PLATFORM(S): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC

RELEASE DATE(S): 19th Nov 2009 (PS3/X360), 5th March 2010 (PC)

RATING: 15 (BBFC), 18 (PEGI)

DEVELOPER: Ubisoft Montreal

PUBLISHER: Ubisoft

The long anticipated sequel to Assassin’s Creed is finally here, but has it fixed its predecessor’s faults? And does it keep its level of exploration?

The game pretty much picks up where it left off, any players of the original game will remember how frustrating the cliff hanger we were left on was, and for those who don’t want to know the first 15-20 mins of the story, skip the paragraph immediately below….

Basically, Lucy (whom you’ve recently realised is an Assassin) is trying to find a genetic match between you and Subject 16, the subject before you, the one match that comes up is in the Renaissance period, namely late 1400s, where you experience the birth of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Once that’s done, you are taken through the Abstergo building and towards a hideout with some fellow Assassins inside, you are introduced to the Animus 2.0 and begin reliving the life of an Italian flirt who’s life is about to change unimaginably….

Okay, you can look back now… The story itself tells the story of Ezio over a period of about 20 years (not including his birth), it’s a nice touch because you see this wonderfully immature teenager grow up into a solemn yet still cheeky adult. The story is well told and sometimes goes back to the present in order to advance events there, overall, the story will be a little slow to start, but by the end it is in full swing, and the introduction of various twists makes the story even harder to follow, the ending could round off Ezio’s story a bit better, but it does keep the plot open for a third game (considering this is meant to be a trilogy).

But the main thing that makes this story so fantastic and beautifully crafted, is how much effort has gone into it behind the scenes. Sure, the game focuses on the Renaissance period, but you’ll get several references back to Altair’s time, and you’ll also discover (if you look hard enough) a truly epic plot line which starts with the birth of mankind and goes all the way up to the present. It is most definitely complicated, and will get your brain guessing, but because Ubisoft Montreal have done so much work finding little links through the ages, you can really expand your understanding of the game by reading into various people, leaders, inventors etc. found in the game.

Assassin’s Creed II gameplay is based on an improved version of the original game. The main story missions are a lot less structure this time around (but in a good way), and you won’t find yourself endlessly eavesdropping, pickpocketing, assassinating, repeat etc. Instead, this time round, each memory block will have a variety of missions, including tailing people, freeing prisoners, using vehicles, delivering letters and, of course the inevitable assassinations.

The addition of the new Air Assassination move is but one of the new weapons in Ezio's arsenal.

The beginning of the game is a little slow to start, because you don’t have your full expanse of Assassin’s moves, but after the first hour of playing, the game picks up and never leaves off. Once you’ve completed the main story, there is a treasure trove of secondary quests to do to keep you occupied. There are viewpoints (returning from last time) which you can use to expand your map; there are feathers which are much like flags (but much less of them – only 100); there are missions such as Races (a test of free-running skill), Beat-ups (a test of melee), Couriers (a test of agility and speed), and Assassinations (a test of all the above). Once you’ve done all that, there is yet another thing to do… which is due to the brand new economical feature in the game, Money!

Early in the game, you will acquire a Villa, which is in a small town near Florence. You’ll be able to use money which you earn to improve the shops (to get you a discount) and renovate old facilities (to bring more money into the town). You get a cut of what the town makes, so the more money they get, the more money you get. You can spend your money on all sorts of things like better armour, new weapons, some artwork (to improve the value of your villa), different colour schemes for your clothes, treasure maps… the list goes on. You can also earn money by completing missions (both main and secondary), pickpocketing citizens, looting chests and looting dead bodies.

The addition of factions makes the game a little more tactical, there are three factions: Courtesans, Thieves, and Warriors. All of which can be used to distract guards to open areas to you discretely (which is useful when you need to stay undercover). You’ll also have a wealth of new weapons at your disposal which can be used to aid in your quest such as Poison (used to turn a guard on his own allies), Smoke Bombs (a quick getaway tactic) and a Pistol. These all make the game a much more enjoyable and varied experience compared to the original, along with a more thorough one.

