What Do You Know, Assassin’s Creed 2 is a Hit

Not sure if you’re aware, but Assassin’s Creed 2 is doing quite well. It’s not nearly as divisive as the original game, which was mired in mindless repetition. While I haven’t played the game yet (waiting patiently on Gamefly, thanks for asking), the critical response is uniformly positive, boosted in particular by the storyline of a young assassin and his family living in Renaissance Italy, and the voice acting therein. (It seems no one minds the game’s reported 3 hours of cutscenes for those reasons.) Good reviews don’t always translate to killer sales, but it now seems that Assassin’s Creed 2 is a hit in every way. Publisher Ubisoft says that in the game’s first week, 1.6 million units were sold. That’s 32 percent more than original game, which itself received plenty of hype before release.

“Assassin’s Creed II has received an overwhelmingly positive reception from gamers around the world and from the videogame trade press with to date,” a Ubisoft statement says. It probably helps that so many other games, including Bioshock 2 and Ubisoft’s own Splinter Cell: Conviction and Red Steel 2, were pushed back into 2010, setting the stage for a sparse holiday season. For Ubisoft, at least, that strategy has paid off, giving Assassin’s Creed 2 some much-deserved time in the limelight. [via GamesIndustry.biz]