Assassin’s Creed II
Posted by Joel Cornell on Monday, November 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment
The first chapter of the Assassin’s Creed trilogy was quite the polarizing experience of the “love it or hate it” type. Many rightly complained about the total lack of variety in the missions, gameplay and in Altaïr’s arsenal. Fortunately for everyone, developer Ubisoft Montreal heard their detractors loud and clear (water ≠ death!). With much more diversity in all aspects and improved AI and combat, Assassin’s Creed II surpasses its predecessor in all aspects providing a more engrossing and much smoother action-adventure experience.
The environments of Renaissance Italia have seen a lot of attention. The streets are littered not just with useless NPCs, but many citizens that can aid your protagonist Ezio Auditore, greatly expanding your options. Rather than just setting out with a sword and wrist blade, you can visit blacksmiths or tailors to purchase new upgradeable weapons and armor that feature differing stats. Your inventory doesn’t quite have the depth of an RPG, but being able to choose between a light and quick cutlass or a slow and strong mace is a nice addition. Leonardo da Vinci is to Ezio as Q is to Bond, doling out plenty of advice and analytical translations of any codices you find, as well as providing you with gadgets ranging from poisoned blades to a flying machine. Also, you can disguise yourself well in all crowds, in addition to throwing money or hiring courtesans to distract guards. This certainly deepens your strategic opportunities, although the ol’ stab-and-run still tends to be the easiest, albeit least dramatic route.
Probably the biggest improvement is made in the narrative. Your character is no longer just “Badass Ancestor #42”, but instead has been greatly fleshed out to contain more than just one emotional state. A severely stereotyped cast of characters provides a much more powerful experience, including Ezio’s family which resides in an estate in the country that you can upgrade and invest in to eventually generate income. Also, seeing the city change from day to night is a great touch, as well as the ability to affect your notoriety. It’s all still quite linear, but far deeper and much more open and alive than before.
Fortunately, we see much more of the 21st century character Desmond Miles’ story progress, as well as seeing the story of the Assassin’s Creed universe significantly expand and move forward. Though much has been expanded since the first game, the controls remain the same, varying between incredibly smooth and amazingly frustrating. Fans will find their pleasures greatly expanded upon, while critics should give the series another chance to shine.
Likes
- Greatly improved gameplay and combat mechanics
- Much deeper narrative environment
- Repetition is at minimum
Dislikes
- Free running and climbing mechanics still need attention
- Narrative progresses slowly
- Fairly steep learning curve on the controls
Level 42 Review Score
/ 
The review scale at LevelFortyTwo is between 1 and 5. A score of 5 is considered an amazing game, 4 is a well-done game with only a few issues, 3 is in the middle; not great, but not bad, 2 is a very problematic game, and 1 is absolutely terrible.
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