Something went wrong. Try again later

Giant Bomb News

68 Comments

Renaissance Revisited: Assassin's Creed II DLC Revealed

Ubisoft teases two forthcoming DLC packs for its Italian jump-and-stab sequel.

 How do you ever get tired of this?
 How do you ever get tired of this?
Today Ubisoft has announced that it has two pieces of downloadable content in the works for Assassin's Creed II, though it's being highly judicious with just how much detail it's actually revealing. The two packs, Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities, are scheduled to be made available for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in January and February of next year, respectively. No price is being given at the moment, though it seems that you can expect these to be fairly significant pieces of content, as each will require a minimum of 1GB of hard drive space on your console.

Still, with little more than the titles to go from, a certain amount of informed speculation can be made about the nature of these add-ons. A quick Wikipedia search reveals that the Battle of Forli was an actual historical event that occurred in the same region that Assassin's Creed II takes place, though with it dated in 1282 AD, it precedes Ezio's story by several hundred years. Similarly, before it was a bad Bruce Willis movie, the Bonfire of the Vanities was a literal bonfire of items deemed to be sinful during a period of religious fervor, though its occurrence in Florence, Italy circa 1497 puts it smack dab in the middle of Assassin's Creed II's story. This all seems to keep with the tone of Assassin's Creed II, which routinely injected its own fictional tale of Templars and Assassins with people and events ripped from the pages of history. 
 
With Assassin's Creed II still fresh in my mind, I'm actually pretty eager to have another excuse to return to its richly realized world and learn more about the grand conspiracies that drive it. And of course, to stab more dudes in the face.
 
UPDATE: Ubisoft PR says to expect more details about these DLC packs later this month. Also, as many of you have pointed out in the comments, it seems likely that this stuff will slot into the blank chapters that the main story in Assassin's Creed II skips over.

68 Comments

Avatar image for ryan
Ryan

2675

Forum Posts

2827

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 1

Edited By Ryan  Staff
 How do you ever get tired of this?
 How do you ever get tired of this?
Today Ubisoft has announced that it has two pieces of downloadable content in the works for Assassin's Creed II, though it's being highly judicious with just how much detail it's actually revealing. The two packs, Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities, are scheduled to be made available for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in January and February of next year, respectively. No price is being given at the moment, though it seems that you can expect these to be fairly significant pieces of content, as each will require a minimum of 1GB of hard drive space on your console.

Still, with little more than the titles to go from, a certain amount of informed speculation can be made about the nature of these add-ons. A quick Wikipedia search reveals that the Battle of Forli was an actual historical event that occurred in the same region that Assassin's Creed II takes place, though with it dated in 1282 AD, it precedes Ezio's story by several hundred years. Similarly, before it was a bad Bruce Willis movie, the Bonfire of the Vanities was a literal bonfire of items deemed to be sinful during a period of religious fervor, though its occurrence in Florence, Italy circa 1497 puts it smack dab in the middle of Assassin's Creed II's story. This all seems to keep with the tone of Assassin's Creed II, which routinely injected its own fictional tale of Templars and Assassins with people and events ripped from the pages of history. 
 
With Assassin's Creed II still fresh in my mind, I'm actually pretty eager to have another excuse to return to its richly realized world and learn more about the grand conspiracies that drive it. And of course, to stab more dudes in the face.
 
UPDATE: Ubisoft PR says to expect more details about these DLC packs later this month. Also, as many of you have pointed out in the comments, it seems likely that this stuff will slot into the blank chapters that the main story in Assassin's Creed II skips over.
Avatar image for captainapollo13
CaptainApollo13

74

Forum Posts

12

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Edited By CaptainApollo13

Wow thats pretty quick for DLC! Nice work Ubi!

Avatar image for omegapirate
OmegaPirate

5643

Forum Posts

6172

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

Edited By OmegaPirate

God i can;t wait to get ACII , foolishly thought i could hold off til xmas , but alas im gonna go buy it on saturday!! hopefully wrap it up in time for the DLC!!  
 
Not like borderlands *glares*

Avatar image for binman88
Binman88

3700

Forum Posts

49

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 2

Edited By Binman88

Wonder if this will arrive on PC as well after that comes out.

Avatar image for tomance
tomance

1131

Forum Posts

272

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 5

Edited By tomance

I wonder if it's going to take place of the corrupted sequences or if it's going to be after the whole story.  Either way, I'm excited.

