This seems strangely reminiscent of what happened to Arkham Asylum before it's release.

Anybody else see this as a bit off? Assassin's Creed was a bit hard for me to gear up to want to play but I loved it once I got past the whole memory and forgetting shit thing. It feels weird to see this accusation like it is almost a scam or simply unnecessary on Ubisoft's part.

It would be like somebody giving you super awesome cookies and then demanding that you give them an awesome review. From what I have seen of the game and following the developer diaries like a filthy stalker, I'm seeing the hallmarks of a fucking awesome game. They have to know they are making an awesome game, so why make a backroom deal?

So either Ubisoft is creating a huge viral scam out of all the production material to advertise the game or the magazine is full of shit. Granted the truth will be obviously somewhere in between, I find this all very hard to swallow against Ubisoft...

I dont beleive any reviews I read. It seems that now a days people whoe dont even like the genre review my genre's games and obviously never give you the insight you need. Regardless of Publication.

I also think that the fact these reviewers are paid so little makes them a perfect target for bribes.

I listen to my friends, as should we all. Trolling forums gets you the most info and then watching a walkthrough (minus attempts at covering up scripting) will ussually tell you whether you want the game or not.

Good for this German Mag!

Methinks this German reviewer either mistranslated Ubisoft's statement, or is making stuff up to trash Ubisoft. Either way, bad on the german magazine. Wonder if they publish tabloid stuff as well, like 'Mario cheats on Peach with Luigi,' or 'Solid Snake in his last days, wills everything to Liquid. Otacon devastated.'

Not even remotely surprising, dude. I'm really surprised that reviewers have let their journalistic integrity slip as far as it has (well, it would be surprising if I still had more than a slim ray of hope left for humanity). It'd be nice if more mags/review sites called companies out on their shit like this (y'know, for shady practices, not just issues with design/gameplay mechanics/hype).

Eidos much?
Ubisoft is just being stupid. Assassins Creed 2 is bound to be a success and all they can do is fuck up its reputation by attempting such shallow marketing moves.

what's the point of this? AC2 will sell very well despite this, but this might dissuade people from buying it , as Ubisoft doesn't seem to have much confidence in it. unless these magazines have been bought off by a company to say Ubisoft did this.

Slycne:

robert632:
what's the point of this? AC2 will sell very well despite this, but this might dissuade people from buying it , as EA doesn't seem to have much confidence in it. unless these magazines have been bought off by a company to say EA did this.

Ubisoft it's even in the damn title. What's worse is you are not even the first one :p.

sorry, i'll fix it. i don't even know why i said EA.

De ja vu, anyone?

Here's a pro-tip for Ubisoft if they want good reviews: Make a good game.

I found Ass.Creed 1 - how do I put this - annoying. There were a lot of things I liked about it but so many things spoiled it and other areas it just annoyed me how other assassination games did it so much better. It just made me want to play a Hitman game or Tomb Raider/GTA for more refined murdering/platforming/Sandboxing (respectively of course).

I have a feeling we have the same situation here with the sequel.

Though I have to admit the game looks GORGEOUS and really deserves the full-1080p treatment so I'll likely get this on PC, as long as it's a good port.

i don't understand why this is needed if the game is any good... It brings along the idea of "our game is crap and we know it, so lets just exploit the hype". I SO hope this isn't the fact.

*Gives 22 cookies to every Escapist staff*

"Okay now, rate my game Generic Space Marine #99: Battle for Awsomeness a 10/10. I gave you cookies"

O.T. Thats pretty sad if this is true, you'd think that Assasins Creed has enough umf behind it to already encourage someone to rate it good.

Greg Tito:
It is unfortunate, but this kind of backroom deal happens often between game publishers and reviewers.

Seriously?
You want to back that up with facts?
Kind of irresponsible to say something like this about your colleagues.

This is how I would act in that situation: E.A.: Here is 10K, take it. Me: *Loads shot gun* E.A.: *Pisses pants*

I have to say that, after reading the words "Computer Bild Spiele" the whole article lost it´s credibility somewhat...
Living in Germany and knowing that magazine I can safely assure you people that the whole "Bild" newspaper group ( there are several of the fuckers ) is the incarnation of tabloid press. So don´t take ANY of what they ever told anyone for the truth...

Maye Ubisoft did it... maybe they didn´t... but the last place to search for who was right and who wasn´t would be this piece of gossiping trash...

Sonicron:

samsonguy920:
Methinks this German reviewer either mistranslated Ubisoft's statement, or is making stuff up to trash Ubisoft. Either way, bad on the german magazine. Wonder if they publish tabloid stuff as well, like 'Mario cheats on Peach with Luigi,' or 'Solid Snake in his last days, wills everything to Liquid. Otacon devastated.'

Nah, they're not making things up. Which is actually quite amazing, considering that the original gossip rag that spawned this gaming magazine (among a list of others), the 'Bild Zeitung', is the German equivalent of the 'Sun'.
I've been browsing on some German sites and blogs covering the story and there have been a few updates already, the most significant being that Ubisoft has been getting pestered with hundreds of calls demanding an official explanation of the whole affair - the answer to each and every call apparently being, "No comment." If Computer Bild Spiele were actually making this whole thing up I think Ubisoft would have already sued the pants off the magazine owners instead of trying to sweep it under the carpet.

Well nothing saying Ubisoft isn't going to. If this bogus then Ubisoft might be trying to figure out whether its worth dealing with by lawsuit or such. And if it isn't bogus, well Ubisoft just got caught with their pants down. Shame on them if they did, but it is hard to believe they would try this....now Activision might, since their CEO doesn't give a damn about their rep. We will see what comes of this.

Honestly if Ubisoft has improved any of the minor points I didn't like with the original I could care less if they asked someone to rate it positively.

Professional reviewers and critics are almost on the same level as news presenters and newspapers imo - soulless entities that infect the world with ignorance, hatred and bile; and while observed from afar one should take care not to suffer their taint.

I doubt that Ubisoft did this simply because the Assassin's Creed IP carries so much weight on its own. Why would Ubisoft be so insecure about a AAA title?

_Nocturnal:

Greg Tito:
It is unfortunate, but this kind of backroom deal happens often between game publishers and reviewers.

Seriously?
You want to back that up with facts?
Kind of irresponsible to say something like this about your colleagues.

Only if it's false. Every man has a price. You'll be surprised how many people are willing to compromise their morals when there is personal gain to be had.

That's not to say the Escapist staff do compromise their integrity (with the exception of the aforementioned cookies). It'd be terribly irresponsible of me to say that considering I don't know...well, any of them, really.

On the other hand, if Computer Bild Spiele plays fair & still ends up giving it a "Very Good" review, then everyone will know that there's no BS & that's an epic game.

If Ubisoft are confident that AC2 will get the highest ratings, then apart from the risk of Computer Bild Spiele giving them a bad review out of spite, & the risk that people would start to hate them for this scandal (doubtful), this could end up being something very good in terms of marketing.

...Scratch that, the benefits are too little compared to the risks.

Amnestic:
Every man has a price. You'll be surprised how many people are willing to compromise their morals when there is personal gain to be had.

Yeah, you're right. And you know what?

I bet some game publishers and reviewers molest children, too!

It is unfortunate, I know, but that kind of thing happens all the time, at all kinds of places.
So lets say publishers and reviewers ALL do it, and do it OFTEN.
Present company excluded, of course. Wink, wink.
Everyone knows the escapists are into grannies, not children.