Last week I was very fortunate enough to be able to purchase an unsold copy of UbiSoft’s recently released “Assassin’s Creed 2” – black edition. It was very difficult to acquire a copy of the black edition as it was only available via pre-order (which I did not know) and (in Australia) only available from EBGames. I understand that the black edition is a numbered limited edition run (the number can be located printed on top of a hologram inside the outer sleeve which is wrapped around the box.
AC2 bundles released also included a white edition, which contained some of the same content, but (at least in my opinion) lacked the depth that the black edition brought to the table. I’m going to review both the edition itself, and then the game.
First, let’s look at what you get in the black edition; it is a fairly intriguing offering, and not much more expensive than the White Edition. The most notable difference is with the included figurine. The black edition contains AC2’s main character, Ezio, in the master assassin robes whereas the white edition contains a figurine with Ezio in his normal robes (which you play a good majority of the game in).
The black edition also includes a leather bound book containing notes on the development process (and numerous spelling mistakes – oops) as well as a unique code to unlock three bonus missions (the white edition has an unlock code for one additional mission). There is also a bonus DVD full of content including trailers, soundtracks and wallpaper.
Unrelated to either edition, you may also create an account at UbiSoft’s Uplay which (provided your gaming console can connect to the web) will allow you to unlock another additional bonus mission and other rewards. Membership with Uplay is free, so I heartily recommend signing up. You get reward points by achieving some specific milestones. Signing up on both the web and via your console gives you 20 rewards points from the get-go and you only need 40 points to unlock the bonus mission (which is worth it).
To access Uplay on your console, insert and load the game, and you should be able to access it from the initial menu.
On the Xbox 360, press ’Y’ from the first menu.
[Black Edition] vs [White Edition]
I’m currently half way through the game after two days of play, I’ll write a proper review in my next post.
