Assassin's Creed II

[jcap]

So good. So long. So much fun. Great game. Fantastic story.

It's absolutely nothing like the first game aside from the fighting.

Review further down.

[Timo]

It wasn't hard to beat Assasin's Creed I. If mw1 was as bad as cod5 you'd find mw2 good

[jcap]

Yeah, I realize that if the previous game had problems and the sequel fixes it, then the sequel is suddenly better. However, with that in mind, this game does a lot that makes it very well-polished and fun, bringing it up to the level that GTA and Oblivion would be on.

What made this game good was how it is "standard" for what you would expect, plus a little more. The events in the game follow a very convoluted personal revenge story. It's not the same redundant gameplay from the first game where you get an assigned target, do three informant missions, and then go to an event to assassinate your guy. With this game, you know something bad is going on, and you make it your goal to put an end to it. You work your way closer to your goal of the game by gaining information from your other targets and other people you work for. This can compare a lot to the GTA mission system, where you have one ultimate goal and you have to use other people's resources to get you there. Every mission is different, but of course many (not all!) involve killing someone, whether it's a deed for someone or just a person who got in your way. The pacing is VERY similar to GTA.

This game has a really crazy and deep storyline. Through the first game, you were kept rather clueless as to what the whole deal was. In this, you now know something big is happening, and you know the clues to look for. The symbols written in blood all now have meaning. By the end of the game, many of the existing questions are answered, and now you have a few new ones for Assassin's Creed III. Everything is also perfectly linked at the end of the game, making sense of the past and present, and probably the future (but we'll have to wait to find out! ;))

The reason I feel this game exceeds what is "standard" mostly deals with the nitpicky things that I feel are important to polishing. For instance, the entire opening sequence of the game is something that stands out to me. *Potential spoilers ahead if you're a pussy who doesn't even watch E3 or developer interviews!* You start out literally at the exact second the first game ended. After being put into the Animus 2.0 and taking on the memory of Ezio, you enter his early teenage years in life. This takes place immediately after the Assassin's Creed: Lineage mini-series. The next 30 to 45 minutes is about your normal life, building your emotions and the foundation of the plot. During this, you undergo your training, which I think is extremely creatively placed. In the first game, upon your entry to the Animus you went through a few things. In this game, you do your "training" as you interact with people in your normal life. Also, during this time is when the opening title screen shows in an awesome scene. I don't know why, but that just feels so perfectly placed. Cutscenes are extremely well done, and they are an extremely welcome addition to the series. There's a decent amount of humor in them all, but that doesn't take away at all from the seriousness of the story or the authenticity of the setting.

Then there's also the special effects and music. The effects are a little toned down this time when you collect objects (I really liked the first game's when you got a flag), but the new virtual city effects are the coolest thing ever. There's also some very nice effects on you whenever you appear in a new place or blending in a crowd. Also, the boundaries are very cool. Unlike the hard blue boundaries in the first game, in this you have a wall you can actually walk through. The wall has the same appearance as the "virtual city effect." When you walk through it, everything turns into slow motion and the flashing desynchronization effect kicks in. If you stay out for long enough, you lose your sync bars. As for the music, this game packs a ton of it. The music is very well done, giving every city and event its own bundle of songs. For every event and action you do, there's a theme for it: blending, walking, running, rooftops, assassinations (some even have different themes), and chase scenes. Some locations even have themes, like caves, houses, swamps, districts, etc.

Probably the one thing I am most disappointed about is the lack of any replay function that the first game had. Once you complete a mission, it's over. At no time can you choose from your DNA memory to go back and replay a memory. Part of this is due to the new money system and purchases, but I'm sure it would have been fine if you could keep everything you currently have while playing a previous memory, as long as it brings you back to the "present" (where you were before initiating the replay) after another successful completion of the memory, so that way you can't keep stacking up money and weapons.

[Cortexian]

I'm most likely going to agree with jcap if the PC version is just as good better than the console versions.