Avatar image for fwylo
fwylo

3571

Forum Posts

5013

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By fwylo

Helll Yeaaaa

Avatar image for kaosangel-DELETED
KaosAngel

14251

Forum Posts

6507

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 8

User Lists: 3

Edited By KaosAngel

I'm sick and tired of all this DLC shit.  PC games never did this and DLC is just an excuse to strip us pennyless.  I haven't bought any DLC this generation and don't plan on it.  
 
Content should be free as it has been on the PC since 1993.

Avatar image for vorbis
Vorbis

2762

Forum Posts

967

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 11

Edited By Vorbis

Stabbing dudes in the face is always good.

Avatar image for thekidnixon
TheKidNixon

1619

Forum Posts

2182

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 5

Edited By TheKidNixon

I suspect that these will make up the two missing "Segments," as they even mention the Bonfire in the game. Should be interesting.

Avatar image for august
august

4106

Forum Posts

332

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By august

I enjoy a little jumping and stabbing, not gonna lie.

Avatar image for steve_c
Steve_C

1768

Forum Posts

1897

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

Edited By Steve_C

This just makes me want to wait and not buy the game until all the DLC is packed in with it.

Avatar image for cstrang
cstrang

2417

Forum Posts

2213

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

Edited By cstrang

Fuck yes.  Can't wait.  I loved me some Assassin's Creed 2.

Avatar image for the_philosopher
The_Philosopher

634

Forum Posts

111

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 8

Edited By The_Philosopher

 
Totally saw this coming. In the game they skip ahead a few years leaving a blank in the middle of the main story, guess they'll be filling it in with DLC like I thought. I'll probably buy this.
 

@KaosAngel

said:

" I'm sick and tired of all this DLC shit.  PC games never did this and DLC is just an excuse to strip us pennyless.  I haven't bought any DLC this generation and don't plan on it.    Content should be free as it has been on the PC since 1993. "

I think most DLC is bullshit especially alternate costumes and modes *cough* Capcom *cough* . Except maybe the GTA4 stuff because they are games on their own. But when people announce DLC this soon after the game is released or even before the game is released it bums me out because it makes me think it could have been in the game. Not saying that's the case with this particular one. With Dragon Age they are doing all kinds of DLC, that's cool but I would much rather they do a good old fashion expansion.
Avatar image for boyling
Boyling

218

Forum Posts

1746

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 6

Edited By Boyling
@Peacemaker: I think it's those. They mention the Bonfire of the Vanities (and make a joke regarding the film).
Avatar image for alphazero
Alphazero

1653

Forum Posts

2448

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 23

User Lists: 10

Edited By Alphazero

I've made it my mission to murder every musician that runs up and gets it my way as I go about my dirty work.
 
Oh, and I don't like them in the game either. Stabby stab stab.

Avatar image for kefkaesque
Kefkaesque

203

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Kefkaesque
@KaosAngel said:
" I'm sick and tired of all this DLC shit.  PC games never did this and DLC is just an excuse to strip us pennyless.  I haven't bought any DLC this generation and don't plan on it.    Content should be free as it has been on the PC since 1993. "
 
Expansion packs. That is all.
Avatar image for madyew
Madyew

148

Forum Posts

169

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 15

Edited By Madyew

Putting aside the fact that this DLC will probably destroy my S rank for this game, I'll probably just rent Assassin's Creed 2 again once these are both out and play them back to back, assuming the prices they charge for them aren't too insane.

Avatar image for cptbedlam
CptBedlam

4612

Forum Posts

7

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By CptBedlam

 If it's some GTA4/Fallout3-type dlc, then I'm all for it.

Avatar image for nexas
nexas

644

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By nexas
@KaosAngel said:

" I'm sick and tired of all this DLC shit.  PC games never did this and DLC is just an excuse to strip us pennyless.  I haven't bought any DLC this generation and don't plan on it.    Content should be free as it has been on the PC since 1993. "

Yeah remember those free Half-Life expansions like Blue Shift and Opposing....oh wait. 
 
Anyways I'm guessing this DLC will be DNA sequences 12 & 13.
Avatar image for venatio
Venatio

4757

Forum Posts

288

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 6

Edited By Venatio

Awesome, I really want DLC for this game and more excuses to play it 
 
I hope it holds the same quality as the rest of the game

Avatar image for lies
Lies

3985

Forum Posts

32517

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 12

User Lists: 14

Edited By Lies

DNA Sequences 12 and 13
 
Seriously fuck intentionally excising part of your story mode to sell DLC. Shameful.

