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Ezio has friends in latest Assassin's Creed II
trailer

post from Destructoid on 03 November 2009 05:30:00 PM. © Destructoid

Who knew Assassin's Creed's Ezio was this well socially connected?

In this latest teaser spot, Ubisoft gives us a look at three of the factions you'll encounter in Assassin's Creed II, each of which will offer Ezio different services and skills. Mercenaries will teach you how to fight, while the Thieves will teach you how to climb... and also let you hit on them, apparently. The Courtesons, led by Paola and her ample bosom (discretion much?) will teach Ezio how to blend in, walk with the crowds.

If I get anything from this trailer is that Ubisoft is definitely trying to offer more in terms of gameplay variety and story for Assassin's Creed II. Of course, if the game just comes down to three types of missions -- fighting, climbing, and blending in -- we have an issue.

We'll know more when Assassin's Creed II hits shelves on November 17.

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Rabbids Developers Remembered Wii's Neglected
Features [Wii]

post from Kotaku on 03 November 2009 05:20:44 PM. © Kotaku

The Wii has more special features than motion-sensitive controllers, a stand that tilts the system back and a power cord. The developers of Ubisoft's latest Wii game seem to have remembered and decided to support some more neglected Wii features.

The Controller Speaker: Did you remember that your Wii Remote has a speaker and that developers, if they have the time and money and desire, can use it to produce sounds from the Remote? The team behind this week's Ubisoft platformer, Rabbids Go Home, did.

One of the concepts in their new game is that a Rabbid — a bunny-like character — is alive inside the player's Wii Remote. If you shake the Remote at certain times during your play-through of the game, he'll yell from within it. Or at least the speaker will make it seem that way. And when you toss him from the Remote to the TV, his yell transfers from Remote to TV, an imitation of the sound-design used for the bow and arrow in The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. When the Wii launched with that Zelda game, Nintendo reps talked about the speaker enabling experiments in sound design. Not many have come to market.

The Wii Channels: When the Wii launched, Channels were a big deal. Nintendo offered photo and Mii channels, and, later, a shopping channel. Games could have their own channels, which could be installed onto the Wii's dashboard from the game's disc. Mario Kart Wii offered a tournament-tracking channel. Wii Fit offered a fitness test channel. The idea in both cases is that a slice of a game would be available to players even if their disc for that game wasn't in the Wii.

Few other Wii games have offered any Channels for installation, but, surprisingly, Rabbids Go Home has one. Its channel even supports the system's online connection. The Rabbids Channel is similar to the Mii contest channel in that it lets players enter any Rabbids that they've morphed using the game's character editor into Ubisoft-administered contests. (The character editor is something of a Rabbid torture device, allowing you to paint, prod and pull the body parts of an always-game Rabbid.) There's a Halloween contest on the channel right now. You can enter a Rabbid or vote on the ones already submitted. A user can also download contestant Rabbids that they like to use in the game, either as the Rabbid stuck in the Remote or as one of those running around on the player's TV. I downloaded a pair from the now-closed Freestyle contest, which I snapped a photo of for the top of this post.

I'm not sure why these Wii features are rarely used. It's subject for future interviews I do with developers. At least Rabbids Goes Home serves a reminder that the options are there and can be put to good, creative use.

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http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/iJ4hvyuWKpc/rabbids-developers-remember
ed-wiis-neglected-features

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First person shooter Darkest of Days unique PC
time travel shooter

post from Gamezplay.org - Video game updates daily on 03 November 2009 05:11:00 PM. © Gamezplay.org - Video game updates daily

What would have happened if futuristic weapons had got into Germany´s hands during the Second World War? Would it have changed history if General Custer had survived the battle at Little Bighorn? And what would have been if Pompeii had not been destroyed[...]

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http://www.gamezplay.org/2009/11/first-person-shooter-darkest-of-days.html

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NBA Live 10 with Sports Illustrated Subscription

post from PWN or DIE on 03 November 2009 05:03:47 PM. © PWN or DIE

Buy a subscription from Sports Illustrated and get a copy of NBA Live 10 from EA Sports.

