Assassin’s Creed 2

The much anticipated sequel to the successful first installment of Ubisoft’s historical stealth-action series, Assassin’s Creed 2 promises to build on the good of the old while ditching the bad.  As I never actually touched the first iteration though, I set off to review the title from an objective perch.  What I found was a massive and virtually stunning world at times frustrating, but always entertaining.

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What’s Good

Finish him – Ezio’s finishing moves and killing blows, mostly keyed by a successful counter kill maneuver, entertain without ever really getting old. At times gracefully deadly and others gruesomely merciless, Ezio nearly always takes a life in stylish fashion.  Whether that style is stealthy and smooth or brash and violent depends both on the weapon equipped and the situation, but it always looks pretty bad ass.

It’s a big world after all – The sheer scope of the environments in AC2 is staggering.  The major cities of Florence, Venice, and Rome are  simply sprawling. As the player climbs atop towers, unlocking viewpoints and unfogging the map, they will gradually discover expansive metropolises full of both secrets to discover and targets to take out.

The spice of life – From distracting a monastery courtyard full of monks with smoke bombs while you seek out the corroborator among them to aiding the Medici family in a civil war, Assassin’s Creed 2 mixes up a good variety of missions.  While in many cases the end game is the same – kill some guy – the method and the means make for interesting scenarios that help keep things fresh.

My house, my rules – Ezio Auditore’s family maintains a villa in the countryside, a home base where the player can store his gear and quest items.  Surrounding the villa is a small walled city that can be renovated and built up by investing money with the town architect, raising it’s value and bringing in more and more money to it’s generous benefactor.  This mini city sim of sorts adds a strong level of depth to the title, and watching the town’s aesthetics improve as you invest more funds is a rewarding motivator.

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What’s Bad

The waiting game – Simply facing off against an opponent or group of opponents gets a bit boring after a while, as fights eventually devolve into simply waiting to counter kill off a strike. This grants a worthwhile killing blow sequence, which is sweet, but waiting for your opponent to attack gets boring. In my playing time I found myself taking out single targets and small groups quickly and stealthily just to get it over with.

Can I just be Ezio? –  This could be considered beating a dead horse, but it has to be said.  I wish the entire section of plot involving Desmond Miles and the modern day war between Templars and Assassins was cut from the game. Much of the motivation to continue playing Assassins Creed 2 comes from the story; a complex narrative riddled with twists and turns…in Renaissance Italy, NOT in some virtual reality chair. How am I supposed to connect to Desmond, a character that gets maybe 20 minutes of face time in the first 10 hours of gameplay over Ezio?  When periodic visits back to the real world are seen as interruptions to the real meat of the game, there’s a problem.

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Worth Remembering:

The views of Florence, Venice, and Rome from atop the tallest towers is staggering.  The scenery of rustic and authentic Renaissance cityscapes against a painted Italian countryside  is something to marvel at – I’ve often climbed towers and duomos for the sole reason of checking out the view.

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Worth Forgetting:

Be prepared to fall alot, to the point of frustration even. When roof hopping and free running, too often does Ezio take a sudden turn, jumping in the completely wrong direction. It may be an issue of controller sensitivity, as it mostly happens when the pace is high.

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Assassin’s Creed 2 is a complete package: a third person action title that hits a perfect balance between compelling story and entertaining gameplay without reaching an old, tired feeling.   At it’s core, AC2’s main value is found in it’s weaving Renaissance narrative and in the sheer number of different ways in which Ezio can kill.   While face-to-face combat and slightly over-sensitive controls can make certain parts of the game feel repetitive and frustrating, there is enough depth and variety in this title to keep any who seek it entertained for hours on end.  Assassin’s Creed 2 deserves a place among the elite releases of this year, a visually stunning vignette of Renaissance Italy that entertains and awes.

*Images via Ubisoft.

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