Source: The GameFAQs forums, relating information from a since-deleted Ubisoft message board post.

What we heard: On Monday, Ubisoft set the gears of the Assassin's Creed 2 hype machine in motion, launching a teaser site for the sequel to 2007's well-received multiplatform action adventure. Visitors to the site are greeted with a brief Flash clip panning through the journal of famed Italian inventor Leonardo da Vinci. The short teaser ends with word that a full review of Assassin's Creed 2 is expected to arrive with the upcoming issue of Game Informer magazine, which is owned by retailer GameStop.

On its Web site today, Game Informer confirmed that Assassin's Creed 2 will indeed be the cover story of its upcoming issue. The site also noted in a brief blurb that the title will be set in "Renaissance-era Venice" and will follow the travails of new protagonist Ezio, a young Italian noble. For more on its "world exclusive," the blurb teases, gamers will have to spring for the May issue of the mag...

...or wait until the Internet gets its collective hands on it a week early. Yesterday, a poster on Ubisoft's official forums offered a detailed accounting of purported Assassin's Creed 2 information that will be included in the May issue of Game Informer. (Before the post was deleted by a Ubisoft forums administrator, a GameFAQs user secured a copy of the original message.)

The post offers a litany of alleged details on Assassin's Creed 2. According to the original message, the game will offer a number of famous Venetian locales, including da Vinci's workshop, Saint Mark's Basilica, The Grand Canal, The Little Canal, and the Rialto Bridge. Players will also supposedly be afforded trips through the Tuscan countryside, circa 1476. A number of historical figures will also reportedly be present, including Niccolo Machiavelli, Caterina Sofrza, and Lorenzo de Medici, the latter of which is said to be the subject of an assassination attempt.

Ezio--full name Ezio Auditore de Firenze--will apparently have a number of weapons to choose from, including "an axe, a hammer, a mace, a spear, two different sword types, a [halberd], and two smaller blades." Each weapon is said to have a special move associated with it, and Ezio will be able to disarm opponents and use their fumbled weaponry against them.

Continuing with the Venice theme, swimming will reportedly be an option in the game. And, as speculated following Ubisoft's official teaser, the leaked details claim that Ezio will be able to take to the skies using da Vinci's flying machine. The report also states that a day-and-night cycle has been added to the game.

Moving on to specific gameplay details, the Game Informer reveal will also reportedly say that Assassin's Creed will sport 16 mission types, a dramatic increase over the original's four. Two mission types supposedly not included, however, will be eavesdropping and pickpocketing. A number of new enemy types are said to have been added, including archers, "as well as elite enemies, dagger wielders, 'Brutish' armored troops with heavy armor and two-handed swords and axes, and an intelligent halberd enemy will probe hiding places with their weapons if they think you're nearby."

The post goes on to state that Assassin's Creed 2 will also include a number of holdover mechanics from the original, including tower climbing and horseback riding, and assassinations can now reportedly be performed while Ezio is concealed in a stack of hay. Hidden objects will also return, though the report indicates that players will gain in-game benefits by hunting them down this time around.

The official story: "I can confirm that the information in the upcoming Game Informer magazine is factually correct," a word-mincing Ubisoft representative told GameSpot.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus. However, it's impossible to say with certainty whether the forum poster was accurate in his details until Game Informer hits newsstands next week.

Source: British handheld specialty site Pocket Gamer.

What we heard: Since 2009 began, one rumor has hung over the game industry week after week--namely, that Sony is readying a true successor to the PSP. Since being introduced to the US and EU in 2005, the handheld has been outsold two-to-one by its dual-screen rival the DS, some 50 million units to 100 million units. Since June 2007, the PSP has also faced competition on the multimedia front from Apple's iPhone, which ramped up its gaming functionality exponentially last summer with the launch of the App Store.

With the handheld market growing even more cuthroat with this week's launch of the Web-browsing, multimedia-enabled DSi, pressure is building on Sony to produce a compelling alternative. The most credible rumors this year have spoken of a slimmer revision of the PSP that ditches the optical UMD drive, whose moving parts can cause long load times and drain battery life. The PSP already supports downloadable games, which are stored on a Memory Stick Duo or Pro, Sony's proprietary flash-memory card format.

Today, Pocket Gamer restoked the PSP2 rumor mill--which has inspired some impressive unauthorized concept art (pictured)--by reporting that it has spoken directly with a developer working with the new PSP. (For those keeping score, that's the same claim made by Acclaim president David Perry in February.) According to the British site, the fourth iteration of the handheld will be much more drastic than its two prior reworks, which streamlined its chassis, brightened its screen, rearranged some buttons, and added video output.

