ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of NVIDIA-based graphics cards and motherboards, today kicks off the holiday season with a new premium software bundle featuring Ubisoft's Far Cry 2. The new premium software bundle will be available with the award-winning ZOTAC GeForce GTX 280, GeForce GTX 280 AMP! Edition, GeForce GTX 2602 and GeForce GTX 260 AMP2! Edition for a limited time. "ZOTAC is pleased to provide gamers with Ubisoft's highly anticipated Far Cry 2 game. With Far Cry 2, users can take advantage of the 3D power available with their new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 280, GeForce GTX 280 AMP! Edition, GeForce GTX 2602 or GeForce GTX 260 AMP2! Edition and experience stunning visuals right out of the box," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.

Ubisoft's Far Cry 2 suffers from the same issue Bioshock had when it was released. Both games have problems handling widescreen resolutions, but in Far Cry 2 the problem appears to be even bigger. When played in widescreen resolution, the game displays a cropped version of the original 4:3 video aspect. The wider screen resolution you use, the less you'll see because the game cuts the top and bottom edges to fit the wider aspect ratio. If you don't like the sound of that, there's a fix created by Racer_S over at Widescreen Gaming Forum. Please note that the fix only works with Far Cry 2 v1.00 and online players may receive a ban from the server they're playing if they use the hotfixer. The reason, Punkbuster may think you are a 1337 haxxor and ban you from the server. You may download the Far Cry 2 Widescreen fix from here.

Publisher Ubisoft issued today the minimum and recommended system requirements for the PC edition of Ubisoft Montreal's open-world first person shooter Far Cry 2. The successor of the original Far Cry game is also due to be released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall. "It has always been our intention to make Far Cry 2 as accessible to everyone as possible, and we have worked continuously to optimize Far Cry 2 to achieve this goal," said lead technical director Dominic Guay. The full specs follow below.

Clint Hocking, the creative director behind the upcoming Far Cry 2, has confirmed that there will be no demo released for the game. Developed by Ubisoft, future Far Cry 2 players won't be able to play a level or two to get the idea, before the full game is out. According to Hoking there's no easy way of making a Far Cry 2 demo, because of the open nature of the game that will leak almost 12 hours of gameplay from a possible demo. "One reason is, even if we were to give out what you played today - even if we put invisible walls around it and said, here's the demo, you can go anywhere you like inside these walls and play it how you want - that's potentially right there eight-to-ten hours of gameplay," said Hocking. "I don't know too many people who are willing to give away a 12-hour game for free", he continued. In related news, Clint Hocking also informed that Far Cry 2 is almost complete and it only needs a good testing before retailing.

With an overall 43% growth in sales over last year it is fair to say that Ubisoft is charging uphill and picking up speed. Much of the company's success is attributed to the fourth-quarter success of Rainbow Six Vegas 2, which sold almost 2 million units, and Assassin's Creed, which has sold over 6 million units. Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 24 countries and sales in 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft forecasts generated sales of approximately 920 million Euros.

Today, Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announces that it has concluded an agreement with Gameloft to acquire its video game development studio based in Pune, India. Established end of 2006, the studio has a team of 120 developers and testers who will initially focus on porting titles to handheld consoles and reinforcing Ubisoft's testing teams. The goal is to become 200-people strong in 12 months time and to reach a team of 500 in the coming years.

Ubisoft has released the first patch for Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for PC. The 50MB 1.01 patch adds voice chat support and fixes a number of bugs. Download it here.

Ubisoft is delivering a slate of more than 40 action-packed games to Steam, including Assassin's Creed and the Tom Clancy series. Two fan favorites are now available to customers in Canada and the United States: the acclaimed action shooter, Far Cry, and the debut game in the groundbreaking stealth action series, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. Save 10% on either game when you buy before Tuesday, April 8th.

A video with Ubisoft Montreal producer LP Pharand posted on Youtube today, revealed the release plan for the next gen shooter Far Cry 2. The game is being developed from Ubisoft Montreal and will be simultaneously launched on PC, PS3 and X360 this fall. Unfortunately other details surrounding the game and its story remain brief. What's sure is that there will be no mutants or what so ever as it was previously reported.

