The staff at the HipHopGamerShow has learned some new information about the upcoming title, Assassin’s Creed 2. The game which hopes to improve on the success of the first game has some very important new gameplay features. These details were revealed to the HipHopGamer site from a member of a quality consumer survey done recently for the title. These sources are backed up by information HipHopGamer himself has learned about the game at past events.

So where is the game taking place?

The setting is one thing about Assassin’s Creed 2 that gamers are very curious about. Well we can tell you that the game takes place during the Italian Renaissance in cities like Sicily and Venice. You will play in the game as a player named “Ezio”, and other multiple characters. It is not confirmed whether you will play as these new characters only in the animus, or also in the real world.

Now some of the major new gameplay features…

Many complained about the first game being repetitive, and the team at Ubisoft hopes to change that with some new gameplay features. One of these new features will be the ability for players to swim. This could provide some new interesting levels and missions in cities like Venice. There is also the ability for the assassin to stab and attack enemies from the roof or while they are lying in the hay.

Another new feature will be that when gamers attend events such as “balls”, players will be able to wear masks to fit in amongst the crowd. The demo that our source played said that he was able to disguise as a dancer in the ball and very smoothly take out his enemy without anybody knowing it.

Not only this, but there will no longer be cinematics in the game. Instead they will be moving towards more quick-time event cut scenes in the game. This is to keep the gamer engaged in the crucial gameplay/story moments. This is a great step to keep the gameplay more engaging than it was in the past game.

This game is shaping up to be a highly anticipated 2009 title…

While the first game was fun and had some good ideas going for it, it was far from perfect. There were some repetitive moments, and lack of exciting gameplay features. Hopefully with an exciting setting, improved battle mechanics, the ability to swim, and improved stealth mechanics this game will live up to the hype gamers put on the first one. Stay tuned to the HipHopGamer site for more details on this exciting new game.

Lockdown: Da Gamer’s Prison – Pick your Episode!

This showed up on the the official Assassin’s Creed website today. It looks like the game will take place around the time of Leonardo Da Vinci since the sketches shown above were Da Vinci’s. The setting will most likely be Italy around the 1400-1500’s. It has also been revealed that more details on the game are expected to come out on April 16th, which is next Thursday.

Check out the official site yourself for more details:

http://assassinscreed.us.ubi.com/assassins-creed-2/teaser/

Blackstar (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)- Definition
Super ultra classic track. Hip-Hop in its prime. Hi-Tek behind the beat, and this is just a song that you can bump to anytime. When you hear this shit, your head will start bobbing automatically. Talib and Mos are one of the best hip hop duos ever.

Mos Def- Brown Sugar
God Damn! Mos Def is a legend. Ultra Classic, and just listen to that beat. Mos Def is one of the best lyrically. This man can really make any type of music. Hardcore, Romantic, you name it

(Click to open in new tab and enlarge)

The Playstation 3 has been out for nearly three years, and so far the console has not lived up to the hype. It’s easy to understand that Sony would not maintain the market share they held last generation, but their downfall has been much steeper than most have expected.

It all started in 2005…

Back then most console gamers owned a Playstation 2. It was the console to own last gen due to their extensive library and great support from Sony. In 2005, most fans were anxiously awaiting the reveal of the PS3, and when it was revealed at E3 2005, many believe thats the day Sony lost touch with what gamers wanted.

$600. That’s all people could think about after Ken Kuatargi revealed the system. Who would want to spend $600 on a video game console? That was nearly twice the price of the PS2 at launch. While the hardware was spectacular, this reveal easily tarnished the system from the start. Do people really want to spend that much on a console?

Then there was the game shortage…

Most people expect maybe one or two games when a console is released. It is not expected for a console to have a plethora of great games early on, but the PS3 drought was much larger than expected. After being released in November of 2006 with Resistance: Fall of Man, most had to wait nearly a year for other major first party titles. Though the games that came out at the time did not live up to the hype. While Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, and Lair were all decent games none were system sellers, and these were the games people waited nearly a year for.

With the PS2 having such a great and extensive library with great 1st and 3rd party support, it is surprising that it took Sony so long to get great games coming (Uncharted/Ratchet and Clank). This questioned what guys like Phil Harrison were doing with their games? Why were games like God of War II going to the PS2 and not the PS3?

Thankfully, the good games came, but what about online?

Xbox Live was the talk of the town when the PS3 was released. Could the PSN eventually match or surpass Xbox Live? So far that has not come to fruition. This is very obvious with the most recent PS3 update, 2.7. For months gamers have been calling for cross game voice chat, and what did Sony deliver with? Text-Chat. Why would Sony dedicate an entire firmware update to a completely unnecessary feature? Most would rather wait, and get voice chat when the time comes.

Then there is HOME, which has potential but so far has been a major disappointment. Is there truly a reason to spend more than 5 mins in HOME? Wouldn’t it be better if Sony dedicated resources to making the PSN/XMB better and not focus resources to HOME? Things like voice chat, better communication features, and faster load times on trophy cards would be a start.

The removal of backwards compatibility

Removing backwards compatibility is the biggest mistake of this generation. With such a great back catalog on the PS2, most gamers would like to play those games. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no backwards compatible PS3 on the market. Not only this, but Sony has ignored the cry of fans to add PS2 titles to the PSN or create some type of software emulation. People want to play games like ICO and God of War on their PS3, and not have to dust off their PS2. There should either be a model on the market that is backwards compatible or put PS2 games on the PSN.

Most importantly the price…

Sony continues to think we are stupid by increasing hard drive size but keeping the price the same. Many would sacrifice hard drive space for a deduction in price. At $400, the cheapest PS3 is still a very steep investment for gamers in this economy. The system needs a drop in price, and Sony has ignored gamers pleas for over a year. While they need to make a profit, many gamers would sacrifice things such as hard drive space and bundles if it meant they could save anywhere between $50-$100.

The fact that Sony thinks the PS2 price drop is a big announcement shows…

That Sony is losing touch with gamers. The hardcore and most of the casual do not care about the PS2 anymore. They wish to move onto this generation of consoles, and Sony continues to live in the past. They continue to think that as long as they stamp Sony on a console that it will sell. They dug themselves in the hole when they announced the console at $600, and while they have done their best to dig themselves out they are still in a hard spot. They need to add features, and not remove them like they did with backwards compatibility. They need to listen to the fans pleas for a price drop and better online features.

Sony still has a great console on the market, but they continue to show their lack of knowledge of what gamers want. Hopefully as the generation progresses they start to listen to the consumer, and stop sticking to their business plan.