Assassin's Creed, Steam & Ubisoft

Maximilian

I was quite looking forward to getting this game, which was released today but now I find that you can only buy it through Steam if you are in the US. Ditto with any other digital download sites.

Ubisoft seem determined to stick two fingers up to their customers in Europe and force them to buy boxed copies (which I don't buy anymore). If ever I would be tempted to pirate a game it would be this, partly for convenience and partly as a "FU too Ubisoft". In the end I won't go the warez route but I've no doubt many will. More than usual that is. Really stupid decision from Ubi as far as I can see.

Any thoughts?

Andy-Pandy

Its not the best game in the world Max, Ill lend you my copy for the xbox if ya want, ill give it to your bro.

Maximilian

Andy-Pandy wrote: »

Its not the best game in the world Max, Ill lend you my copy for the xbox if ya want, ill give it to your bro.

Cheers Andrew

Andy-Pandy

Thats ok, just dont tell him im looking at board at 10.15 and we have a deal

KoKane

But Xbox and PC will be different. Mainly the AI, which on Xbox I felt was retarded.

Darwin

Has anybody played this yet on PC? After reading all the negativity about the Xbox release (boring, repetitive gameplay), I'm wondering have the devs improved the PC version at all? Gamespot seem to like it, but I'm a little wary of their reviews these days.

Maximilian

No material improvement on the console version according to EG.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=131457

Azza

I have played it on PC and it seems pretty good. Eurogamer and IGN where probably the games harshest critics. Overall the general consensus is that its good game on whatever format but it is repetitive. The PC version has a couple of small changes, such as supporting higher resolutions and adding in 4 additional investigations to hold off the repetition somewhat.

Unfortantly Ubisoft a French company have decided to shaft Europe by restricting the steam version to North America only. I can't imagine any logistical reason for this thus I suspect this is because steam sells in dollars and with the dollar so weak now they don't won't us Europeans taking advantage of the situation and saving money. In response to this pure greed I have flown the jolly roger with regard to this title.

K.O.Kiki

Azza wrote: »

I have played it on PC and it seems pretty good. Eurogamer and IGN where probably the games harshest critics. Overall the general consensus is that its good game on whatever format but it is repetitive. The PC version has a couple of small changes, such as supporting higher resolutions and adding in 4 additional investigations to hold off the repetition somewhat.

Unfortantly Ubisoft a French company have decided to shaft Europe by restricting the steam version to North America only. I can't imagine any logistical reason for this thus I suspect this is because steam sells in dollars and with the dollar so weak now they don't won't us Europeans taking advantage of the situation and saving money. In response to this pure greed I have flown the jolly roger with regard to this title.

TBH, that's a sh!te arguement for piracy.
"I didn't feel like paying more, so I'm just going to pirate it & pay nothing."
Come on now...

L31mr0d

man this game is a borefest... graphically, sure its good, but since crysis and even CoD4 everything starts to look dated (imo there is way too much HDR and bloom)

It runs pretty good on my 8800GT though with everything maxed at 720p. Although the gameplay is so monotonous. I mean it almost feels like a point and click. Unlike PoP you need no skill to jump off a roof and land precisely on a 1 ft by 1ft chimney 400ft below you. This would of been more enjoyable had they made the controls more involved, but instead you just press forward and sprint (which is also the jump button :rolleyes:) and Altair will summer sault, vault, leap, pirouette, cart wheel...etc his way across the roofs without you so much as having to blink an eyelid.

The AI is atrocious, i mean I stab someone in the neck right next to his friend and the friend runs after me, so to hide what do I do... I sit on a bench and am suddenly invisble. It would actually be laughable if it wasn't so bad. I mean I don't actually need to find cover, I just sit down and the guards start looking around puzzled at my miraculous dissapearance.

thelordofcheese

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

TBH, that's a sh!te arguement for piracy.
"I didn't feel like paying more, so I'm just going to pirate it & pay nothing."
Come on now...

That's the best argument for piracy. Digital distribution methods like steam aren't exactly limited by borders so i can't see why ubisoft are limiting it to the states, it's either laziness or greed and i'm inclined to believe Azza's theory on it being greed, so fcuk 'em.
If i didn't think the game was such a pile of overhyped ****, i'd join him.

Azza

I have spent alot of money on games over the years. I'd spend far above the average on games each year so its not that a pirate everything. Although I have done a fair bit in the past but alot less so now. I have bought games that I have pirated feeling they deserve the money and sometime I might play a game once and then never play it again and am happy that I did not spend money on it.

