept helps too. These days, most games can boast at least two-thirds of that criteria.

So, then what makes a game great? Feeling. Emotion. Surprise. Interaction. Even addiction. It's a magical feeling when a game offers all these elements.

Here are the titles L.A. Times deemed the best experiences of 2007. Admittedly, they didn't play everything (because that would probably be impossible), but of the titles that did cross their paths, these are the ones that resonated most. Their favorites in order:

Best of the Year:
Â¿ BioShock
Â¿ Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Â¿ Assassin's Creed
Â¿ Super Mario Galaxy
Â¿ The Orange Box

Honorable Mention:
Â¿ Halo 3
Â¿ Rock Band
Â¿ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
Â¿ Cooking Mama: Cook Off
Â¿ Lost Planet

Worst of the Year:
Â¿ Lair

Dishonorable Mention:
Â¿ Fusion Frenzy 2
Â¿ 300: March to Glory
Â¿ Tenchu Z

[ By Pete Metzger, December 21, 2007 ]

Aussie game charts: Dec. 10-16 - Grand Theft Scratchy hijacks the charts (News)

Dec 22, 2007

The Simpsons Game for PlayStation 2 has finally managed to take out the top spot in the Australian game charts -- seven weeks after its initial release -- according to data trackers GfK Australia. The DS version of the game also made it into the top 10, taking out the seventh spot.

Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii -- last week's number one -- fell down to number two during the week of December 10-December 16. Drawn to Life for the Nintendo DS has reappeared in the overall charts at number three after a brief hiatus. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 climbed up from the previous week to number five, while Activision's other chart topper -- Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock -- is nowhere to be seen. Halo 3 for the 360 has reappeared at number nine, while Nintendo's Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree bundle ended the week at number 10.

Assassin's Creed Templar and Flag Guide (Feature)

Dec 20, 2007

Jan 11, 2007 Guide text written by: Jeff Kennedy and Paul Ryan Winners find all 60 Templar and 420 flags in Assassin's Creed. Don't try to argue, just accept it, download our jumbo-sized guide and start breezing your way to 100% completion. If you saw the Flag Guide we released in December, you'll be happy to see that we've updated the format and added every Templar in the game. Each Templar is marked on the map and matched with a description of his location and a strategy for getting an ...

2007 - The best gaming year ever (Feature)

Dec 20, 2007

20th Dec, 2007 Gaming is an up and down experience. Some years cram top quality titles into our every orifice until were bursting with videogame joy and have excess polygons dripping messily out of our ears, while some other years… Well, some other years are 1983. In 2007 though, weve had a very good year indeed. A scarily good year in fact. One which has provided us so much brilliance on every format that its a genuine worry that the laws of karmic balance will soon bring us a plague ...

Live Activity for week of 12/10 (News)

Dec 18, 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Arkadian Warriors
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
3. GripShift

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Fable
3. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

X-Play Best of 2007: Game of the Year and Category Winners (News)

Dec 18, 2007

The decision is in and the staff of G4 X-Play has named its Game of the Year!

This Week in Gaming: The MyArcadePlanet Game Report (News)

Dec 16, 2007

Assasins Creed, GTA IV, Maps, November Sales, Wii Voice chat and more, all located in this weeks MyArcadePlanet Game Report. Covering Monday December 10th - Friday December 14th, 2007.

Quotes on the November NPD numbers (News)

Dec 14, 2007

Here are some observations issued by NPD analyst Anita Frazier, on total industry sales and the performances of Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Guitar Hero III, Rock Band, the 360 HD-DVD add-on, and Wii accessories.

Assassin's Creed slaughters records as well as bad guys (News)

Dec 13, 2007

Ubisoft announced some remarkable results today.

Assassin's Creed is now officially the fastest-selling new video game IP in the US, ever. Ubisoft have already shifted over 2.5 million units worldwide on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

More facts and figures after the jump, including what the results mean to Ubisoft's financial projections...

