assassin's creed 2 [coming soon]

Assassin's Creed II is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and Microsoft Windows. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game Assassin's Creed. The game was released on video game consoles in November 2009, and will be released on Microsoft Windows in February 2010 in Europe and in March 2010 in North America.[2][6][7][8]

The game is set in 2012, with player-controlled protagonist Desmond Miles escaping from Abstergo Industries with an employee, Lucy Stillman, after being forced to relive the genetic memories of ancestral assassin Altaïr ibn La-Ahad through a machine known as the "Animus." After escaping from Abstergo, Desmond enters a device identical to the Animus and relives the genetic memories of ancestral nobleman Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who lived during the Renaissance period of the late fifteenth century in Italy. The player controls Ezio, who becomes an Assassin after his father and brothers are murdered by a traitor to the Auditore family. While controlling Ezio, the player can explore game renditions of Italian cities, regions and landmarks in open world gameplay. The gameplay is a mixture of action, stealth and platforming.

Assassin's Creed II was met with widespread acclaim, garnering aggregated scores of 91% for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, from review aggregator Metacritic. It has also garnered a score of 93% on review aggregator Moby Games. The game was praised for its stronger emphasis on open-world exploration and interaction, non-linear gameplay and greater mission variety compared to the first Assassin's Creed. The game was also credited with improved non-player character AI and combat mechanics, and its new economic system allowing players to purchase accessories, armor and improved weapons through the course of the game.

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed II takes place in an open world with nonlinear gameplay, allowing the player to roam freely within several regions throughout late fifteenth-century Italy such as Venice, Florence, and the Tuscan countryside. The Animus 2.0, a new version of the machine of the same name present in Assassin's Creed, provides in-game context for changes and additions to several game elements. A database is also available, providing extra historical information about key landmarks, characters and services that the player encounters. The health system has been made more dynamic, with synchronization to the Animus and causing the character to recover only from minor injuries.[1] More grievous injuries require visiting a street-side doctor or use medicine which can be puchased from doctors.[1]

The player may now swim in water, and eagle vision—the ability to identify specific people and landmarks—can now be used in third-person view and while moving.[1] A young Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game, aiding the player by creating new weapons from translated "codex pages" that Altaïr, the original game's main character, left behind for future assassins' analysis and insight.[1] Within the game, the player will be able to use Leonardo's flying machine (based on real-life plans by Leonardo) while on a mission. The player also has the ability to control a carriage, and gondolas, as well as ride horses.[1]
Ezio stealing a gondola from a small pier.

While Leonardo da Vinci provides the player with new weapons, such as a double hidden blade, a poison blade and a miniature firearm, there are also a variety of swords, cutlasses and maces, as well as axes, spears and daggers. The combat system is more complex, with the ability to disarm opponents, stealing their weapons.[1] Six additional weapons can be unlocked by connecting a PSP with Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines to the PS3.[9]

The Auditore family's countryside villa acts as Ezio's headquarters, and the surrounding property can be upgraded, drawing income for the player's use. There are several outlets for using currency, with vendors selling items such as medicine, poison, weapons, repairs, upgrades, paintings and colored dyes for changing the color of Ezio's outfit. When these shops are renovated, Ezio receives discounts at the shops on the goods they sell.

There is now a broader array of methods for hiding or blending in the area. One can dive underwater to break the guards' line of sight, and blending may be performed with any group of people, rather than only a specific type, as in the first Assassin's Creed.[1] The game features a notoriety system, with Ezio becoming more recognizable depending on his behavior, location, and current mission. This infamy can be reduced with bribery, removing wanted posters, or assassinating corrupt officials.[1] A day and night cycle has been added to the game, giving the game more of a sense of time, in addition to setting missions and events at certain times of the day.[1] There are many ways to interact with non-player characters, with some NPCs available for hire, to serve as a distraction, or to fight alongside the player. Money thrown to the ground may also serve as a distraction. There are also several types of enemies, some more agile or stronger than others.

The missions in the game now have an expanded variety, with different structuring. For example, a mission may have the objective to escort someone, but may change to a chase and assassination. Investigation is less explicit, and instead missions may follow people and/or a narrative. There are roughly 200 missions in this game; about half are part of the main storyline, while the rest are side quests. Cities also contain hidden locations such as catacombs and caves, the design of which have been compared, by the developers, to the Prince of Persia series, where the objective is to navigate the area. Exploring these locations eventually rewards the player with an Assassin's symbol, six of which allow the player to unlock the armor of Altaïr.

