The original Assassins Creed split gamers down the middle, some loved the innovative free-running system and unique story and settings,, game review, whilst others loathed the game due to a lack of variety in it's missions and simplistic control, game review, system. However the creators of Assassins Creed payed attention to these people, looked, game review, at what they loved and at what they hated and learned from them, and thus Assassins Creed 2 was born.
Once again you will be living the life of one of Desmond Mile's ancestors, more precisely Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Unlike Altair from the original game, Ezio is no master assassin to start with and Assassins Creed 2 follows Ezio through a very large portion of his life (spanning roughly 30 years) A tragedy in Ezio's teen years moves him to seek revenge.
Thus over his lifespan Ezio becomes a deadly Assassin, and unlike AC1 where you were already a master assassin it is a welcome change to play as Ezio as he learns these skills through his experience. Ezio is also a much more likable character, game review, than the rather cold Altair (who makes an appearance in AC2 and plays and important part in the story) he's a charming Italian, and is well acted and played.
As you might expect the story deepens in AC2, as subject 16's background, game review, is slowly revealed and new information is learned with some amazing revelations at the end of the game. However, i'll leave this review spoiler free by saying the story is engrossing and keeps, game review, you playing.
Thankfully the modern day part of the game does not interfere to much, unlike the orignal game where you were dragged back into modern day fat to often with nothing to do in those little interludes.
For the few times tat you are brought back to the modern world it's for good reasons and some nice gameplay touch's. Desmond is less of a useless lump and now seems to have toughened up, making for some interesting changes in his character, as the, game review, game progress's Desmon also becomes an assassin thanks to the bleeding effect, which see's him learning the same skills Ezio does. This opens up many interesting possibility's for the next game.
The new economic, game review, system is the biggest and by far best change to the gameplay, players now earn Florins as they complete missions which can be used to buy new armour, weapons, smoke bombs, throwing knives, healing items and poison.
Money can also be invested in your own private, game review, Villa and small town which you gain access to early in the game. You can upgrade the town and villa, which in turn earns you extra money every 20 minutes (real time) Your villa also stores all your weapons, armour, collectibles and more whilst your town has many, game review, shops. It's a fantastic addition to the Creed world.
Ubisoft have also addressed the variety issue in many different ways. Gone are, game review, the investigation missions that plagued the first game, in it's place is a more natural and free flowing missions system which builds up to each major assassination.
It's almost taken it's cue's from GTA's mission structures and it works very well, everything seems, game review, far more natural now and, game review, flows better. They've also added in side, game review, missions, which are entirely optional throughout the game, these include assassination contracts, couriers missions, race's and even beating up unfaithful husbands. which takes me smoothly, game review, to the combat.
While the core mechanics of combat remain the same,, game review, Ezio is by far a superior fighter that Altair ever was, game review, .
Thanks to a massive increase in the range of weapons, you can now fight with mace's and massive two-handed swords and axes now as well, making for some brutal, game review, kill animations. The new Disarm move is fantastic, by fighting unarmed you can now counter and attack and steal your opponents weapon and get an insta kill on him. It's fantastic to watch as you disarm a massive armoured Knight and bring his huge two handed axe swinging down into his shoulder. Combat is improved by new enemy types as well, such as the Brute who is a massive armoured foe, and is, game review, best fought with your dual hidden blades or, game review, using the disarm technique.
Other enemies wield massive pikes or spears and can attack you from a good distance and are best taken out from combo kills, game review, .
Graphics are still amazing, and cut scenes are now present in the game, however the facial animations can sometimes be a little ugly. Attention to detail is still staggering and this is by far the best looking sandbox game yet. Venice and Italy as a whole, game review, look amazing as this game takes you through these beautiful cities, game review, and landscapes.
Animations, game review, are once again a joy to behold,, game review, Ezio moves, climbs and leaps with precision and grace and the combat animations are brutal to behold.
A raft of smaller additions also make there way into Creed 2, such as driving boats, faster climbing and extra equipments, game review, such as smoke bombs, game review, . You can now pick up dead bodies and either hide them or use them as distractions and the new smoke bombs add a nice extra tactic to your arsenal. Poison is introduced as well, you can now prick any person with a small needle to deliver this poison, which drives the victim mad and they will begin attacking people around them.
Use this on something like a Brute and he will most likely do some major damage to his allies as well as cause a great distraction. However the game does not make use of these items well enough, they get introduced but after that the game never forces you to use them, so many people will forget these abilities exist and never use them, as such the game should of had a mission or 2 after each item and skill is introduced where the player could get used to using these items and abilities. The hidden gun is a neat new feature as well, allowing for some nice long range kills, as well as your new Double Hidden, game review, Blades which allow for some satisfying kills.
Collectibles return, but in a much better form. Around the world there 100 feathers to collect,, game review, however you do get rewards this time round. There are alos 20 Glyphs which when found, act as puzzles which slowly unlock a video made by the illusive Subject 16. The new Assassins Tombs are a great addition as well, these indoor area's are parkour playgrounds, designed to challenge you i many ways. Some simply ask you to work out how to get to the tomb, others see you using precision and speed as you race around the area to hit switches in time.
Others provide enemies, game review, as well to test your techniques and often see you trying to chase down a guard through a fantastic chase sequence before, game review, he alerts the other guards. All in all, game review, there are 6 of these tombs, each one gives you a Seal and collecting all six is well worth the effort for the reward your receive.
All said and done Assassins Creed 2 is a fantastic game that solves most of the originals flaws and provides a breathtaking adventure and gripping story that will, game review, keep you hooked in its 15 hours of campaign time.
And after that you can always add another 10-15 hours in side missions and collectibles and just general mucking about.
One of 2009's best releases.
SCORE'S:
Graphics:, game review, 90%
Gameplay: 92%
Lifespan: 90%
OVERALL: 92%
