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PC Version of Assassin’s Creed II Slips into 2010

Nathan Grayson — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:36:00 -0500

Assassins like Altair and Ezio love shrugging off The Law by slipping into bustling crowds, so it’s only fitting that the PC edition of Assassin’s Creed II has shoved its way into the most crowded spring gaming season in recorded history.

“Assassin’s Creed 2 PC has moved to the first quarter of 2010. A bit more time for the dev team to deliver the best quality game to you,” reads a tweet from Ubisoft.

The console versions, meanwhile, are still on track to release on November 17.

If it’s any consolation, though, Mac users can finally look forward to the long-awaited release of BioShock. Next month. See, PC faithful? Things could be a whole lot worse.

Splinter Cell: Conviction Delayed… Again

Nathan Grayson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:11:29 -0500

Rise and shine, Mr. Fisher… Oops, wrong game, but you can forgive us for making the mistake. After all, Splinter Cell: Conviction’s delay-borne trail of broken hearts and crushed dreams is nearly as long as the one produced by Half-Life 2 – especially now that the game’s been delayed again.

Originally Re-scheduled to launch this fall, Conviction’s now looking at an “early 2010” release date. The game’s been delayed four times, and was first set to launch in Q4 2007. Ubisoft’s saying it’ll be out between January 1 and March 31, 2010. So, why delay it again? Apparently, the game wasn’t polished enough.

“It’s just a question of polish. The team was asking that they couldn’t be with the level of quality on all the maps and all the game for the end of the year, so they had asked for more time to be able to come with a better product,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during a recent earnings call.

Good intentions, but – for many gamers – bad timing. BioShock 2 and Max Payne 3 already retreated into 2010, and now that Splinter Cell’s done the same, the winter gaming season just got a bit colder.

Ubisoft to Set up Shop in Canada

Paul Lilly — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:00:30 -0500

Toronto, eager to offset some of the losses in its manufacturing sector, has lured Ubisoft to set up shop north the border by offering the game publisher $263 million. Ubisoft has published such hits as Assassin's Creed, Call of Juarez, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Far Cry, Prince of Persia, and many more across all gaming platforms.

The $263 million deal, which comes in the form of a tax credit, keeps Ubisoft in Canada for at least 10 years and is expected to create 800 jobs. For Ubisoft's part, the publisher plans to invest upwards of $500 million. Ubisoft reportedly made $1.7 billion last year.

While the tax break is significant, the government said it plans to make the money back through jobs created, tax revenues, and spin-offs, The Inquirer reports.

Far Cry 2 Going Hardcore, Teaching Hard Truth about Guns

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:01:31 -0600

In the original Far Cry, rigging a tree branch to clothesline a hapless foe was a deadlier alternative to, you know, shooting them. With guns. Unfortunately, Far Cry 2 de-fanged guns in a similar manner (minus the pro-deforestation propaganda) – something for which we nearly awarded it a seven out of ten. Good thing, then, that Ubisoft Montreal has announced a new “Hardcore” Far Cry 2 multiplayer patch that promises to make sure in-game guns’ bite outdoes trees’ bark (grooooan).

"The hardcore mode has been designed as an answer to a community request," Ubisoft community developer Atmon wrote on the game's official forums. "Some players were seeking and expecting a more realistic experience.”

A new damage model will be applied with increased damage for all weapons.
All weapons have been rebalanced on normal mode, and on hardcore mode.
Enemy names will disappear after the spawning invincibility period is over (A shield is displayed above a player’s head for a few second to show that he is invincible).
A new option will allow you to tweak spawning time (but not spawning rate).
A new search option will be available in multiplayer to allow you to find games that are playing on hardcore mode.

The patch hasn’t been given a drop date just yet, but we’ll be sure to give you a heads up when it does.

Prince of Persia “Epilogue” DLC Skipping PC

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:18:03 -0600

Looks like the experiment took a few wild swings at Ubisoft’s wallet, because Prince of Persia’s upcoming “Epilogue” DLC will be avoiding the PC altogether – instead giving the game’s story a proper happily-ever-after only on Xbox 360 and PS3.

“Unfortunately for business reasons we won't be seeing any PoP DLC appear. Sorry guys!” Ubisoft’s community manager stated succinctly when speaking of Prince of Persia’s PC iteration.

Epilogue, unlike the bulk of DLC currently on the market, will – as its name implies – actually expand Prince of Persia’s plot, as well as its jungle gym-approved gameplay. Players will face off against a new boss known as The Shapeshifter, who, er, takes the form of two previous bosses, but without being a total cop-out.

