From the amazing site that went live late March/early April to the great trailers that Ubisoft has released, they all led up to one of the most highly anticipate sequels to hit stores in a very long time.

Now, Ubisoft has released live action videos [really movies] that takes place before Assassin’s Creed II called Assassin’s Creed Lineage and they tell about what Ezio’s father, Giovanni Auditore, went through.

The acting is solid, the fight scenes are great and on the whole, this is something I could see turned into an actual full length motion picture. The YouTube views alone at over 1.7 million views in the first 24 hours after launch should make Hollywood stand up and take notice.

The only question is who would you cast for Ezio?

Find the videos below and enjoy.

Image|Ubisoft

Post from: EveryJoe

Assassin’s Creed Lineage Videos

I’m joking. I KNOW it’s not almost November but I can’t help that I wish that it would get here faster. Am I the only one who feels like this year is dragging?

November is when Assassin’s Creed II hits stores – just in time for Christmas {hint, hint}.

Right now, you can pre-order two different limited edition versions of the game – the black version and the white version. Keep in mind that these prices are in British Pounds and that I’m not sure of US availability. I’m going to send Ubisoft an email and see what they have to say about the two versions.

In the White version for £59.99, you get:

• An 8.5″ tall Ezio collectible statue
• An unlockable bonus quest set in the Santa Maria Dei Frari church in Venice

In the Black version for £69.99, you get:

• THREE unlockable bonus quests
• A behind the scenes “Conspiracy Book” artbook
• Assassin’s Creed II’s soundtrack
• A “Master Assassin” Ezio collectible statue

The exclusive in-game quests are only unlockable with the single use code that comes with the game and you have to have an internet connection to keep people from passing the exclusive stuff around.

Personally, I think that the Black version looks the best and if I was going to have to pick, I’d pick it.

Images|Ubisoft

Post from: EveryJoe

Black and White Vs of Assassin’s Creed II

The Ontario government is in full support to the gaming company by adding CA$263 million dollars over the next 10 years which would also contribute to around 800 jobs in the next 10 years.

It is not yet clear what Ubisoft would be producing but it is said to be around the area of media films which is slightly different to their conventional games.

One thing is sure however; the first games to be released by Ubisoft should be watched at as they are bringing their best game especially when all eyes are on them in Canada.

How about you, what you expect from a leadership that once brought Assasin’s Creed and Prince of Persia.

Image from Ubisoft.

Post from: EveryJoe

Excited About Ubisoft Canada?

Monday evening brought the much-anticipated Ubisoft press conference, hosted by The Soup’s Joel McHale. (I plan on putting together a highlight reel of McHale’s best moments, which I’ll share with you soon.) Take a look at a just few of the highlights.

Red Steel II shows a completely new art style and narrative direction. It’s also made to work with the new Wii Motion Plus. Take a look.

A very special and unexpected treat arrived in the form of legendary film director James Cameron, who was on hand to talk about his anticipated film Avatar, and the game Ubisoft is making to accompany it. Ubisoft is branching out into film effects in addition to game making, and Avatar is the first film to take advantage of the studio’s talents, as Cameron explains. Cameron also gives a detailed synopsis of the until-now top secret Avatar storyline.

Unfortunately, my video ran out of battery power (no jabs, please — this was the third back-to-back press conference of the day!) after the Red Steel demo, and I wasn’t able to capture the Rabbids Go Home demo. But it looked really fun — more of a platformer/Mario kind of gameplay through different levels than the minigames the prior Rabbids games are known for.

For Assassin’s Creed II demo footage, see the Sony press conference.

Post from: EveryJoe

E3 ‘09: Ubisoft press conference highlights

The Rabbids Wii game is developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the team which brings you Beyond Good & Evil, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie and of course the original Rayman Raving Rabbids.

What’s interesting is that a new game engine for the Wii is in Rabbids Go Home. Does it make the Rabbids more Rabbidy? Maybid.

Video after jump.

Image: Ubisoft

Post from: EveryJoe

Rabbids Go Home Debut Teaser Trailer

Am I the only drooling at the prospect of playing and owning Far Cry 2, the upcoming FPS by Ubisoft? I may have originally considered it a mere rental, but ever since the map editor was introduced, my perception about the game has changed. This new video about Far Cry 2 aiming to “immerse the player in the avatar’s physicality” is merely icing on the cake.

I just hope the treatments for the various injuries in Far Cry 2 would be in context. I would really hate to pull out a shrapnel out of the character’s leg if the damage sustained was from the wild African wildfires that originate from the game’s flamethrower.

Post from: EveryJoe

Ubisoft: Immersion in Far Cry 2 goes beyond graphics and sound

This just in: Ubisoft has finally announced the minimum system requirements for Far Cry 2. While the upcoming FPS is indeed looking sweet, the required specs sure aren’t pretty. Thankfully, it’s also coming out for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 so if you have either console, there’s nothing to worry about. Unless you hate using dual analog sticks for shooting.

