For all of you PC gamers who didn't play the Uncharted series, and are starved of the visually-intense tropical-island setting that Dead Island miserably failed in, Far Cry 3 promises to be a bomb! Ubisoft released the latest "Stranded" trailer on the 15th, with a fuller trailer slated for later today, that shows incredibly detailed visuals, that are a throw-back to the original Crytek-made Far Cry. The trailer follows a possible protagonist touring a tropical island with his explorer friends, most of it is shown in found-footage style, leading up to one of the explorers' encounter with the game's antagonist. The trailer also gives out the release-date, September 4, 2012.The trailer video can be watched here.

Caution: The trailer contains strong-language, violence, and dubstep.

If you are trying to play Might and Magic: Heroes VI, The Settlers 7 and Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 or are trying to activate Assassin's Creed Revelations, Anno 2070 and or Driver: San Francisco don't bother. Ubisoft has announced a server migration this week that will block all access from players validating their legitimate purchases via Ubisofts DRM "always on" model. The original plan was to allow some of these games to remain playable. However it didn't seem to work. Some DRM schemes are more intrusive then others but the Ubisoft "always on" DRM has come under heavy fire this week from players turned critics via Twitter. One is quoted as saying, "Dear @Ubisoft I am totally unimpressed with your server upgrade strategy."

Ubisoft has yet to give a specified time when the servers will be re-launched and players can regain access to their games.

Next week, Ubisoft will be performing large-scale server maintenance, which could see its DRM-handling go offline. It would directly impact some games that are designed to work with Ubisoft's infamous "Always-Online" DRM, which requires gamers to be connected to the internet when playing games enabled with it. Tom Clancy's HAWX 2, Might & Magic: Heroes 6 and The Settlers 7 will be unplayable during the course of maintenance. Bigger titles such as Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Driver: San Francisco, however, will stay online for the duration of the switch-over. Ubisoft is loathed for its hyper-strict DRM that requires you to ping their DRM servers every few moments to reassure them you're not a pirate. It is even known to limit activations to your graphics card. This is yet another example where DRM only ends up hurting legitimate users more than piracy.

Last week we brought you news of Ubisoft's hard three machine activation limit on Anno 2070 and how it scuppered a review by Guru3D when they swapped out graphics cards. Guru3D's post then went viral on the web and it appears that this has put sufficient pressure or 'heat' on Ubisoft to relax the restrictions just a tiny bit, since they weren't going to use any more Ubisoft games for benchmarks. So what have they done? Allowed an unlimited number of graphics card swaps. That's it, everything else stays the same, so if other components such as the CPU, motherboard etc are changed, then one will still run into this frustrating brick wall and have to get in touch with customer support to reset the activations.

Anno 2070's Draconian DRM: Guru3D's Graphics Card Review Killed Off (UPDATED)

Hilbert Hagedoorn of well-known PC tech review site guru3d.com recently bought a copy of Ubisoft's Anno 2070 and wanted to use it in one of his graphics card reviews. However, he became badly unstuck. This game comes on the Steam platform and the store page states: "3rd-party DRM: Solidshield Tages SAS 3 machine activation limit". Unfortunately for Guru3D, they found out exactly what this means, which resulted in just one performance graph, an aborted review, an unplayable game - and bad publicity for Ubisoft once again. They have published an article about their experience, pledging not to use their titles again because of this DRM.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world's largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today takes the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti series to new performance heights with the supercharged GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMP! Edition. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMP! Edition aims to maximize performance without sacrificing visual quality or stability for an unbridled gaming experience.

"ZOTAC strives to deliver a quality gaming experience with all of our products. With the GeForce GTX 560 Ti AMP! Edition we wanted to maximize performance without sacrificing visual quality or stability for our end users," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "After carefully tuning the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580 AMP! Edition, we are able to deliver the highest clock speeds capable of passing our rigorous DirectX 11 testing procedure without a single graphical artifact."

