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Assassin’s Creed II Review
This game review is based upon the Playstation 3 version of the game
Welcome to the Animus
The Assassin’s Creed series, created by Ubisoft, follows protagonist Desmond Miles as he plunges into the memories of his ancestors, learning of the historical battle between the assassins and the Templars. In the original Assassin’s Creed, Desmond takes the role of Altaïr through the Animus, as he attempts to help the company of Abstergo, who have kidnapped him, to find a missing artifact.
Although Assassin’s Creed was highly hyped and anticipated before release, the game failed to deliver on its many promises. Many found it to be repetitive & lethargic and without variety. Despite ambition, historical accuracy and beautiful scenery, Assassin’s Creed failed to have the substance in the gameplay to be as enjoyable as it could be.
Memory Sequence Activated
Armed with the feelings and thoughts of the public and reviewers, Ubisoft developed Assassin’s Creed II, aiming to not only deliver on the failed promise of the previous game, but to include more within the game than they ever claimed with the original. Another ambitious claim by Ubisoft, but following a failure to live up to the hype on the last iteration, can they be trusted?
Assassin’s Creed II follows Desmond as he steps into the shoes of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, in an attempt to learn skills that he possessed for the modern-day fight with the Templars. Whilst doing this, more of the battle between the assassins and the Templars will become evident.
One comparison that is immediately evident when playing the game is that the time spent outside of the Animus, in the “real world”, is much less than that of the original game. This helps the game to flow better, as the gameplay is much less broken up.
Synchronization Complete
The mission structure is heavily improved compared to that of its predecessor. Gone is the rather mechanical scouting for clues by doing a selection of a limited variety of sidequests followed by an assassination system. This has been replaced by a much better, albeit slightly more linear, main storyline mission which allows for a larger range of mission types to be used to progress the game.
The game also provides a fair few side missions, ranging from assassination contracts to races to letter delivery. Each side mission comes with its own small dangers and requirements, which keep them somewhat slightly fresh. Little tweaks to the system like this help to form a much better game
Tomb Raider
Another optional part of the game is the exploration of assassin tombs. There are 6 assassin tombs over the course of the game, each designed to test your platforming skills through timed puzzles. These can be quite challenging, and for most people will be the most difficult part of the game that they attempt (if, of course, they bother to attempt them).
By completing all the puzzles, you will eventually make it to the tomb, where the individual assassin’s seal lies. Collecting all of these seals will result in you being rewarding with Altaïr’s armour, the most effective armour available in the game. Whilst doing the assassin tomb puzzles, the power and intricacies of the free-running engine can be fully appreciated.
Bleeding Effect
The gameplay is generally very similar to that of the original. The four face buttons control parts of the body, and the actions which can be performed depends on whether you are in a low profile or high profile state. Low profile actions tend to be used when attempting to remain unnoticed by guards, whereas high profile actions tend to be used when attempting to escape from guards, or when stealth is not of high priority.
Generally, the game can be split into two different parts; free running and movement, and fighting. The free-running part of the game involves climbing buildings and running across them. This part of the game works quite well, although scaling the sides of some buildings can be a bit irritating when the engine decides to be very picky in how or where it wants you to go.
The game also adds a few new options with how to stealthfully (or not so stealthfully) escape or eliminate threats. Alongside the original weapons from the first game, Assassin's Creed II also introduces smoke bombs, poisons, and the ability to cause crowd distractions (through money or factions), which means that some missions can be completed in a slightly more quiet and skillful manor.
Fighting has been tweaked slightly since Assassin’s Creed; however the general gist remains the same. Countering appears to have been weakened somewhat, which means that using the rest of available fighting techniques is generally a good idea. This, combined with the new array of weapons, and a slightly increased variety of enemies, means that this makes fighting slightly more interesting.
Florin the Money
Speaking of the new weapons, an addition to Assassin’s Creed II is the money system. For every mission completed, you earn money (which can also be earned through pick pocketing, looting, messenger intercepting and villa income). This money can be spent on several things, such as new weapons and armour, repairs, medicine, hiring factions and development of the home city. This adds a little bit of extra replayability to the game, especially to those completionists that are out there.
Eagle Vision
Graphically, the game is not much improved from that of the original Assassin’s Creed. That is to say that the surrounding environment is beautifully breathtaking, which can be especially noticed from one of the many high synchronisation points. Each of the cities that are available in the game are very lovingly and quite accurately recreated, and they look amazing. However, the character models of non-player characters do look like the sort of quality that would be expected of the previous generation of consoles still, but this doesn’t detract from the experience too much, unless, of course, that you are the kind of person who is really bothered by that sort of thing.
Stop! Assassin!
However, not everything is positive in this game; there are a few things that are annoying, although, in honesty, they are generally minor gripes. Firstly, I’ll address the notoriety meter. The notoriety meter isn’t awful, it generally works quite well, but in some situations it increases where I believe that it shouldn’t. For example, a high profile assassination in view of absolutely no-one should not increase notoriety, and neither should hanging assassinations from the edge of boats. Also, the fact that Ezio appears to be the only person in the game world that is able to swim seems a little unrealistic.
Any Last Words?
To conclude, Assassin’s Creed II is a beautiful game that far surpasses its predecessor in pretty much every aspect. ACII is a game that ought to be viewed as a game, rather than an “experience” which many dubbed the original to be. It plays very well and gives the player quite a lot to do within the game world, whilst not being overly dominating with when you need to do it. The many new additions fit into the game rather nicely, and very little detracts from the actual gaming experience. If you haven’t gotten it already, you could do a lot worse than choosing Assassin’s Creed II as your next gaming purchase.