Gamefly List: Xbox 360 Gamers Continue to Queue Up (News)

Dec 11, 2007

Assassin's Creed grabs the top spot on the Gamefly Top Ten 'Most Queued' list while Super Mario Galaxy and Uncharted Drake's Fortune queued up at the top of the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 Lists!

The Xbox 360 continues to be the console with the most rented games as 8 out of the top 10 are on that platform.

Live Activity for week of 12/3 (News)

Dec 11, 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Marble Blast Ultra
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
3. Asteroids & Deluxe

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Fable
3. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

The simExchange - Industry to set Software Sales Record (News)

Dec 10, 2007

The simExchange has released their monthly industry report.

Key Topics:
- Video games to break record sales
- PC Games continue to cannibalize each other
- Assassin's Creed - the woes of new intellectual property
- Rock Band - Too many hands in the cookie jar
- Wii - Can it handle M-rated titles

Analyst Jesse Divnich comments on sales:

"The prediction market expects November's software sales to be $1.15 billion which is a 42% increase over sales last year... [Software Sales] will be the highest ever seen in the month of November and the first time November sales will break $1 billion... Combining The NPD Group's estimates in October, retailers will net over $4.04 billion in software sales this holiday quarter, a 39% increase year-over-year-a record as well. "

Reviews and rumors from latest US Official Xbox Magazine (News)

Dec 6, 2007

Xbox 360 Only has just posted the reviews and rumors from the latest edition of the US Official Xbox Magazine. This months' reviews include Assassin's Creed, Beowulf, Scene It?, Soldier of Fortune, Blacksite and Gripshift.

Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 8.5/10
Scene it? (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 8/10
Soldier of Fortune Payback (Xbox 360, Activision): 4.5/10
Golden Compass (Xbox 360, Sega): 6/10
MX vs. ATV Untamed (Xbox 360, THQ): 5/10
Beowulf (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 6/10
GripShift (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 5.5/10
N+ (Xbox 360, Metanet/Slick): 7/10
Screwjumper! (Xbox 360, THQ): 7/10
NCAA 08 March Madness (Xbox 360, EA): 7/10
College Hoops 2K8 (Xbox 360, 2K Sports): 8.5/10
Blacksite Area 51 (Xbox 360, Midway): 6/10

The US OXM also features a rumor section, this month with three very interesting rumors.

- Bethesda's (Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) online debut will be a launch title for the next Xbox.
- The new Ghost Recon game is still a few years away. The game will not go further on in the Advanced Warfighter part, and the game also doesn't take place in cities anymore.
- Ubisoft is planning some radical changes for the new Sam Fischer game.

Assassin's Creed glitchy on PS3? bit-tech.net reports no freezing on 360 (News)

Dec 6, 2007

bit-tech.net reports:

"As can be seen in this video by YouTube user, themikepotter, the bug appears to cause Altair's animation to literally freeze Â¿ even if he's in the middle of the air or galloping along the ground. Mike isn't alone, either. This problem has resulted in plenty of PS3 owners whipping out their cameras and uploading the footage to sites like YouTube, but so far nothing from Xbox 360 gamers."

Media Create Sales: Xbox 360's Assassin's Creed outsells Super Mario Galaxy in Japan (News)

Dec 6, 2007

Media Create Sales 11/26 - 12/2:
01. [NDS] Prof. Layton and Pandora's Box (Level 5) - 294,000 / NEW
02. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 261,000 / NEW
03. [PS2] SD Gundam G Generation Spirits (Bandai-Namco) - 252,000 / NEW
04. [NDS] Dragon Quest IV (Square-Enix) - 135,000 / 732,000
05. [PS2] Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes (Capcom) - 95,000 / NEW
06. [NDS] Mario Party DS (Nintendo) - 80,000 / 539,000
07. [PS2] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (Konami) - 74,000 / 368,000
08. [360] Assassin's Creed (Ubi Soft) - 41,000 / NEW
09. [WII] Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo) - 41,000 / 103,000
10. [NDS] Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters World Championship 2008 (Konami) - 35,000 / NEW

11. [WII] Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)

Mario defeats Assassins and Mass Effect in AU Sales (News)

Dec 6, 2007

Everybody's favourite Italian plumber Mario has blasted his way to number one in the overall Australian game chart, according to data trackers GfK Australia.

