VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Like I said before, I don't always use the word epic on video games, but Assassin's Creed 2 is just that — epic! It succeeds the original in almost every way possible. But it also shares some of Assassin's Creed's cons. I'll get to that in just awhile.
AC2 continues the story of bartender Desmond Mile's fascinating family lineage of assassins through the use of the Animus, a machine designed to view and live the genetic memories. This time, they follow the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the middle son of a nobleman during the Renaissance in Italy.
The very history of the brotherhood of assassins is unfolded in such a tremendous way that you may add "sci-fi" into the genre description in this installment, but it also leaves quite a few questions, like why a following of assassins was formed instead of something else?
Ezio is a much more complicated but better character than Altair. He isn't as skilled as Altair but makes up for with better selection of weapons and friends.
On top of being able to use Altair's armor (after collecting 6 crests from 6 previous assassins from around the world) and sword (available to buy at the assassins' villa after the armor is attained), Ezio has dual-hidden blades that you dip in poison and a pistol attachment (thanks to having young Leonardo da Vinci decode codex pages), smoke bombs, throwing knives, and an array of swords, axes, hammers, and daggers.
About halfway through the game, da Vinci will have a flying machine for Ezio that he will only use once to get into a highly-fortified church/hideout of a high-profiled religious target.
Ubisoft Montreal threw in all kinds of new things to expand the world of Ezio. You have the usual race, assassination, beat up, and delivery side missions. But you must now visit doctors scattered all around any city you happen to be in to buy viles of health potions and poison or just pay a small change to have your health restored fully.
So how do you get money you said? Besides earning some from completing main missions and side missions. You also have the options to tackle thieves and couriers running around every city or restore/add shops, doctor's office, banks, church, bordellos, mine, well, military barracks, and thieves guild inside the villa. The more money you invest in the villa the more income you make, but you have to find some time to go back home to collect your paycheck.
Plus, you can also collect 8 mini-statues of 8 Greek gods and goddesses to uncover 2,000 in change for each two statues you find scattered around the villa. But these aren't difficult to find. The best time to see these statues is at night because they shimmer in the dark. You may also loot the bodies of your fallen enemies or chests (some are highly guarded) and pick the pocket of just about anybody but your friends in the game.
I won't go into every detail of everything in AC2 because there are a ton of them. You will have to see them on your own.
About the most beautiful aspect of the game is the detail put into every crevices and costumes. The different locations are so full of life and scenic views that I really recommend climbing the highest point of every city and look around to behold the outstanding work Ubisoft has put into this game.
All sounds, music, and dialogues are top-notch as well as the lighting effects. The animation is fluid and smooth no matter how many characters and/or enemies are on screen at the same time. But, just as I mentioned earlier AC2 suffers from a few poorly executed mechanics.
Just like the first, AC2's combat gameplay is hampered by annoyingly uncooperative camera angles and movements. It can get frustrating at times when you're trying to defend yourself against a host of enemies in narrow pathways or an area with trees. A lot of times your view is blocked by objects around the area you're in which forces you to run and fight somewhere more open. The problem there is you're being attacked from all angles, but you can't continue to move because you have block each and every attack. So you'll end up staying put and just take some of the beatings versus dying if you decide to get to the open area.
There are also moments when blocking and counter-moves don't respond when you need it to for some odd reason. You can't say the timing is off because when you play this game long enough, you kind of learn when to utilize those moves because the variety of the attack animation of each enemies is extremely limited.
But don't fret, AC2 is still a highly entertaining game that will require hours and hours to fully accomplish everything there is to do. A definite must-have!
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft Montreal). Platforms: XBox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. Genre: Third-Person Action-Adventure. Player(s): 1. ESRB Rating: Mature (M)
GAMEPLAY: B+
GAME DESIGN: A-
STORY: A
GRAPHICS: A+
SOUND: A+
MUSIC: A
VOICE ACTING: B+
REPLAY VALUE: C-
RENT OR BUY?: Didn't I say a definite must-have?
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