When Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed II on PS3 and Xbox 360 late last year, it shocked gamers by standing shoulders above its disappointing predecessor.  Ever since then PC gamers have been dying to know when they will get their turn.

Well the good news is they won’t have to wait too much longer, and Assassin’s Creed II will be released to PC gamers on March 16 in the US, with an expected European release a few days later, followed shortly by a release in South Africa. Realistically we can expect the game to hit local shelves no later than March 25.

Many PC gamers have expressed annoyance with getting the game a few months after their console counterparts. In what is possibly a bid to appease PC gamers, Ubisoft has announced that the PC version will include the soon to be released Assassin’s Creed II DLC “The Battle of Forli” as well as another DLC pack called “Bonfire of the Vanities”. Battle of Forli will cost console gamers around R30 as well as a 1GB download. Bonfire of the Vanities is expected in late February, and will likely cost the same as well as require additional bandwidth to download. PC gamers should be pleased to learn that both these content packs will be included in the retail package.

Finally, PC gamers will again be pleased to learn that if they were able to play the first game on their machine, then they should have little problem with the sequel as the requirements are fairly modest.

PC requirements for Assassin’s Creed II

Minimum Configuration

SUPPORTED OS: Windows® XP (32-64 bits) /Windows Vista®(32-64 bits)/Windows 7® (32-64 bits)
Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ
RAM: 1.5 GB  Windows® XP / 2 GB Windows Vista® – Windows 7®
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX®  9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 –compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller
* This product does not support Windows® 98/ME/2000/NT

Recommended Configuration

Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700  or better
Sound: 5.1 sound card
Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick optional (Xbox 360® Controller for Windows recommended)
Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI® RADEON®  X1950, HD 2000/3000/4000/5000 series
NVIDIA GeForce® 7/8/9/100/200 series

Discuss Assassin’s Creed II in the forums