Top 10 Full-Priced Games
1. Super Mario Galaxy, Wii
2. Need for Speed ProStreet, PlayStation 2
3. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008, PlayStation 2
4. The Simpsons Game, PlayStation 2
5. Assassin's Creed, Xbox 360
6. Need for Speed ProStreet, Xbox 360
7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Wii
8. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain?, Nintendo DS
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock bundle, PlayStation 2
10. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree bundle

American Sales Charts: Xbox 360 Outsold PS3 at 5:3 ratio (News)

Dec 6, 2007

Latest American sales from VGcharts.

1 Wii Sports - Nintendo 325,483
2 Forza Motorsport 2 - Microsoft 208,037
3 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Activision 201,476
4 Super Mario Galaxy - Nintendo 188,325
5 Mass Effect - Microsoft 113,856
6 Wii Play - Nintendo 112,724
7 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Activision 106,583
8 Assassins Creed - Ubisoft 102,501
9 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Activision 92,441
10 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Activision 81,408

DS 458,050
Wii 325,483
360 250,648
PS2 161,513
PSP 160,848
PS3 155,515
GBA 32,268
GC 2,545

What holiday hits is Bethesda playing? Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed & More (News)

Dec 5, 2007

From Official Bethesda Blog:
"Week after week, folks at the office were picking up the latest "AAA" titles to play, and as a result, I'm guessing most everyone now has a pile of games to play. Luckily, most of the big releases are now out, so we can put away our wallets and focus on the games we've got.

Here's what you'll see our team playing over the weekend."

Live Activity for week of 11/26 (News)

Dec 5, 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Assassin's Creed

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Asteroids & Deluxe
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
3. UNO

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Assassin's Creed graphics compared (Feature)

Dec 4, 2007

Dec 4, 2007 Are you kept up at night wondering whether Assassins Creed looks better on 360 or PS3? If so, youre about to get a good nights sleep. Weve captured footage from the early stages of the game, running in 720p on both consoles. While mild tearing is evident in both versions, the PS3 appears to have the edge with richer colors and deeper blacks. The 360 footage looks a bit washed out by comparison, though its nearly impossible to tell the difference without viewing the clips ...

GameFly: Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect Unshakeable (News)

Dec 4, 2007

This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending December 3rd, highlight both to-be-released and already released games in a unique demand-specific chart.

This week's top five all-platform requests show little movement once again, after last week saw the list barely ruffled. Assassin's Creed still takes the top spot for a third week with Mass Effect in second for its second week in a row.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which spent the last two weeks at number four, slips a bit to the fourth spot to make room for Kane and Lynch: Dead Men to move up one spot into the fourth spot, but that's the only movement -- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune stays at number five, where it entered last week.

Assassin's Creed - 360 vs PS3 720p graphics compared 12-04-07 (Video)

Dec 4, 2007

A beautiful, richly convoluted, sci-fi-tinged romp through the back alleys of Damascus, Acre and Jerusalem during the Third Crusade.

Leaked: NIMF's Annual Video Game Report Card (News)

Dec 4, 2007

Kotaku's Brian Crecente has a leaked copy of the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual Media Wise Video Game Report Card, set to be officially released tomorrow. This year's report card is broken into five parts:

Â¿ The MediaWise Video Game Report Card
Â¿ The Buying Guide
Â¿ The ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts
Â¿ The Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys
Â¿ Annual MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll of Kids and Parents

Kotaku gives a quick summary for each part.

Assassin's Creed Limited Edition (News)

Dec 3, 2007

This rare Limited Edition package features a number of bonus materials for fans of the game. Packed inside a special tin box, the Limited Edition features a figurine of lead hero Altair, a set of Penny Arcade comics, a Mini-strategy guide, Assassin-themed short films, and additional Assassin's Creed videos (including: making-of, trailers, developer diaries, interviews, etc.)

