E3: Assassin's Creed 2 connects to PSP ver

By Dan Pearson Published 2 June, 2009

PSP version also out this year.

Ubisoft showed off Assassin's Creed 2 during Sony's E3 conference, which just finished, and reminded us that it's out on 17th November.

We were also reminded to expect Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines for PSP during this holiday season, and told that six further Assassin's Creed 2 weapons are available when linking up a PSP containing an appropriate save-file.

A considerable chunk of AC2 gameplay was on display during Sony's keynote, exploring the rooftops and piazzas of 15th-century Venice. It appears some of the criticism of the original has been taken on board too, with "increased diversity" touted as a major improvement.

The storyline picks up from the end of the first game, which we won't spoil in case you haven't finished it, but the character is a different kettle of fish despite cosmetic similarities. New star Ezio starts out as a relatively ordinary Joe, with no real assassin skills at all. Instead he'll pick up tricks from a menagerie of historical and mythical figures, including arch-inventor Leonardo da Vinci, who'll act as Ezio's "personal inventor".

The gadgets provided by the beardy scholar include a bat-like glider, enabling fast-moving travel around the Venetian landscape. In fact, swooping around on this man-powered ornithopter is the only way to access some of the enclosed squares where targets may be concealed. Any enemies encountered on rooftops along the way can be dispatched with a handy body-slam.

New assassination techniques were a key factor of the demo, with a vicious double-hidden-blade manoeuvre taking out two unwary sentries. 30 new weapons are included in the game, with a disarming mechanic enabling Ezio to steal the weapons of foes to use against them.

In further news, there are still hay bales, but a swimming mechanic means that the canals of Venice are not the death-traps which water courses proved to be in the first instalment.

Look out for hands-on impressions of Assassin's Creed 2 this week, hopefully.

Picture of Dan.

About Dan Pearson

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Comments (4) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • SaberEdge #1 3 years ago

    I am one of those people that loved the first one, so I can only imagine how much I am going to love this sequel with all of its improvements. It looks truly amazing.

    That said, if it is anything like the first one, I'll be getting this for my 360, not my PS3. The PS3 version of the first game was noticeably inferior to the PS3 version. The frame rate was not as smooth, textures didn't seem as detailed, aliasing was worse, pop-in was worse. I might wait until some comparisons have been made between the two versions of Assassin's Creed 2 before I decide which one to buy, but I fully suspect that the 360 version will again be superior version. I do hope Ubisoft have at least brought the PS3 version a little closer to the 360 version so that PS3-only owners will get the same great experience.

    This is one of my most anticipated games.

  • Thunderbolt #2 3 years ago

    Yay, I'm getting both versions as I loved the original

  • bad09 #3 3 years ago

    360 for me but I may also pick up the PSP one.

  • Cider-X #4 3 years ago

    How do 360 owners obtain these extras then? Is it compatible with Zune? :)