Leaked Assets Reveal New Assassin’s Creed Set During French Revolution
It’s ‘bout that time of year again, folks. And here I was thinking we might actually slip into April without an Assassin’s Creed leak. Alas, I was wrong and should continue not to gamble.
The above images, and more, were sent in to Kotaku (the giant watermark may have given that away) by an anonymous contact. The leaked materials refer to this installment as Assassin’s Creed: Unity, though the moniker is likely a code-name – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was called Golden Age throughout development in reference to the game’s pirate theme (i.e. the 'Golden Age of Piracy’).
Pairing hushed internet discussions and conversations with developers, Kotaku has pieced together a clearer picture of Unity to complement these very early-production screens. Unity takes place, at least partly, in 18th-century Paris, smack dab during the French Revolution. You’ll control a new assassin named Arno whose knack for parkour will be a step above his contemporaries’ thanks to new free-running mechanics.
We’ve caught wind of this rumor before but Kotaku again corroborates that Ubisoft intends on releasing not one, but two separate AC installments in 2014: one designed for current-generation systems and another specifically tailored for next-gen consoles. Unity would fall into the latter category, releasing for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The thought process behind the decision is actually shy of genius; it would mean Unity’s team can fully harness the power of next-gen hardware without the constraints of making sure the game runs on last-gen tech.
From a business standpoint, it appears particularly shrewd to double-up on a proven IP and go after both next-gen adopters looking to pad out their bare-bones libraries as well as the gigantic install base already established on PS3 and Xbox 360. Problem is, franchise fatigue can lay waste to a publisher’s best-laid plans.
I thought Black Flag was brilliant; my favorite sequel since ACII brought on the changes that would cement the series as a prime-time player. Yet I had a helluva time trying to convince my peers it was worth even playing, the malaise of “been there, done that” keeping them from revisiting the historically driven, free-running filled mythos of Assassin’s Creed.
Black Flag proved that Ubisoft understands the formula needs some shaking up to persist, and I’m interested to see if Unity follows suit and introduces a new way to strut around under the hood. We won’t have long to wait for more information, either. Unity and its unrevealed counterpart are said to release this Fall.
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Call of Duty: Ghosts Confirmed and, Better Yet, Dated
New promotional art circulating stores the likes of GameStop (I’ve never heard of ‘em; must be small time) has outed the latest installment of Activision’s annualized FPS breadwinner.
Once again under developer Infinity Ward’s reigns, Call of Duty: Ghosts, which is more than likely to have an official May 1st reveal, was also dated by the retailer art for November 5th of this year, falling in line with the release dates of the umpteen titles before it.
Not just an exceptionally badass subtitle, Ghosts is rumored to improve on the aging shooter’s formula through the addition of destructible environments ('bout time), increased mobility options such as a new slide n’ shoot maneuver, and tweaks to smaller components like loading segments becoming playable.
The promotional art keenly fails to name which consoles this seeming Modern Warfare offshoot is coming to, but initial reports heavily suggest Activision is taking a multi-generational stance and launching Ghosts on both current and forthcoming systems. Personally, I’ll be watching closely how Acti looks to handle the shaky bridge between now and the next-gen, especially considering one of their first ventures will be their biggest franchise. More to come, folks, as this one develops.
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LucasArts’ Star Wars FPS Could Pave the Path for Battlefront III — So Long As Disney Force Pulls Its Head Out of Its Ass
Disney’s acquisition of George Lucas’ empire and everything Star Wars is heralding a bright new era for fans of the films. A new sequel trilogy featuring the return of old heroes Luke, Leia, and Han is being developed under the auspicious lens of genre film’s golden boy, J.J. Abrams. Self-contained feature lengths that could potentially flesh out fan favorite characters are even being optioned. Disney and Star Wars seems like a match made in Cloud City…
Unless we’re talking about the franchise’s video game front. LucasArts, the in-house studio which has overseen every single Star Wars game since 1982, has received the unwanted privilege of experiencing Disney’s dark side. After announcing their intention to move Star Wars away from big budget console games and into the more lucrative mobile phone market, LucasArts’ existing projects were thrown into question.
Star Wars 1313, for instance, was loudly rumored to have frozen production despite an impressive showing of the next-gen title at last year’s E3. Today, Kotaku caught wind of another title under LucasArts’ wing called Star Wars: First Assault has also had its future cast into doubt. In First Assault’s case, its potential cancellation could have dire consequences for gamers. Namely, Star Wars: Battlefront III will never see the light of day (for real this time).
First Assault may not seem to have much in common with Battlefront at a glance. The downloadable FPS doesn’t feature massive land and space battles nor does it include controllable vehicles — a Battlefront hallmark. It does, however, revolve around eight-on-eight competitive multiplayer bouts pitting rebels and stormtroopers against each other in famous locales from series lore; warring factions being the bread and butter of the Battlefront saga.
The source willing to speak with Kotaku on the studio’s troubled times assures us First Assault serves as a prelude to Battlefront III and is proof positive that the Unreal Engine can handle such a huge endeavor (Side note: Despite having been worked on by several developers, Free Radical included, LucasArts’ latest attempt to get Battlefront III on its feet utilizes completely new assets, according to the source).
The Wampa-kicker here is that First Assault is nearly finished (the company wanted to launch a closed beta last September), yet LucasArts isn’t even sure Disney will want to release it. New hires and gaming related announcements have been put on hold thanks to the buy-out, leaving LucasArts to chug away at development on its titles without assurance their efforts aren’t for nothing. The source says the studio is “bleeding talent” awaiting their overlord’s final word — good or bad.
Unfortunately for LucasArts, they’re unable to freely share their work with the public and rally support for fear of pissing off Disney. This leak, however, is an opportunity for the light side of the force to prevail. “Fans should tell Disney/Lucas loud and clear,” said Kotaku’s source, “They don’t want shitty titles from random developers…I believe that if Disney/Lucas lets LucasArts die, it means the death of Star Wars as a storied game franchise is right behind it.”
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Pulled Trailer Reveal’s ACIV: Black Flag’s Release Date
Really, though, I feel like I just beat Assassin’s Creed III…Well, I’m guessing I’m going to have to adjust to that sensation about this time every year as Ubisoft elevates their blockbuster series to annual status.
With a full-on reveal of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag scheduled for Monday, practically forever from now, you can always count on the internet to open its presents early. Not completely our fault (this time). The official trailer for Black Flag (accidentally?) made a brief stint when it was leaked onto YouTube. I would link you to it but Ubisoft put up the blinders post haste.
Damage done, however, as we now have a release date pegged as well as the alias of our new assassinating buccaneer. Starring a Mr. Edward Kenway – a “devil dressed as a man” who even has the infamous Blackbeard shivering his goddamn timbers – fans will first get their hands on Black Flag October 29th; likely the new target date for future installments.
What’s more is the fact Assassin’s Creed IV will be the first entry gracing next-gen consoles along with current hardware. If it makes it in time for the PS4’s Fall ship, Black Flag will certainly be one hell of a high profile launch title. Once again, see you on Monday with more details.
UPDATE: See the trailer here while you can!
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Fresh off the heels of the supposed FCC leak of a new slimmer and sleaker PS3, these images have surfaced on Tecnoblog. Seemingly taken from the Brazilian equivalent to the FCC, this just might be our first, muddy glimpse at the Super Slim.
The documents also appear to reveal the three different hard drive sizes Sony intends on dishing out to the public: the 250GB model, a 500GB successor, and a 16GB economy model that seems to serve the same function as the bottom-tier 4GB Xbox 360’s Microsoft banks off of. The future is looking slim (er, in a good way, I guess).
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