Assassin's Creed Discussion Thread

[MrJames]

Bump

 

There's a rumor going around that Microsoft will be publishing this game. Anyone heard or read anything on this?

[Romier S]

The folks that brought us the Prince of Persia games are working on a new title for the Playstation 3 that really gives off a Thief feel to me for some reason. It's an action game and it will no doubt include some type of stealth mechanic...but I'm definitely intrigued. Gameinformer has a blurb up about the game being on thier latest cover along with the screenshots. You can read the blurb here and I've posted the screenshots right below that:

 

http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200605/N06.0505.1209.42569.htm

 

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Gamasutra also has an article on the game as well as some notes on the GDC presentation dealing with what the game is trying to accomplish:

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060328/diamante_01.shtml

[EnemaEms]

Looks pretty.

 

-Dean-

[kelley]

The main character looks VERY Theif like.

[dogbert]

This was getting great buzz post GDC for its animation systems etc.

[Cyberwoo]

If only it weren't a 3rd person game....

[MrJames]

Trailer

 

http://assassinscreed.uk.ubi.com/

[kelley]

Theres a lotta ass in the title of this game....but damn if that trailer wasn't cool.

[MrJames]

The game is also being released on 360.

[stillfastasleep]

The game was mentioned by Peter Moore at X05 as a game coming to the 360 under its previous name Project Assassin.

 

I wouldn't look too hard as to what system a game is coming out for anymore. The days of third party exclusives are rapidly drawing to a close. Publishers need the exposure of the various gaming platforms.

 

With a title like Assassin's Creed and the demographics and purchasing propensity of the xbox360 audience, I would be shocked if this game wasn't released for the 360.

 

As to why it's being featured as a ps3 game for GI's cover story, I put that down to marketing. Everyone's itching to know what's in store for both the ps3 and wii. Last month, Ubisoft revealed Red Steel for the wii, this month it's project assassin for the ps3. Ubi wants to be seen as a potential market leader for all the next gen systems. Smart marketing on their part.

[Camp]

I wouldn't look too hard as to what system a game is coming out for anymore. The days of third party exclusives are rapidly drawing to a close. Publishers need the exposure of the various gaming platforms.

 

At this point in the game there might be some truth to that statement. The start of a new console generation where multi-platform releases are the only way to get decent penetration due to the low install base of the new systems. Once PS3 and 360 are more solidly entrenched "exclusive" deals will return to what we're used to. Sony & Microsoft cannot afford to let their respective consoles blend into a homogenous identity. They need to stand out.

[Romier S]

New Trailer for Assasin's Creed:

 

Assasin's Creed trailer

 

All prerendered CG, but I love the art and the direction thier going with. Very Prince of Persia and Thief.

[kelley]

First Mercenaries 2 goes PS3 exclusive, now this is being described as a PS3 exclusive.

[Camp]

I've seen this game mentioned as a 360 game too...did the exclusive thing just happen?

[kelley]

Let me see if I can find the PR release from yesterday, but it was called in the PR release a PS3 exclusive.

[Angry the Clown]

All the press release from the 2nd of May says is:

 

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – May 2, 2006 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced the development of a new video game franchise: Assassin’s Creed™. Assassin’s Creed is being developed for PLAYSTATION?3 by an all-star team from Ubisoft’s world-class Montreal studio – the studio responsible for acclaimed franchises such as Prince of Persia? and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell?. The Assassin’s Creed franchise will combine compelling new gameplay, superb graphics, and an immersive and sophisticated storyline to deliver an epic experience that will launch the action genre into the next generation and beyond.

 

“Assassin’s Creed is going to push the video game experience as we know it today into an entirely new direction,” said Yannis Mallat, chief executive officer at Ubisoft’s Montreal studio. “Assassin’s Creed’s compelling theme and storyline experienced through the next-generation console will captivate audiences and affect them on the same level as an epic novel or film.”

 

The first game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

 

Ubisoft has a strong record of creating some of the industry’s top-selling video game franchises and anticipates that Assassin’s Creed will experience the same success.

 

“Ubisoft has established itself as a creative force in the video game industry by developing new intellectual property and turning it into multimillion-unit selling brands,” said Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer at Ubisoft. “Our goal to introduce three new brands into the marketplace every two years is working. With Assassin’s Creed we’re introducing a franchise that will establish itself as the must-have next-generation game for the next-generation gamer.”

 

The first game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise will make its worldwide debut at E3 in Los Angeles and will be available to consumers in 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.assassinscreed.com.

