Lady Eh
Assassin's Creed 2 picks up directly where the first one left off. So if you haven't played the first one you'll have no idea why you're staring at a wall full of words and strange symbols, all written in blood. You'll also have no idea what these "Pieces of Eden" are. If you have played the first one you're most likely looking forward to getting some answers, as AC1 left us all with an annoying case of blue balls.
You once again assume control of Desmond Miles, a bartender who happens to be a descendant in a long line of assassins. I don't know about you, but I wake up every morning wishing the same thing would happen to me.
Once you gain control of Desmond, Lucy Stillman, ally and member of the modern day Assassins, comes to your room and demands you enter the Animus, stating it is of utter importance. Upon entering the Animus Desmond is reborn (literally) as Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Like, literally, we're starting right from birth with this one. We barge right in on Maria, Ezio's mother, giving birth to him, and when he's handed off to his father you press the respective buttons to make baby Ezio move his limbs. A pretty nice touch if you ask me.
You exit the Animus after this short scene and with the help of Lucy, you flee Abstergo, the company run by the modern day Knights Templar who are trying to kill you. Fun times. Unlike in the first game, Desmond now has the ability to do more than "strut" around in one room. While fleeing from Abstergo you're able to run and punch, which in my personal opinion was a necessary edition to the game.
Once you manage to escape you meet up with two new characters, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. Like Lucy they are members of the modern day Assassins and have managed to create their own new and improved version of the Animus, the machine used to relive the memories of Desmond's ancestors. This time around they're looking for Desmond's help in reliving the memories of the man you were reborn as minutes earlier Ezio, a young Italian nobleman who lived during the 15th century. They're going to use his memories to train you, Desmond, to become an assassin by way of the bleeding effect, through which Ezio's skills will transfer to Desmond while he is in the Animus.
Ubisoft has obviously spent much more time with the story in AC2 than they did with the first one. Ezio's story will span over 20 years and you'll learn much more about him than you did about Altair, making him a more relatable character and therefore making the story more interesting to play. You also get to know Ezio's family, his older brother, his mother, his father, his sister, and his younger brother. Ezio's initiation into the Assassins comes after his father and two brothers are wrongfully accused and publicly hung. His father's last instructions lead Ezio to a chest containing the assassin garments. Being a wanted man Ezio flees Florence with his mother and sister and seeks out his uncle in the countryside where they are able to take refuge.
Unlike Altair, who was fueled by his dedication to the Assassins, Ezio is fueled by passion and the need for vengeance. He reacts much more like an average person as opposed to a trained assassin. Dare I say this makes him much more of a hunk than Altair?? Of course, this may also have to do with the fact you get to see Ezio's face, while Altair's was always hidden behind the assassin's hood.
Ezio must learn the skills of the Assassins whereas when we met up with Altair he was already a well trained Assassin. The gameplay is essentially the same, with free running being the major appeal. This aspect, though well done in the first game, was improved upon in AC2. It's a bit more difficult to climb buildings, as the developers tried to make the places you could climb a little less obvious than in the first game. There's more variety in the architecture and you can climb almost everything, even though it might look like you can't.
The graphics and scenery are amazing, though the character designs aren't the best out there, the environment is the main concern as it's relevant to the core gameplay. If you've played AC1 the gameplay with be instantly familiar. Your main goal is to assassinate your targets in the most discreet way possible, well, after your first target which you publicly and passionately announce you have assassinated and that you are far from finished.
The sidequests, which were a major pain in the first game, have been toned back to the point where you don't have to play them at all. The main story has enough sidequests integrated into it to give you the variety you need. Aside from assassinating his targets Ezio will have to visit allies in order to learn the skills he requires to assassinate said targets quickly and efficiently. You will also be able to upgrade your armor, weapons (ranging from dual hidden blades to a hidden hand gun), and stronghold which consists of your uncle's villa and the town of Monteriggioni.
