This PSP edition seems to retain all the key features from the AC franchise! it actually looks pretty polished, kind of reminds me of Chains of Olympus in terms of graphical quality! It looks like my PSP will finally be getting some major play time in November- GTA, LBP and AC! #assassinscreedbloodlines
Uhhh? "Strong contender for game of the year"? Really? I hadn't gotten those kind of vibes from your coverage so far. The vibes have been positive, certainly, but not "Game of the Year" vibes.
@Wolfnave: I don't know... I'm kind of excited for this new Creed- it looks like it's been improved on in every way! I think it would be kind of awesome if it indeed turned out to be game of the year! Enough shooting everything! Even though those two games are marvelous! #assassinscreedbloodlines
@Wolfnave: Really, Modern Warfare 2 is a really good game, but I think its not anywhere close to Uncharted 2 . By the way, a gamestop near my house already had MW2 used. I found that hilarious. #assassinscreedbloodlines
@pd771: Sure, I agree, but as the IW dudes said in the BonusRound episode I watched, "There are so many GOTY awards that we're sure to get at least one of them." MW2 isn't a particularly innovative 500lb gorilla, but it's still a 500lb gorilla. #assassinscreedbloodlines
@dreamfall: I agree... ever since "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open" stopped being played on the radio, i have been wanting more Creed... #assassinscreedbloodlines
@Wolfnave: Right, the so-called new stuffs are just new banners and emblems, perks & guns are 90% the same from CoD4, sure it looks great and I'm playing it diligently too, but innovation ? No. The Demon's Souls online messenger/blood strain system is more innovative. But we all know that small fan base cult games like Demon's Souls is never gonna get GOTY award, maybe if there is some game industry in-house award voted by ppl within the industry, otherwise awards are more based on sales and publicity. Same thing you get rappers as best singer of the year but no jazz singers will grab that. #assassinscreedbloodlines
Why is it that a PSP game trailer is always framed in a fake PSP? Why can't we they have the video strecthed to the player's border instead? #assassinscreedbloodlines
@rich8606: I'm guessing they don't want there to be ANY confusion that this is a PSP title.
Imagine someone watching these graphics and thinking it was the console version: "Ugh! That looks TERRIBLE! No way I'm getting that game when it comes out!" #assassinscreedbloodlines
@Wolfnave: Cats and dogs...living together... mass hysteria...
No i cant imagine anyone would want to play a psp game with psp graphics on a TV with a DS3 controller... looks at PSPGO specs...*facepalm #assassinscreedbloodlines
Why cant we just have reviewers reviewing games? Is it really that hard to let them give you an honest critique. I liked AC1, I'll buy AC2 regardless of what the review says based on #1 and the list of improvements.
This is why i think all games systems should require a demo of all published games to be released at the latest 1 week before the title releases. Because i can tell what i will like with about 5 minutes of demo time. I dont need a game review score to know if the game is my cup of tea or not.
Didnt this happen with Batman too? Was there even a need to ask for high scores on that game? #assassinscreedii
@Koztah: I know, its just sad to see that kind of behavior from publishers. Again a demo requirement by microsoft and sony would fix that.... #assassinscreedii
@ShaggyB: The problem with that kind of restriction is that the one who lifts it first will probably get a couple exclusives before the other follows suit..hah. #assassinscreedii
Perhaps its just a feeling I have, but if publishers are going to strong arm reviewers for good reviews... I say let the people become the reviewers. A required Demo before the release date would allow us to decide if said game is crap....
Be that as it may... I am still super ready for AC2. #assassinscreedii
How is this really any different from the bags of swag every editor gets all year long? We don't condone the behavior when it's called what it is, but as long as you are being coy about it, everything is fine. #assassinscreedii
I wouldn't give much about what the 'Computer Bild Spiele' says at all. That magazine is a branch of the infamous 'Bild' newspaper which is as bad as the UK's 'The Sun' when it comes to headlines and news in general. And if there are no news they occasionally just make some up. There are whole websites dedicated to point out the misinformations and lies of that magazine and the gamers version is not much different, hence the big 'Skandal!' right as the first word. #assassinscreedii
I recall EGM's Editor in Chief getting black balled from Ubi's game previews for not gushing over AC1 in his preview blurb/article. They were quite angry. I played the game and enjoyed it, but his criticisms were well founded and the game wasn't terribly polished. #assassinscreedii
Owen, maybe you can answer something for me, or maybe someone else at Kotaku can, about this.. Its about the ethics and moral codes of game reviewing, more importantly what to do in a situation like this. To me I would do one of two things but I don't know if they'd be frowned upon by other reviewers.
1) Not accept the offer, and thus not review the game BUT when the review was supposed to be on the site or in the publication put in its place a page that basically says "We were supposed to review but we didn't because we didn't receive a copy to review because "
You'd pretty much devoting the space you were going to use for the review to telling the public how much the developer/publisher fails at being ethical.
2) Accept, but just in order to get your hands on the review copy. When you review the game, review it how you always would, and give it the score it DESERVES and make it a point to stress though out your review that the developer tried to force a good review JUST SO YOU COULD GET A REVIEW COPY AT ALL.. They didn't buy you in the end, you basically conned them into letting you do your job right.