One minor gripe though, is that sometimes the game can become really frustrating because Ezio doesn’t move where you want him to move (this especially goes for free-running). It doesn’t affect the game all of the time, but when you’re trying to complete a mission or race, you will most likely fail due to it.

The Viewpoints from the original Assassin's Creed make a comeback, producing stunning views of the cityscapes.

You will find yourself impressed with the graphics, mainly at the level of detail that has gone into the cities and surrounding areas, you’ll also still be amazed by the draw distance when synchronising a view point…. WOW! I think Ubisoft still have some way to go with facial animation, especially if you compare to the likes of Uncharted 2, but the graphics aren’t so bad that you are detached from the characters and the story.

The colours themselves are a lot more vibrant and a lot more dynamic… i.e. you’ll notice the changes as you walk through different areas. The introduction of a fully integrated day-night cycle is not unbelievably amazing, but it is very subtle and feels quite suited to the feel of the game. It also adds more logic to it as well… you’ll do some missions at night, and you’ll see that some guards changes patrols as the day moves on.

The music in this game does not disappoint. It alters and flows with the events very well, like when you are walking through the city, you’ll have quite a peaceful score; where as when you’re on the run from guards, you’ll have upbeat music with choral arrangements added – a very nice feature (in fact I find myself endlessly running from guards just to hear the songs).

The voice-acting is pretty good in this game, there are Italian accents abundant — which is again more logical than in AC1. You feel like you’re learning about the culture of Italy in the Renaissance because you see ancient traditions and you hear Italian being spoken quite a lot – most of the main story cutscenes involve some sort of Italian, by the end of the game you’ll know a few word in Italian, and of course the phrase “Requiescat in Pace” used by Ezio a fair few times. The lip-syncing is silently sufficient, nothing too brilliant, but it’ll do.

To finish the game and all side quests, get all collectibles and find everything will take anywhere between 25 and 35 hours in my opinion. The main story itself is composed of 12 segments (excluding 2 in upcoming DLC), however once you have done it all, there is no real reason to go back apart from just to play around. The trophies and achievements for the game will provide a small challenge to the gamer, but you’ll get around 50-60% of them by going through the story.

The brand new uPlay feature, which can be accessed by pressing TRIANGLE (not sure for X360) in the main menu, unlocks some really nice rewards. You get points for doing tasks in the game, (all are story related), you can then spend these points on a Wallpaper/Theme for your console’s main menu, some extra throwing knives, an Altair skin, and a small bonus map – where you find out about another Assassin. This makes for great rewards, but you don’t need to play the game again to reap additional rewards.

Summary

The story continues on admirably, leaving you gagging for number 3, but the main grace of it all is the hidden plot lines and meanings, the entire plot has obviously had a ton of thought put into it, and a quick google of the people involved reveals so much more. Seeing a boy grow into a man is also interesting and quite emotional in some ways.

In terms of gameplay, the fans moaned, and Ubisoft listened (for the most part), the missions are sooo much more involving and less tedious, the extra combat features and seemingly endless side quests will keep you occupied for quite a while, and of course, we learn just that little extra bit more about how everything is panning out.

The graphics are pretty amazing on a large scale, but if you look down into the little details, you’ll find a few small cracks – like inferior facial animation, and some rare lo-res textures. Lip-syncing isn’t the best it could have been, but it does the job adequately. A dynamic soundtrack and some really nice dribs and drabs of Italian involve you in the story a whole lot more.

However, once you’ve finished the game, don’t hold your breath for anything miraculous the second time around; the addition of a full-customisation system wouldn’t go a miss.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable experience which improves on its predecessor, and gives its successor a hard act to follow. The implementation of money and some customisation give the user a lot more control over how they play, as well as a lot more to do. A wealth of side quests covering every aspect of gameplay almost double the main story’s playtime, but once you’ve finished, that’s it really. A fine contender for Game of the Year, it beats the opposition in some ways but falls back in others, a few small trip-ups leave this game with a lot less than it deserves…