Avatar image for oni
Oni

2345

Forum Posts

5885

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 26

User Lists: 12

Edited By Oni
@Lies said:
" DNA Sequences 12 and 13  Seriously fuck intentionally excising part of your story mode to sell DLC. Shameful. "
Yeah when you go to DNA those are left blank, and they're pretty much glossed over in the story, so I suspected as much. BUT, and this is a big but, AC2 is a game that already has so much content that I don't feel short-changed in any way, and neither should you. I think this was stuff that was cut simply because it was extraneous and they didn't have the time to complete it for the retail game, so it's perfectly fine by me.
Avatar image for tony1661
Tony1661

30

Forum Posts

1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 3

Edited By Tony1661
@KaosAngel:  why would a company put out something for free? you are getting a few missions so you only pay like 5 or 10 bucks, i hate people who complain... if you dont wanna buy it then dont!
Avatar image for arjuna
Arjuna

918

Forum Posts

448

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Edited By Arjuna

I'm about to get an S Rank(1000 points) on Assassin's Creed...  So yeah, I love this game and will certainly be buying these add-ons.

Avatar image for kaosangel-DELETED
KaosAngel

14251

Forum Posts

6507

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 8

User Lists: 3

Edited By KaosAngel
@Nexas:@Kefkaesque: 
 
Expansion packs aren't DLC....expansion packs are similar to GTA4 stuff, and those retailed for about 30 bucks and had a shit-ton of content.
Avatar image for nnilley
nnilley

47

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

Edited By nnilley

Kickass! I love Ubisoft!

Avatar image for nexas
nexas

644

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By nexas
@KaosAngel said:
" @Nexas:@Kefkaesque:   Expansion packs aren't DLC....expansion packs are similar to GTA4 stuff, and those retailed for about 30 bucks and had a shit-ton of content. "
One comes in a box and the other doesn't. Though they are technically different they still scratch the same itch. 
Avatar image for mgsfreak
Mgsfreak

139

Forum Posts

3

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Mgsfreak

Do want!

Avatar image for redsox8933
RedSox8933

2501

Forum Posts

398

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 7

Edited By RedSox8933

Of course I just traded it in yesterday because I figured there wouldn't be any DLC.
 
Fuck.

Avatar image for jeffgoldblum
jeffgoldblum

3959

Forum Posts

4102

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Edited By jeffgoldblum
@RedSox8933 said:
"Of course I just traded it in yesterday because I figured there wouldn't be any DLC.  Fuck. "
I never trade in games anymore. I was tired of being ripped off and losing parts of my collection at the same time.
Avatar image for irish87
Irish87

161

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

Edited By Irish87

YEAH! DLC is horrible... ninety percent of the fans who play the game will buy the DLC, but still they're going to do it angrily and not smiling as Ubisoft pictures. DLC is nothing more than Capitalism at work, and guess what, it's working pretty well for the studios and for us. We get a decent amount of new content for a modest fee. What would be shameful is if they forced us to buy DLC to find out the true ending of the game. 
 
DLC is not the enemy, the rich people who can afford it are. Woot for class warfare! See, it's like we're in Renaissance Italy!

Avatar image for btman
btman

1114

Forum Posts

2974

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

Edited By btman

bought the game saturday, finished today....all im doing now is collecting feathers. i CANNOT wait for this to come out

Avatar image for duketogo
DukeTogo

1516

Forum Posts

626

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 7

Edited By DukeTogo
@Lies said:
" DNA Sequences 12 and 13  Seriously fuck intentionally excising part of your story mode to sell DLC. Shameful. "
More like a good way to explain it's place in the story rather than some bullshit excuse to shoehorn it in.  And if it never got made as DLC, it would go on being a random corrupted memory in the game, and it would be fine, either way it fits into the game without feeling tacked-on.  Ubisoft has said that both packs will be 1 GB is size each, meaning it's both sizeable in content and going to be paid.
 
As far as it holding the story back, the game is a solid 14-20 hours long, and this looks to be minor in the context of the overall story, so feeling cheated is a bit of stretch all things considered.  This also explains the southern part of Florence being inaccessible, as well as the loose thread of the Countess you helped early on and never saw again, both pretty plain markers to a planned DLC release.
 
I'd say reserve your ire until we see what it entails and how much it costs.
Avatar image for papercut
papercut

4200

Forum Posts

10068

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 9

Edited By papercut

Pow Block anyone?

