Posted 09/26/09 at 01:36:00 AM by Nathan Grayson

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.

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Posted 07/27/09 at 10:11:29 PM by Nathan Grayson

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. 

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Posted 07/09/09 at 08:00:30 PM by Paul Lilly

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.

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Posted 02/10/09 at 09:01:31 PM by Nathan Grayson

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.

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Posted 02/03/09 at 12:18:03 AM by Nathan Grayson

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.

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Posted 01/05/09 at 11:00:00 AM by Norman Chan

Read on for more of the review. 

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Posted 01/01/09 at 01:30:00 PM by Norman Chan

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Posted 12/17/08 at 05:45:48 PM by Nathan Grayson

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…

Jump past the break for more words and numbers. 

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