Ubisoft Presents: Achievements on top of Achievements?
I found on the main menu the option to go to this U-Play thing and decided to check it out. I set up a ubisoft account (wow big surprise right?) and even let them send me the "special offers" from them just for the hell of it. Once set up I received a nice 10U(Ubisoft score? points? oh whatever I got 10U dangit) just for signing up. I also found out that during my playthrough and completion of Assassin's Creed 2 I had earned myself an additional 100U for a total of 110U just to start out.
Now what does this get me you ask? Well I checked it out and my points can earn me additional in game content! AC2 has 4 additional things you can redeem with your U points: A theme, additional throwing knives, an Altair outfit and an exclusive in game map. Now you may be saying - ok this blows - just another way to get money.....well I earned 100U total for AC2 and all the extra content costs 100U. So at least at this point (I should mention this U-play states beta as you load it) you earn enough points in each game to unlock all the content.
The only three games currently in this system are AC2, R.U.S.E, and Splinter Cell conviction, although I can't redeem any points towards those games (you have to have played them to buy items from them) I can see that each of those games also has 100U that can be earned and 100U that can be "spent".
Of course at the moment it is in a beta standpoint, but how cool is that? I mean there always is the possibility of Ubisoft becoming money hungry and start charging for points or make more items redeemable in a game than you can earn points with, but all in all its kind of like the avatar reward system except you get to choose what you want. I am always for developers coming up with new ideas to add value to a game.
Checking it out online, there are references for the PS3 as well so this apparently is a cross-platform system. Here's hoping they continue it and don't become greedy bastards!!!