Avatar image for jaffaz
jaffaz

193

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 3

Edited By jaffaz

awesome news...nothing wrong with more assassin's creed II :)

Avatar image for rasgueado
Rasgueado

838

Forum Posts

2324

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 6

Edited By Rasgueado
@KaosAngel: Yeah... I'm not sure what you're talking about here. There weren't many developers that continued to add content after release. Companies like Valve, iD, and Epic did this with multiplayer content, but usually not singleplayer. DLC is the modern incarnation of retail expansion packs. The only difference is that EP's usually had more content, but they were also usually about $30 - $40 each. (CAD) 
 
I also do assure you... PC gaming was happening long before 1993.
Avatar image for rasgueado
Rasgueado

838

Forum Posts

2324

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 6

Edited By Rasgueado
@Lies   :  It doesn't matter where they leave the hole for extra content. Whether the holes are at the end, or in between, there are still holes. Putting them in the middle allows them to keep their story intact while expanding on play. 
Avatar image for meteora
meteora

5844

Forum Posts

17

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 3

Edited By meteora

DLCs = Expansion Packs.
 
Except without the casing and a variable amount of content/pricing.

Avatar image for milkman
Milkman

19372

Forum Posts

-1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 3

Edited By Milkman
@KaosAngel said:
" I'm sick and tired of all this DLC shit.  PC games never did this and DLC is just an excuse to strip us pennyless.  I haven't bought any DLC this generation and don't plan on it.    Content should be free as it has been on the PC since 1993. "
Would you have a problem if they called a "Assassin's Creed 2 expansion pack"?
Avatar image for dayoneadvantage
DayOneAdvantage

117

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By DayOneAdvantage

DLC for this game is most welcome in my book. I felt very satisfied with AC2's length and quality. In fact, this game was about twice as long as other action adventure games of this generation. Granted, I did beat it in two days, but that was two full days of gaming, during the holiday, with no distrations such as work or school. I absolutely do not feel like that this DLC is a nickle and dime job at all.

Avatar image for liquidprince
LiquidPrince

17073

Forum Posts

-1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 5

Edited By LiquidPrince

Epic.

Avatar image for homegabomb
bwooduhs

1683

Forum Posts

732

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 4

Edited By bwooduhs

Yay! Another excuse to go back to Assassins Creed.

Avatar image for media_master
Media_Master

3259

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Media_Master

I hope its free.

Avatar image for andrewkin
Andrewkin

14

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Andrewkin
@Alphazero said:
" I've made it my mission to murder every musician that runs up and gets it my way as I go about my dirty work.  Oh, and I don't like them in the game either. Stabby stab stab. "
This. I just grab them, beat them a couple of times, then curbstomp. If this doesn't work then repeat, but with lathering this time :P
 
You wont lose synchronization points.
Avatar image for pinkshley1
Pinkshley1

460

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

Edited By Pinkshley1

I was hoping for some DLC, and at least 1GB each means they should pack a lot of stuff. Sweet!

Avatar image for synthballs
Synthballs

2223

Forum Posts

222

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 6

Edited By Synthballs

I don't even have the game yet and I'm excited!

Avatar image for fresh2deafbill
fresh2deafbill

929

Forum Posts

1490

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 1

Edited By fresh2deafbill

so excited, hope they make so you can replay memories

Avatar image for harrisonave
harrisonave

840

Forum Posts

196

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 4

Edited By harrisonave
@Milkman said:
" @KaosAngel said:
" I'm sick and tired of all this DLC shit.  PC games never did this and DLC is just an excuse to strip us pennyless.  I haven't bought any DLC this generation and don't plan on it.    Content should be free as it has been on the PC since 1993. "
Would you have a problem if they called a "Assassin's Creed 2 expansion pack"? "
Ha!
Avatar image for unsolvedparadox
unsolvedparadox

2298

Forum Posts

31

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 2

Edited By unsolvedparadox

My wallet's open, Ubisoft can have its way with it.

Avatar image for burns098356gx
Burns098356GX

1368

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Burns098356GX

 My main problem with these types of DLC is that its stuff that has been cut out of the main plot of the game, it would be a different story if it was some extra side missions, assassin tombs or something, but this is main game-content plot stuff that they leave out, then sell you. So its like going to a movie theatre, then about half way through they skip ahead and say if you want to see the whole story you have to buy this extra stuff. Its nonsence, I think its a really poor way to grab money, and sadly its becoming more and more common. They even say in the game that those 2 memory blocks are 'corrupted, and I'll work on them'.

Obviously I can't prove anything, but does it not seem odd that the game comes out, then a short 3 weeks later they announce the DLC for the mysteriously corrupted data files that bridge the gap of the story between Ezio in his 20's to his 30's?

You can't blame a company for finding new innovative ways to produce content and make money off it, but selling content that should have been in the game at launch is a slap in the face to the consumers.