The new PSP will reportedly have a touch-sensitive screen like the iPhone and will offer a similarly sleek appearance by hiding its controls when they're not in use via a sliding panel. Among those controls will be one many PSP users felt should have been included in the original version--a second analog thumbstick. Finally, the handheld will reportedly be released in the US and Europe by year's end following an unveiling at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

The official story: "As far as this new round of rumors--we haven't announced any new PSP hardware and can't comment on these rumors or speculation." -- Sony rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus something major is in the works. Speaking with GameSpot last month, Sony Computer Entertainment America hardware marketing head John Koller said over half of 2009's PSP games haven't been announced yet. "There's a lot of announcements coming up to E3 and particularly at E3," he said, further indicating that Sony is ramping up its backing of the PSP. (Emphasis added.) With software support ramping up, it would behoove Sony to reshuffle the handheld market deck by releasing an appealing new device.

Source: Hollywood trade Variety's gaming blog The Cut Scene.

What we heard: In an interview with gaming Web site 1Up late last month, Double Fine founder Tim Schafer played it cagey when responding to whether his heavy-metal-themed action game would be released for the Wii. According to the site, Schafer turned to his public relations handler for advice on how to respond, before issuing the equivocal response, "We are making an Xbox 360 and a [PlayStation 3] version of Brutal Legend."

Yesterday, Schafer's vague comments may have gotten some clarity. Citing "several good sources," Variety's gaming blog The Cut Scene reported that a Wii edition of Brutal Legend is coming, but Schafer's Double Fine won't be developing it. Instead, EA, which is publishing Brutal Legend under its EA Partners label, is reportedly in the process of commissioning an as-yet-unspecified studio to handle development on the Wii edition, which Variety believes will arrive sometime after the Xbox 360 and PS3 games come due this fall.

The move, of course, makes sense, given EA's recent push to bring as many of its titles to the Wii as possible, such as with the recently announced Dead Space: Extraction. EA also has precedence in farming out alternate versions of a game published through its Partners label. In 2007, EA opted to extend Valve's critical hit The Orange Box to the PS3 platform through one of its internal studios.

The official story: Neither EA nor Double Fine had responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus.

Source: A Joystiq report from the 2009 Game Developers Conference.

What we heard: At last year's Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft finally revealed Halo 3: ODST, a new Master Chief-free spin-off of the third installment in the wildly popular sci-fi shooter series. Shortly thereafter, though, the studio--which split away from Microsoft the year prior--said the project was the last piece of Halo 3 content in its pipeline, which includes two other mystery projects.

"It's a one-off thing," Bungie.net community lead Brian Jarrard told reporters at TGS.

Last week, though, that tune appeared to have changed. At during his Wednesday session titled "Building Your Airplane While Flying: Production at Bungie," producer Allen Murray was quoted by Joystiq as saying, "Halo 3 took two and a half years to make, and we're still working on it…We'll probably be working on it for two more years."

The official story: As the weekend landed, Bungie issued a response bluntly reiterating that there are no more Halo 3 projects in its pipeline. Confirming the quote as accurate, the community content writer known simply as "Urk" capped his Friday Update with the following statement:

"It's interesting how people come to define what 'working' means. According to the web, that definitely means we're making more maps, another campaign expansion, and maybe even an expansion to our as-yet-unreleased expansion, Halo 3: ODST. Were it so easy. 'Working on Halo 3' could also be defined as ongoing management of the Matchmaking Playlists, swinging the Banhammer as hard and as often as needed, investigating potential exploits, and generally ensuring that the game experience remains positive and entertaining for everyone."

"While we've indicated in the past that we don't have plans to deliver more content for Halo 3 beyond the retail launch of Halo 3: ODST, going as far as to call the return to New Mombasa the 'exclamation point' on the Halo 3 experience, that's not a definite 'never.' That said, don't get too excited at the prospect as there are no current plans to make additional content post-ODST. " (Emphasis added.)

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Bungie is working on any new Halo 3 projects. Not bogus that Murray's comment could have given the impression that the studio was.

Source: A Traveller's Tales employee's online resume.

What we heard: Traveller's Tales may not have hit critical gold with the September 2008 release of Lego Batman, but the title certainly delivered, financially. Since its September 2008 release, the studio's Dark Knight parody has sold northward of 2 million copies in the US alone, according to data provided by the NPD Group. With Lego Indiana Jones putting up similar numbers in the US not three months before, it stands to reason that Warner Bros. Interactive and its wholly owned UK studio are keen on pumping out as many Lego titles as possible.