Brit Tele Presenter a Character in Assassin's Creed (News)

Dec 3, 2007

What do you get when you combine a fashionably bald British television presenter with an ancient flying killer? Well, you get Jason Bradbury from Channel 5's The Gadget Show in Assassin's Creed of course.

First day sales in Japan on 11/29/2007 (News)

Dec 1, 2007

VG Chartz translates the latest first-day sales reported by the Japanese site Sinobi:

Â¿ Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (DS): about 200,000
Â¿ SD Gundam G Generations Spirits (PS2): about 160,000
Â¿ Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes (PS2): about 60,000
Â¿ Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters World Championship 2008 (DS): about 25,000
Â¿ Assassins Creed (360): about 20,000
Â¿ Naruto Shippuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2 (Wii): about 15,000
Â¿ Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes (Wii): about 7,000
Â¿ Disgaea Portable with Network Play (PSP): 7,000
Â¿ Zero no Tsukaima: Muma ga Tsumugu Yokaze no Nocturne (PS2): 3,000

Games listed below are red light(?):

Â¿ Guilty Gear: OVERTURE (360): about 4000
Â¿ Super Swing Golf 2nd Shot (Wii): about 3000
Â¿ Another Century Episode 2 Special Vocal Edition (PS2): about 3000
Â¿ IQ Sapuri 2 (DS): about 2000
Â¿ Izuna 2 (DS): about 1500
Â¿ Tony Hawk Project 8 (PS3): about 1500
Â¿ Tony Hawk Project 8 (360): about 1000
Â¿ Puzzle Quest (DS): about 600

Notes: Wii Fit is not on the list because it launches on 12/1 in Japan, and the wholesale market is already reporting a shortage.

PlayStation 3 Assassin's Creed patch is now live (News)

Nov 30, 2007

Following consumer feedback regarding some issues while playing Assassin's Creed for PlayStation 3, a corrective update has been developed and will be released worldwide on the PLAYSTATION® Network over the next few days. You can proceed to installation simply by launching your Assassin's Creed game. Please note that release times of this update may vary depending on your location. Thank you again for your patience.

Penny Arcade vs. IGN on Assassin's Creed review (News)

Nov 28, 2007

Penny Arcade's Gabe writes: "I guess some guy at IGN is mad at me and he lays into me on their podcast. [...] Basically some IGN guy is super pissed because I said I didn't agree with the bad reviews of Assassin's Creed. I'm actually of the opinion that if we're pissing off IGN we must be doing something right.

Honestly my main concern was to make sure people didn't avoid the game based on some of the poor reviews."

"The IGN thing is just sort of silly. He says I should leave reviewers alone because I 'just do things and write things as a freaking comic artist.' I'm not sure how to respond to that. I think he's trying to insult me but everything he said there is true.

The sad thing is I wasn't even talking about their review. I was talking about the 7.0 from 1UP. No one actually pays any attention to IGN or their 7-10 review scale."

VG Chartz: American Sales for Black Friday Week Ending Nov. 24 (News)

Nov 28, 2007

VG Chartz' hardware sales for Black Friday week in North America are as below (ranked by units sold):

1. DS: 684,202
2. Wii: 421,419
3. Xbox 360: 254,680
4. PSP: 194,723
5. PS3: 174,045

The full report also includes the top ten software titles for the week for Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3.

VG Chartz Featuring the First Weekly European Software Charts Ever (News)

Nov 27, 2007

According to VG Chartz, here are the top 10 European software titles - with individual platforms, publishers, and units sold - for the week ending November 24th:

1. Brain Training (DS, Nintendo): 187,803
2. Assassins Creed (XB360, Ubisoft): 178,543
3. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo): 177,393
4. Need for Speed: ProStreet (PS2, EA): 149,927
5. High School Musical: Sing It! (PS2, Disney): 144,745
6. Assassins Creed (PS3, Ubisoft): 134,650
7. Mass Effect (XB360, Microsoft): 129,598
8. More Brain Training (DS, Nintendo): 128,614
9. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2, Konami): 124,674
10. Nintendogs (DS, Nintendo): 120,237

PS3 Assassin's Creed Rules in Spain, Crysis in Germany (Sales Charts) (News)

Nov 27, 2007

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed have charted in both Spain and Germany according to weekly sales data released by Media-Control GfK International.