As far as combat goes I didn't notice much of change. Yes, it's been upgraded, but the core sword fighting combat still seems sluggish and unpolished, though it is much easier than the sword fighting in AC1. The hand to hand combat of the first game had me gritting my teeth and shouting expletives left and right, while the combat in AC2 seemed much easier. The guards aren't as relentless and they're less likely to catch onto the fact that you're an assassin, whereas in the first game it was as though you had a giant "I'M AN ASSASSIN" sticker stuck to your forehead... And it was flashing a variety of florescent colors. In this game the guards will barely notice if you stab an innocent civilian in the back and calmly walk away with blood dripping from your sleeves.
The collecting has been seriously reduced, and the only thing you absolutely have to collect are the 30 codex pages, everything else is optional and only necessary if you want all the achievements. There are 100 feathers to collect, which give you an achievement and the Auditore cape, which will also give you an achievement. There are 20 glyphs to find, which unlock pieces of a video that will aid in your understanding (maybe) of what exactly Desmond and the Assassin's are trying to accomplish. Then again, you can easily find the whole video on YouTube and save yourself the hassle of completing 20 slightly frustrating puzzles.
It's most likely that the end of the game will leave you with as many questions as the first one did and have you scrambling for Wikipedia the second you finish it. <spoiler - highlight text to read>The 2012 Mayan prophecy is bluntly mentioned by Lucy during the credits and is alluded to during Ezio's final memory sequence, suggesting that Assassin's Creed III will most likely have something to do with this prophecy.<spoiler>
I didn't really have many questions at the end of AC1, it was more of a "WTF?" mindset, and with AC2 shedding more light on the history of the Assassins and the Knights Templar I'm left with a lot more questions this time around now that I've been given a lot more information. My biggest question is whether Ubisoft will be able to bundle it all into one final game. There seems to be a lot left to discover and squeezing it all into one final game might be like playing a complex movie in fast forward and then asking us "Did ya get all that??"
But I suppose that remains to be seen. Right now all we can do is speculate on what Assassin's Creed III might bring. For now we can all enjoy AC2. If you haven't played it yet, you've been missing out. There are few things better than stabbing baddies in the throat. Except maybe stabbing two baddies in the throat at the same time, and you can do that in this game too. What more do you need?
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
DirtyDiva
If you enjoy the search for hidden items in a huge world full of murder, vengeance and betrayal and appreciate beauty, art and invention, you need to pick up Assassin's Creed II. Sure, if you played the first installment, you will be familiar with the Assassins but this new story touches much more heavily on religious themes. Whatever your personal beliefs, the outcome of this game is quite thought provoking.
As in AC I, you play as both current time Desmond as well as his ancestor Ezio Auditore from Renaissance Italy. Desmond is thrown back in time into Ezio's memories so they can be recorded and used for good causes - or are they? Ezio suffers a great hardship at the beginning of the adventure causing him to take the role of an Assassin. Throughout the game, you find out why things happened to him and a larger picture about the world is painted. It's quite a controversial topic for a game but due to the "airport scene" in Modern Warfare 2, I think this flew under the radar.
Aside from the serious tone, the gameplay was just fun. The achievements are well spaced out, the search for all the hidden items and side quests are enough to keep anyone interested and the controls have been refined immensely. I remember controller throwing fits as I would end up jumping in directions that I didn't intend in AC1. Sure, if you're not timing it right, you will still crash and crack open your skull but it's not as easy to do this time around.
I spent a good hour just wandering around trying to find the view points. Those are the areas on the map that stand taller than everything around them. Not only does this update locations on your map but it gives you an amazing view of the city around you. The detail that went into creating these skylines is simply breathtaking. Having said that, if you suffer from vertigo or get sick when playing games, I can't recommend this for you. The "Leap of Faith" you perform to descend from the tall towers are enough to cause anyone to feel a little queasy.
If you're a collector (in game items) then this is the ideal game for you. You have to find several things to further your progress including Assassin seals, feathers and strange glyphs that will lead to the "Truth". And no, it's not a tabacco is evil ad. To obtain these clues, each glyph hides a mini-puzzle. Read the clues carefully but don't read too much into them, if that makes sense.
The story is well thought out, the scenery is beautiful, the score is haunting and it's an all around fantastic game. This is definitely in my top 10 games for this year.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
