Village Gamer

Ubisoft has announced that the Assassin’s Creed Revelations multiplayer beta is now available for download on the Playstation^®Network, exclusively for PlayStation^®Plus members and Playstation^®3 Uplay members, and will be playable from September 3^rd 10am, closing on the evening of September 11th. Players can preload to take the proverbial leap of faith into the action the moment the beta starts, on September 3.

The multiplayer beta offers access to nine characters (The Sentinel, The Vanguard, The Guardian, The Vizier, The Thespian, The Deacon, The Bombardier, The Trickster and The Champion), three maps (Knight’s Hospital, Antioch, Constantinople) and four playable modes (Wanted, Manhunt, Deathmatch, and Artifact Assault), which are only a sample of the final multiplayer content.

In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary Altaïr on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

Assassin’s Creed^® Revelations will be available on November 15, 2011, with European and Australian gamers once again being offered special editions not available in Canada or the United States, and it’s the one edition which contains the Assassin’s Creed Encyclopedia. Well – one version of the Encyclopedia, because true to Ubisoft’s way, there are two editions of the book – a white version and a black version. The black version is the one included with the Animus Edition bundle, and does not include “Cartes Blanche” – a section that features Assassin’s Creed artwork by other professional artists or game fans. The only place to get the white version of the encyclopedia, which does include “Cartes Blanche”  is through UbiWorkShop, where it is available for pre-order, with a list price of $34.95USD.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJO52dAsQ5w]

Here, according to the Assassin’s Creed wiki, are all of the editions to be available, but the Ultimate Edition Bundle isn’t (as of this writing) even listed on the GameStop.ca site, and neither is the Collector’s Edition. In all honesty, the way Ubisoft has these editions broken down really doesn’t make a lot of sense, but many things the developer/publisher does don’t always make a lot of sense, so I suppose having these multiple editions shouldn’t either.

Special Edition

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Game soundtrack
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and the Ottoman Doctor)
• Turkish Assassin Armour

Signature Edition – This edition can only be obtained by pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed: Revelations from Gamestop.

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Weapon capacity upgrades – possibly the same ones listed in the Animus Edition?
• A multiplayer character, The Ottoman Jester
• A DVD of the Assassin’s Creed: Embers short animated movie
• Game soundtrack

Ultimate Bundle Edition – this edition can only be obtained from Gamestop.

• Signature Edition of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood da Vinci’s Flying Machine replica
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood 7-inch Ezio Collectable

Collector’s Edition

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Collectable casing
• 50-page artbook
• A DVD of the animated short film Assassin’s Creed: Embers
• Original soundtrack
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and The Ottoman Jester)

Templar Collector Edition– only available from OpenGames Italia.

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Collectable casing
• 50-page artbook
• A DVD of the animated short film Assassin’s Creed: Embers
• Original soundtrack
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and the Ottoman Jester)
• 8.5″ Statue/Figurine of Ezio Auditore

Animus Edition – available only in Europe and Australia

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Assassin’s Creed: The Encyclopedia
• A DVD of the animated short film Assassin’s Creed: Embers
• Game soundtrack
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and The Ottoman Jester)
• The Armor of Brutus outfit from AC: Brotherhood
• Capacity upgrades for the Pistol, Hand-held bombs, and Crossbow
• One exclusive customization item
• ‘Ezio in Altaïr’s outfit’ multiplayer skin. (Only when pre-ordered at certain stores.)