For the week ending November 18, the PlayStation 3 version of Creed was number one in Spain and number four in Germany. The PS3 version sold more copies than the Xbox 360 version which came in at number five in both countries.

LOVEFiLM expects Creed to top its game rentals, sales (News)

Nov 23, 2007

LOVEFiLM, Europe's number one online DVD rental service, expects Assassin's Creed to top sales and rentals this holiday season.

"Assassins Creed will definitely be up there; our audience have already heavily pre-ordered this and the sure scale of the experience is very cinematic, so will prove popular amongst film fans," Chris Bird, head of marketing services for LOVEFiLM, told GamesIndustry.biz.

"Kane and Lynch will also do well, as will Call of Duty 4. FIFA 08 and PES will also be 'must buy' for anyone getting a new console over Christmas."

Ubisoft: New IP is a serious business (News)

Nov 23, 2007

Ubisoft UK boss Rob Cooper has been celebrating the sales success of Assassin's Creed Â¿ and stated that it proves new IP can still shift serious numbers at retail.

"I think the success worldwide of Assassin's Creed absolutely proves that new IP can live and prosper within the sequel and licensed based competition," he told MCV. "The industry is crying out for new and compelling content and we're delighted that AC has lived up to its expectations."

"The launch of Assassin's has been a huge global success. There are a number of factors for this in the UK. One is that the game has gripped a nation of gaming consumers. With licensed or sequel based titles, it's easier to know what to expect, but with Assassin's Creed there has been a ground swell of excitement since we first showed it at E3 06."

Assassin's Sells Over 1 Million (News)

Nov 20, 2007

Any doubts about Assassin's Creed can now be put to rest, as the game's sell-through sales have already topped the record level of 1 million units.

Best of Xbox 360 Black Friday deals (News)

Nov 20, 2007

Xbox360Fanboy took the time to go through all the Black Friday ads and list all the Xbox 360 deals.

Famitsu reviews Dragon Quest IV, Assassins Creed, Guilty Gear 2 and more (News)

Nov 20, 2007

This weeks' Famitsu scores:

Dragon Quest IV (NDS, Square Enix): 9 / 8 / 8 / 9 - (34/40)
Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 9 / 9 / 9 / 9 - (36/40)
Layton Kyouju to Akuma no Hako (NDS, Level 5): 9 / 9 / 8 / 8 - (34/40)
Swing Golf Pangya 2nd Shot! (Wii, Tecmo): 7 / 8 / 7 / 7 - (29/40)
Rekishi Gunsou Presents: Monoshiri Sengoku Ou (NDS, Global A): 6 / 6 / 7 / 7 - (26/40)
Gouma Reifu Den Izuna Ni (NDS, Success): 7 / 6 / 6 / 7 - (26/40)
Nounai Aesthe: IQ Suppli DS 2: Sukkiri King Ketteisen (NDS, Spike): 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 - (28/40)
Rika-Chan DS: Onna no Ko Lesson: Oshare mo Oshigoto mo Omakase! (NDS, Takara Tomy): 7 / 6 / 7 / 6 - (26/40)
Simple DS Series Vol. 27: The Misshitsu kara no Dasshutsu: The Suiri Bangai-hen (NDS, D3): 7 / 5 / 7 / 6 - (25/40)
Disney Princess: Mahou no Jewel (NDS, Disney): 6 / 7 / 6 / 6 - (25/40)
Yes! PreCure 5 (NDS, Bandai Namco): 5 / 7 / 5 / 6 - (23/40)
Tank Beat 2 Gekitotsu! Deutsch-gun vs. Rengou-gun (NDS, MileStone): 7 / 7 / 6 / 5 - (25/40)
SD Gundam G Generation Spirits (PS2, Bandai Namco): 7 / 8 / 7 / 8 - (30/40)
Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes (PS2, Capcom): 8 / 7 / 7 / 7 - (29/40)
Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes (Double Pack) (Wii, Capcom): 8 / 8 / 7 / 8 - (31/40)
Naruto Shippuuden Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX2 (Wii, Takara Tomy): 6 / 7 / 6 / 7 - (26/40)
Tony Hawk's Project 8 (PS3/Xbox 360, Spike): 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 - (32/40)
Guilty Gear 2 Overture (Xbox 360, Arc System Works): 7 / 7 / 7 / 8 - (29/40)
Apocalypse: Desire Next (Xbox 360, Idea Factory): 6 / 5 / 4 / 6 - (21/40)

