Review: Assassin's Creed 2 - A game by Ubisoft Montreal

Assassin's Creed 2, twice as nice?

In November 2007, Ubisoft introduced us to Assassin's Creed a third person action adventure in a similar vein to the Prince of Persia Sands of Time trilogy with a crazed story so entwined with conspiracy that it would even make David Icke take pause and think “what the...?” … or would it?

Assassin's Creed 101: A history of the creed, a fictional twist on the historical!

Mild mannered bartender Desmond Miles is mysteriously kidnapped by Abstergo Industries for reason best known to themselves. During his incarceration Desmond is used as a guinea pig on a machine known as the Animus. Through this strange device Desmond is able to access the genetic memories of his ancestors (in this case a cheery chap known as Altaïr). Through use of the animus Desmond discovers Altaïr is a member of a strange order known as “The Assassins”. The Assassins are at war with another mysterious faction known as “The Knights Templar”.

Okay so the history lesson is over and we know that Assassin's Creed is centred around 3 key things: A humble and mild mannered bartender by the name of Desmond Miles, a strange machine known as the Animus with which our protagonist Mr Miles can access the genetic memories of his ancestors and the struggle between two faction eternally locked in war, The Knights Templar and the Assassins, and second game is no different.

The story for Assassin's Creed 2 picks up pretty much exactly where the first game left off, all hell has broken loose at Abstergo Industries and Desmond's mysterious captors are nowhere to be seen. You are treated to a brief moment of confusion where you wander around your prison wondering what on earth to do. This sensation is short lived however as a familiar face from the first game, Lucy Stillman (your friendly neighbourhood Animus tech) comes barging in the door barking orders at you to hop into the Animus quickly as time is of the essence. You will then be treated to the first glimpse of the next ancestor Desmond will be spending a lot of time visiting, one Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Introductions aside you are quickly hoisted out of the Animus and once again Lucy barks her orders, this time to follow her pronto if you want to live. Having become somewhat attached to your mortal shell you decide that maybe, just maybe, it is probably a good idea to follow her. The brief segment that follows involves you shadowing Lucy in a bid to escape from Abstergo unseen and in one piece. Unfortunately not all goes according to plan and moments from making your historic escape from your captors, the games equivalent of Group 4 security arrives to dampen your thoughts of freedom. What follows is a brief example of the games combat engine, and the realisation that Desmond fights and hits like a little girl (sorry ladies but seriously he does!)

After a painful first combat (Desmond seriously can't fight folks!) and making good your escape you are taken to a hideout where you meet up with Lucy's cohorts and the new improved Animus 2.0. After some fleeting introductions to your new crew Desmond is once again thrust into the midst of another ancestral memory, this time fully reprising the role of Ezio.

Now in the original game I personally felt that Altaïr seemed a little two dimensional, he lacked an identity and you were basically doing things because an NPC told you to and there was little else to it. There were brief flashes of an actual person underneath it all but these were fleeting and never really amounted to much. Thankfully things are much better this time around, Ezio is a fully fleshed out character with a history, charms and flaws. You get a sense of who the character is and why he does what he does, all little things which in my mind help to make the whole experience of playing him more enjoyable.

It is also at this point we come into contact with the game world proper, 15th century Renaissance Italy. Up until this point the visuals haven't really been stretched at all, exposure has been limited a few bland structures the highlight of which is the premises used by Lucy's crew, so the first thing that strikes you is how visually stunning the game actually is. It looks as though great pains have been taken to authentically recreate the look and feel of the time and I have to say that they have done a fine job.


It is at this point you will spend anything up to the next hour in a localised section of Florence where Ezio's family is based. This section is pretty much the tutorial, it introduces you to much of the games mechanics and nicely demonstrates some of the mission types available. The approach used works well and doesn't feel like it was bolted on as an afterthought as can be the case in some games. All the missions have a point and add flavour, some even make their presence felt in the overall story which I felt was a nice touch. This outing also has more mission types for you to play with, no longer are you forced to run around collecting flags or crosses for something else to do. From beating the tar out of cheating husbands to assassinating political targets you can spend hours wandering off the beaten track just because it takes your fancy and all this takes me nicely into another new introduction, a monetary system.


