The stories for this week:
- Assassin's Creed 2 Info Leaked Early After Teaser?
- First BioShock 2 Footage Shown on GameTrailers TV
- Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition Detailed
- Wii Sports and MotionPlus Due in July
- Will Wright Leaves EA to Concentrate on EA Backed Stupid Fun Club
Assassin's Creed 2 Info Leaked Early After Teaser?
This is honestly the worst secret currently being held by the gaming press, but to our regular readers out there, this week brought their first look at the upcoming Assassin’s Creed 2 via a teaser page. It actually is quite cool because you can print out a shape and hold it up to your webcam and see a 3D version of the main character’s arm and blade. At the end of the teaser written backwards is “Game Informer 04.16.09”. Yes indeed, the game will be the cover story for Game Informer that goes to press on that day. This is not surprising since it was also GI that gave us our first look at the original game and the team behind it, including everyone’s favorite female producer Jade Raymond.
Later on in the week it seems ScrewAttack unloaded an information leak on Thursday with text information and then on their Friday Hard News they showed some screens from the upcoming game. Pictures were put up on Ubisoft’s forum for a short time before being taken down, but not before the Internet had exploded with excitement. Main character with all fingers attached and two (2) blades? Based in the Renaissance Period in the time of DaVinci? Boom goes the dynamite!
If the news ScrewAttack had is true, here’s the rundown from them in what is in the GI coming out Thursday:
- You'll have a ton of new weapons to choose from including an axe, a hammer, a mace, a spear, 2 different sword types, a spear axe, and 2 smaller blades
- You CAN swim
- Da Vincis workshop is in the game
- Locations include Saint Marks Basilica, The Grand Canal, The Little Canal, and the Rialto bridge.
- The game opens in 1476, Altair is from 1191
- So you do indeed play as a new ancestor of Altair / Desmond
- You will see the countryside of Tuscany
- The "Auditore" family is mentioned
- The main characters name is Ezio Auditore de Firenze
- He is a nobleman of Florence
- Big characters are in the game including Machiavelli, Caterina Sofrza, and Lorenzo de Medici
- YOU DO INDEED GLIDE on Da Vincis flying machine.
- Game will feature a new notoriety system that governs how enemy soldiers and people will treat you.
- You can disarm enemies and use their own weapons against them this time.
- Each weapon has a special move.
- 16 unique mission types.
- No more ease dropping or pick pocketing missions.
- If you get beat up to much you will need to see a street side doctor to regain full strength.
- Hidden objects (like flags in the first one) are there to uncover but this time if you track them down you will get in-game bonuses that make it worth your time.
- Items include, flags, statues, and gold coins and more that isn’t mentioned.
- New enemy types with unique attitudes and weaknesses are present in the game.
Archers are mentioned, as well as elite enemies, dagger wielders, "Brutish" armored troops with heavy armor and 2 handed swords and axes, and an intelligent halberd enemy will probe hiding places with their weapons if they think you're near by.
- While hiding in a hay bail you can assassinate people this time, but it may expose your position.
- You can still climb towers and ride horses
- The Lorendo de Medici assassination attempt is in the game.
- There is now a night and day sequence in the game.
- 240 people are working on this title.
The last line is most likely why the game is scheduled to come out before the end of the year. I think the original had over 100 people working on it. When you sell millions of copies you can increase your team quite a bit it seems. It is sounding like Ubisoft has taken everything reviewers (like myself) and players out there didn’t like about the original and have at least shown an idea that they are working on fixing them. Wait for more news from Game Informer later this week, but I’m sure they aren’t too happy about it. I’ll have to listen to Andy McNamara, GI’s Editor-in-Chief, on the local radio station on Monday and see if he talks about it.
Source: Colony of Gamers via ScrewAttack
First BioShock 2 Footage Shown on GameTrailers TV
Another game supposedly coming out before the end of the year, GameTrailers showed us the first gameplay video of BioShock 2 in their new timeslot on Thrusdays on Spike Network. Here is a link to the HD version of the video.
Cool things seen in the game are obviously the quickness of the Big Sisters, the underwater gameplay and the fact that the Big Daddy can fire and use plasmid powers at the same time! Heck yeah!
Source: Colony of Gamers
Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition Detailed
Along with Eidos saying that the upcoming Batman game is the best game they have ever made and that it is perfect, they also came out with details of what is included in the Collector’s Edition. The big thing is a 12” batarang with a stand that is modeled after the one in the game. Along with this it also includes a journal detailing all of Arkham’s residents and a 2-pack sleeve with Game disc, Behind-the-scenes DVD, Code for downloadable Challenge Map, Exclusive “Crime Alley” map, available immediately, and a full-color Manual. It is currently being sold pre-order for $99.99 from Gamestop (360/PS3.
Source: Colony of Gamers via Team Xbox
Wii Sports Resort and MotionPlus Due in July
Good and bad news here. Good in the fact that there is actually a date for release for both of these. Bad in the fact that it comes out after Punch-Out!!! and no one knows what the price will be purchase it. Also we don’t know how much the Plus will cost by itself. One would hope Nintendo has put Plus programming into Punch-Out!!!, but who knows.
Source: Colony of Gamers via Reuters
Will Wright Leaves EA to Concentrate on EA Backed Stupid Fun Club
Ever wondered why Will Wright was so quiet while Spore crashed around him? Well, here’s your answer. He’s been planning on leaving EA for over a year and concentrating on his side group Stupid Fun Club. Thing is Super Fu Club is backed by EA and a number of other investors. They want to concentrate on gaming and other multimedia pursuits. They want to concentrate more on IPs that can be sold in several channels than make things only for one purpose. The big question is what will happen to the rest of the Wright team at EA. Will they be fused into Redwood Shores proper or still sit off on their own? Who takes over the Sims property with Wright gone? Could this be what Jeff Green of GGW fame was brought on for? We’ll wait and see and wish Will good luck.
Source: Colony of Gamers via MTV