Either way I wouldn't expect to ever get a copy of the game at all after doing either of these things. But I do think making them look like huge fools for trying to buy your love with something they should be providing any way should be the most important thing.
So can you you shed some insight on this for me, Owen, cause while I know it happens (I believe I remember GameSpy having a bribing thing happen a couple years back) it still blows my mind that it happens. #assassinscreedii
This is news? As someone that's been thoroughly disgusted by the politics of this industry for years, I've heard much worse (developers actually writing the reviews themselves and then having magazine writers "edit" them to sound genuine, etc.).
It's becoming more and more obvious how professional reviews are purchased and therefore useless.
"Metascores" are becoming obsolete.
Seriously, I purchased Tekken 6 (a game that has received a 80 Metascore) and was horrified by how unpolished and utterly terrible it was (especially since I just picked up Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection off of the PSN and found it a far better game for 1/3 the price).
I miss the days of PC Accelerator Magazine (now extinct because they weren't in anyone's pockets). I miss the "Golden Crackpipe Award" given to developers that made a game so shitty that they must've been smoking crack during the development.
When was the last time we saw a big-publisher-backed/highly marketed game receive a Metascore below 60? I mean Hellgate: London (a game that financially imperiled Namco/Bandai enough to make them pull out of American development) received a bloody 70 Metascore! If that doesn't illustrate how screwed the system is, nothing does.
Funny that people put so much stock into Metacritic. Look at the top scores for the PS3 and 360 sections - Grand Theft Auto IV is still at the top. Sure, it's a decent game, but there's just so many better games out there.
Would Ubisoft do this, just for the sake of a better Metacritic rating? Eh, it's not entirely unlikely. The first one was well received by most people, but there was a large minority (myself included) that felt the game was weighed down by a lot of issues.
Even if Assassin's Creed 2 is great, I have no plans to buy it, based solely on how disappointed I was with the first one. I imagine Final Fantasy IX and Metal Gear Solid 3 would have received more sales in much the same way if people weren't disappointed by Final Fantasy VIII and Metal Gear Solid 2. #assassinscreedii
@the7k: High Metacritic scores are highly correlated with good sales numbers and profitability.
Of course, high Metacritic scores are the symptom and not the cause- games are good not because Metacritic says so, but because they were made that way. #assassinscreedii
Anyway, I won't buy a game if it gets a bad score, but I'm comfortable with buying something in my favorite genres if it rates higher than a 75. Otherwise I can wait till it hits the discount rack. $60 is a tad high for mediocrity.
Not terribly surprised. On the other hand, I expect Assassin's Creed 2 to be goddamn excellent, so I really don't care too much about this. #assassinscreedii
Less likely that Ubi felt they needed to bully good reviews out of news outlets. More likely that a German mag no one's ever heard of thought a "skandal" would be the perfect thing to move subscriptions. #assassinscreedii
@tiberseptim:
If you've never hear of "Computer Bild Spiele" then you must be a half world away from Germany or live under a rock/bridge.
Here in GER the mag hardly needs an introduction and is backed up by the Germany's most successful newspaper publishing company Axel Springer Verlag.
@tiberseptim: Pro Tip - Don't assume that "no one" has ever heard of Computer Bild Spiele. It belongs to the BILD Zeitung, europe's biggest newspaper. (Though I would not call the BILD a "newspaper" and only total noobs read the gaming mag from them)
Everybody in Germany, Austria and Switzerland knows it. But that might as well be translated to "no one" for you - right? #assassinscreedii
@tiberseptim: Actually, although not very highbrow, the Bild franchise (plain 'Bild,' 'Computer Bild,' and whatever else there might be) is a strong opinion maker in the German market. Do not underestimate that only because you do not know them. To support your claim, and since you seem to know the market, what would be more important publications in the German market, which ones have you heard of? #assassinscreedii
This is mostly the reason why I don't trust reviews any more. For every one of these cases that we hear about, there are most likely 5 or 10 that we don't, all ending with the reviewer agreeing to skew their score so they could get a review copy.
I just go to GameTrailers and look at the admittedly great footage. I don't listen to what the review has to say, since half the time they sound like they were paid off (in the case of AAA titles), and a fourth of the time their opinion is just flat out wrong. I only tend to agree with them for a fraction of their reviews, but I keep coming back and watching them because their footage really informs me of whether the game looks good or not.
Slightly off topic, I also buy my games on the cheap now, so if a game turns out to be a stinker at least it won't feel like I wasted a massive amount of cash for it. There's nothing worse than buying an overhyped game praised by practically all reviewers, paying full price for it, taking it home and finding out it's actually mediocre. #assassinscreedii
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What with Uncharted 2 and MW2 those are strong words. #assassinscreedbloodlines
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Imagine someone watching these graphics and thinking it was the console version: "Ugh! That looks TERRIBLE! No way I'm getting that game when it comes out!" #assassinscreedbloodlines
11/12/09
No i cant imagine anyone would want to play a psp game with psp graphics on a TV with a DS3 controller... looks at PSPGO specs...*facepalm #assassinscreedbloodlines
11/09/09
This is why i think all games systems should require a demo of all published games to be released at the latest 1 week before the title releases. Because i can tell what i will like with about 5 minutes of demo time. I dont need a game review score to know if the game is my cup of tea or not.