And, of course, that appears to be the case, if a recently unearthed online resume for a current Traveller's Tales employee is to be believed. As spotted by VG247, an animator with the studio reportedly listed in her CV that she was "currently working as a Cutscene Animator on LEGO Harry Potter & LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which are both in the early stages of production."

The statement has since been removed, but not before the animator went ahead and confirmed the validity of her resume listings. "That's right," she told VG247, in response to whether she was at work on the projects. "But they're not confirmed. I can't really talk about them."

This is not the first time that Traveller's Tales has been mentioned in the same breath as Lego Harry Potter. In December, UK gaming news site CVG said that it had confirmed with sources that Warner Bros. and Traveller's Tales were in the process of piecing together the boy wizard and his Hogwarts cohorts, though no further details were revealed.

The official story: "No comment."--A Warner Bros. Interactive representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus on both counts.

Source: The Twitter feed of BBC radio and television personality Jonathan Ross.

What we heard: Twitter's a wonderful invention. Basically, everyone can publish a comment for the whole world to see as soon as it pops into their head, even if that information is utterly inane or entirely confidential. For the BBC's Jonathan Ross, the tweets in question mixed a little from both categories.

Last night, Ross attended the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards ceremony for video games, at which Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy walked away with top honors. Closing out the evening, Ross said in a succinct 140 characters or less, "Goodnight all. Must go to bed. Got asked to do voice in Fable 3 tonight. Subarashi. Oyasuminasia. Woss out." (Emphasis added.)

However, Ross didn't stop there. Later that night, he responded to a fellow tweeter's direct message, saying, "Yes they are doing it. [Comedian and The Guardian columnist] Charlie Brooker said he would do a voice for it to [sic]! Great fun!!" The following morning, Ross tweeted his somewhat ambiguous intentions to apologize to Peter Molyneux, before concluding the matter by tweeting, "Yes. No. There is no Fable 3. I don't know. Help me."

It wouldn't be at all surprising if Microsoft and Lionhead teamed for a new installment in the action adventure franchise. The original Fable was one of the Xbox's top sellers, and Fable II has garnered a number of awards since it launched for the Xbox 360 to a warm critical reaction in October 2008, including a BAFTA for best action adventure last night.

Furthermore, Lionhead founder Peter Molyneux has previously said that his studio already has the third, fourth, and fifth installments in the franchise mapped out. "We've got plans for Fable III, IV, and V, actually... It's a big story arc, and you can see that if you've played Fable II you'll recognise things from Fable," Molyneux commented in July 2008.

The official story: [UPDATE] It would appear Ross' claim to Fable III fame was a bit premature was a bit premature. "We have no agreement in place with Ross to work on forthcoming projects," a Microsoft representative told GameSpot.

As it would turn out, though, Lionhead is indeed working on more content for Fable II. "That said, it is true that we are not yet done with Fable II," the rep continued. "We are working on additional content for Fable II. That's all we can say for now. We will have more to share soon!"

Bogus or not bogus?: In light of Microsoft's comment on the matter, it seems possible that Ross has been asked to lend his voice to the forthcoming Fable II content. Being that as it is, the Fable franchise is one of the most popular Xbox 360 exclusives--having sold some 2.6 million units to date. As such, don't be surprised if and when Microsoft and its internally owned Lionhead Studios do announce a new installment in the franchise.

Source: Canadian gaming blog Game Focus.

What we heard: Here's what's clear: On March 12, Capcom plans to make at least one game announcement as part of its Resident Evil 5 launch event in San Francisco. The publisher revealed as much on its official blog, saying, "To top it all off, there will be new game announcements, stage shows, and Resident Evil activities all through out the night." (Emphasis added.)

So what's Capcom got up its sleeves? Enter Matt Dahlgren, associate product-marketing manager at Capcom. On Friday, Dahlgren gave an interview to Canadian gaming blog Game Focus as part of Capcom's buildup to Resident Evil 5's launch this week. In the process, he made two independent statements that, when taken together, may indicate that the publisher is working on a game set in the Resident Evil: Code Veronica continuum for the Wii.

First, Dahlgren addressed the possibility of RE5 coming to the Wii. "I don't think Resident Evil 5 would transition well onto the Wii," he said. "With that said, though, we really cherish our fans on the Wii, and Capcom supports the Wii and definitely wants to make sure that we are not alienating our fans of the Resident Evil franchise that own Wiis. So I would say to those users that they should pay attention to the near future, and there should be some announcements coming their way in the near future that they should be pleased with."