I just feel that if Ubisoft decides to give us European customers the shaft with this game and now Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 then I feel I'm entitled to shaft then back.

L31mr0d

Just as a withdrawal, i'm actually starting to have fun playing Assassins Creed now, primarily due to the freedom of movement. For the same reasons I loved Spiderman 3: The game I like this game. If you didn't like Spiderman 3 then i'd recommend giving this a miss.

I'm currently in Damascus and the side missions like getting across the rooftops in a limited amount of time or rescuing civis are still fun, plus it will never get old climbing to the highest tower and swan diving into a pile of hay.

I'm also impressed at how well optimized this game runs. I've been running it at 1080p on my HTPC (E6600, 2GB RAM, 8800GT) and it runs like butter with everything maxed. There is a slight bit of slow down on the panoramic shots when you unlock a viewpoint but still i'm amazed they are able to achieve these draw distances on a €150 graphics card.

Cosmonaut

Exactly like physical ditribution, digital distribution has to pass through specific international and national law before release. Im not a lawyer, but i understand that as the US is a single region, its easier to deal with than Europe which consists of EU and national laws for each state. In fairness the ubisoft deal with valve was only finalised a few weeks ago, so id hardly be surprised that Assassins wasnt released globally on PC DD launch.

Dispite Ubi being founded in France, Ubisoft Montreal are the studio who made the game, so no surprises it was launched there. Also, its a bussiness, and AC will probably sell more through Steam in the states. I cant see how greed can really be a factor when Third person action games do so badly on PC as of the past 3 years, but fair enough. Id also like to point out that UbiSoft is a bussiness and not an old granny handing out sweets. Greed is an odd word to use in these circumstances

I find it rediculous that people complain about being "screwed" and "shafted" over something as insignificant as this, are we THAT spoiled? Some us remember when cinema films, games, videos, cds and books came months after their US releases, and thats not even the case here. Its widely available. Right now!

Assassins was released worldwide last week on PC DVD and is widely available in shops last Friday, the standard 3 days after the US launch through brick & morter and DD.

Are you that lazy? Run down to the shops, its probably cheaper than paying for the Steam DL + the Irish tax. lol :rolleyes:

---

On the game itself, i completed the Xbox 360 version and enjoyed it very much. It definatly suits gamers who enjoy immersion over challange. The game is repetitive, but if you enjoy that (i do) rather than a sharp difficulty curve, it will suit you down to the ground. The Gamespot review was good because Kevin Van Ord enjoys a game with immersion and polish over one that is hard. AC is a perfect example of different strokes for different folks.

Also it didnt get bad reviews, that comes from the same fanboy school of thought that hears a unperfect review for a highly marketed game and instantly calls it a failure. Assassins has a metacritic score on PS3 and Xbox360 of 81%.

The PC version naturally is the same game with a few bells and whistles attached. I understand the controlls work better with a console controller and the extra side missions are weak, but if you dont have a console its worth a shot.

L31mr0d

Cosmonaut wrote: »

The PC version naturally is the same game with a few bells and whistles attached. I understand the controlls work better with a console controller and the extra side missions are weak, but if you dont have a console its worth a shot.

yeah I forgot to mention, i'm playing it with a wireless Xbox 360 controller on my PC. I tried playing it with a keyboard and a mouse and it was just too awkward. It really is a game that needs an analogue stick for movement.

Shiminay

Let's not be having pro-piracy debates on the games board please!

Posts reported.

Maximilian

Kharn wrote: »

Let's not be having pro-piracy debates on the games board please!

Posts reported.

In fairness, a discussion of how Ubisoft's decision operates to promote piracy was one of the issues I wanted to highlight. Also, an admission by someone that they pirated a game is not against the charter per se.

L31mr0d

Kharn wrote: »

Let's not be having pro-piracy debates on the games board please!

Posts reported.

Maybe you should read the charter first before reporting people

games forum charter wrote:

It's not against charter rules to admit that you've downloaded a pirated game

EDIT: Also as Max said, piracy is directly related to this discussion. Plus there are no rules here about arguing the pros of piracy.

monument

One thing I would ask is that everybody stop talking off-topic about what is or isn't against the charter or any other rule.

Back on topic, PLEASE.

