Between now and January 10th, European PSPgo owners both new and old can download a special free PSPgo Promotion Theme to their handheld, which will trigger an email voucher good for full versions of one of three popular PSP titles - Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, Gran Turismo, or MotorStorm Arctic Edge. The offer is good only for the PSPgo, and the theme must be downloaded directly to the handheld via wireless internet in order to trigger the voucher.

This promotion is on top of the free copy of Gran Turismo handed out to European PSPgo buyers in early October and the three free titles offered to folks that upgraded from the original PSP.

I picked up a PSPgo this weekend on a whim, and received a lovely five-song demo of Rock Band Unplugged. Hooray.

PSPgo game offer (selected titles only) [PlayStation UK via Videogamer]

While Assassin's Creed II tells the story of Renaissance nobleman assassin Ezio, Bloodlines brings players back to 12th century and the story of the original Assassin's Creed's Altair. The game picks up where Assassin's Creed left off, and Altair must hunt down the remaining Templars who have fled to the Island of Cyprus. It also serves as a link between the first game and the second.

Bloodlines is not Ubisoft's first stab at bringing Assassin's Creed to handhelds. Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles appeared on the Nintendo DS in February 2008. It was later ported to the iPhone in spring of this year. Unlike the DS game, the PSP's Bloodlines features gameplay similar to the home console versions of the game. Players can roam around Cyprus, blend into crowds, jump into haystacks and sneak up on targets to snub them out. But just because something works on a home console, that does not mean it will work on a portable system.

Loved
Combat, Cool Combos...: The most fun to be had in Bloodlines? The combat. Players hone in on their target and go in for the kill. Counter attacking, likewise, is fun and the first twenty or so times you see the mini cinematic for a finishing move is also satisfying.

Once Upon A Time: For fans of the series, the real draw here is not the gameplay, it's the story. What is the connection between Altair and Ezio? Are they related? If so, how? The game touches on those issues, and those who have been following the AC plot will be interested in picking up bloodlines if only to fill in some of the blanks between AC1 and AC 2. Maria is also a stand-out story wise in Bloodlines.

Graphically Impressive: Bloodlines looks solid for a PSP title. While the brown color palette of Cyprus is largely drab, it's very cool to see Altair running around on the PSP's screen. The frame rate is generally smooth. Like with many PSP games, however, this look great from far away, but not so great close up. That's simply hardware issue, and all and all, the game's pretty.

Hated
Not So Intelligent: The A.I. in Bloodlines is, sorry to be frank, dumb. Enemies are not very smart! Sometimes guards notice when you are slaying your prey, and sometimes, even when they are standing close by, they are blissfully unaware. On other occasions, they'll draw a sword for no apparent reason. Bosses aren't too bright, either.

Setting: The game's developers picked Cyprus to set the game. There's lots of brown! Okay, fine. I can live with that. The real issue is the way the city is divided up into sections. It's impossible to get an expansive feel when there are invisible walls and divides. It's hard to build up any real rhythm moving around. Then, Cyprus itself is mostly barren and empty, and it seems like guards outnumber the regular population — maybe that's how it was in the 12th century! But it doesn't make for the most seductive game environment.

Confusing: Let's say, you've never played Assassin's Creed. Who is this Altair? Who are the Templars? What's with this Maria lady? Animus, wha? The tutorial is suitable, but more story exposition is needed to bring this title to a wider audience. If you are familiar with the series, dive in, enjoy. If not, this is not the game for you. Go play one of the console games. Pronto!

Camera Issues: The developer makes a valiant effort at addressing the camera controls in Bloodlines. I applaud what they tried — more importantly, I respect it. Thing is, it doesn't work. To access the camera, players must press one of the shoulder buttons. Then that allows them use the triangle, square, circle, etc. buttons to look up, down, right, left. Players must stop dead in their tracks, and access the camera. It kills the flow — rather, it ensures that there really is no flow.

Hoping to repeat the commercial and technical success of something like God of War: Chains of Olympus, Bloodlines leaps high, but ends up falling flat on its face. Just because Assassin's Creed can be developed on handhelds, that doesn't mean it should.

Assassin's Creed is a big title — it needs the power of home consoles to fully play up the strengths of its gameplay. The developers did attempt to reproduce the console version on portable systems, but perhaps, retrenching for the PSP could lead to more satisfying gameplay.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Griptonite Games, and published by Ubisoft for the PSP on November 17. Retails for $39.99 USD. A digital copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed single player.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

I've been waiting for something to topple God of War: Chains of Olympus from the top of my list of favorite games to play on Sony's portable. Could Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines be that game?