Overall: 9.3/10
This game review is based upon the Playstation 3 version of the game
Welcome to the Animus
The Assassin’s Creed series, created by Ubisoft, follows protagonist Desmond Miles as he plunges into the memories of his ancestors, learning of the historical battle between the assassins and the Templars. In the original Assassin’s Creed, Desmond takes the role of Altaïr through the Animus, as he attempts to help the company of Abstergo, who have kidnapped him, to find a missing artifact.
Although Assassin’s Creed was highly hyped and anticipated before release, the game failed to deliver on its many promises. Many found it to be repetitive & lethargic and without variety. Despite ambition, historical accuracy and beautiful scenery, Assassin’s Creed failed to have the substance in the gameplay to be as enjoyable as it could be.
Memory Sequence Activated
Armed with the feelings and thoughts of the public and reviewers, Ubisoft developed Assassin’s Creed II, aiming to not only deliver on the failed promise of the previous game, but to include more within the game than they ever claimed with the original. Another ambitious claim by Ubisoft, but following a failure to live up to the hype on the last iteration, can they be trusted?
Assassin’s Creed II follows Desmond as he steps into the shoes of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, in an attempt to learn skills that he possessed for the modern-day fight with the Templars. Whilst doing this, more of the battle between the assassins and the Templars will become evident.
One comparison that is immediately evident when playing the game is that the time spent outside of the Animus, in the “real world”, is much less than that of the original game. This helps the game to flow better, as the gameplay is much less broken up.
Synchronization Complete
The mission structure is heavily improved compared to that of its predecessor. Gone is the rather mechanical scouting for clues by doing a selection of a limited variety of sidequests followed by an assassination system. This has been replaced by a much better, albeit slightly more linear, main storyline mission which allows for a larger range of mission types to be used to progress the game.
The game also provides a fair few side missions, ranging from assassination contracts to races to letter delivery. Each side mission comes with its own small dangers and requirements, which keep them somewhat slightly fresh. Little tweaks to the system like this help to form a much better game
Tomb Raider
Another optional part of the game is the exploration of assassin tombs. There are 6 assassin tombs over the course of the game, each designed to test your platforming skills through timed puzzles. These can be quite challenging, and for most people will be the most difficult part of the game that they attempt (if, of course, they bother to attempt them).
By completing all the puzzles, you will eventually make it to the tomb, where the individual assassin’s seal lies. Collecting all of these seals will result in you being rewarding with Altaïr’s armour, the most effective armour available in the game. Whilst doing the assassin tomb puzzles, the power and intricacies of the free-running engine can be fully appreciated.
Bleeding Effect
The gameplay is generally very similar to that of the original. The four face buttons control parts of the body, and the actions which can be performed depends on whether you are in a low profile or high profile state. Low profile actions tend to be used when attempting to remain unnoticed by guards, whereas high profile actions tend to be used when attempting to escape from guards, or when stealth is not of high priority.
Generally, the game can be split into two different parts; free running and movement, and fighting. The free-running part of the game involves climbing buildings and running across them. This part of the game works quite well, although scaling the sides of some buildings can be a bit irritating when the engine decides to be very picky in how or where it wants you to go.
The game also adds a few new options with how to stealthfully (or not so stealthfully) escape or eliminate threats. Alongside the original weapons from the first game, Assassin's Creed II also introduces smoke bombs, poisons, and the ability to cause crowd distractions (through money or factions), which means that some missions can be completed in a slightly more quiet and skillful manor.
Fighting has been tweaked slightly since Assassin’s Creed; however the general gist remains the same. Countering appears to have been weakened somewhat, which means that using the rest of available fighting techniques is generally a good idea. This, combined with the new array of weapons, and a slightly increased variety of enemies, means that this makes fighting slightly more interesting.
Florin the Money
Speaking of the new weapons, an addition to Assassin’s Creed II is the money system. For every mission completed, you earn money (which can also be earned through pick pocketing, looting, messenger intercepting and villa income). This money can be spent on several things, such as new weapons and armour, repairs, medicine, hiring factions and development of the home city. This adds a little bit of extra replayability to the game, especially to those completionists that are out there.
Eagle Vision
Graphically, the game is not much improved from that of the original Assassin’s Creed. That is to say that the surrounding environment is beautifully breathtaking, which can be especially noticed from one of the many high synchronisation points. Each of the cities that are available in the game are very lovingly and quite accurately recreated, and they look amazing. However, the character models of non-player characters do look like the sort of quality that would be expected of the previous generation of consoles still, but this doesn’t detract from the experience too much, unless, of course, that you are the kind of person who is really bothered by that sort of thing.
Stop! Assassin!
However, not everything is positive in this game; there are a few things that are annoying, although, in honesty, they are generally minor gripes. Firstly, I’ll address the notoriety meter. The notoriety meter isn’t awful, it generally works quite well, but in some situations it increases where I believe that it shouldn’t. For example, a high profile assassination in view of absolutely no-one should not increase notoriety, and neither should hanging assassinations from the edge of boats. Also, the fact that Ezio appears to be the only person in the game world that is able to swim seems a little unrealistic.
Any Last Words?
To conclude, Assassin’s Creed II is a beautiful game that far surpasses its predecessor in pretty much every aspect. ACII is a game that ought to be viewed as a game, rather than an “experience” which many dubbed the original to be. It plays very well and gives the player quite a lot to do within the game world, whilst not being overly dominating with when you need to do it. The many new additions fit into the game rather nicely, and very little detracts from the actual gaming experience. If you haven’t gotten it already, you could do a lot worse than choosing Assassin’s Creed II as your next gaming purchase.
Overall: 9.3/10
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AC: Brotherhood is not ACIII, it's a sequel to ACII and is giving people the multi-player addon they have wanted for a little while.
ACIII will be a couple of years yet.
ACIII will be a couple of years yet.
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