Like Assassin's Creed, characters based on historical figures are present in the game including Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza, Lorenzo de' Medici, the Pazzi Family, and Pope Alexander VI.[10]

Locations in the game include the Tuscany region[1] (Florence, Monteriggioni and San Gimignano[11]), the Apennine Mountains, the Romagna region (Forlì[11]), Venice and Rome. Specific landmarks include St Mark's Basilica[1], the Grand Canal, the Little Canal, the Rialto Bridge[1], Santa Maria del Fiore, the Sistine Chapel, Santa Croce, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, and Santa Maria Novella.[11]
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The Settlers 7 [coming soon]

February 4, 2010 - The Settlers 7 is the latest in the long-running strategy franchise from Blue Byte Software. The series made its name on the basics of 4X-style strategy, but more recent installments in the series strayed from the original approach of developing an economy before building an army or expanding your settlements. At a recent Ubisoft press event, Benedikt Grindel, the senior producer, stated that the developers wanted to "return The Settlers 7 to the classic economy that fans knew well and make them much deeper, while keeping the gameplay more accessible for newer players. "

To accomplish this, Blue Byte pulled in industry veteran Bruce Shelley, who helped Ensemble Studios build the Age of Empires franchise, to consult on the strategy. Shelley mentioned that he "wanted to work on something interesting and something he liked." After receiving the Settlers: Rise of an Empire, he felt he could help Blue Byte expand its reach to a larger audience. "The game was essentially done when I got there, and I think it's a really well done design. It's mostly been a question of tweaking, discussing and trying new things to make the game more accessible and easier to get into," Shelley said.

Welcome to your land -- rule it wisely.

The campaign mode is set in the late Middle Ages in a fake European kingdom named Tandria. Its ruler has been deposed and there's repeated civil unrest over the land, its people and its resources. You play a young princess named Zoe from a rival kingdom. Your father, King Konradin, decides that Tandria is ripe for your conquering, and sends you to take over the country. That isn't his only motive, as you'll discover over the course of the twelve missions in the single player mode. Single player mode will also teach you how to build your economy and accomplish military and scientific endeavors. Grindel said the single player campaign was specifically designed to prepare you for multiplayer. Shelley agreed, saying, "I think by the time you finish the sixth map, you've been exposed to all the basic things in the game. You know how to build everything; you know how to trade; you know how to use technology; you know how to use the military. At that point, you're prepared to play a skirmish game against the AI or you're prepared to play multiplayer against your friends."

I was shown the tutorial level set in the land of Mohnfelden, where Zoe's advisors helped her set up an economy. The economy revolves around "stones and trees," because they are the raw materials that help you make tools, construct buildings, and put your plans in motion. However, while forests are a renewable resource, stone isn't, and once a quarry has been completely mined out, it's gone forever. According to Shelley, there are only a few ways to combat this problem. For example, you can provide higher quality food for your workers, which will boost their production three to four times that of a starving settler. If this doesn't work, then you'll have to rely on trade and supply lines to replenish your stockpiles.

Getting a bird's eye viewcan always help you plan your next move.

In The Settlers 7, you spend a significant amount of time building supply lines and maximizing your space to produce goods for your economy. Each structure you build can have up to three possible production sites surrounding it. For example, a house can produce grain in one site, beer next to that, and pigs at the third site. The location needs to be connected to a road to produce its goods and contribute to your kingdom, and you'll need a storehouse nearby to collect these items; the farther a settler drags these items through the streets, the slower your production gets. Now, once you've built a solid economy, you can send merchants to trade posts to establish trade routes around the world. The world is based on our world map, but it's sectioned up into various districts with different purchasable items. By establishing trade routes with these locations, you can supplement your resources with the goods your nation can't produce.

Then again, if you happen to find a neighboring country that has what you want or need, you can always invade and conquer them. Combat within The Settlers 7 isn't about mobilizing large armies with complex tactics. Instead, Benedikt mentioned that there are only four unit types in the game: pikemen, musketeers, cavaliers and cannons. These units will be led by generals, each of whom has their own individual special abilities to boost ranged forces or melee attacks. I noticed that combat seems to function off common sense. For instance, if you have 5 cavaliers and your enemy has 2, you'll probably win. But if you have 5 cavaliers going against 5 cannons, the enemy will probably win because they have cannons and are likely to be in defensible fortifications.

Controlling the military is very easy as well. Once you select an army, you can click on its destination to instantly send them there. If they meet an enemy along the way, they'll attack automatically, with no need for extra commands from you. And when you build a new unit, it will show up with your army, wherever it is.