In addition, both Elika and the Prince will add a couple new tricks to their racing rapport, and the game’s difficulty is taking off its kid gloves.

In other words: PC gamers are seriously missing out here, and should a direct sequel to Prince of Persia leap the gap that its DLC couldn’t, we might be in for some serious confusion.

Far Cry 2

Norman Chan — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0600

Fifty square kilometers of African terrain. That’s how much open space you have to accomplish Far Cry 2’s primary objective: Kill the weapons dealer known as the Jackal, who has been supplying both sides of a bloody civil war in the game’s fictional setting. If the sheer size of the game world sounds daunting, just consider the fact that it’s densely occupied with dozens of towns, numerous encampments, and a whole population of NPC characters (potential allies and enemies alike). Far Cry 2’s expansive environment is undoubtedly its most notable asset, but what’s really impressive is that the game is filled with enough compelling action to actually make use of it.

As a stranger in unfamiliar territory, it’s clear that you can’t just shoot your way across the country to find your target. Getting to the Jackal requires you to form allegiances with mercenaries and guerrilla factions to earn enough prestige and currency (in the form of diamonds) to work your way through the loosely scripted story to the climatic showdown. A buddy system helps you along the way—you befriend a cast of NPCs that become both your quest givers and sidekicks in the inevitable shootouts. In fact, the game is structured a lot like Grand Theft Auto, but with GTA’s urban jungle swapped out for a real one. This role-playing-lite experience was definitely enjoyable and let us progress at our own pace. Our only gripe is that the NPCs’ voice delivery sounded rushed at times.

Your tasks are varied enough to facilitate different gunplay styles. Though tasks typically fall into the “assault the enemy base” or “retrieve a valuable package” categories, the range of mission locations—walled fortress, riverside swamp, oil pipeline, to name just a few—gave us plenty of opportunities to experiment with tactics. The guns-blazing strategy indeed works, but we preferred the more stealthy approach, especially since we could complete any mission under the shroud of the midnight sky.

In fact, many of the thrills come not from the shootouts, which are pretty challenging given the smart enemy AI, but from the planning we had to do before making our assaults. Scouting out the mission area, planting explosive traps, and picking out easy targets before executing a plan added tension to each firefight. The anticipation of carrying through a well-thought-out strategy—whether everything goes according to plan or not—is a huge part of what makes this game fun. And even when nothing goes according to plan, we were given plenty of opportunities in later missions to try similar approaches (the missions do get somewhat repetitive by the end).

And in between missions, we loved being able to drive around and explore the country, looking for new safe houses and scenic vistas that show just how much effort was put into designing such an amazing world. A functional river system with motorboats, rickety bridges, and gorgeous waterfalls makes the game world very believable. But we also had to prepare ourselves for a fair amount of walking if our vehicles were destroyed after a battle.

Far Cry 2’s level of immersion goes beyond what any first-person shooter has ever achieved. From the lack of a HUD to the streaming level content (meaning no load screens), we at times forgot that we were playing a game. It also doesn’t hurt that this is one of the best-looking games ever made—if your system can support it. But with its fully realized game world and the exciting combat scenarios, Far Cry 2 is one of our favorite shooters of the year.

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

Norman Chan — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:30:00 -0600

We’ve played plenty of World War II shooters but have yet to find one that makes us care for its characters like we did for Tom Hanks and Vin Diesel in Saving Private Ryan. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway comes close and rekindles our love of gritty 1940s warfare with its perfect combination of nail-biting tactical shoot-outs and a gripping character-driven story—an admirable feat in modern first-person shooters.

As Matt Baker, you’ve come a long way since first leading your squad in the original game. Your men aren’t just nameless soldiers—each squad member is brought to life with a unique likeness and vocal personality. And this time around, you have additional troops at your command to relinquish the Nazis from their hold on Holland. Deployable base-of-fire, assault, machine gun, and bazooka fire teams pin down enemies while you sneak around adjacent hedgerows to flank, a reliable tactic which offers many rewarding strategic approaches on the battlefield.

In one particularly memorable mission, we tried to reclaim the city of Eindhoven from Nazi control. Firefights took place in farms, churches, and graveyards, and on the city streets, where every fence and building corner became an opportunity to take cover. We directed a machine gun team to suppress a sandbag fortification and instructed our bazooka team to blow up a nearby steeple, where a sniper was hiding. The diverse arrangement of battlefields—both indoor and outdoor—kept the action fresh.