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http://www.pwnordie.com/2009/11/03/nba-live-10-with-sports-illustrated-subscripti
on/

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Dedication To Dedicated Servers Earns EA At Least
60 Bucks [Screengrab]

post from Kotaku on 03 November 2009 05:00:03 PM. © Kotaku

As seen on the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 blog, where, I'll guess, the redacted words include "Infinity" and "Ward."

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http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/gcM7AR0wHcE/dedication-to-dedicated-ser
vers-earns-ea-at-least-60-bucks

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Underworld dude talks Mirkwood in latest LOTRO
trailer

post from Destructoid on 03 November 2009 05:00:00 PM. © Destructoid

There are a lot of things in Lord of the Rings that I straight don’t understand. I don’t get why Hobbits have werewolf feet or why the Nazgul forewent vision for mutant sniffing abilities. I’m sure it’s listed in some Tolkien tome, but I’m not really that interested in seeking reasons behind this stuff.

I added something new to this growing list in the afternoon after catching developer Turbine’s second narrated trailer for the "Siege of Mirkwood" LOTRO expansion. It features some creepy underworld dude with a wicked helmet, talking about stuff related to the fiction. It’s got that great epic, fantasy feel, but I’m in the dark about the material the dude is referring to. He may as well be speaking elvish or goblin or whatever.

Regardless, Mirkwood hits December 1st. Look out for it and feel free to decipher this thing for me.

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DJ Hero sales 'modest,' analyst says; Activision
refuses to comment

post from Joystiq on 03 November 2009 05:00:00 PM. © Joystiq

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian told Gamasutra that, while the gaming industry is currently "stable," sales figures of Activision's critically-lauded DJ Hero look to be only "modest" in the US -- an understatement in the UK. Continuing the pricing trend of peripheral-based titles, DJ Hero retails for $120 for its standard edition and $200 for its premium, "Renegade" edition. According to Sebastian, consumers are "showing price sensitivity" toward games with price points greater than $100.

In recent history, the trend of peripheral-based releases has fallen short of sales expectations. Internet-famous Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter -- along with others in the field of "professional guessing" -- recently halved holiday sales predictions for Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band; after both fell short of initial sales predictions.

According to Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz, the falling projections of peripheral games reflect both the casual consumer's decision to reduce spending on games, as well as the possibility that gamers are losing interest in the played-out rhythm genre.

When contacted by Joystiq, Activision refused to comment on the matter. With no less than three new rhythm titles on the horizon, we presume publishers hope the trend of sluggish peripheral-based game sales comes to a screeching halt; like the days of disco music and, apparently, outlining the objectives of major marketing campaigns.

DJ Hero sales 'modest,' analyst says; Activision refuses to comment originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rubik inspired Nintendo Wii WiiWare puzzle games
- the first game of the series, Rubik's Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH

post from Gamezplay.org - Video game updates daily on 03 November 2009 04:58:00 PM. © Gamezplay.org - Video game updates daily

Innovative, Brain Teasing Puzzler from the Puzzle Masters Comes to WiiWareTwo Tribes and The Game Factory are pleased to announce a new series of Rubik inspired WiiWare puzzle games. The first game of the series, Rubik's Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH, will be made[...]

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http://www.gamezplay.org/2009/11/rubik-inspired-nintendo-wii-wiiware.html

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The Next Zelda: October Recap

Not long after I woke up today, I found earthbounding had a new video….October RecapWhat we[...]

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http://monstervine.com/2009/11/the-next-zelda-october-recap/

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Square Enix files U.S. trademark for Fantasy
Earth Zero

You could be forgiven for never hearing about Fantasy Earth Zero -- in addition to having a cookie cutter RPG moniker (following the role-playing trope/noun/number formula), it's only available in Japan, though China and Taiwan are currently in a prolonged beta testing period. However, if a recent Square Enix trademark filing is any indication, the free-to-play, microtransaction-supported MMO will be heading stateside at some point in the future.

The trademark filing was expectedly scant on details about the game, so we suggest watching the three-year-old debut trailer we've posted after the jump. It, too, doesn't provide many hard-and-fast facts about the MMO but after watching it, we feel like we can safely vouch that, yes, the game does include Fantasy. Possibly in an Earth-like setting.

[Via Superannuation]