Ubisoft has announced that well-known British humorist and author Danny Wallace will be cast as one of the key roles in Assassin’s Creed II. The voice and likeness of Wallace will be cast for the character of Shaun Hastings. A pivotal character in the game, Shaun will serve as a historian, guide and source of information for the player as he proceeds through the game.
Danny Wallace is most recognised as the author of critically acclaimed books including Join Me and Yes Man. The latter was turned into a Hollywood movie starring Jim Carey in 2008, whilst more recently this year his latest book Friends Like These has been released in paperback. In recent years, Danny has also been involved in a variety of different ‘projects’ from searching the globe for robots and creating his own country in central London, to more sedate celebrity activity such as appearing on the Jonathan Ross show and writing a regular column for award-winning lifestyle magazine ShortList.
“When the UK suggested Danny to us, we were completely open to the idea. Danny has been fantastic to work with, and his manner and particular style of humor has worked out perfect for the role of Shaun” said script writer Corey May. Speaking on his own involvement in the game, Wallace said “Going right back to my days of working on Sega Power, I’ve always been a keen gamer, and being involved - and actually being in a game like Assassin’s Creed II is amazing! I have to say, I’m rather excited”
Assassin’s Creed II is the product of over two years of intensive development by the original creative team behind the Assassin’s Creed brand. In a vast open world environment, the game invites players to incarnate Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who’s been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy.
Ezio’s subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into a captivating and epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new game play elements, diverse weapons and a profound character progression that will appeal to fans of the original Assassin’s Creed as well as entice players new to the brand.
Assassin’s Creed II is scheduled to launch on November 20, 2009 for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PC.