ELSPA Weekly Chart - Xbox 360 (News)

Nov 20, 2007

There's a battle going on at the top of the chart between Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4...

Assassin's Creed is fastest-selling new IP since 2002 (News)

Nov 20, 2007

Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed has shot to the top of the UK all-formats charts and become the second fastest-selling new IP on an individual format behind 2002's The Getaway.

The Xbox 360 version of the game claims 67 per cent of sales, with the PlayStation 3 version taking the remaining 33 per cent. It also becomes the third fastest-selling Xbox 360 game within a weekly sales period.

Gamefly Top 10: Assassin's Creed Knocks Off Call of Duty 4 (News)

Nov 20, 2007

Queue up the complete Gamefly Top 10 most requested list:

Pachter: Assassin's Creed, Haze To Lead $1.2b Ubisoft FY08 (News)

Nov 19, 2007

Ahead of Ubisoft's fiscal 2008 first half results expected November 20th, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter has predicted the company will announce full year sales estimates of €825 million ($1.21 billion), as Assassin's Creed, Haze and its casual lineup lead a strong holiday lineup.

Live Activity for week of 11/12 (News)

Nov 17, 2007

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. The arcade list is based on full versions purchased. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Gears of War

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Switchball
2. Word Puzzle
3. Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Assassin's Creed freezes and crashes; Gamers fired up (News)

Nov 17, 2007

GamerNode reports that recent posts over on the Ubisoft forums have gamers all fired up over reported freezing issues with the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed (as well as the Xbox 360 version - see Notes below.)

Some PS3 gamers are indicating that the bug is occurring with the new 2.00 firmware release while others have reported that their AC game froze up with firmware version 1.94.

Notes: Other websites and forums are also reporting freezing and other technical issues with the PS3 as well as Xbox 360 versions. Problems include system crashes, failures to record objectives and achievements, and lengthy load times. See alternative sources for details.

Ubisoft threatens to sue comedy forum over Jade Raymond, Assassin's Creed (News)

Nov 16, 2007

Ubisoft's legal counsel has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the webmaster of SomethingAwful.com via email and express mail. Here is an abstract:

"Ubisoft has recently learned that the extremely offensive pornographic image (the "Image") accessible at [WaffleImages.com] is being used on your website located at http://www.somethingawful.com [and/or] http://forums.somethingawful.com..."

"...the Image's blatant, vile, and unauthorized misappropriation of Ms. Raymond's name and likeness, and your conduct in using the Image on your Site, have caused immeasurable harm to Ms. Raymond's reputation and career, and constitute an egregious infringement of Ms. Raymond's personal rights and privacy rights..."

"Ubisoft hereby demands that you immediately: (1) permanently remove the Image from your Site, databases and servers and prevent any further uploading or display thereof; (2) permanently cease and desist all unauthorized use and hosting of images using the ASSASSIN'S CREED mark and Ms. Raymond's name and/or likeness; (3) provide us with the name and contact information of the person who originally created and/or posted the Image; and (4) complete, execute, and return to me the enclosed Declaration by November 16, 2007 to confirm that you are complying with Ubisoft's demand."

