Assassin's Creed 2

(4.5 out of 5 stars)

If you’re like me, you were very disappointed with the results of the original Assassin's Creed. The first hour or two was great and then it just got painfully repetitive. I am happy to say that I was wrong to have low expectations about AC2. The plot of Assassins Creed 2 is better developed then it predecessor. It does a great job of tying up the loose ends from the original and gets the story moving early on. Assassin's Creed 2 picks up right where the original left off with Desmond locked in his room at Abstergo Labs. The games action gets started right away as you have to escape from your captors with a group of present day assassins who need Desmond to access another of his ancestors’ memories from the 15th century named Ezio.

The environments and animations are all beautifully presented. The animations are still excellent, and Ezio's body realistically adjusts to his environment as he climbs and vaults past obstacles. You never get tired of watching Ezio scramble up and over historical buildings or dash across the roof tops with ease. Early in the game you’re introduced to the incredibly functional free running system that allows you to climb over nearly every surface in the game. Your run speed has been given an upgrade allowing players to navigate through towns much quicker.

Another problem that arises from jumping down to street level without looking is you never know who you’re going to fall on. Falling on people is rather suspicious behavior and will immediately alert guards who witness it. The hiding places from the first game are all back like the hay bales, benches, and roof gardens but this time Ezio can turn a few quick corners and then simply stand by a group of citizens or dive into a body of water to hide from his pursuers.

Sometime you will be required to enter an area without arousing suspicion and in AC2 your options are greatly improved over those of the original Assassin's Creeds “walk with the monks” method. In AC2 there are several groups that you can pay to assist you in distracting guards. Thieves, mercenaries and courtesans will all use different approaches to accomplish these tasks. The services of these groups are all the same so pick which ever distraction you like best and go from there. As a player you can also simply throw money on the ground and cause a bit of distraction yourself as guards and other citizens scramble for the coin.

If you would rather fight then you’re in for a real treat. AC2 combat system has been greatly improved. You now have a weapon wheel that you can use to quickly select between all your new tools. As you progress though AC2 you can purchase new swords, hammers, daggers, smoke bombs, throwing knives, dual assassination blades and a little ace you keep up your sleeve courtesy of Leonardo da Vinci. In addition to the weapons you purchase from vendors for your collection you can temporarily take weapons from your adversaries to use against them. In addition to the armed combat you can now use unarmed combat. This allows you to disarm your opponents and even daze groups of enemies by throwing dirt in their eyes.

There are a number of changes brought about by the addition of a monetary system. Ezio earns money for completing missions, finding treasures, and can even pickpocket citizens. Much like real life money can also get you out of trouble. You are able to bride town heralds to not mention your actions thus lowering your notoriety.

The money you earn doesn’t just go to purchasing armor, weapons or paying hush money though, you have a Villa in serious disrepair that you are expected to upgrade and doing so will increase your income in the form of taxes collected. By upgrading and repairing shops and locations in the Villa you increase the money you collect from taxes and the scenery improves as you clean up the disheveled location. The Villa acts as a base of operations for Ezio, in addition to being the place he comes to turn in feathers he finds along the way. One of the best additions to AC2 though is the travel stations. They allow instant access from city to city which is a real time saver, making the gameplay a lot more fun.

AC2 does a great job of having multiple things to collect like weapon sets, armor sets, treasures, statues, feathers and truths without making it feel like the task was thrown in as an afterthought. To complete this game, it took me about 18-20 hours of game play making this title definitely worth the money. The game is so much broader than the first instalment in pretty much every single aspect.