| Author | Review |
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seema419
172,011
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 27 November 09 at 18:24 |
This review has 118 positive votes and 10 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Before I begin I’ll admit that I’m hooked on Assassin’s Creed. Altair is my all time favorite character from a game, and I saw very few opportunities to improve the first of the series. But I like to think that when I review something it’s done with brutal honesty, and I wont hesitate to point out flaws despite my strong, underlying affection. 
Assassin’s Creed II is the second installment of the trilogy series, developed by Ubisoft Montreal (who handled the recent Prince of Persia), who also developed the first AC. Much of the care and quality invested by the team in the first game can also be seen in the sequel. The game takes place from a 3rd person perspective and allows the player to control a free-running, agile and talented Italian assassin during the late 15th century Renaissance. It tells a story of betrayal, vengeance and a young man’s descent into a lethal, albeit righteous destiny.
There really is something beautiful in silently stalking a target for over ten minutes, allowing them to let their guard down and feel comfortable, and then dropping like a cat from the shadows and instantly ending them.
Desmond Miles is the character in which the entire story revolves. He’s your average guy, maybe a little whiny, but he’s caught up in a crazy invisible war between The Knights Templar and the Assassins. Although Desmond is essentially the protagonist, you’ll mainly be playing as a memory projected by Desmond through a psychically linked machine called the Animus. Said Animus allows the user to play out the memories of their ancestors, as a way to uncover long dormant information.
Once you enter the Animus you’ll play as Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a 17 year old with a knack for mischief. He runs along rooftops, scraps with local idiots, and seduces the ladies. These skills all prove useful once he inherits a suit of assassin armor and begins cleansing Italy of its corrupt politicians and black hands. Very similar to the first game, your missions usually involve reconnaissance of your target, preparation of the approach, and finally the glorious kill. You’ll climb the highest points to fill your map and locate anything and everything of interest, and then leap down into the impossible landing below. So while this game is more grounded in realism than its Prince of Persia relatives, it definitely takes a stretch in a few places (if the plot wasn’t enough to tip you off already).
You’ll master the use of many weapon types, including swords, short blades, spears, warhammers and throwing knives. This time around you’ll also be able to employ smoke bombs in your combat, temporarily stunning your enemies and leaving you to do as you please... kill, or spare. Thankfully, Ezio is much more aquatically proficient than his ancestor Altair, and you’ll also be able to swim in the canals and use the water itself as a concealment opportunity. Ubisoft definitely took advantage of the opportunity to improve on the last Assassin’s Creed.
There has been a vast growth in the variety of both missions and sidequests in the game. In your down time you’re free to explore the huge cities, which feature amazing textures as well as opportunity for parkour. AC2 engages your skills by allowing you to race agile thieves, or by tackling slippery messengers and giving yourself a nice income boost in the process... and just try to stay your hidden blade when some jackass decides to pickpocket you as you talk to someone. I may be a nice assassin, but...
The process between identifying your target and completing the assassination has also been improved, many times involving separate tasks that allow you or your allies to enclose on the enemy like a silent fist. One of my favorites involved dispatching an entire enemy archer force, replacing the enemy with my own men. Closing in on my mark at the end, he cried out to his guards and my friends laughed instead. This is a common occurrence in AC2; feeling like your enemy is just completely helpless.
I feel like I’ve gone on enough about it in length, so I’ll try to tighten it up.
There are many improvements over the first game. I’m a stickler for little things, so the fact that you can dye your clothes in this one is a win for me. Additionally, you can add armor to your wardrobe and upgrade that as well. In fact, Ezio eventually inherits the property of his relatives, and you can upgrade your own personal villa until it’s a small yet thriving town. Your villa will continually generate revenue and you can retrieve that whenever you like. At the end of my game I was making 50k every 20 minutes, though I had nothing to spend it on (save ammo/ medicine).