L31mr0d

back OT, just so people know the Xbox 360 controller support for Assassins Creed is terrible. For a game that was directly ported from the Xbox you'd think they could of gotten this right at least. If you have a wireless 360 controller there's no rumble support. Also the on screen prompts do not display the Xbox controller symbols instead they just number the buttons (i.e. press button 1,2,3,4 means press X,Y,B,A)

Also the default button config is messed up, I had to completely remap the buttons to make the game playable. In most games the right analogue stick controls the camera, in assassins creed the shoulder buttons L2 and R2 control the camera, and once you remap the camera controls to the right analogue stick you can't map anything else onto L2 or R2.

Also, before anyone recommends the XBCD drivers, they don't work with a wireless Xbox 360 controller

Maximilian

The controller issue is an issue that doesn't affect everybody from what I've read. Apparently some people have no problem. No idea whether a patch will fix it.

To be honest, even if this was available on Steam, I reckon I would skip it now from what I've read.

conzy

Kharn wrote: »

Let's not be having pro-piracy debates on the games board please!

Posts reported.

lol i'm telling!

Really looking forward to playing this game

L31mr0d, Does it already have a profile for an Xbox360 controller? Is it a "Games for Windows" title, or did you just bind the keys?

I think I will buy a 360 controller for PC, worth it for games like this and TrackMania!

Geff

Yeah Arstechnica posted a blog entry after so many people wrote to them complaining about the game not just the DRM/download involved but they also stated unsteady video performance, the length of time it takes to exit the game etc. I've had the boxed version since launch day and haven't experienced a single problem and whatever happened people using Alt+F4 to quit programs? I use it with every game I play. I don't want to click 5 different menu buttons before I'm back in Windows. Alt+F4 does it in a millisecond just make sure your game is saved. However with all this taken into consideration the game still isn't great, it looks beautiful in 1680x1050 on my 22" LCD but its a terribly mediocre game, the missions just kill the game completely. The repititiveness is enough to drive anyone mad.

Maximilian

Geff wrote: »

Yeah Arstechnica posted a blog entry after so many people wrote to them complaining about the game not just the DRM/download involved but they also stated unsteady video performance, the length of time it takes to exit the game etc. I've had the boxed version since launch day and haven't experienced a single problem and whatever happened people using Alt+F4 to quit programs? I use it with every game I play. I don't want to click 5 different menu buttons before I'm back in Windows. Alt+F4 does it in a millisecond just make sure your game is saved. However with all this taken into consideration the game still isn't great, it looks beautiful in 1680x1050 on my 22" LCD but its a terribly mediocre game, the missions just kill the game completely. The repititiveness is enough to drive anyone mad.

I always thought alt-f4 activated cheat mode in Counter-Strike

L31mr0d

conzymaher wrote: »

L31mr0d, Does it already have a profile for an Xbox360 controller? Is it a "Games for Windows" title, or did you just bind the keys?

I think I will buy a 360 controller for PC, worth it for games like this and TrackMania!

yeah it picks up your 360 controller but the button setup is all screwed up. After remapping the buttons it works fine though. Also the issue with the rumble not working only affects the wireless controller.

There are some community drivers (i.e xbcd) out for the 360 that allow you to remap everything, but they only currently work with the wired 360 controller

The biggest irritation though is that it doesn't prompt for the xbox buttons on the screen and instead just pops up generic "press button 9" when no button on the controller is numbered button 9.

Personally I also have a wireless logitech rumblepad and the drivers and profiler for that is excellent. The only reason I bought the 360 controller was that most games for windows now offer default 360 controller support (i.e. lost planet, juiced 2...etc) I really thought a title like Assassin's Creed could of gotten this simple thing right.

conzy

Failures

Also Maximilian, F10 is cheat mode in CounterStrike Source afaik

WEST

Is using a controller that much of an improvement once its mapped correctly? I'm currently using the keyboard and mouse and it seems fine.

Maximilian

conzymaher wrote: »

Failures

Also Maximilian, F10 is cheat mode in CounterStrike Source afaik

Yeah you're right there. I just can't get ANYTHING right...:(










.....goddammit.

L31mr0d

anyone else love the short blade counter move where you elbow the guy twice in the stomach then ram your blade down through the top of his skull. I love how realistic the sound of the bone cracking is and the look of horror on the faces of the other attackers when you do it. The other move where you stab the attacker in the foot then turn the blade around and stab him up through the jaw is pretty good also.

I've always wanted to play as a Muslim killing Christians, and now I can happy happy joy joy.

EDIT:

I love how they got around the blatant non-PC issues of having you play as a muslim killing christians by giving you the consciousness of an American...