As the old saying goes, “Money makes the world go round” and the world of Assassin's Creed 2 is no different. Completing missions, whether it be the main story missions or one of the many side quests nets you money, Florins in this case, although that is not the only way to earn money. Other cash earning pursuits include pick pocketing unsuspecting locals, looting chests and mugging couriers. This currency is used to buy among other things, new equipment, medical supplies and later on in the game upgrades to your villa. Which brings me nicely to another new entry into the game, your home base of operations. A little way along into the story you are given a villa to play with, this acts as your base of operations and a very handy money earner. The more money you spend on renovating the villa the more money you will end up getting in return, but this is not its only use. Housed within your villa you can have a number of stores to help you buy that stylish new piece of armour you always wanted, with a discount of course, not to mention it is your one stop shop for combat training.


Which brings me nicely back to the combat system. Veterans of the first game may notice certain familiarities with the combat system, which depending on your view of the original may seem like a bad thing, but trust me folks it isn't. The combat system in the first game was something of a flawed gem in that whilst it worked well and at times looked amazing it got a little repetitive and if you were anything like me you ended up itching to get back to the bits where you could off some poor unfortunate with the always stylish hidden blade. Thankfully Ubisoft have taken aboard the criticisms from first game and the combat engine has received some much needed attention, which will become more apparent as you work your way through the game. Combat maintains the same feel as the first game but a much needed breath of life has been added to it, it no longer feels stale and repetitive, in fact you have a host of toys at your disposal each of which creates its own impact on the combat. The ever faithful counter, dodge and parry are there but new friends like disarm and sand in the eyes have joined the party. There are only a couple of real drawbacks to the combat system and even then they aren't that bad or game breaking. Firstly, most combats tend to degrade themselves into defensive counter attack marathons, but given that the counter attack and disarm functionality are linked closely together it can prove quite satisfying. The second drawback is the addition of the second hidden blade to your arsenal, hidden blade assassinations are just so much fun that you'll want to stay incognito so you can do them again and again.


All in all Assassin's Creed 2 is a giant leap in the right direction from the original, it improves on every area of the original in a way very few sequels ever manage. The game flows more smoothly, helped greatly by the reduced number of “leaps” between Desmond and Ezio, this medium is now used sparingly and only when it serves to further the overall story as opposed to what felt like every 5 minutes in the original. Graphically this game is solid and absolutely breathtaking at moments, with markedly fewer glitches and quirks than the previous instalment and the use of facial capture technology helping to add an element of believability to things. There is a strong story with good voice acting even if some of the accents are a little out there, overall the sound is good and manages to create a believable atmosphere. The only real drawback is the unfortunate need to have subtitles on (unless you can speak fluent Italian) as the game has a habit of throwing in random bites of Italian into the mix at inopportune moments, they explain this away with a nice bit of in game trivia but it would cause a major slip up if you didn't have subtitles. From smoke bombs to flying machines, new assassination techniques to using courtesans to distract guards, there is a wide variety of things to do. Add into the mix numerous side quests and a plethora of hidden treasures to uncover there is plenty to keep you amused for a good 20-30 hours.


For all the good in this game one flaw stands out above all others, the controls can sometimes feel a little unresponsive and many a time I have jumped off the top of a building I never intended to because the controls misread my intent, this is not game breaking in any way but with the smoother controls of titles like Arkham Asylum and even Mirror's Edge it is a small tarnish on an otherwise fine game.

Score - 8.5/10

Overall is Assassin's Creed 2 twice as nice? It certainly is, despite a few flaws this is a game I can easily recommend, even to those who were slightly disappointed by the first title. There are so many changes and improvements it is as though it is a different title altogether.

A "nice" review mate

Great review mate. I already had it but if I didn't then this would of made me go out to buy it.