Yesterday, we told you about the fancy Assassin's Creed 2 bundle that was confirmed for Europe. With all the details given about that bundle, one critical piece of information was missing: when it's coming out. Well, now you diorama builders know how long you have to craft the perfect backdrop for that Ezio figurine (compared above with the official art of Ezio in a different costume) -- and also when you'll be able to play the game.

Ubisoft told Eurogamer that Assassin's Creed 2, in both regular and "Black Edition," will be released on November 20 in Europe, just three days after the North American launch date. Unfortunately for American shelves, Ubisoft still has yet to confirm the "Black Edition" for North America -- but it seems likely that American fans will be given the opportunity to spend more money as well.

Assassin's Creed 2 is Patrice Désilets' first sequel. If there's any anxiety or fatigue squirming inside of him, it's well hidden by an infectious enthusiasm and candor. Speaking with us during E3 2009 in Ubisoft's den (and thus, din), the creative director frankly discussed several issues with us, including one which you may have heard about, over and over again:

Joystiq: Do you mind if I go back to Assassin's Creed 1 for just a bit?

Patrice Désilets: Yeah, yeah, no problem.

So, that game comes out. You're reading the reviews and people are complaining about repetition.

Yeah.

What do you feel at this point? Do you agree with them?

Repetition for me is a point of view, really. Like, what is repetitive or not? You know, sometimes you go and play the same game over and over again and you are all right with the repetitiveness of it. And in AC1 some people just couldn't bear it. We listened to them while we were making the second one, but, I wasn't nervous or mad. What I was a little disappointed with was some reviewers, how they treated us. They have the right to their opinions and everything, but I felt like they maybe went too fast. But you know what? I also received [opinions that were] the other way around. People being really happy about the game. Doing it two, three, four, five times.

Sure.

And we sold some eight million copies of it, you know.

Eight million people can't be wrong?

"I'm telling you. At the end of AC2 you'll say‚ 'Holy crap, I never saw it coming.'"

That's according to Assassin's Creed II creative director, Patrice Désilets. In addition to saying "Holy crap," you should also prepare yourself to exclaim, "But what happens next?!" Désilets noted that his first Ubisoft sequel will answer plenty of questions -- but not all of them.

"There will be a cliffhanger," he admitted. "It's cool to have a cliffhanger." The director feels that players need to experience just a little bit of frustration at the game's completion, though a new way to replay completed missions should counter at least some of that. Oh, and remember that glowing writing on the wall?

"It has nothing to do with Assassin's Creed II, what's written on the wall has to do with the Assassin's Creed universe, not the second one."

Aural assassination accompaniment news now, with the first confirmation that composer Jesper Kyd will be returning to score Ubisoft's upcoming foray into ye olde stealthe, Assassin's Creed II. Speaking to producer Sebastian Puel, we established that the first title's musical talent would tailor a new soundtrack for Ezio's Venician killing spree.

We also spotted Jesper Kyd at the Ubisoft E3 booth. After assuring him that Puel had already spilled the beans, Kyd noted that he was still in the process of composing the music, ahead of the game's November 17th release. We can't wait to hear it! Oh, and play it, obviously.

Completionists looking forward to strapping themselves in Da Vinci's flying machine in Assassin's Creed II will need to pick up the game's PSP version as well. Speaking during Sony's E3 2009 press gathering, Ubisoft revealed that the upcoming sequel will feature unlockable weapons, which players will only be able to unsheathe by connecting the game to the series' upcoming PSP debut this holiday. Animus compatibility, however, is still a ways off, so we're told.

Hey, what is this? Something interesting out of the Ubisoft keynote? After several days of Ubisoft press conference, the company hit us with some Assassin's Creed 2 news and footage.

In addition to the crazy announcement that Assassin's Creed 2's Ezio has beaten pretty much the whole world to the invention of the gun, Ubisoft announced that the game will be out on November 17. ...Seriously, if you've got advanced weaponry like that in the 1400's, you could probably make a very tidy living as an inventor. Why all the running around and killing people?

Steam is ready to let you sneak up and take a few of Ubisoft's stealth-action titles at very reasonable prices. Until June 5, Assassin's Creed is only $10, while the exploits of Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell and Double Agent are a mere $5.

If those prices are too high, remember that Steam also has Unreal Tournament III to play this weekend for free. So frag away for gratis in multiplayer, or take the quiet killing of single player. The choice is yours.

Ubisoft Montreal's Sebastien Puel, producer on Assassin's Creed 2, is in charge of 450 people (still not confirmed if he drives a Dodge Stratus). Those 450 people, however, are in charge of bringing Ezio Auditore de Firenze to life before the Ubisoft-imposed March 10 deadline arrives.

Puel claims the group is roughly three times the size of the original crew of folks employed to create AC1 and that, among those folks, 75 percent have been kept on board from the nascent team. "Making [Assassin's Creed] from A to Z took around four years ... it's a very good thing we are keeping most of the core members who envisioned the first Assassin's Creed," he says, adding that the original team had "thousands of ideas" left out of the original project, ready to be implemented this time around. We've made no secrets about our love for the original and would be lying if we didn't express our excitement over getting to play it in a few weeks at E3 2009. Hopefully not all 450 developers will be demonstrating the game for us.

[Via Videogamer]