To run Far Cry 2, you’ll need the following:

• CPU: Pentium IV 3.2GHz, Pentium D 2.66GHz, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ or better;
• RAM: 1GB;
• Video card: Nvidia 6800 or ATI X1650 or better;
  • Shader Model 3 required;
• 256 Mb of graphic memory;
• Media reader: DVD-ROM;
• Hard drive space: ~12 Gig or HD space. (tbd).

As for the recommended specs:

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Family, AMD 64 X2 5200+, AMD Phenom or better;
• RAM: 2GB;
• Video card: Nvidia 8600 GTS or better, ATI X1900 or better;
  • 512 Mb of graphic memory;
• Sound: 5.1 sound card recommended

Supported Video cards:
Nvidia 6800, Nvidia 7000 series, 8000 series, 9000 series, 200 series. 8800M and 8700M supported for laptops. ATI X1650 – 1950 series, HD2000 series, HD3000 series, and HD4000 series.

Good luck running it on your PC. You’ll need it.

Image for Far Cry 2 is courtesy of Ubisoft.

Post from: EveryJoe

Far Cry 2 PC system requirements announced

And what’s not to like about it? The enemy soldiers’ AI is eerily good, and the open-ended approach to this tropical paradise made the experience very fresh compared to other linear shooters that came out that year (*cough Doom 3 *cough* Half-Life 2 cough*).

According to CVG, Far Cry 2 is following in the footsteps of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., meaning that the sequel is set in a huge expanse of land that you can freely wander. There will be two “fully-open worlds that are five kilometers on a side, with the second world unlocking roughly one-third of the way through the game.”

If you do the math, Far Cry gives you 50 square kilometers of land that you can go through anytime.

There’s just one problem: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can be awfully boring when you’re running though a seemingly-endless stretch of land. What’s more, the Ukrainian shooter doesn’t have controllable vehicles that could help with the tedium presented by travel. Your only hope is using third-party mods.

I just hope that all this talk about open-ended gameplay in Far Cry 2 would actually translate into something fun.

Here’s another question—if the sequel would have no Trigens, no mutants, or any of the Dr. Moreau-esque stuff associated with Far Cry, then why would the game be called Far Cry 2 since there’s nothing to associate it to the original? The “Far Cry” title is important because the weird experiments are labeled “Project Far Cry” in the first place.

It’s like saying the next Bond film won’t feature a British spy and espionage gadgets.

Your thoughts?

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Post from: EveryJoe

Far Cry 2 ditches old scheme and takes S.T.A.L.K.E.R. approach

If you think the Far Cry “franchise” hasn’t been milked enough, guess again. GameSpot revealed that UbiSoft is set to come out with a sequel to the popular 2004 shooter. Since Crytek, the game’s original developer, has sold UbiSoft the rights to Far Cry, you can be sure that the Germany-based developer won’t be coming back to make the next installment.

As you may have heard, Crytek has paired with EA, the mortal enemy of UbiSoft, and is set to release Crysis, that DirectX 10 beast that’s set to rob you of your precious cash. Crysis has nothing to do with Far Cry.

However, since UbiSoft has the rights to use the CryENGINE (the game engine used in Far Cry), the sequel just might use it for the next Far Cry game. This might not be such a bad idea, considering that CryENGINE runs even better than Source. If this happens, expect the increase in Far Cry 2’s hardware requirements to be more forgiving that of Crysis. If it’s purdy and runs great, then it’s fantastic in my book.

Do check out Far Cry 2’s concept art after the jump.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Far Cry returns for a sequel

Unlike its PC counterpart, America’s Army: True Soldiers comes with a single player mode, which is a pleasant surprise. Of course, it wouldn’t be America’s Army without the multiplayer, and UbiSoft wanted it done in spades. The French publisher enlisted Red Storm Entertainment to develop the Xbox 360 game.

That’s when I get giddy. You see, Red Storm is the maker of insanely-brilliant tactical shooters like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and the Rainbow Six games. If Red Storm can make this game as terrific as Advanced Warfighter 2, I won’t get any Vitamin D sunlight for months.

According to True Soldiers’ press release, the single player mode lets you take on roles such as Rifleman, Grenadier, Automatic Rifleman and Sniper. Multiplayer comes with eight maps and Xbox Live online gaming service clan support.

Red Storm is also putting in fascinating mechanics like earning respect as players move up through the ranks. What’s more, teammates can award points to other team members who play honorably. This means foul-mouthed 11-year-olds won’t be getting any of those rewards when they play True Soldiers.

Then again, this isn’t Halo.

Single player accomplishments and skills earned in categories like Valor, Marksmanship, Stealth and Conditioning, will be upgradeable and can be used in Xbox Live.

Post from: EveryJoe

America’s Army is coming to the Xbox 360