You can also choose to dominate your enemies with technological might instead of military force, using your scientific advances to demonstrate your kingdom's power. This progress is based on educated clerics that are sent to cloisters scattered around each map. In these cloisters, the clerics study various advancements. Creatively, these cloisters aren't exclusive to your clergymen; your rivals can send their monks to these locations as well, placing their own claim on a specific piece of tech by "bidding" on how many resources they'll dedicate to this endeavor. Whoever "wins" this auction-styled bidding war will earn the technology for the rest of the match.

Farming is only one way to boost your profits and goods.

However, the resources you commit revolve around beer. See, your monks only operate and research off beer, so it's possible to sabotage other players by raising the bid on some tech you don't really care about it, forcing them to spend an exorbitant amount on that item. When all their monks are committed to that one technology, you can swoop in and pick up the other advances they can't possibly afford.

Shelley stated that while most RTSes skip the economic phase and get straight to the fights, the thing that sets The Settlers 7 apart is the flexibility and depth of play. He says, "I like to call it a thinking man's RTS. You have to have a plan and decide, 'Am I going to win this game with technology or trade, or will I win it with an army?'" Benedikt agreed, mentioning that after the quick race to expand and establish your economy, things slow down, and players can pick and choose how they'll try to win, swapping back and forth at will. For instance, you can start out by trading, build up a lot of money, then buy yourself a big army and attack everyone, ultimately winning a military victory.

This plays into the new feature known as Victory Points, conditions that need to be completed to win a session. Each map has a minimum number of points that you can complete. Some of these points, such as building the first cathedral, are permanent points that only one kingdom can earn. Others, such as the amount of money you have, are fluid, so you can gain them and then lose them as circumstances change. You race your opponents to get the minimum number of victory points, and once you get that number, a countdown starts. You have to hold on to your points for at least three minutes in order to win. But because the countdown is broadcast to every other player, your opponents know that you are close to a victory, so they may try last-ditch efforts to derail your society and prevent you from winning.

Improving your cities will boost the prestige of your kingdom.

These victory points also feed into a new reward system called Prestige, which Shelley likened to the various ages from the Age of Empires franchise. There is a two-tiered reward system. As you play and hit certain milestones (producing a certain number of goods, acquiring a new piece of territory), you get rewards. These can be redeemed immediately for resources, weapons or other items that your want for your country. You can even earn rewards to help you get back into the game if you're losing badly.

Get enough rewards, and you earn Prestige Points, which show just how impressive your kingdom is compared to everyone else. These Prestige Points can be redeemed for trade, military or scientific bonuses. For instance, you can use Prestige Points in the military so that your soldiers cost less, get produced faster, and have attack bonuses. The more well-known you are in a particular branch, the easier it is to build your prestige.

All of this leads back to the robust multiplayer system. We were shown maps for up to six players, and Grindel mentioned that The Settlers 7 will provide matchmaking for friends or similar level players, as well as random skirmish matches. It will track 250 stats, and players can also choose to match up by these figures, so if you happen to be a trade focused player and want to take on a like-minded opponent, you can do so. There will also be Facebook and Twitter integration so you can send messages out while you're playing and let people know what's happening in your battle. The designers really wanted to focus on the social aspect of The Settlers.

With enough planning, your city can grow from a small territory...

While The Settlers 7 will ship with a number of maps, Blue Byte is also including a map editor that allows you to create a totally new level from scratch. If you're not a designer at heart, you can use this editor to tweak a pre-existing map in various ways, like adding or subtracting victory points. This lets you change a map in seconds, save it, and then launch it right away to play with your friends.
The final thing we saw was the Castle Builder. Your castle acts as your avatar and is the first thing you see when you load the menu screen. When you start playing The Settlers 7, you have a very modest castle, but as you play, you unlock turrets and other structures that can be used to remodel your castle in any way that appeals to you. We're talking medieval, gothic, or Disney traditional. It might seem goofy (no Disney pun intended), but the castle design reflects your own personal style and serves as a personal profile pic – when you play multiplayer, your opponents can see your castle and possibly use it to predict something about what you're like as a player.

... to a vast urban experience.

After playing a little multiplayer against other journalists, I was struck by the length and depth presented. Matches aren't short – the maps are pretty big, and you could spend quite a lot of time playing with other players. But that's appropriate for a "thinking man's strategy game" – you're always planning two or three turns down the road, so the game will take awhile. It appears to be very deep and involving, but satisfying at the same time. Strategy fans will get their chance to discover The Settlers 7 at the end of March.
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final fantasy XIII xbox 360 [coming soon]

LOS ANGELES--One of the most exciting announcements of E3 2006 just couldn't wait until Wednesday. Instead, Square Enix today revealed at its press conference not one, but three Final Fantasy XIII games. Two of those games are exclusive PlayStation 3 releases, while the other is scheduled to be released on "next-gen" mobile phones. The premier game in the series is Final Fantasy XII, which was shown off in a lengthy trailer at the Square Enix press conference. According to the press release, the entire trailer was rendered in-game, and it revealed quite a bit about the game but left many questions unanswered as well. Read on for the full details.

