Dynasty
Space Core
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Thought I should start a proper thread for this game, as its likely to be overshadowed in sales by the generic Modern Warfare 2.
Assassins Creed 2 comes out one week after Modern Warfare 2, on the 17th and 20th in the US and Europe repectively. Cant help but wonder how Ubisoft's sales will suffer.
For those of us that havent read much from forums etc, here's a list of everything currently known about AC2 from the official Ubi AC2 forums;
Personally I have pre-ordered the Black Edition of AC2, a special edition only available from Play.com in the UK and from, I believe, Gamestop in the US? Dont quote me on that though.
AC was and still is one of my favourite games of all time, and this sequel takes all that was good about AC and strips away the 3 mission types of repitition, replacing them with 18 mission varieties, and 200 missions overall, allowing you to free-run once the game story is completed.
I see no reason why anyone who had even a shadow of interest in the first AC shouldnt get this game.
Assassins Creed 2 comes out one week after Modern Warfare 2, on the 17th and 20th in the US and Europe repectively. Cant help but wonder how Ubisoft's sales will suffer.
For those of us that havent read much from forums etc, here's a list of everything currently known about AC2 from the official Ubi AC2 forums;
TECHNICAL FEATURES
o Assassin’s Creed 2 engine name is: “Anvil” a.k.a. the “Scimitar 2.0 Engine”
o New load distance for more detailed open-world environment from greater distances
o The same internal vegetation technology used in Far Cry 2
o Several rendering improvements to support improved lighting, reflection and more special effects.
o New cloth system used extensively for characters.
STORY FEATURES
o The game is set during the Italian Renaissance 1476-1503.
o The main character will be “Ezio Auditore da Firenze” a noble Florentine.
o The character will visit many Italian locations: Roma, Firenze, Venezia, San Gimignano, Forlì.
o In his adventure, Ezio will also visit the Auditore Family Villa/Land: in the city of Monteriggioni.
The Villa/Land is an entire walled city complete with its own populace and economy. Ezio's villa starts off in ruin and it's up to him to restore it to glory. By investing the money he collects in the villa, Ezio is able to rebuild and improve a Blacksmith, Taylor, Brothel, Doctor, Barracks, Bank, Art Merchant, Church, Mines, Wells, and Thieves Guild.
As elements of the town improve, its inhabitants go from peasants to upper class citizens and they start to bring in tax money: Ezio will be able (from the "city treasurer") to collect these earnings. He can also reap the benefits of improved shops and services:
- upgraded blacksmith gives players a discount on weapons purchased there.
Ezio will be able to practice in his villa and here he will be able to purchase training to upgrade his abilities.
Other areas will be accessible as the game progresses and buildings are upgraded:
- Inside the main house there will be a trophy room that displays items Ezio has collected/earned/stolen along with a gallery to hang precious works of art.
-Every weapon you find in the game can be collected in an "armory".
o The player will meet many historical characters: Leonardo da Vinci (Ezio’s personal inventor), Niccolò Machiavelli, Lorenzo de’Medici called "il Magnifico", Carlo Grimaldi, Sandro Botticelli, Caterina Sforza, Pope Alessaandro VI.
o Many famous historical buildings/architectures can be explored in the game:
-in Firenze: Santa Maria del Fiore, Santa Croce, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella.
-in Venezia: Basilica di San Marco, the Canal Grande, Ponte di Rialto.
-unloackable locations featured in the "Black" and "White" limited editons are: Palazzo Medici in Firenze///Santa Maria Dei Frari and the Arsenale in Venezia.
o The players will also make the acquaintance of many members of Ezio’s family: his mother, his uncle Mario, his sister and his little brother.
o Lucy Stillman from AC will be back in AC2.
o For those who haven't played AC1 there will be a quick summary video that will expain what appened!
IN-GAME FEATURES
o A day and night cycle, with dynamic skies (expect all kind of variations) and with an actual influence on the game world, has been introduced: some missions will only be available at night, the density of the crowd will change at each hour of the day. There will be no "Dynamic weather" (rain, snow, etc...)
