Assassin's Creed II feedback is "extremely positive"

Feedback for the forthcoming Ubisoft title Assassin's Creed II has been "extremely positive," according to the publisher's head of marketing in the UK, Murray Pannel, while the lion's share of its advertising spend is still to come.

"All the feedback we're getting is extremely positive - certainly better than I was expecting, having come into the company in the last six months and remembering the Assassin's Creed I days which were nearly two years ago now," he told GamesIndustry.biz.

"So really positive in terms of the product. The marketing itself we discussed earlier in the year - we started it very early in the cycle, just after Easter and going into summer. We've been very keen to ensure we're maintaining our presence - if that's not in press and PR it's in events where we can showcase the product where possible.

"The reality is that our true marketing, our big heavyweight spend, will launch in the early weeks in November - that's when you'll see the big TV campaigns and the broader online, events and PR kicking in.

"But the signs so far are incredibly encouraging, and I'm convinced we're sitting on a true triple-A blockbuster title."

Yesterday the publisher released the first episode in its Hybride Studios-developed mini-series of short films setting up events in the build-up to the game via YouTube, with the game itself set to hit the shelves on November 20.