Assasssin’s Creed 2 is the sandbox-style action adventure sequel to Assassin’s Creed. It is set to be released worldwide on November 17, 2009 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

While not much has been released on the plot yet, it has been confirmed that the player will assume the role of a young noble man turned assassin named Ezio Auditore di Firenze. The main character’s family has been killed and the essence of the plot is to get revenge on the rival families that killed them. Ezio is an ancestor of Desmond Miles, the modern bartender who was captured by Abstergo Industries; as well as being a descendant of his ancestor Altair.

Unlike in the first game, Ezio is shown having dual hidden blades. In addition Ezio is shown having some sort of firearm concealed near his left hidden blade. The game is set to take place in Renaissance Italy in the year 148 (295 years after the first game). Like in the first game, characters based on historical figures will be present. These characters are Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo, Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza, and Loranzo de Medici.

In addition players will now be able to throw down smoke pellets to aid in the escape from large groups. As well as using the water as a hiding place, the player can use a broader array as cover and can now blend in with the crowd instead of a group of scholars. The player will also become more notorious as more missions are completed, however this infamy can be reduced by bribing, removing wanted posters and assassinating witnesses. A day and night cycle has been added to the game, giving the sense of a passage of time, but certain missions can only be performed during the day and others during the night. The game will also feature the ability to hire services from NPCs. Ezio will be able to steal from any NPC and the NPCs can steal from Ezio.

Now, I know I’ve been gone for some time, but what’s up with there being no BioShock 2 article on the site? It’s not just on this site either. There is a lack of official information about BioShock 2 on all sites that I visit. So I figured I would piece together this preview with all the info I have collected thus far.  The most important bit of info is the official release date. It is due for release on November 3, 2009 in North America.

This will be a complete different story from the first one, as the player will take the role of the first Big Daddy ever created in Rapture. This Big Daddy has superior speed and intelligence in comparison to the other Big Daddies. Because of this the player will be able to use the Big Daddy’s drill and rivet gun as weapons. However, as in all games, even the drill has its limits. It will overheat if used continuously. The rivet gun will have several types of ammo, just as in the first game.

Unlike the other Big Daddies, the user controlled character will be allowed to use plasmids and have unique ways to upgrade them. A new and exciting feature added to the game will be the ability to dual-wield plasmids and weapons. In addition, the player may also perform the ever so annoying shoulder dash from the first game. I know everyone found that shoulder dash was the most annoying and ridiculous attack the Big Daddy’s arsenal.

A huge upgrade to the game will also be exploring the outside world of rapture. Thanks to the diving suit of the Big Daddy, players will be able to explore the ocean floor of Rapture, where you may recover from fights, harvest ADAM from sea slugs, or just stare at the beauty of the city from the outside.

Now as a Big Daddy, the way to obtain ADAM is slightly different from the first story. The player will be given the choice of either killing the Little Sister from huge amounts of ADAM, or he can adopt her, and she will harvest ADAM for you. Now knowing how games are, you know you’re going to want those extra 50 or 100 gamer points, for not killing any Little Sister, and you’ll be forced to adopt every single one. Here is where the slugs also come in. To help the player from going insane from not being able to kill the Little Sisters and always having to take care of them, the sea slugs are gene-modified so they create ADAM. Originally, these were the first idea for creating ADAM instead of Little Sisters.

Probably the biggest pain in the game will be protecting the Little Sisters. After defeating Big Daddies, the player will be able to capture Little Sisters. They will ride along with you and harvest ADAM from corpses. However, Splicers will be able to damage the Little Sister, and this will also delay the process of gathering ADAM. The option of Rescuing the Little Sisters will become available at some point in the game, but not until later in the story.

Now, while we’re on the subject of Little Sisters, BioShock 2 introduces a major new character, the Big Sister. Having survived the events of the first game, she has mechanized herself in a similar fashion to the Big Daddies and has become the new ruler of Rapture. Under her control, the city has reached an equilibrium, where she maintains the city’s infrastructure and hunts down anyone who disrupts the balance of power. Set 10 years after the events of BioShock, she is the cause of the reported kidnappings of young girls from a number of towns in order to turn them into Big Sisters just like her. She is also the biggest threat to you that there is. Appearing only after you have killed a certain number of Big Daddies, will she attack, and trust me you don’t want to mess with this Sister. Not only is she more powerful than you, she is lightning quick, and she is able to harvest ADAM from her enemies through a harvesting needle, straight into her bloodstream, fueling her telekinetic abilities beyond anything thought possible. Now my question her is why can’t we do that. I mean really, what’s wrong with giving us a needle so we can do it. I know I would enjoy the game a lot more if I were the one sticking a huge needle into my enemy to extract ADAM. This is where you’ll need the Little Sisters to warn you when the Big Sister is approaching. This gives the player the opportunity to set up traps, buy items, and any other precautions you think you should take.

A huge improvement, or at least I think so, is the ability to regenerate your health through the use of the Vita-Chamber and the use of audio diaries. I remember it was just a pain to have to buy all those first aid kits, and it was a huge waste of money that I could have used on other important items.

Another part of the game that I think most of us are looking forward to is multiplayer. Now don’t mistake this for co-op mode. This will not be available for this story either, and I think you know whom I’m referring to when I say no co-op mode, sorry to confuse those. But as of now I don’t know much on the multiplayer aspect of the game of how this will even work. I’ll keep you posted on any information I find out later.

Summer is usually known as a slow time in regards to new video game releases. I recently found out about an upcoming release that has me looking forward to July. King of Fighters XII debuts on the Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 on July 16, 2009. This new installment of the franchise boasts some beautifully hand drawn 2d sprites. However due to the time it took developers to make the sprites, there are only 20 playable characters, the lowest number ever in any game of the series. It’s a trade off, but in a trade of quality versus quanity, I’ll take quality everytime.

The character roster will consist primarily of characters from early KOF games, with the majority of them reverting to their classic KOF designs. The characters that will make their appearances in this highly antisipated game are as followed:

• Ash Crimson
• Duo Lon
• Shen Woo
• Kyo Kusanagi
• Benimaru Nikaido
• Goro Daimon
• Iori Yagami
• Athena Asamiya
• Sie Kensou
• Chin Gentsai
• Terry Bogard
• Andy Bogard
• Joe Higashi
• Kim Kaphwan
• Raiden
• Ryo Sakazaki
• Robert Garcia
• Ralf Jones
• Clark Still
• Leona Heidern

It has also been confirmed that two additional characters will be available for the home versions of the game:

Mature, one of Iori Yagami’s teammates from The King of Fighters “96
Elisabeth Branctorche, leader of the Rivals Team

Bonus Content: Videos
Tokyo Game Show 2008
Click here to view the embedded video.

SNK Playmore 2009
Click here to view the embedded video.