Today, Ubisoft announced that it has concluded an agreement with Mr. Tom Clancy to acquire all intellectual property rights to the Tom Clancy name, on a perpetual basis and free of all related future royalty payments, for use in video games and ancillary products including related books, movies and merchandising products. The price of this all cash acquisition is not currently disclosed.

Ubisoft has quietly announced that Tom Clancy's EndWar, a brand new real-time strategy wargame in the Tom Clancy series of video games, is now available in the UK. Developed by Ubisoft's Shanghai studio, Tom Clancy's EndWar is built from the ground up as a revolutionary war playable on PC, PLAYSTATION3, Xbox 360, Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. The game takes place in 2020 during the World-War III and offers fully destructible 3D battlefields, massive battles with more than 1000 units, multiplayer game mode and a lot more. You can visit Tom Clancy's EndWar web page for more information.

Ubisoft has released two tech movies from Far Cry 2 trailer, showcasing this first person shooter sequel in the works at Ubisoft's Montreal studio. Developed for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, Far Cry 2 is scheduled to ship in Spring 2008.

Far Cry 2 Tree Regeneration Tech Trailer (HD) Online (512.95MB)
Far Cry 2 Day and Night Cycle Tech Trailer (HD)Online (535MB)

Ubisoft has announced that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for PC, PS3 and X360 will hit North American retailers on March 18th, with the publisher offering up special limited edition for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. Priced at $69.99, the limited edition of the Sin City shooter will pack a poker chip keychain and a video disc filled with strategy movies, interviews, and a peek at the upcoming Tom Clancy RTS EndWar. Feel free to visit Rainbow Six Vegas 2 home page for more info.

The forthcoming PC release of Ubisoft Montreal's pre-meditated murder simulator Assassin's Creed (PS3, X360) will contain exclusive bonus missions not found within the console editions, Ubisoft has revealed. Dubbed Assassin's Creed Director's Cut Edition, the PC versions will feature four new mission types. No further details were provided, though Ubisoft boasted that the content allows "even more ways for players to explore the various locations of the Third Crusade." Assassin's Creed on the PC is expected to arrive in Europe this March.

Publisher Ubisoft has confirmed that more titles in the Prince of Persia series are on the way, though further details are slim. In a financial statement released today, the company made a brief mention of the franchise, noting that a new Prince of Persia title is expected to arrive within the next fiscal year. Ubisoft's 2008 fiscal year begins April 1, 2008 and ends March 31, 2009. Other games due out from Ubisoft in that time span include Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Far Cry 2, Haze, Tom Clancy's EndWar, a Shaun White snowborading title and a Tom Clancy air combat title. The publisher also revealed that more entries in popular casual-oriented franchises Petz, Imagine, and MyCoach will arrive in the next fiscal year, along with a new line of casual games.

Here are the official system specs needed to play Assassin's Creed on the PC:
Supported OS: Windows XP / Vista (only)
Processor: Dual core processor 2.6GHz Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended)
RAM: 2GB (3GB recommended)
Video Card: 256MB DirectX 10.0-compliant video card or DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (512MB video card recommended) (see supported list)*
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 compliant sound card (5.1 sound card recommended)
DirectX Version: DirectX 10.0 libraries (included on disc)
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 12GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)

*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI RADEON X1300-1950 / HD 2000 / 3000 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600-6800 / 7 / 8 / 9 series

Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported.

Ubisoft has confirmed two days ago at CES in Las Vegas that it is going to use Philips' Ambx-technology in some of its major upcoming titles. amBX allows developers to include "surround sense" elements in games through various peripherals, including light, colour, sound, rumble and air flow through enabled devices like fans and LED-powered lights. The tech is being shown at CES working on both Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Far Cry 2, which were recently delayed by Ubisoft until the next fiscal year beginning April 2008. "Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Far Cry 2 are titles that will showcase just how powerful and in your face amBX effects can be in a war game. This is just the start of the alliance between amBX and Ubisoft and the level of our comarketing with Ubisoft will underline our dedication to bringing all-new ambient effects to world class games." said amBX COO Jo Cooke. amBX only works with PC titles at the moment, but console announcements are on the way too. The agreement will also see an amBX patch being released for the original Far Cry. Further patches for existing Ubisoft games will also be released with the amBX-enabling of additional titles to be announced later.