The Final Fantasy XIII trailer opened with a sweeping shot of a lush canyon filled with dense vegetation stretching beyond the horizon. The camera then slowly descended into the canyon to follow a speeding futuristic train that seemed to be propelled forward by passing through successive portals of some sort. Just as the train entered a dark cave it struck a barrier on the track and exploded.

It's a girl!

The trailer then cut to the interior of the train, where a lithe woman with long grayish-reddish hair and two pistols was engaged in a battle with yellow-clad, futuristic soldiers. The stylish, fast-paced battle sequence showed the woman performing all sorts of acrobatic stunts while deftly dispatching of wave after wave of soldiers. Every so often, a faint blue light would come from her body, which appeared to be some magic discharge or perhaps a shield of some sort.

The scene cut to another train that sped along a winding track suspended high off the ground in a dark, possibly underground area. At this point a massive monster that looked somewhat like a weapon or summon from the previous Final Fantasy games appeared next to the track and began to attack the train.

The video then cut to a shot of hovering cars driving through a tunnel toward the camera before they were destroyed by an explosion. The next shot showed some massive airships flying around a floating cluster of tall, dark spires that appeared to be a city.

The battle system in XIII looks very action-oriented, with a single character battling a dozen enemies or more.

At this point we got a glimpse of the combat in the game, which appears to be very action-oriented. The dual-pistol woman once again was fighting wave after wave of soldiers, without breaking a sweat. The camera was pulled out slightly to show about 15 or more enemies surrounding the woman as she performed an inhumanly fast spin move and shot all of the enemies on the screen. As she did, icons popped up above each enemy denoting the number of hits and the word "chain," so it appears that the game will utilize some sort of combo system. In fact, if not for the pulled-back camera angle and numbers and words on screen, it would have been difficult to tell the difference between the cutscenes and the gameplay footage.

After the fight, the camera zoomed in close on the woman as she flicked her wrist and transformed her pistol into a large dagger or small sword, similar to a gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII. The next scene showed her walking through a very dense, green forest with crystalline structures throughout. She walked into the forest as if looking for something, then paused and looked around.

Then it was back to the floating cities as another train sped between buildings. A large flying manta ray type of creature flew down from above, landed on the train, and hijacked it. The creature looked mechanical but moved very fluidly and naturally. The trailer then ended with a line of text that simply stated, "PlayStation 3 Exclusive."

Could this be a distant relative of Yuna, or did she just raid Yuna's closet?

After the trailer Yoshinori Kitase, Final Fantasy XIII producer, took the stage to explain a bit of the history of the development of the game. A year ago, the Final Fantasy X team was working on a version of Final Fantasy XIII for the PlayStation 2. That team was pulled off of the project to create the PlayStation 3 Final Fantasy VII tech demo that was shown at E3 2005. Instead of going back to the unfinished XIII project, the team scrapped the game and began work on XIII for the PlayStation 3.

The XIII team was assembled with specialized developers who focused on building a brand-new game engine, called the White Engine. This engine was developed to integrate graphics rendering, physics, cinematics, sound, and special effects. Square Enix promises that the White Engine will allow Final Fantasy XIII to take full advantage of the PlayStation 3 hardware.

Based on what we saw, the game looks to stick to the stylish blend of fantasy and sci-fi themes, although the overall feel is a bit darker than Final Fantasy XII. Several of the environments were especially dark and had the hard, cold feel of technology. By contrast, there were several areas that looked almost tropical and ethereal, somewhat like the land of Macalania from Final Fantasy X.

Although the trailer we saw was of course a very early representation of the game, there were some notable absences. There were no chocobos, no girls with rabbit ears, no moogles, and no massively oversized swords. We also didn't get to see many characters, people, or enemies. The trailer seemed to focus a lot on trains, guns, and that mysterious lady.

Final Fantasy XIII is the premier product in the newly announced Final Fantasy XIII: Fabula Nova Crystallis universe, which includes XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII for the PlayStation 3, and Final Fantasy Agito XIII for mobile phones. The tagline for XIII is "A tale of souls from a futuristic civilization illuminated by the Light of the Cystal." We'll bring you more details about the game as soon as possible, but until then be sure to take a look at the first images from the game on our gamespace.

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