Review Score:

Sucks you in much like the first and introduces a great set of new features to make this a very worthy sequel.

So, here we are again with Desmond, an unlucky subject (or lucky in some ways) chosen to use the all new Animus. Although for our first moments, we’ll be using the first old Animus. Your very first moments upon entering the memory, is that of a baby being born. This baby is no ordinary baby, it’s an upcoming Ezio, a new character for a new historical setting. Sure, our previous character was awesome (and still damn right is) but Ezio has a sleek, ladies-man look. He’s also a very good fighter, I kid you not. He seems to want the attention, much like we crave the attention of all the great features yet to discover.

What made Assassin’s Creed special was the beauty of the landscapes and carefully crafted historical characters. However, what made it even more special is how you become apart of a historical setting thanks to the wonders of DNA and the Animus. Nevertheless, the sequel does what made the first a very exciting and fresh experience. Not just another game, not just a typical sequel, but a game that throws in many new and useful features whilst modifying certain elements to better reflect our new setting. Many of the flaws from the first seem to be addressed. Assassin’s Creed II takes place in Italy, a place that has many secrets and beauty that one could only wish he or she could experience in reality (although, probably without the violence). If you can’t quite get that time machine working, then I guess we’ll have to settle with some Assassin’s Creed II.

"What made Assassin's Creed special was the beauty of the landscapes and carefully crafted historical characters."

It becomes increasingly hard to tell you about the details of Assassin’s Creed II. I really want to tell you some things but then there’s a part of me thinking, I really shouldn’t just give every speck of detail away. So, let me put it this way – if you are even slightly curious about the previous events, then you will certainly have a sense of continuation and explanation come through. First things first with the character Ezio, he has all his fingers but he doesn’t wield a blade right away. This allows us to play and moderately progress through the various tutorials that will pop up and eventually lead you to the things you really want to do. It’s a good balance, because titles that are too overwhelming at first play can be difficult to grasp. A fist fight feels solid early on and it’s easy to learn the controls of combat – especially if you liked it in the first. The controls feel similar, but there are many small and interesting changes to discover. Ezio seems to be a much more flexible protagonist, it seems, and as you climb buildings and make satisfying jumps, you’ll soon start to notice it.

Throughout, you are not alone. There are many small and effective ways that passers-by can aid you. You can hire prostitutes to lure the attention of enemies whilst you make your way past them. If you want to spill your coins, go ahead, because doing so will attract residents nearby, creating an effective distraction. Compared to the first, Ezio doesn’t seem to be alone much. Early on, I’ve found myself having to follow someone to get to some enemies rather than just making my own way there. Ezio, being his character, does like the attention, so I guess it’s only fair to have assistance during fights. When fighting, you’ll have a choice of weapons by holding down RB. You can have a variety, at last. An interesting-yet-simple element that’s been present for many years in other titles, is that you can now pick up a weapon dropped by an enemy. If you find yourself needing further aid, you’ll probably want to preserve some currency for weapons and upgrades.

A major new feature is the economy. There are marked on your map, so these shouldn’t be a problem to find (assuming you’ve synchronised the View Points). Instead of having the health eventually re-generate, as was the case in the first, this time it doesn’t – kind of. If one block gets decreased, but not all the way, then that block will re-generate. Say, if you have a few blocks decrease completely, then it will not re-generate. Fear not, there are some creepy-looking doctors standing on the streets of Italy. You simply walk up to them, press Y and can be healed for a small decrease of your currency. Also, you can take some extra medicine, in case you are unable to find a doctor. This is especially useful during areas with fights or if you’re just too lazy to find the doctor.

The impossible is now possible - Leonardo would be proud.

There’s nothing more satisfying in Assassin’s Creed II than climbing up a very tall building, which likely is a View Point and looking into the distance. Seeing all the building and landscape is kinda breathless, just the closest match to reality in my opinion. View Points, like in the first game, are synchronised, which will un-blur parts of the map, to make it easier to navigate. It is highly encouraged that you synchronise View Points upon finding them (preferably when not in combat, might I add). Conveniently enough, there are hay stacks placed, so you can just dive off these to get back on the ground quickly. Bird droppings are present on buildings to indicate that you can jump from there safely. The beauty shines through day and night. So, exploring somewhere like Florence or Venice is still satisfying without the sun. However, with that said, I did find certain alleys a slight bit difficult to see through due to the poor lighting.

It’s not just jumping across buildings, though – there are tombs and more open areas present. Your knowledge of the areas will be put to the test in events like races. Like Crackdown (yeah, great comparison!), you are getting from checkpoint to checkpoint whilst trying to figure out the quickest and most effective way of getting there. I guess this will be trial and error on some later races, but so far it has been a lot of fun. Races, however, are just one type of side-mission to play in. You’ll discover more of these and be able to earn achievements from doing so. On the subject of achievements – the list does seem fair and, although there are some collectibles, it’s nowhere near the shear amount of flags in the first game. Symbols are also on the sides of buildings, where you’ll have to switch to Eagle Vision to activate the puzzle. On one, I was linking a series of images together that all had one similarity. It does seem a little confusing but if you look beyond the description of what to do, I’m sure it will become obvious how to work out.

All this way through, and not once did I mention anything about swimming. Well, as with many sequels, you can now swim. I take it Animus 2.0 is a much better machine. I found myself discovering new features at times I wasn’t expecting. So, not everything is clearly revealed right off the bat. This is what makes Assassin’s Creed II a very satisfying experience. There’s far more features in the game than I’ve explained and you will soon discover them. It does seem to be a great experience so far for me and it doesn’t look like the game is just going to suddenly end after a few hours of playing. Add on the length of all the side-missions, and you’ve got yourself a rather lengthy title to play, and a satisfying one at that, with dives off of buildings and dual blade killings. Whoops…that’s it. YOU go find out the rest of the features now before more come into my mind.