Requisite sniping and tank-driving missions are fun breaks from the tense tactical gameplay but are a little too easy. The visuals and production values are also impressive, with plenty of cinematic details to enhance the drama. But Hell’s Highway’s greatest asset is that it never loses sight of its (often dark) story, and the gameplay is better for it.

FiveThings You Need to Know About Prince of Persia

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:45:48 -0600

Prince of Persia may have missed its left turn at Albuquerque en route to the PC, but that doesn’t lessen its value as a game. Inability to die and ample backtracking, though? Those might give you second thoughts about leaving your wallet unguarded around the game’s princely thief. Luckily, Maximum PC has you covered. Prince of Persia, lose the jewel case; we’re getting all up in your space.

1. DRM-free is the way to be – Once bitten, twice shy. PC gamers can’t stop ragging on EA for its use of “draconian” DRM (Will Wright’s next game won’t be out for a few years, guys! You’re getting a little excessive), but Ubisoft is attempting to nip that mistake in the bud with its announcement that Prince of Persia: Mandatory DRM Edition won’t ever see the light of day. Kudos, guys! Now please don’t use this one gift as a measuring stick for the overall effectiveness of DRM. After all, we’re talking a single drop in a bucket big enough to build a wicked-awesome sand castle. Plus, no one likes an Indian-giver.

2. ~~Death~~ and taxes – In Prince of Persia, you can’t die. Ever. See, as it turns out, one only needs a magical princess in order to attain immortality. (Yeah, suddenly Mario’s never-ending quest doesn’t seem so selfless.) Miss a jump? Princess Elika’s dainty, yet freakishly durable hand lashes out and saves the prince from actually discovering what’s at the bottom of one of those bottomless pits (Hint: Grues). Same goes for your totally bitchin’ triple back-flip sword-cannon ball that looked way more like you getting stabbed in the face. Really though, the prince’s person-shaped bottle of death-repellent doesn’t turn the game into an overly easy snoozefest. Since the princess’ bulging forearm tosses you back to your last checkpoint, “death” still happens. However, you’re not forced to sit through a loading screen or anything like that. Quick and simple. But…

3. It’s pretty easy – Ok, there are two ways to look at this. Either, in between sticky gulps of Testosterone-Dew, you’ll mockingly sputter, “I could play this game in my sleep,” and make me hate you, or you’ll appreciate the game for what it really is. Yeah, Prince of Persia’s evil apocalypse practically backward-runs at your foot, just hoping to get its ass kicked, but the game flows so beautifully that it doesn’t matter. Jumps, slides, and wall runs take on a near-lyrical quality – and they look damn good in the process. Plus, even if you do screw up (and you will, eventually), Elika flings you right back into the action. Really, it’s like being a baby with a mobile in your crib. Sure, toy blocks allow for more diversity and challenge, but the mobile’s so colorful and entertaining. That is to say, Prince of Persia’s just fun – difficulty be damned.

4. It’s all on you, boy – For having such linear levels, Prince of Persia gives players plenty of breathing room. Want to know more about the game’s story? Stop and have a quick chat with Elika. Think the frozen lava-forest temple needs a good dusting? Pick it as your next destination. Prince of Persia may be a developer-driven rollercoaster ride, but you dictate the pace. And so, even though the bond that forms between Elika and the prince is a forgone conclusion, it feels player-driven. You choose where and when the dashing duo’s verbal sparring matches occur, which makes their connection feel far more natural. It’s an interesting evolution of the relationship between Gordon and Alyx in Half-Life 2 – and one I’d love to see other developers experiment with.

5. Been there, done that – Prince of Persia’s designers created a Persia that – no offense to Persia/Iran and its wonderful residents – may be even more awesome than actual historical Persia. Good thing too, because you’ll be seeing a lot of it. In the end, the game boils down to performing a number of fairly similar tasks across of a number of areas, and each of its bosses gives multiple same-y encore performances. Granted, fleet-footedly flying down the game’s highways and byways doesn’t get old fast -- especially when game-progressing "seeds of light" just beg you to attempt some of the game's riskier routes -- so repetition probably won’t even be an issue unless some jerk points it out to you.

“Five Things You Need to Know About…” is a fairly self-explanatory bi-weekly feature in which I highlight anything game-related – game, engine, company, etc. – and break it down into five easily digestible pieces. It’s not meant to be a review, so much as it is a discussion platform. So give my opinions a few minutes of your time and then voice your own. Or tear mine to shreds.