Ubi Talks Assassin's Creed II for iPhone

by Levi Buchanan - IGN.com | 20 January 2010 12:00
 
Ubisoft wants in on this whole iPhone thing the kids are talking about.
 
"I will say, quite honestly, that it turned out better than I thought it would."
 
Not exactly the most encouraging words coming from a game producer, but Ubisoft's Ben Mattes is a realist in an industry that needs more of them. And he's uttering them on the eve of Assassin's Creed II: Discovery coming to the iPhone. This is the first game Ubisoft has published to the App Store. All previous Ubisoft properties that popped up for the iDevices came from Gameloft. When asked what changed, Mattes simply explains that "it's time for Ubisoft to take a real stand on the iPhone." It's a platform that is now so huge, Ubisoft can no longer delegate.
 
According to Mattes, Discovery was an obvious choice for that first game. Discovery was a decent success on the Nintendo DS and Gameloft had already pulled in some good coin by porting the original Creed for DS to the iPhone in early 2009. But it wasn't the relatively smooth porting process that made Discovery an attractive initial effort. It felt right for the iPhone just on a design level.
 
"The pacing of Discovery is intrinsically faster than the console game," says Mattes. "I call Discovery an Assassin's Creed arcade game." It's an apt description, as the side-scrolling Discovery is much less methodical than Assassin's Creed II. Instead of skulking through the shadows of Venice, you are practically running through Spain on a side mission to save some of your Assassin brothers captured by the Spanish Inquisition. You must still use some stealth to sneak up on guards and assassination targets, but there is much more urgency, especially with platforming that sends you streaking up the sides of buildings and leaping across rooftops with equal measures of confidence and hope.
 

Under a Valencian sun.

But Discovery is not just a straight port. Mattes points out a few upgrades in the new iPhone edition. A new struggle mechanic now changes up the combat rhythm. When you swipe your sword at the same time as a foe and your blades meet, you must hammer on a clash button to win the battle. On the production value side of the equation, Discovery's visuals and audio have been significantly improved from the DS title. The audio sounds much crisper and the voice work adds a lot to the quality of the narrative. Discovery on the iPhone also borrows more music from Assassin's Creed II on consoles.
 
Now, despite the upgrades, Discovery is still a DS port at heart. According to Mattes, Ubisoft has settled on a $9.99 price tag (when Discovery mistakenly appeared on the App Store for a few hours, it was priced at $11.99), which is a third of the DS game price. Won't DS fans be discouraged by the deep discount enjoyed by iDevice gamers? "An easy solution," Mattes says, "is that the DS version launched day and date with the console while the iPhone did not."
 
But how does Ubisoft feel about selling its games much cheaper than it would likely prefer, bowing to the pricing structure of the App Store? "That is another discussion to have with Apple," says Mattes. "Given that major console game publishers are coming to the iPhone in a major way, is that the catalyst for the creation of a premium gaming store?"
 
Whether Ubisoft sees a premium store for more expensive games to not compete with 99-cent games and apps, Mattes says that the publisher is definitely committed to the iPhone. "Keep your ears peeled," he assures. "There will be more coming sooner rather than later." And Mattes follows that up with the tease that Ubisoft will make sure to bring original games to the App Store, too, not just its biggest brands like Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell. Although no gamer will complain about the arrival of those beloved franchise – as long as they are handled with care.
 
Supplied by IGN.com