Here's what Ubisoft has to say regarding claims that Silent Hunter 5 and Assassin's Creed II (Russian version) were cracked and are already playable: “You have probably seen rumors on the web that Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 have been cracked,” Ubisoft told us in a statement this morning. “Please know that this rumor is false and while a pirated version may seem to be complete at start up, any gamer who downloads and plays a cracked version will find that their version is not complete.”

I'll leave you to think what you like. I've checked what people are saying on various gaming sites and forums and it's still not certain what Ubi means when they say the pirated versions of the two titles are "incomplete" - some gamers who have tried the pirated version of SH 5 are saying you can't play beyond a particular point in the game, while others are saying that there's a workaround for that. People also think Ubisoft is referring to stuff like lack of Achievements or DLC.