DLC info revealed
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/16/assassins-creed-2-dlc-detailed-fills-i...
Joystiq article
"Though we had little more than names to go on before, Ubisoft let some details slip today about the two forthcoming chunks of Assassin's Creed 2 DLC, due at the end of January and end of February respectively. In "Battle of Forli" ($3.99), you'll defend Forli (surprise) from the Orsi brothers with the aid of Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza. With six new memories, the DLC will allow you to "accomplish a daring rescue and prevent the Piece of Eden from falling into the hands of the Templars." Also, the flying machine is back!
In "Bonfire of the Vanities" ($4.99), you and Machiavelli will free Florence from "the grip of the mad monk Savonarola" by offing his underlings in ten memories. There's also a new district of Florence, and a new move for Ezio: the spring-jump, as if his similarity to Luigi wasn't already striking enough.
As many have speculated, the two additions fill in the missing sequences (12 and 13) from the game, meaning the DLC is a great buy for people who love murder and people with obsessive-compulsive disorder."
Fantastic.
Very cheap also
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
Thanks Giga 
The spring-jump sounds good, haha.
I'm so gonna get these when they're out... =D
I've had $20 in my account for ages now, it's about time I put them to use... x3
What a joke. It seems like we shouldn't even be paying for those. We all bought a game that was missing two levels, and now we have to pay for them to understand more about the story.
What a joke. It seems like we shouldn't even be paying for those. We all bought a game that was missing two levels, and now we have to pay for them to understand more about the story.
I quite disagree.
Assassin's Creed II already contains far more 'game' than most other offerings at the same price point. It also offers far more quality than most other examples. I feel that I got much more than I paid for. I feel that I have no right to demand more levels when I've already received so much for so little.
If you break it down, even if you only get 15 hours out of AC2 and then never touch it again, you've still only paid a mere $4.00 US per hour of quality entertainment. You'll pay more to go to a movie theater, and probably wouldn't get as much quality out of that entertainment in comparison. Seeing as how I've spent over 100 hours with AC2, I've more than received my money's worth. And now I can add another 2+ hours (probably closer to 10+) for only an additional $9.00 US? That's a fantastic deal.
I think it's only fair that we rate the worth of our time based on how much we are willing to earn when working a job for that same amount of time. We would have to say that our time is worth at least minimum wage. For most of us, it is much higher. But with the hours of quality entertainment provided by Assassin's Creed II, I think that even people earning minimum wage are getting an amazing deal for their money. At minimum wage, for a mere 8 hours worth of your time spent working, you are earning yourself a minimum of 15 hours of quality entertainment. In reality, it's probably dozens more. Isn't that already more than a fair deal? In my book, that's a downright steal.
I believe that entertainment comes at a very low cost in this day and age. I have no issue paying for more of it when it is such a great value for the money. I was already willing to pay far more for these two expansions. Considering they're asking so little for them, I can only commend Ubisoft for their pricing decision.
I'm gonna agree with Asaic on this one. It's less than $10 for probably an extra 6+ hours of gameplay. It's absolutely worth it.
What wasn't worth it was the extra map we got for another $10 in the Master Assassin Edition of the game (even though we got a bunch of other stuff). But this deal is still a bargain.
What a joke. It seems like we shouldn't even be paying for those. We all bought a game that was missing two levels, and now we have to pay for them to understand more about the story.
I'll have to agree with you on this one. It is clear that they released the game with sequences 12 and 13 missing because they were intended to be released as DLC all along. So they had to find a fitting explanation in the narrative to "justify" why the sequences were missing. So, instead of releasing the game with a complete story from start to finnish, they took a chunk out, thought of an explanation to put in the narrative as to why, and now they're releasing that chunk as DLC to milk the franchise for all that it's worth. Such is the reality of capitalism 
. But don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about these DLCs
Could it be it wouldn't fit on the 360's sd disk? I mean, Venice is kinda huge you know.
I doubt it. There are larger games than Assassin's creed 2 that fit perfectly well on the disks
Edit: Oops, I misunderstood, haha.
"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."- Winston Churchhill
"Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you
I think the disc space issue is a good theory, seeing as how these two DLC's are 1GB each. The actual game data partition of 360 game discs usually doesn't exceed 7GB, and I seriously doubt all of AC2 minus the DLC was only 5GB. AC1 is 6.7GB and AC2 is definitely bigger.
I would also theorize that sequences 12 and 13 were not always intended to be DLC, but rather were put off due to time constraints. Let's be honest here - for a game as large and encompassing as AC2, how often do they announce a release date nearly a year in advance and still meet it? These days, that's extremely rare. I'd bet that they fully intended to have it all in there, but when it came to crunch time they realized the game wouldn't be complete on time, so it would be better to leave some stuff for DLC rather than delaying the entire game.