Didnt this happen with Batman too? Was there even a need to ask for high scores on that game? #assassinscreedii
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Perhaps its just a feeling I have, but if publishers are going to strong arm reviewers for good reviews... I say let the people become the reviewers. A required Demo before the release date would allow us to decide if said game is crap....
Be that as it may... I am still super ready for AC2. #assassinscreedii
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If this turns out to be true, it will just be another reason why I don't buy Ubisoft games...new. #assassinscreedii
11/09/09
Every single company out there bends rules and screws people over. Welcome to the great Capitalist society we live in.
Seriously, a stand over something justified is one thing, but because they wanted a good review score? Please.
Sony bullied Crystal Dynamics into not publishing Soul Reaver 2 on Dreamcast because it looked and played better than the PS2 version.
Microsoft sues then buys out companies every year.
Nintendo? Well, I haven't followed Nintendo since my NES days, but I'm sure they've engaged in shady practices as well. #assassinscreedii
11/08/09
1) Not accept the offer, and thus not review the game BUT when the review was supposed to be on the site or in the publication put in its place a page that basically says "We were supposed to review but we didn't because we didn't receive a copy to review because "
You'd pretty much devoting the space you were going to use for the review to telling the public how much the developer/publisher fails at being ethical.
2) Accept, but just in order to get your hands on the review copy. When you review the game, review it how you always would, and give it the score it DESERVES and make it a point to stress though out your review that the developer tried to force a good review JUST SO YOU COULD GET A REVIEW COPY AT ALL.. They didn't buy you in the end, you basically conned them into letting you do your job right.
Either way I wouldn't expect to ever get a copy of the game at all after doing either of these things. But I do think making them look like huge fools for trying to buy your love with something they should be providing any way should be the most important thing.
So can you you shed some insight on this for me, Owen, cause while I know it happens (I believe I remember GameSpy having a bribing thing happen a couple years back) it still blows my mind that it happens. #assassinscreedii
11/08/09
It's becoming more and more obvious how professional reviews are purchased and therefore useless.
"Metascores" are becoming obsolete.
Seriously, I purchased Tekken 6 (a game that has received a 80 Metascore) and was horrified by how unpolished and utterly terrible it was (especially since I just picked up Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection off of the PSN and found it a far better game for 1/3 the price).
I miss the days of PC Accelerator Magazine (now extinct because they weren't in anyone's pockets). I miss the "Golden Crackpipe Award" given to developers that made a game so shitty that they must've been smoking crack during the development.
When was the last time we saw a big-publisher-backed/highly marketed game receive a Metascore below 60? I mean Hellgate: London (a game that financially imperiled Namco/Bandai enough to make them pull out of American development) received a bloody 70 Metascore! If that doesn't illustrate how screwed the system is, nothing does.
11/08/09
Would Ubisoft do this, just for the sake of a better Metacritic rating? Eh, it's not entirely unlikely. The first one was well received by most people, but there was a large minority (myself included) that felt the game was weighed down by a lot of issues.
Even if Assassin's Creed 2 is great, I have no plans to buy it, based solely on how disappointed I was with the first one. I imagine Final Fantasy IX and Metal Gear Solid 3 would have received more sales in much the same way if people weren't disappointed by Final Fantasy VIII and Metal Gear Solid 2. #assassinscreedii
11/08/09
Of course, high Metacritic scores are the symptom and not the cause- games are good not because Metacritic says so, but because they were made that way. #assassinscreedii
11/08/09
Anyway, I won't buy a game if it gets a bad score, but I'm comfortable with buying something in my favorite genres if it rates higher than a 75. Otherwise I can wait till it hits the discount rack. $60 is a tad high for mediocrity.
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If you've never hear of "Computer Bild Spiele" then you must be a half world away from Germany or live under a rock/bridge.
Here in GER the mag hardly needs an introduction and is backed up by the Germany's most successful newspaper publishing company Axel Springer Verlag.
Also Ubi has already pulled that one with EGM over AssCreed1, so go get a clue:
[www.1up.com] #assassinscreedii
11/09/09
Everybody in Germany, Austria and Switzerland knows it. But that might as well be translated to "no one" for you - right? #assassinscreedii
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I just go to GameTrailers and look at the admittedly great footage. I don't listen to what the review has to say, since half the time they sound like they were paid off (in the case of AAA titles), and a fourth of the time their opinion is just flat out wrong. I only tend to agree with them for a fraction of their reviews, but I keep coming back and watching them because their footage really informs me of whether the game looks good or not.
Slightly off topic, I also buy my games on the cheap now, so if a game turns out to be a stinker at least it won't feel like I wasted a massive amount of cash for it. There's nothing worse than buying an overhyped game praised by practically all reviewers, paying full price for it, taking it home and finding out it's actually mediocre. #assassinscreedii
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