 

It doesn’t mention exclusivity but a lot of media reports have certainly jumped to that conclusion. Did they publish a new release? It’d be funny if it is a PS3 exclusive, especially with that chap from Ubisoft Montreal slapping Sony in the face regarding his thoughts on the PS3 this week. It’s feasible the PS3 gets it on a window of exclusivity before it jumps to the 360 though.

[MrJames]

An article originally posted on IGN that has since been removed...

 

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/708/708431p1.html

 

Ubisoft Montreal revealed its next incredible project, Assassins: Creed, exclusively for PlayStation 3 at E3 this year, much to the delight of Sony console fans and to the dismay of Microsoft consoles fans.

 

A third-person action game in the vein of Prince of Persia, Ubisoft Montreal's newest title shows off the next generation with fantastic texture work, early but promising animations, and newly envisioned levels of Prince/Spider-Men climbing/traversing. But the game, officially, is strictly exclusive to PlayStation 3. Ubisoft officially would not comment on a possible Xbox 360 version.

 

According to sources close to the company, however, there are potential plans for an Xbox 360 version at Assassins: Creed sometime in 2007. Additionally, Microsoft sources who asked not to be mentioned by name, claimed the demo, hidden behind closed doors at E3, was running on an Xbox 360 using a third-party USB PlayStation controller. The game system was hidden in a stand covered by a sheet. Again, Ubisoft officials would not comment.

[Jon W H]

Yep, look for this one to happen on the 360 as well. Some blogger overheard somebody mention that in Japanese before being hushed. Win-win situation.

[Romier S]

Some actual in-game shots of Assassin's Creed (all PS3):

 

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[Angry the Clown]

Very nice. I'm looking forward to this one.

[Romier S]

A recent interview in OPM with the developers of Assassin's Creed sheds some light on a few positive (if obvious) comments on Blu-Ray as a storage medium and the effectiveness of the RSX graphics chip:

 

Assassin's Creed guys (Nicholas Cantin and Alex Drouin).

 

OPM: How's your experience with the storage media of the PS3, the HDD and the BluRay disc? And do you have any comparable experience with HD-DVD technology?

 

M.M.: Our focus is 100% BluRay, so I cannot compare with HD-DVD. I can only say that the new BluRay disc format is truly awesome. The capacity is immense, and the Data Transfer Rate is way beyond what we are used to. And that's really important, because Data Streaming (OPMED: where the console constantly loads new data from disc) is truly the only way to push next-gen games to the limit. The Playstation 3 HDD is something that we have so far given less attention to, because it hasn't been certain all that long yet that it will be standard on every console. Decreasing load-times by copying a part of the game to the HDD is one possibility, though it doesn't matter all that much for a streaming game like ours. But there are tons of other applications, such as the possibility to as it were record your whole game, to be able to watch a replay of it later on. We intend to use the HD optimally, but how, I can't tell yet currently.

 

Also interesting is this question:

 

OPM: What do you think about the performance of the graphics chip, the Nvidea RSX?

 

M.M.: The RSX-chip is also a beast. Not only is it incredibly fast, but just like in the PS2 you can have each Cell-core cooperate with the RSX independently. Other graphics chips also have decent Noraml Mapping- and Shader-capabilities, but RSX adds a lot of additional specialised filters and possibilities, leading to fabulous results in the graphics department. And what is really convenient is that Nvidia has been a market-leader for years, and everyone knows the technology and way of thinking through-and-through. This decreases the learning process considerably.

[Union Carbine]

I keep hearing different things: is this a PS3 exclusive or will it be coming out for the 360 as well?

[dogbert]

We don't know, Union. That's why there's the confusion.

[Angry the Clown]

At IDEF (Interactive Digital Entertainment Festival) in Cannes this week, Ubisoft have apparently gone and confirmed Assassins Creed will also be heading to the 360 and the PC.

 

http://www.xbox-gamer.net/actualite-xbox360-Assassin-s-Creed-confirme-sur-360_9718.html

 

Translated, the linked report says it is still waiting to find out whether the PS3 version will have any kind of window of exclusivity on the title.

[iainl]

Microsoft sources who asked not to be mentioned by name, claimed the demo, hidden behind closed doors at E3, was running on an Xbox 360 using a third-party USB PlayStation controller. The game system was hidden in a stand covered by a sheet.

 

(obligatory joke about heat)

 

I'm guessing a period of exclusivity if they aren't mentioning the other versions in the PR release. It's looking rather nice, but whatever the graphics the mere idea of crossing Prince Of Persia with Thief and Oblivion sounds pretty amazing.