We all remember our experiences with the original Assassin's Creed. We remember how excited we were with that first parkour run through the rooftops, the stunning visuals of Jerusalem and Damascus from a bird's eye view, as well as the amazing sense of freedom to roam the Holy Land. We also remember how let down we were in the middle of the second mission, the third mission and every mission after that becuase they were all the same: gather intel, find mark, kill mark. Almost anyone who played that game would agree that Assassin's Creed was more repetitive than a broken record.
In 2009, Ubisoft told us that Assassin's Creed II would be everything that its predecessor was supposed to be and much more. And after seeing the amazing unrealized potential of the said predecessor, we all discarded Revolver Ocelot's advice to never trust a Frenchman (or in this case, French Canadian) and belived them, starting our period of patient waiting and anticipation. Have Ubisoft redeemed themselves in our eyes? Yes, yes, yes and a million times yes. Assassin's Creed II not only makes up for that one huge fault Assassin's Creed had, but is also an amazing game on its own.
Story
We are once again taking on the role of Desmond Miles, a descendant of the Assassins. This time we take the Anubis, 2.0 to be precise, to 1400s Italy, which you history buffs will know as the Reinassance, the time of great people such as Leonardo daVinci and Nicholo Machiavelli, both of which make an appearance in this game. Altair has long since passed away, so we see the Reinassance through the eyes of Ezio Auditore, a 17-year old Florentine youth. Ezio is the heir of the House of Auditore, a wealthy banking clan and much like any rich kid teenager, he comes off as happy go lucky, immature and certainly not a worthy successor to Altair. Assassin's Creed II ,however, follows roughly a decade of Ezio's life, and as Ezio gets older he becomes more mature and much darker, turning him into a character similar to his Syrian ancestor.
Ezio is not the only character we get to play as this time around. We also get to play as Altair in a flashback sequence, as well as Desmond himself, who does more than just walk around and lie down in the Anubis. That's it for the story, since it's way too good to be spoiled.
Graphics and Sound
Graphical execution was one of the tings that Assassin's Creed was hard to fault on. The sequel improves on the graphics even further. All the environments and character models are highly detailed and there isn't a city that looks like another, which was a flaw in the original. The dialogue and the music are very well executed as well, with a few Italian words thrown in here and there to make the experience more authentic.
Gameplay
Even stunning graphics and an Oscar winning storyline cannot save a bad game. How does Assassin's Creed II fair in terms of gameplay? For the most part, simply incredible. The repetitiveness from the main storyline of the original is gone without a trace, replaced by a more Grand Teft Auto-like story progression. Not only has the major flaw of the original been fixed wonderfully, but there are some great new things as well. Ezio can do some lovely tricks that Altair couldn't, including the hiring of thieves, courtesans and mercenaries to distract guards who stand in his way, throwing money at potential witnesses so they're too busy picking it up to see you slide the hidden blade into a guard's back, disarming assailants when fighting unarmed, as well as fun new ways to end lives, including double kills with dual wielded hidden blades, grabbing a guard's leg while hanging on a ledge and throwing him off, and stabbing guard while hidden in a haystack.
All the weapons from the original make a comeback, but this time there are multiple kinds of swords,knives and this time maces and warhammers with varying stats in terms of speed, power and blocking. Hidden blades can now be dual wielded and even spiked with poison. Throwing knives also make a comeback.
Waging war against the almighty templar knights requires some lovely funding, so how does an Assassin make a living? Could be by doing sidequests or hunting down the main villain's messengers (who he seems to have a whole legion of), but the main source of income is your very own town. You invest money into its shops and various other infrastructure, which generates income on a regular basis.
Like any other game, Assassin's Creed II has some flaws, even though very minor. The sidequests such as delivering messages, beating people up and doing non-story related assassinations are a little bit repeptitive with rewards that aren't worth the effort. They don't have to be done at all, but it's still a flaw in the game's design. Other than that, there is way too much collecting, even though the codex pages which you have to collect will all show up on the map when you need them, unlike the 100 feathers that have to be collected to get a couple of extras and the truth puzzles. Still, the repetitiveness and collecting shouldn't bother you too much unless you're a diehard trophy person.
In conclusion, Assassin's Creed 2 more than redeems its predecessor and is definately worth a purchase.
