1. 

   M. D. sadek
   March 7th, 2010 - 21:15

   Fans of the previous game will be very impressed with Assassin’s Creed II. I must say that the previous game was quite disappointing. I felt it had a lot of potential as a game but the repetitive gameplay and frame-rate issues made it a big let down. This time though things have changed drastically for the good. I have yet to complete the game but have played enough to formulate a review.

   The first thing you’ll notice is that the game has a very cinematic feel. The cutscenes are a bit lengthy and drive the story very well. The voice acting is pretty good and the lip syncing is almost spot on. Graphically the game is stunnning. The first Assassians creed looked very pretty but this one seems a notch above it. There is no denying the beauty of it all.

   The gameplay has a very GTA style feel to it. You go from place to place to do a variety of different things. Unlike the last game where the gameplay was very reptitive where each section of the game required you to gather information in order to assassinate your victim (which only consisted of 3 or 4 different ways). Ubisoft have completely revamped that flawed style into a more enjoyable experience. Basically, think GTA but in the 15th century.

   The freestyle movement is well done and easy to use. Although sometimes I had difficulty jumping up walls, Pressing the X button sometimes makes Ezio jump outwards rather than up. Having said that, its still an enjoyable experience, very much like the last game. Its also quite easy to navigate around your map.

   The combat system hasn’t changed that much. There are a few minor modifications. Ezio can do a few different things this time round like snatch enemy weopons while fighting and thrusting them down there body. The combat is a lot of fun and quite easy to learn. Also Ubisoft have added a currency system in the game. You can steal money from passing citizens or search enemies for money or earn money by doing errands and missions. The money can be spent on buying weopons and armor or upgrading current items. It makes the game much more enjoyable and interactive.

   One thing of note is that this game is not for kids. There is a lot of sexuality in this game. Ezio can hire whores to distract gaurds and there is a bit of dirty talk. Its fun but some might feel it to be offensive. The ESRB does rate it at 17+, young children should stay away from this game.

   There are a few minor glitches in the game but nothing major. I had a problem picking up boxes in the beginning of the game but nothing major so far. Hopefully these issues will be fixed with a patch.

   Overall this game is a lot of fun. Its way better than the previous game. Anyone who enjoyed Assassins Creed should pick this one up. They will not be disappointed.
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. 

   Michael J. Marziale
   March 7th, 2010 - 21:54

   I have been looking forward to this release for a long time. While I was a fan of the first Assassin’s Creed, the original game felt sort of unfinished. The concept was there, but the game felt like it hadn’t been fully fleshed out. The game was beautiful but repetitive, fun overall, but you can only pickpocket or eavesdrop on someone so many times before it gets boring.

   This game fixes many of those issues. While I am still playing through the game, obviously, I can already see huge improvements. Water doesn’t instantly kill you. I have yet to run into a lunatic or beggar, for which I am extremely grateful. You have many more choices for weapons. These are just for starters. The game just has a better feel to it, the storyline and the characters have more depth. You will evolve into the role of an assassin with Ezzio, instead of “re-earning” the title with Altair. They have also added a monetary system to the game, and things like blacksmiths, tailors, and doctors to go along with it, which the first game could have used.

   As for what they kept, the beautiful graphics and sweeping vistas are still there, you will still find yourself climbing to dizzying heights to peer out over cities from a new viewpoint. You still have your hidden dagger, in fact they’ve given you a second one to play with. The graphics have, of course, been improved, and look even better than the first one. The world is still a very open, free roaming environment, your standard sandbox game, and you still get to climb and vault all over everything, which is immense fun. The quintessential core of the original game is still there in all its glory, they have just filled in the details and improved the game play for you.

   That being said, there are still one or two things in the sequel that annoy me. Most importantly, running still get everyone’s attention. I would understand that if I was talking about barreling through streets and knocking people over left and right. I’m not. Just running will draw the guards’ attention, which gets old quick. Apparently no one was ever in a hurry in the Renaissance. This has been slightly improved by giving the player a fast walk mode, but it can still take forever to get from point A to point B at that speed. This part of the AI could use some tweaking, since there is a difference between challenging and annoying.

   In my opinion, the coolest feature they have added is the database function, which gives you all sorts of interesting and amusing facts about the regions, cities, buildings and people that you will be interacting with. This does a great job of drawing you further into the period and culture that you are exploring, and really helps you relate to the story. This feature adds a lot of detail to the game that most developers would have simply left out.

   Bottom line, I am thrilled with the game. It is exactly what I was anticipating, and if you enjoyed the first game, you will love the sequel.
   
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. 