Ubisoft have prepared a declaration for the webmaster of SomethingAwful.com to sign. The full cease-and-desist letter and attached declaration are available at the source.

Disaster Ubisoft with a Vengeance: Give Assassin's Creed Amazing Reviews or Die Hard (News)

Nov 16, 2007

From an email Surfer Girl received

Here's how Ubisoft deals with criticism:

A certain British gaming website had praised Assassin's Creed since it was announced. They'd run previews, interviews, did a lot to hype the game. When they played the final built, they finally realized it wasn't that great, so it got a 7/10. But instead of acknowledging AC's mistakes, Ubisoft got furious, pulled all ads from the site and cancelled all placed orders (mid five figures) indefinitely. A planned live interview with Jade Raymond isn't going to happen either. According to Ubisoft everything would have been fine though, if the site had just put an 8 instead of a 7 under the same text.

Assassin's Creed - Plot exposed - 11-16-07 (Video)

Nov 16, 2007

A beautiful, richly convoluted, sci-fi-tinged romp through the back alleys of Damascus, Acre and Jerusalem during the Third Crusade.

Assassin's Creed: Our movie reveals the big secret (News)

Nov 16, 2007

16 Nov, 2007 The twist in Assassins Creed, released on Xbox 360 and PS3 today, has been a closely guarded secret. Even the developer, Ubisoft, has given little clues as to what it might be. And although we mentioned it briefly in our recent review, we thought it was about time to blow the whole thing wide open. Warning: Spoilers ahead You play as Desmond Miles who is plugged into a machine, called an Animus, that can render genetic memories in 3D. Using this machine Desmond can revisit ...

Analyst: DS Redesign Done, Uncharted & Haze At Risk (News)

Nov 14, 2007

Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson says new version of Nintendo's portable complete; holiday release torrent creating retail woes.

Wilson notes that not all games will be affected by insufficient retail space. "Clearly, the end-of-year squeeze creates limited space at retail, which limits the size of initial orders of games with less publicity and reorders of games with lower quality." He anticipates games with high preorder rates such as Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, Assassins' Creed, Mass Effect, WWE, and Rock Band to be less affected by insufficient retail space. "Titles that could be at risk of getting squeezed," he continues, "include Haze, Kane & Lynch, and Uncharted."

IGN changes back its Assassin's Creed review, gives explanation (News)

Nov 14, 2007

Destructoid writes:

"Well, this story just gets more and more confusing. The review has been rolled back to now include the text that was there in the final publication last night. IGN contacted Destructoid directly to say that the issue was a copy/paste error that had gone overlooked. For whatever reason, the finished publication had been gone into and swapped paragraphs or somesuch, at least by IGN's reckoning. Confusion abounds afresh.

Crossed wires? Innocent screw ups? Who knows? What I do know, however, is that the people who kept accusing me of making quotes up can keep their traps shut now -- I told you it was bloody there."

IGN modified its Assassin's Creed review, Destructoid got the proof (News)

Nov 14, 2007

On Destructoid you can find the proof that IGN indeed modified its Assassin's Creed review.

The current review contains this:
"These big open worlds, which are fully interactive, do come at a cost. There is considerable texture pop-in and occasional framerate hiccups. None of this deters from the gameplay though, so it is forgivable."

The original review contained this:
"These big open worlds, which are fully interactive, do come at a severe cost on PS3. There is considerable texture pop-in and noticeable framerate issues. Playing back-to-back with the 360 version, it's obvious that Ubisoft did not devote enough resources to the PS3 edition. The framerate is considerably worse, so much so that it begins to affect gameplay in the later levels. You can get through the first two-thirds of Assassin with the framerate being just an annoyance, but it becomes more of an issue for the final third of the missions."

GameTrailers Assassin's Creed Review (News)

Nov 13, 2007

This is the Gametrailer's review of Assassin's Creed. There are some gameplay issues. The final compiled scores are as follows:

Story: 9.7
Design: 9.0
Gameplay: 8.8
Presentation: 9.2

Overall: 9.1