I still haven't had a chance to spend any time with it, so I'll reserve all judgment.

Don't forget, you need to be 18 to watch this video... or your head will explode.

That means that we spend less time with Desmond and actually get to find out what happens to Altair at the end of the game. It also means some key tweaks to gameplay. In particular, Bloodlines opens up the mission structure of the game to give the player some variety. At least, that's what Ubisoft Public Relations Specialist Dominic Disanti tells me. He only had one level to show me at Sony Computer Entertainment's PSP showcase and couldn't talk too much about anything that wasn't readily apparent from what I could see on screen.

The level Disanti played takes place in a castle in a town somewhere in Cyprus. The majority of the game is set between two cities in Cyprus and there are four districts within each city. The primary objective in this particular level was to take out a guy called Moloch the Bull. However, I guess there were mission opportunities to kill all kinds of people, because that's what Disanti was doing for most of the demo.

The controls looked very similar to the console setup, though I think Altair is less fragile when it comes to taking sword blows. Players hold X to parkour while moving with the analog stick, triangle to attack and the D-pad to select weapons, etc. Also, the swan dives into conveniently placed haystacks are still in the game, though I didn't see a single rooftop gazebo to hide in.

The one new thing I did see right away was a pickup that Disanti jokingly called a "light seed." I get the feeling that these pickups are part of that promised variety to mission structure – but Disanti couldn't tell me too much about them. He might not have told me anything at all if he hadn't fallen on one by accident jumping off a roof. But once he did, he explained that they were similar to the collectable flags from the first game. However, these "light seeds" would actually "some kind of impact" on gameplay that he wasn't allowed to tell me about.

Distani did say there'd be significant connectivity between Bloodlines and Assassin's Creed II beyond obvious story explanations. For example, completing missions in Bloodlines and then connecting it to the sequel will unlock special weapons or health bonuses.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines is out November 17, the same day as Assassin's Creed II.

Obviously, you're getting Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines when the PSP game ships this November. But you'll also get the standard Entertainment Pack stuff, included an Altair-white PSP and ample storage. The official bundle includes the following, with one item still to be determined.

• White PSP-3000 system
• Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP game
• UMD Movie (to be announced shortly!)
• 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo

Sadly, not a replica wrist-blade, but still a fair deal at $199.99 USD. Who wants to place bets on the UMD movie?

NEW Limited Edition Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP Entertainment Pack [PlayStation.blog]

"As it was the case in Assassin's Creed, Altair will get to explore various large cities," Frederic Lefrancois, third party producer for the game, said in a prepared Q&A. "This time around Altair will discover the cities of Limasol and Kyrenia in Cyprus, a beautiful and historically very interesting island in the Mediterranean Sea.

"Once again, you can expect Altair to master his environment while performing all of his signature moves. In fact, Altair will free-run, sprint, fly between beams and climb everywhere to take advantage of its surroundings. This is a huge benchmark technology wise as this kind of freedom of movement has never been seen before on the PSP."

Lefrancois says that the game will also include a variety of missions that have to be completed before an assassination attempt, including eight new mission types.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines pick up right after the events of the original console game and explains the link between the original and the upcoming sequel.

SPOILER ALERT

After the death of Robert De Sable in the original game, the Templars, led by Armand Bouchart, fled the Holy Land to settle on the island of Cyprus. Altair follows the group there and teams up with the local resistance to fight the Templar's' occupation of the island.

END SPOLIER

Lefrancois said the team decided to choose Cyprus as the setting for the PSP game because of the island's true history with the Templar order. The order actually did occupy the island until they were forced out by a rebellion.

"We chose this setting because it's an intriguing historical period surrounded by conspiracy of the Templar Treasures left on the Island," he said in the Q&A. "The oppression of the people of Cyprus is the perfect backdrop to continue Altair's story and explain some of the key elements of Assassin's Creed 2. "

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines will also feature some connectivity with the Playstation 3 version of Assassin's Creed 2, Lefrancois said.

"As players unlock health and Hidden blade upgrades in Assassin's Creed 2 PS3, the same upgrades will be unlocked in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)," he said in the statement. "It also works the other way round: on the PS3 you will be able to access any Templar Coins and special weapons you've collected on the PSP."

See the game in action here.