   G. Kincade
   March 7th, 2010 - 23:56

   While the tedious ‘do this 30 times over’ style missions are gone, and the regular missions flow a bit better, the game around the central plot is lacking. Instead of many ‘sit here and listen’ missions, you race, beat up cheating husbands, and complete assassination contracts. These make it a generic platformer, and horribly repetitive.

   The inclusion of money into the game is interesting and nice. Upgrading your armor as well as your villa/home base. Sadly, once you’ve completed this and your villa makes money, collecting every little treasure box for gold. Soon after you finish upgrading your blacksmith/brothel and everything else, you will gain all sorts of income, but have little to spend it on. I find myself about 3/4 of the way done with the game, and have about half a million (no exaggeration) in currency I will never use.

   The controls seem a bit off compared to the first one. The camera movement is clunky and i find myself jumping straight up even though I’m holding in a different direction. It gets sort of annoying and is killing what replay value the game would have for me.

   Also an interesting inclusion in the game is the notoriety system, making you more noticable to the guards. The problem with this however, is it goes away quite easy. Rip down 4 posters with your picture on them, and you’re done. Or bribe a herald, (500 gold), and it goes down 50%. Of course you can steal your gold back from him as soon as you pay him. It’s an interesting concept, but horribly flawed.

   All in all, it’s a fun game to play for the story, which is relatively short, but very little replay value, unless you’re heavy into collecting 100 feathers and treasure boxes. If you enjoyed the first one, it’s definately worth getting. If you only tolerated the first one, i wouldn’t recommend it.

   An interesting redoing of the main game, but lacking anything worthwhile besides a short continuation of the first game.
   Rating: 3 / 5
4. 

   Jason Bean
   March 8th, 2010 - 01:16

   I’ll say I was not a HUGE fan of the original Assassin’s Creed. It had beautiful graphics, a great open-world environment and a fun gameplay engine, but was hampered by level repetition and a horrid use of a dual story. Thankfully this sequel not only fixes these issues but surpasses expectations as a game itself.

   Like the original, AC2 begins in the future with an escape from the first game’s institution. Thankfully this segment is acton-packed…and short. Within minutes you’re back in the “game” world in late 1400′s Italy. This (like the first game) is where AC2 mostly takes place. If you’re like me and absolutely HATED the bits in the future of AC1, don’t worry. You spend maybe 10 minutes a piece split up into three segments (though the middle one seemed a bit longer) in the future world. I still hate that you have to leave the game world proper at all but at least it’s only for 30-40 minutes in an otherwise 30+ hour game. Yes the game’s THAT LONG!

   Your hero in this game is Ezio. He’s an Italian noble and has alot more personality and is alot more fun than Altair from Assasin’s Creed 1. He’s sort of cross between Nathan Drake, Casanova, and Batman. The story (ignoring the future bits) is a great revenge-conspiracy plot set through 30 years of Ezio’s life. While I won’t pretend all the character’s are memorable, they’re all played with personality and wit and the voice actors never strike a false note (you can even switch to playing the gamein Italian with english subtitles!).

   The gameplay is also MUCH more fun and more varied than AC1. They leave out all the investigation bits of an assasination but add more story-based, action-packed missions for you to work through up to your assassinations. These again are VERY fun and each mission you go on feels completely unique to the one before it. Even the optional assassinations have more rules an complexities as you work through them.

   Speaking of varied, aside from the basic story missions which will see you fighting, flying, riding horses, piloting boats and escorting/protecting characters there’s also a villa you can upgrade to get discounts on weapons/armor/clothing/medicine etc. I’ve never played a game that gives you so much to do in so many different ways. While none of the custimization and mission structure is new to games I don’t think all of these elements have been brought together so seemlessly before which is the big reason I like it so much!

   Also, if this isn’t the best game of the year it has one of the best soundtracks. The music is not only original and cool it changes perfectly to match the action in the game (chase scenes, flying, hiding etc). The developers really went out of their way with this one.

   Aside from a slow first few (story based) hours Assassin’s Creed 2 will hook you and never let go. I still think the Animus is an intersting but failed idea, but it doesn’t even remotly take away from the awesome things you can do in this game. There’s still time before the end of the year but I can’t think of too many games that will be able to top this one.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. 

   Mr. Hui Cheng
   March 8th, 2010 - 02:31

   ACII should be summarized as great story telling mixed together with fun, realistic game play.

   The story really flows from the beginning and draws the players into the history and the intrigue. The amount of detail and effort put into the game environment is amazing. And the open world reminds me of the play in GTA4 where you can jump onto basically anything, swim in the water, run around the rooftops and hide in all sorts of places.

   In addition to the main game story and missions, there are a ton of side quests!

   If you are into action/adventure games, ACII is definitely worth getting!
   Rating: 5 / 5

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