[jcap]

I'm most likely going to agree with jcap if the PC version is just as good better than the console versions.
Wait, what? Where in this thread did I say that? :raise:

It's true, though. The PC version of Assassin's Creed II was pushed back to March 2010. Ubisoft claims it's to make it better and provide the best experience possible. To be honest, after seeing how they took the negative criticism from the first game and actually improved the PC version in its delayed launch, I believe them. Though, I really don't think the delay was necessary for this game, since it follows a linear quest with a fixed set of missions you must play through. It's not like the first game where you have a "choice" between the same three informant missions before every assassination.

[Dwood]

I'd like to see what they do with Assassin's Creed II on PC.

[Limited]

Game is awesome. Played it in october on the Playstation 3, not used to those controls but I have one hell of a time.

I would get it on launch, yet money and time issues are stopping me.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

brb begging for money from my parents to get this game on ps3, so I can have teh special weapons that are ps3 only if you have assassins creed psp
:D

[Futzy]

Getting today.

[Corndogman]

Definitely want this, don't want to buy it though. Guess I'll have to wait until one of my friends gets it so I can mooch off of them. O maybe I'll rent it. Either way, I loved the first one and this does look very good.

[Cortexian]

L2Simultaneous PC Release.

[FireDragon04]

My copy arrives in the morning (UK). Can't wait to play it, i actually enjoyed the first game but the story was 'wishy washy' to say the least, so I'm expecting more from it in that department, other than that... I'm going in open minded.

[NullZero]

Pffffffffff, it arrives tomorrow for me (20th & UK). If it doesn't get delivered, I will get mad as it will arrive monday next week.

[n00b1n8R]

Should I play AC1 before this or what?

[Heathen]

Should I play AC1 before this or what?

I would

[Dwood]

Should I play AC1 before this or what?

If you want to have any idea what's going on, please do.

As for me, I'll be waiting until it's cheap on Steam.

[jcap]

You would at least want to watch the last 20 or 30 minutes of the first game on Youtube, if you don't play it.

[Dwood]

You would at least want to watch the last 20 or 30 minutes of the first game on Youtube, if you don't play it.

I'd say hour :P

Game screws with your head.

[n00b1n8R]

/me decides to buy second hand copy to find out what happens

(why would you buy old games new idgi they're still in good condition and it's a fucking game :S)

[jcap]

I can't remember where I saw it, but earlier today I saw an early Black Friday ad with Assassin's Creed (the first one) for only $5 or $6. Yeah, you're in Australia, but whatever.

nvm, I finally found the site with the correct ad and a good search feature. http://bfads.net/Search/Creed/all+all+all/

[Heathen]

/me decides to buy second hand copy to find out what happens

(why would you buy old games new idgi they're still in good condition and it's a fucking game :S)

shiiiit. I found my copy of COD 4 on the side of the road. Fucked up as hell but local rental store has a disc scratch remover.

[Ganon]

shiiiit. I found my copy of COD 4 on the side of the road. Fucked up as hell but local rental store has a disc scratch remover.

I've had mine roll off my desk into the kitchen 25 ft away

Man those things just get everywhere!

[FireDragon04]

What an amazing game.

Finished it late Saturday and was (still am) blown away by the advancement in nearly every single way from the first game. The engaging story, interesting characters and enjoyable missions.

I'm glad i picked this baby up before L4D.

[Corndogman]

/me decides to buy second hand copy to find out what happens

(why would you buy old games new idgi they're still in good condition and it's a fucking game :S)

Just rent it, especially if your gonna get the second one, since the gameplay is basically the same. The gameplay was repetitive enough anyways, i for one never played it again after i beat it.

[Futzy]

The best story ever told in a game, even if the game play was a bit repetitive.

[TeeKup]

(why would you buy old games new idgi they're still in good condition and it's a fucking game :S)

Holy christ thank you. My friend just recently bought a brand new PSP just because his screen cracked, he only needed to spend 70 to get it fixed. His reasoning behind this is to give it to another friend who said he really didn't need it.

I can't fucking stand it when people don't know how to spend their damn money...

[jcap]

or if you're in the US, you can buy it today/tonight/tomorrow for the price of a rental. :p

[paladin]

WTF... I jsut beat the game...

And I have to agree with desmond, wtf. Overall i thought the game was fantastic. The story was jsut, ahhhhhh i cant get my head around it. cant wait for the next game. hopefully itll be in the present time.