The time will only pass wehen you are in free-roaming (if you start a mission at night you will be able to finish it without the incoming dawn spoiling all)
o The countryside will no longer be a simple zone of passage: there will be smaller cities in the countryside with specific missions and stories for Ezio to engage in.
o Ezio will have the possibility to enter in many building and explore them.
o There are 15 types of mission and a total of 200 missions in the game. The Player will also be challenged (before starting a mission) with what Ubisoft calls a “memory”; this “memory” will provide a deeper and more rewarding approach to the mission but also more challenges: the player will need to respect specific parameters, such as making sure he is never detected, that he never loses more than a certain number of life points, that he respects certain timed elements.
o There will be "Secret location" missions that take place in the interiors of many major landmarks of the game world; the gameplay in these location will challenge the player in: acrobatics, puzzles and stealth. Also at the end of these missions Ezio will be rewarded with access to an Assassin's treasure chamber, holding collectible crests that eventually unlock the most valuable and important items in the game. Ezio will be able to enter these zones by a secret assassin's entrance marked by the familiar 'A' symbol with a skull in the middle.
o There will be a "Database" in the game that will give unique historical prospectives on all the key locations and characters that you have encountered.
o There won't be any obligatory side missions.
o Ezio will be able to accept missions through the use of Pigeons: simply he will have to go to a Pigeon cage and then follow the bird to the probable area of the target. Without the HUD Pigeons will also be Ezio's best aid to get to the target; developers said: "The birds are essentially a player feedback element".
o The game now has "chase gameplay" sequences.
o A “Economic system” has been introduced; Ezio will be able to collect money in various ways: by completing some missions, finding treasures that are scattered in the city (the crowd is also a good resource: You can now pickpocket anyone in the crowd).
o There will be shops in the game like: blacksmiths, tailors, art dealers.
-Blacksmiths will sell weapons (in Ac2 You will be able to buy/select your own arsenal/inventory) and all sort of "ammunition" (throwing knives, smokebombs, bullets, etc..) they will also be used to upgrade/repair Ezio's armour: shoulders, chest, boots, etc... (there will be a total of 20 defense components in his outfit.)
-Tailors will provide new colours to Ezio’s outfis: there will be 14 different colors + the default white one.
o There will be also apothecaries/doctors in the game that will heal Ezio for a fee and sell him poison an medicines.
o There will be more than 30 weapons in the game each one with different statistics. (owners of PSP Asssassin’s Creed: Bloodline will be able to unlock 6 more “unique weapons” simply by playing the game and connecting the PSP to the PS3)
o There will be a “Notoriety system”: Ezio will have a different fame in every city; the level of notoriety will be set within each city: so while Ezio may be completely unknown in some cities, he may be infamous in others. There will be various ways to decrease your level of notoriety and return to an anonymous state: assassinate a witnesses, bribe a Herald, get rid of Warrant posters in the city with your face on them.
o There will be a "Notoriety meter/bar" next to Ezio's health indicator.
o There will be 3 Factions helping Ezio in the game and he will be able to contact/hire them: Mercenaries, Courtesans, Thieves.
- Mercenaries will fight for Ezio and will also protect him.
- Courtesans will walk with Ezio and he will be totally blended because people will look more at the woman: power of beauty!
- Thieves will steal/lure for Ezio.
o There will be three different categories of guards: the Militia, the Elites and the Leaders.
- The Militia is the most common type and has up to three different ranks; with each new rank, these guards get new weapons and armour.
- There are three types of Elite guards and each of them has his own unique attribute that will strategically challenge the player to adapt his tactics against each of them while fighting:
1 the “Brute” is a fighting specialist with massive weapons to crush his opponent.
2 the “Agile” has advanced free-running skills: he can both chase and escape.
3 the “Seeker” is a detection specialist that will look for Ezio: they have the ability to search hay carriages and even to spot you in a group of people.
Here also are other known types of enemies in the game :
- the "Archer".