If that's the case, I'm glad they did it this way. I would have paid far more than $9 US to get 90% of the game in November rather than waiting until March or April to get the whole thing for $9 less. These days, $9 is chump change. I probably have more than that in loose change lost under my couch cushions. It's a hell of a deal if you ask me.
Setting these two sequences as DLC probably gives the devs much more freedom (both in disc space and in time) to make them far better than they would have been otherwise. I see no reason to complain about that.
These days, $9 is chump change. I probably have more than that in loose change lost under my couch cushions.
Not if your an American 
. We don't get free healthcare like you Canadians, Asaic
It doesn't matter if you take care of yourself and never get sick. 
Your dollar is worth more than ours anyway.
$9 really is peanuts. It's the cost of a meal at McDonald's. It won't even buy you a significant amount of gas, and it certainly wouldn't get you far in a cab. The mileage you'll get out of spending it on DLC trumps most other things you could spend it on.
I would also theorize that sequences 12 and 13 were not always intended to be DLC, but rather were put off due to time constraints.
Confirmed in this interview with Patrice Desilets:
That's when it was clear that some planned parts of the game would have to be cut. In order to meet a November release date, they'd have to go. One thing removed was the ability to replay any mission in the game. The team didn't think they could test it successfully ("Eventually maybe we'll come out with some way to do it somehow," Desilets noted).The other cut, the one many Assassin's Creed II players have figured out by now, was content for which development would be backburnered and later re-prioritized and issued as the game's forthcoming January and February downloadable content. These would be the game's marked but missing 12th and 13th chapters, more or less. "I felt that, 'Okay, there were too many things to do and to finish.' So we said, 'Ok, let's take a portion of the game that was planned and we'll give it in DLC.' We'll remove some stress to the team while giving more to fans and people who like Assassin's Creed."
Argh! Replaying missions was originally in?! They should of delayed it a month
No, I'm happy with what they did. Delaying would have been a bad move. Think about it, what were you thinking right before November 17th? Definitely not "I won't mind if they delay it a month on short notice".
"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."- Winston Churchhill
"Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you
Well, I'm from the UK so I was thinking "goddamn Americans get it early" But I see your point. However if you were given a choice
A wait one more month and be able to replay any mission in the game easily, and straight away
OR
B get it now and not be able to replay and mission
I'd choose A.
It isn't simply a matter of delaying a month. Release dates are dictated heavily by marketing trends. Mid-December is never an ideal time to release a major title. They need to give people a certain amount of time before Christmas, as things like video games usually aren't purchased last-minute. The ideal point of success is early- to mid-November. Chances are that if AC2 wasn't going to make a November release date, it would have been pushed back until February or March. Just look at the PC version.
They made the right choice. Ubisoft is a very large business and its marketing team knows what they're doing. November 17th was the ideal time to release the game. So what if we have to wait for a few extra features? We still get a full game that offers more than most others (how many others let you replay any mission at any point?) and we've been told that the other things we want are still coming. That's already a far better situation than pretty much any other game's fans are in.
Ah, I suppose your right. Patrice just emphasised how much easier it would be to replay missions, so I am just a tad disappointed I guess.
first i was pretty pissed at them for removing stuff in the middle of the game just to sell it for an extra charge but if, they cut stuff out due to lack of time, i guess that's acceptable.
i just hope that the "replay mission" thing comes through an update and not the DLC. cause some people avoid all DLC, myself including most of the time
I really hope that they come out with said feature at all. Patrice said "maybe" they would include the feature, meaning they currently don't have plans for it. Which means we have a long wait.
"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."- Winston Churchhill
"Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you
I'd bet that the replay feature will be included with the DLC. Ubisoft knows how much demand there is for the feature. It is by far the most requested "wish" on the official forums. It probably wouldn't be available until the second DLC pack is released, but I bet that it'll come.
It doesn't matter if you take care of yourself and never get sick.$9 really is peanuts. It's the cost of a meal at McDonald's. It won't even buy you a significant amount of gas, and it certainly wouldn't get you far in a cab. The mileage you'll get out of spending it on DLC trumps most other things you could spend it on.
Ppl criticize MMO's at their 15 a month cost but in the time you get to play them, it more then pays for itself. It's cheaper then a night out at the movies and you get to keep what you watched (or earned). Personally I bought downloadable content for Fable II and some I thought worth it, some I did not. But in the case of AC, because it is such a beloved game, if the dlc offers content, challenge, and time killed, I think it's worth a few bucks. So I have to agree with Asaic, even ppl on a budget can choose to buy the dlc and have it forever or buy McD's and have a stomache ache and a few extra pounds. Your choice (Unless you're living on Top Ramen and peanut butter...then you can get the dlc when you graduate! )
Yay, in Panama we have American dollar, free healthcare and a meal for 2 persons in McDonalds costs $6! Wait, we still have a little bit of corruption and many people in my country is very ignorant and "mentally poor", think I'll go just eat some "patacones", spare me the stomach ache, and enjoy the clean bay while we have it.