So something in the pipe for Wii gamers, check. Now what about Code Veronica? "Nothing is planned for the game regarding a remake on PSN/XBLA, but what I can say is if you are a fan of Code Veronica you should pay attention in the next couple of weeks, there is some news you should be very pleased with," Dahlgren noted at the tail end of the interview. "Pay attention on the 12th."

The official story: Capcom had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that Capcom is prepping a Code Veronica announcement for March 12. However, considering the publisher's own statements, it is entirely possible that Capcom is prepping more than one game reveal, with the Code Veronica and Wii announcements being mutually exclusive. It also remains to be seen whether the Code Veronica announcement indicates an all-new game, or simply another port of the highly well-received original Dreamcast title.

Source: The official Army of Two Web site.

What we heard: As part of EA's dismal third-quarter earnings report in February, CEO John Riccitiello made much of the fact that his company needs to spend more time building up marketing efforts in the lead-up to the launch of its top games. As it turns out, one way the publisher will do so is by officially announcing that an official announcement will be forthcoming--officially--in the near future.

Such was the case yesterday, when EA made much to do about an impending reveal from its Montreal studio, preannouncing that an announcement for the mystery project would be made on March 12. According to the publisher, VP and EA Montreal general manager Alain Tascan will join members of the development team to give media a first look at the project on March 9, with impressions and interviews embargoed until March 16.

Immediately, speculation arose on what the mystery project would be, with most fingers pointing to a sequel to arguably EA Montreal's highest-profile--and most certainly tasteless--effort, Army of Two. Today, that speculation picked up further steam, as the official Army of Two Web site has been updated with a new teaser page. On the page, site visitors will see a portrait of a grizzled military man's face, as well as the words "Submit."

The official story: EA had not returned requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Interestingly, the strongest evidence supporting the imminent reveal of an Army of Two sequel comes from metadata buried in the page's code. A descriptor for the site reads: "Army to [sic] Two. The definitive third person shooter is back." (Emphasis added.) Therefore, an Army of Two sequel announcement is most certainly on the horizon, and the stars seem to be aligning for a March 12 reveal. Looking not bogus.

Source: The Twitter feed of Acclaim president and game-industry cognoscenti David Perry.

What we heard: Ever since the Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft console war began in earnest in 2001, the Big Three have been fanatical about information control. Even the series of "leaks" leading up to the Xbox 360's unveiling in 2005 turned out to be a too-clever-by-half alternate reality game.

Little wonder then, with the official PR process so rigidly micromanaged, that gamers pounce on the smallest iota of information that emerges outside of the publicity food chain. Lately, many tidbits have prematurely bubbled up via Twitter, the suddenly omnipresent microblogging service that has been seized upon by the mainstream media and midlevel celebs. Besides your actual friends, you can now follow CNN, the BBC, and the New York Times, in addition to Levar Burton, rapper Q-Tip, and Firefly alum Summer Glau, and the artist formerly known as MC Hammer (among many others).

However, gamers have known about Twitter for a while now, and tech-savvy developers and journalists have used it to communicate since 2006. Indeed, the past several months have seen several stories break on Twitter. Last December, Newsweek's game correspondent used it to report from an Activision meeting where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was first revealed. Earlier this month, the game's existence was further confirmed by a tweet from Infinity Ward director of communications and community manager Robert Bowling before it was officially announced during a February 11 Activision Blizzard earnings conference call.

This week, it was Sony's turn to be twisted in twain twixt Twitter tweets. In the post in question, Perry declared, "I hear Sony FINALLY has the PSP 2. And thank goodness, they've removed the stupid battery-sucking UMD disc drive. I'm excited!"

The official story: "We don't comment on rumor or speculation. Equally, we have no relation with David or his company, so [we're] not sure why there'd be any weight put to his comments to the press," said a Sony rep, before adding, "Did you see our PSP announcements [on Tuesday]? UMD isn't going away..."

Bogus or not bogus?: On one hand, Sony has a point that--with Rock Band, Assassin's Creed, MotorStorm, and Little Big Planet all just announced for the handheld--UMD isn't on the precipice of abandonment. On the other, Perry is an old hand with numerous contacts in the industry. Why would he spread speculation that he suspected of being false?

One possiblity: They could both be telling the truth, and Sony is planning a UMD-less PSP model to market alongside the UMD-drive-packing PSP. And keep in mind, the company already releases games as UMDs and digital downloads simuntaneously. So having the two hardware models overlap might be a way of segueing between game formats. Nintendo is doing something similar later this year, when it will sell the DS Lite, which has a Game Boy Advance slot, and the DSi, which loses the GBA slot in favor of DSiWare digital distribution capabilities, at the same time.