- the "Messengers" carry letters and also if they see Ezio they will run away and ask for help. (They are probably "Agiles" with letters)
- the "Pick-pocketer" they will steal from Ezio.(Ezio will be able to chase them or just go on.)
o Enemies will be able to coordinate their attacks.
o Ezio's targets now have awareness icons over the heads that let player know exactly how close he is from being discovered.
o Players will still be able to control the camera during cut-scenes. There will also be "Mini-branching" cut-scenes in which the player will have to interact at a specific time and this may have two different effects depending if you did wright or wrong.
o Feathers have replaced the flags of AC. There are 100 feathers and they are placed along the main quest areas of the game; collecting these items will also lead to tangible rewards within the game: something that Ezio could use in his quest for revenge.
o As players unlock health and Hidden Blade upgrades in Assassin's Creed II, the same upgrades will be unlocked in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines for PSP; vice versa on the PS3 you will be able to access any Templar Coins and special weapons you've collected on the PSP.
o Hee the lists of the X-box Achievements and Ps3 Trophies
o The game will have HD resolution: 1080p for PS3 - 720p for Xbox 360.
o The release dates (for X-box 360 and PS3) will be November 17(2009) in America and the 20 in Europe. The realease date for PC was delayed to 2010.
ABOUT EZIO
o Ezio will have new combat moves:
- he will be able to disarm his enemies and use their weapons against them.
-"steps" are really faster this time and thus much useful.
-Ezio will be able to taunt his enemy.
-"Combo Kills" are much accurate than in AC.
- in particular conditions (behind an editionsopponent, when one opponent is off balance,...)Ezio will explainhappenedwhenbe able to perform a violent "Killing Bow" instantly killing his target.
- hidden blades can be used for true fighting and not only for counter-attacking as in AC.
- he will have better fist-fighting skills (better combos, moves,etc..) than Altair in AC.
- "air assasination" is much easier now because you can lock-on enemies in a range of 20 meters.
o Ezio will be able to perform new assassination techniques/moves also depending on the environment:
-ledge assasination.
-from hay.
-from the bench.
o Ezio will have unique weapons/gadgets: 2 Hidden Blades, a Poison blade (a needle), a Hidden gun, Smoke Bombs. Here some abilities connected to these new tools:
- Ezio will able to perform a double assassination thanks to his 2 Hidden blades.
- Using the Poison blade/needle Ezio will be able to send (after some time) an enemy into a sort of “berserk” mode.
- Ezio will be able to throw Smoke Bombs on the ground to escape.
o Even if "Ezio basically doesn't need a weapon because now he can disarm his enemies" players will be able to carry/buy weapons between the many available (of course these weapons must be "small" enough to be hanged on the belt: halberds won't be the best choice for an assassin that needs to disguise as much as possible.)
o Ezio will be able to swim and even dip underwater for a limited period of time: his clothes will even get wet. (just like in Uncharted)
o Ezio will have a new ability/feature called “leap climb” that allows to launch himself around two metres vertically in order to reach previously inaccessible ledges and outcroppings.
o Ezio will be able to pickpocket everyone in the game. The Assassin will also have the ability to strip/loot soldiers of their wealth once they have been battered and weakened.
o Ezio will be able to throw coins on the ground thus sending the peasants into a money hungry frenzy.
o Ezio will now be able to blend in any NPC crowd in order to camouflage himself (no more need of special groups of individuals to blend: like the monks in AC). The crowd can help you walk through the city unnoticed but isn't 100% detection proof as some classes of Guards actively search you out even in hiding spots.
o Ezio's health will be finite and won't regenerate itself automatically: we will have to use doctors and buy medicines for that. All pieces of Ezio's Armour will increase his Lifebar and if they becomes damaged in battle he will have to go to blacksmiths and repair them.
o The Eagle Vision can now be used while moving around (during that time the HUD won't be onscreen anymore) and it will be in third person.
o Ezio will be able to use the famous Flying machine of Leonardo da Vinci; (While using the machine Eziooutfits will also be able to take down enemies.)
o Ezio caAssassinn control a Horse carriage in the Italian countryside to reach his destination faster and to escort people (enemies will attack him during these escorting sessions).
o Ezio will be able to use boats (so his enemies) and hire ships to travel to other locations effectively.
[color:BLreleaseUE]o[/color] The game will astill have sections with [cometerslor:BLUE]Desmond[/color] and this time he will be able to run and "do ather stuff"!
Personally I have pre-ordered the Black Edition of AC2, a special edition only available from Play.com in the UK and from, I believe, Gamestop in the US? Dont quote me on that though.
AC was and still is one of my favourite games of all time, and this sequel takes all that was good about AC and strips away the 3 mission types of repitition, replacing them with 18 mission varieties, and 200 missions overall, allowing you to free-run once the game story is completed.
I see no reason why anyone who had even a shadow of interest in the first AC shouldnt get this game.