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
Yeah, I bet the replay feature, if included at all, will be introduced along with a DLC pack, similar to how they are adding the spring jump to the DLC for the two "new" sequences.
"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."- Winston Churchhill
"Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you
I'm sure Patrice is kicking himself for not having replayability in the game. If the team doesn't figure out a way to add in the replay function for everyone there's gonna be a lot of angry gamers out there.
But for a majority of us on here, does it really matter? I mean don't most of us just use the save game copy feature anyway? I don't think it's really an issue for most of us.
It's not a huge issue for me because I'm using Stab's method of backing up game saves and I have a save just before every single mission in the game, including the events that take place in the present. It would be nice to be able to jump into any mission without needing to take the memory card to the PC and run the app, load the card (which takes forever) and then find the save, drag and drop it over, then take it back to the 360. If I could simply choose the mission from a menu, it would save a lot of time and effort.
But I realize that not everybody has that option, nor should they need to spend the $60+ just to have that option. It should be a part of the game, and hopefully it still will.
I mean don't most of us just use the save game copy feature anyway?
Asaic and I use the Transfer Cable solution. What other savegame copy feature is available? I haven't found a way to copy savegames between the three slots in AC2.
Also, this method only works for 360 gamers. PS3 gamers like me and ian are stuck with having to do full HDD backups if we want to replay, and that's a huge inconvenience. I've just been exiting during the memory corridors if I feel like replaying an assassination immediately.
"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."- Winston Churchhill
"Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you
Fly Like an Eagle wrote:
I mean don't most of us just use the save game copy feature anyway?Asaic and I use the Transfer Cable solution. What other savegame copy feature is available? I haven't found a way to copy savegames between the three slots in AC2.
I meant the Cable Transfer, I just thought it was called Save Game copy since we are, in fact, copying save game data. My bad, my bad.
Garnier de Naplouse wrote:
What a joke. It seems like we shouldn't even be paying for those. We all bought a game that was missing two levels, and now we have to pay for them to understand more about the story.
I quite disagree.Assassin's Creed II already contains far more 'game' than most other offerings at the same price point. It also offers far more quality than most other examples. I feel that I got much more than I paid for. I feel that I have no right to demand more levels when I've already received so much for so little.
If you break it down, even if you only get 15 hours out of AC2 and then never touch it again, you've still only paid a mere $4.00 US per hour of quality entertainment. You'll pay more to go to a movie theater, and probably wouldn't get as much quality out of that entertainment in comparison. Seeing as how I've spent over 100 hours with AC2, I've more than received my money's worth. And now I can add another 2+ hours (probably closer to 10+) for only an additional $9.00 US? That's a fantastic deal.
I think it's only fair that we rate the worth of our time based on how much we are willing to earn when working a job for that same amount of time. We would have to say that our time is worth at least minimum wage. For most of us, it is much higher. But with the hours of quality entertainment provided by Assassin's Creed II, I think that even people earning minimum wage are getting an amazing deal for their money. At minimum wage, for a mere 8 hours worth of your time spent working, you are earning yourself a minimum of 15 hours of quality entertainment. In reality, it's probably dozens more. Isn't that already more than a fair deal? In my book, that's a downright steal.
I believe that entertainment comes at a very low cost in this day and age. I have no issue paying for more of it when it is such a great value for the money. I was already willing to pay far more for these two expansions. Considering they're asking so little for them, I can only commend Ubisoft for their pricing decision.
Although completely true Everyone got the game so we could have fun and expirience the sequel, correct?
But with the DLC giving us two more levels that sould have came with the game originaly, people should have just gotten GTA IV knowing what to expect. But you are still correct the game is the best one by far I and most others just wish that the DLC was adding more not completing the game for more money.
Btw, has there been an actual release date for the first DLC? End of january is... Well now.
grrrr I know right! I want that DLC damnit!
Im actually thankfull it's not out yet, as I need to concentrate on revising for my prelims at the moment, I know I won't be able to do that if all i'm thinking about is Assassins creed.
Thanks to SBIzokronus for the fantastic sig!
Most DLC comes out on Thursdays. If AC2's DLC follows that precedent, it will either be here in about 15 hours from now or that time next week. That's based on North American release timings.
Seeing as how it's still closer to the middle of January than the end of January, I'd wager on next week.
Seeing as how it's still closer to the middle of January than the end of January, I'd wager on next week.
January 28 release date confirmed.
The FAQ has now been updated with that information.