Publisher Ubisoft has announced Far Cry 2 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Set in Africa, the exploration-heavy first person shooter is slated to arrive within the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which begins in April. A PC version of the game was first revealed last summer. All editions of the game are being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, which previously handled the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Wii spin-offs of the first Far Cry (PC). Original Far Cry creator and developer Crytek is not involved with the project, as Ubisoft acquired the Far Cry and Crytek Engine rights in 2006.

Publisher Ubisoft has issued new screenshots and details of Ubisoft Montreal's Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, which was announced exactly one month ago. Compared to the first entry in Ubisoft Montreal's Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas series, the first-person tactical sequel will feature 11 new weapons, 13 new multiplayer maps, two new multiplayer modes, and the ability to play co-op at any time during the single-player campaign, though it was not specified if co-op will be offline-only. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is expected to arrive on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in March 2008.

Ubisoft today announced a massively multiplayer web-based game set in the Heroes of Might and Magic Universe. Titled Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms, the browser-based game will launch this spring. "This is a new type of game for Ubisoft, one that allows you to jump into a rich and complex universe just with your Web browser," said Ubisoft's Serge Hascoët in the announcement. A true web-based game, the title will require no download to play, with a user login allowing access to a free account from any computer. Beta keys have been bundled with the Heroes of Might and Magic Complete Edition (PC), which retailed today in Europe. The beta will begin in early 2008 and last about three months before the title's launch in the spring, according to the game's website.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Although, Ubisoft slated two titles in the previous post, it's now balancing with the announcement of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, a sequel to the Sin City-based tactical shooter released in 2006. The game, which Ubisoft said is planned for "next-generation consoles and PC," is scheduled for release in March 2008 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Rainbow Six gaming franchise. In an announcement today, Ubisoft didn't reveal much about the upcoming game but promised improved graphics, new gameplay features and new Vegas settings. The tactical solo campaign will return, and the sequel will build on its predecessor's popular multiplayer modes. Co-op and adversarial multiplayer will return, and Vegas 2 will provide "unprecedented interaction between the solo and multiplayer modes," Ubisoft said. "We are convinced that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will remain a pioneer in the highly competitive first person shooter genre, bringing more of what Rainbow Six fans love to the table.", he also added.

The company delayed four unspecified games during its second quarter announcement, and today Ubisoft has furthered the release dates of two additional titles. Though it was confirmed for a December 14 release just a week ago, Free Radical's drug-enhanced shooter Haze (PS3) will now make its way to stores during the period of January through March of 2008. Sam Fisher's newest outing has also been postponed, as Ubisoft Montreal's Splinter Cell: Conviction (PC, X360) has been removed from the fiscal year calendar entirely. It's now slated for an ambiguous release sometime in the next year, which begins April 1, 2008. It was previously scheduled for a fourth fiscal quarter ship date.

Yet another groundbreaking, earthshaking game title has gone gold this month. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed are now being manufactured and will hit stores on November 13, Ubisoft announced today. A $69.99 limited edition, said to pack a figurine and other goodies, will be available along with the standard $59.99 version. The PC version of the latest stealth adventure title from the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time team was originally scheduled to release alongside the console iterations, but was recently delayed until early 2008. For more on Assassin's Creed and its wonderful atmosphere, check out here.

Owners of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 will be happy to know there will be a reason to pop in that disc again soon, as Ubisoft will release a new set of co-op and adversarial maps through an Xbox Live Marketplace package titled Co-op Collection. The Co-op Collection will come with nine maps; four of them adversarial exclusive, five others shared with co-op. Most of the maps are based on levels from the original Ghost Recon and Ghost Recon: Island Thunder, but two of the adversarial maps are brand new. New achievements will be included as well, adding a total of 110 points to the game. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Co-op Collection will be released next month.

Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced the creation of a new Tom Clancy franchise being developed by Ubisoft's Bucharest studio for next generation consoles and PC. The first air combat game taking place in Tom Clancy's universe, the brand will launch in 2008. Set in a near future, the game imagines a world where a private military force has cumulated such power that it attacks the USA. Thrust into the cockpits of incredibly powerful and technologically advanced jet fighters, gamers will benefit from hi-tech piloting assistance, providing comfort, security and enhanced perception. As players gain skills and confidence, they will be able to shed the assistance. But before choosing performance over security, they'll have to weigh the risks carefully.