Ubisoft’s long awaited Assassin’s Creed is hitting stores November 13th. There will be a limited edition $69.99 version that includes a figurine and other happy’s. Of course there will be the standard $59.99 version. I’m pumped.

I came across HAZE when I was looking through some stuff for Assassin’s Creed. HAZE has been flying below my radar but no longer. HAZE is a Ubisoft game to be released in the upcoming weeks. The graphics look pretty nice. The trailer looks a little cheesy with the real life film interposed in some CGI with car rolling by and then switching to animated to finish out the movie. They should have just stuck with animation throughout the whole trailer but I guess its just a matter of taste. Other than the bummer trailer the game looks pretty solid. They also have website of the Mantal Corp. (the corp in game that the character works for) in a attempt to enrich the story a bit. It helps and I applaud the effort but enriching story lines of a FPS is hard to do by nature anyway.

Key Features

• Impeccable FPS credentials:
  From the developers of the critically acclaimed TimeSplitters® series and the publishers of Far Cry® and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™. Free Radical and Ubisoft have proved their ability to create innovative, platform-defining FPS titles.
• Become a Mantel Trooper:
  Fight the merciless guerrillas of the Promise Hand with the most advanced gear, the fastest vehicles, the deadliest weapons – and Nectar, Mantel’s battlefield-optimized performance-enhancing medication.
• Boost your fighting abilities with Nectar:
  Empower Mantel troopers with fighting abilities such as Nectar Focus, Nectar Foresight, Nectar Perception, and Melee Blast. Using these skills, troopers can detect and avoid imminent danger as well as deliver powerful attacks in close quarters.
• Mature and compelling storyline:
  A tightly integrated storyline makes Haze an immersive narrative experience as well as a cutting-edge shooter.
• Cutting-edge gaming technology:
  The Disparity Rendering System™ shapes the players’ views of the world on and off Nectar. Haze also features an entirely streamed experience with no loading times between levels.
• State-of-the-art multiplayer modes:
  Fire up your console for online battles and choose from a variety of online modes including furious, four-player co-op action!

Pre-Order

This is a two part video. Altier demonstrates finding a mark, infiltrating from the rooftops, killing the mark quickly, defending against guards long enough to find a break in the crowd to get away. Enjoy the videos.

IGN has stealthed into Ubisoft’s Montréal headquarters. Their mission was to take a hands on look at Assassin’s Creed. The preview definitely reflects their mission was a success. Check out IGN’s Hands On Preview of Assassin’s Creed here.

There are many cool features of Assassin’s Creed but today I am going to discuss two. I will be working on some other features a little later so keep your eyes pealed.

Detail - Ubisoft’s attention to detail starts in the storyline. The game takes place in the Holy Land in the year 1191 A.D. The story involves the 3rd Crusade of King Richard and all the major targets’ names were actually names of personalities in the that crusade and all died in 1191. The development team worked with historians to model the places in the game to match up with historic accounts of what the Holy Land actually looked like in 1191. I think that the Assassin’s Creed developers and producer, Jade Raymond, have done a great job in providing alluring subject material and a emphasis to detail that is sure to allure any user for hours on in.

Freedom - The level of freedom that Assassin’s Creed brings to the table is a breath of fresh air for most console players. You will be able to grab onto pieces of the environment that sticks out more than 2 inches so exploring the city, scouting targets, and mapping getaways can be done from rooftop. The variety of ways a mission can be carried out is only limited by the user’s mind. With a new crowd simulation technology Assassin’s Creed allows you to interact with the city folk on a new level. You can use social stealth to blend in with a crowd to make a escape or to setup a kill. You can push the crowd around or send them into a panic for a diversion. The crowd adds a nice dynamic to the game that sets it apart from other games. There is also a pick pocketing aspect to the game that makes gathering information more fun. Below I have posted a few screenshots just in case you haven’t seen the game yet.

The new Assassin’s Creed Trailer is out and it’s interesting to say the least. I have been very excited to see this game come along the way it has. Not only are the graphics very nice and detailed but the features and sandbox style of environment gives this game a bang that other games lack. With that said enjoy the latest trailer.

SABOTEUR is set in the time of World War II. I know what your thinking. Jeez, not another WWII shooter. Don’t worry you little heart about that; SABOTEUR is a stealth action game from 3rd person view and might I add has masterful visual design. The role you play in SABOTEUR is very different than most WWII games we have seen since most of them just cast you as a soldier giving no real life or connection to your character.

You play as a Irishmen named Sean that is seeking to get revenge on a group of Nazis that killed his friends. The fact that he is not a soldier is felt through the raw and rough around the edge style of doing things. So since Sean is not a soldier you would expect not to play like one; this is somewhat refreshing that a developer took this into account. However, if you think Sean is a wuss just because he is not a soldier then you are wrong…dead wrong. Also Sean may help the Allies from time to time if their objectives and his match up but don’t think that Sean actually give a crap about that because he doesn’t. Sean is out for revenge!

One of the more interesting concepts to the game is the “Will to Fight” factor. When Nazis occupy certain areas of the environment the gameplay in that area is in black and white then as you loosen or destroy the Nazi occupation it slowly turns to color to reflect the life of the environment. This type of color mechanic gives the game a nice cinematic look to it. Also, SABOTEUR keeps the gameplay interesting with the different ways to stealth such as blending in crowds, improvising situations, and misdirection. This game is definitely on my watch list and is scheduled for release sometime in 2008. Keep your eyes on this one.

There is also a good interview with the guys from Pandemic Studios on Gamespot that is worth watching. Click here to watch interview.