SteelSeries has teamed with game publisher Ubisoft to bring fans exclusive branded peripherals for the upcoming real-time strategy game R.U.S.E. Designed to give players a competitive advantage, the SteelSeries Xai Laser Mouse R.U.S.E. Edition enhances performance with its superior technology and a preconfigured profile setting that optimizes game-play. The preloaded R.U.S.E. profile, created with input from Ubisoft, allows quick access to the R.U.S.E. and HQ Menus, and preset macro buttons can take the player from the bird's eye view of the war to the heart of the battlefield in an instant. The SteelSeries QcK Limited Edition (R.U.S.E.) mousepad features graphics from the game and provides a smooth and consistent glide; combined they deliver a complete and immersive R.U.S.E. experience.

Currently in open beta, R.U.S.E. allows players to use strategy and bluffing tactics as the general of their nation's army during World War II. The speed and range of movement required in the game, demands tools that can deliver superb levels of precision and accuracy. Ubisoft chose to partner with SteelSeries, because of the award-winning, innovative features and technology that the SteelSeries Xai offers to gamers. In addition to the R.U.S.E. profile that comes pre-loaded on the SteelSeries Xai Laser Mouse R.U.S.E. Edition, SteelSeries will offer pro-gamer recommended R.U.S.E. profiles for users to download once the game launches in June. These recommended profiles will be found on the SteelSeries web site.

We all regard PC games, as an entertainment medium, but spend hundreds to even thousands of Dollars regularly, to keep our PCs up to date, to be able to play the latest PC games. Imagine a medium that rids us of that, and we are able to consume PC gaming like any other content, like the TV or radio. Well, that the potential a new on-demand gaming platform holds - to make you never have to buy/upgrade a gaming PC again.

Called OnLive, the on-demand platform consists of a web service, an internet connection, and a thin-client, called "micro-console" that connects your input (game controllers), and output (monitor/TV/HDTV). You control the game - whichever you're subscribed to and playing - the client relays your input to the OnLive servers, that do the processing, including graphics rendering, and send back output to your client. The client then displays the output. Sounds familiar? Cloud computing? Exactly, but for PC gaming. The platform is conceptualized to be advanced-enough to handle any of today's games, Crysis included. The work-model of this platform is what makes it tick with any game, and is far more future-proof than the present mode of PC gaming (where people own expensive hardware that are in requirement of upgrades, the costs of buying games, buying gaming services separate).

For standard definition television quality, a broadband connection of at least 1.5 megabits per second is required. For HDTV resolution, a connection of at least 5 mbps is needed. The service uses patented algorithms that work to counter lag caused by network constraints. The technology is already gaining attention from major publishers, including EA, THQ, Codemasters, Ubisoft, Atari, Warner Bros., Take-Two, and Epic. People can buy or rent a game to play it, the usage fees are expected not to be much more than the subscription fees for Xbox Live.

The Steam Holiday sale is on now. Through January 2, 2009, every game on Steam is available at 10% to 75% off the regular price. Select publisher catalogs such as Ubisoft, THQ, and 2K Games are 25% off. Award-winning titles such as Bioshock and Portal are available for 75% off the regular price. For more information, please visit this page.

Point of View today, has announced special graphics card game bundles with Ubisoft's fourth generation addition to the Prince of Persia franchise. The bundles start at the range of a GeForce 9500 GT based graphics card, and go high up the range of what Point of View has to offer. These special edition bundles can be identified with the box packaging with the new Prince of Persia theme. Inside the box would be the usual contents of a graphics card package, along with a copy of the full-version of the game.

Point of View in its press release includes a short description of the game, and on how its hardware is geared up for it. The game by Ubisoft is described by Point of View as "a magnificent game which looks like nothing you've ever seen before!", which is somewhat justified by the screenshots posted. With the incorporation of design elements such as Cel-Shading the characters are presented as something hand-drawn, as something straight out of an animation film. The Point of View bundles will be hitting stores soon. The company has a history of offering such themed graphics card bundles, with affiliations to titles such as Assassins Creed and Wall E. The full press release can be read here.

Thanks to Intel and its Game On website, fans of Ubisoft's Far Cry 2 title can now enjoy 3 more hours of their favourite game, playing several bonus maps. These explosive bonus missions are kindly available for free here thanks to Intel.

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.