Anyone who was a fan of the hidden blade (ahem) will be pleased to know that Ezio uses two hidden blades, as well as the endlessly entertaining ability to poison your blade and send an enemy into a state of maniacal frenzy before dying. Towards the end you’ll receive another ingenious upgrade to your hidden arsenal.
Combat has received a makeover, which includes the addition of three guard classes: Brutes, Agiles and Seekers. These guys will do whatever they can to make your life miserable, and they each require different tactics to defeat. You can no longer just stand and continually counter, you’ll now have to work at coaxing a strike from a guard in readiness to dodge and then counter, then counter a smaller guard behind you, and then deflect and return with a vicious strike to the Brute in front of you. It has all become a beautiful macabre ballet.
Sound: Assassin’s Creed 2 features an amazing score composed by Jesper Kyd, the man responsible for the original AC score, as well. The music does an excellent job of pulling you into the intensity of a pursuit, as well as the climactic result. It fits well with the atmosphere of Renaissance Italy, and at times conveys the playful side of the game. Carnavale is a great sequence...
My only complaint is that at times, the music would be altogether absent, sometimes for long periods. The lack of any ambient music kind of bugged me. Granted, you’ll pay more attention to what’s going on in the world around you.
The voicework is above average in most cases, some of the talent sounded genuinely Italian while some floundered, but that’s to be expected, I suppose.
Graphics: Unlike it’s Prince of Persia relative, the Assassin’s Creed series has its graphics grounded in realism, and it’s beautifully apparent in this game. As much as I enjoyed the first game, the environments grew tiresome. AC2 has a four-century gap to thank for its advances in architecture, landscaping and opportunities for ninja training. I’ve never looked at Italy with such admiration as when I’m scaling its beautifully designed walls. Unfortunately the game slightly suffers from things like pop up, and you might occasionally see a guy form from the ether right in front of you. But hey, you’re in a machine after all... roll with it. For the most part it will never jeopardize your movement or progress. Something else to keep in mind is that the graphics in the cutscenes definitely leave something to be desired. It’s not hard to tell what’s going on, and the modeling is decent in its own right, but there are far better games than this when it comes to visual stimulation. Long story short, the lip-synching is atrocious, and can only be defended by the fact that it was probably coded for French.
Controls/Playability: Your onscreen assassin is manipulated through a control scheme that involves high and low profile movement. In low profile you’ll walk carefully and by holding a button mapped to your hands you’ll gently push your way through crowded streets. This is great for remaining anonymous. In high profile you’re going into an active state where Ezio will start to run and then sprint, and as you approach almost any obstacle you’ll be climbing walls and jumping partitions with ease. As the game progresses you’ll have the opportunity to work with your villa’s resident trainer and learn advanced moves to help in both combat and parkour. This is vital for reaching previously inaccessible areas and helps with the feeling of character growth.
As agile an assassin as Ezio is, he still goes through moments where he loses his freaking mind and can’t understand that all you’re trying to do is grab the little ledge that’s less than an arm’s length away. You’ll occasionally find yourself doing something that has nothing to do with what you intended, and you’ll wonder if it was your fault or the game. And as a side note, I’ve never played Infamous, but I hear the free-running in AC is atrocious compared to Infamous. It is sticky on a rare occasion, but I generally never have a problem getting the job done.
In summation you’ll have no problem picking up this game, even if you haven’t played the first, as the game slowly guides you into the concept and controls.
Replayability: After completing the story you’ll be able to continue your adventures and work on getting your villa to 100%. If you haven’t already, you can go back to any city and attempt to collect feathers, statues, assassin seals, and other items to improve your character. Unfortunately without much to do after your main assassinations, you’re left with a badass with no direction. I would highly, highly recommend taking your time and collecting everything to fully enjoy the rewards before you exact your final revenge. Unless you want to go through the story again (like me) you probably won’t have much of a reason to play through twice.
Achievements: A mix of happy and sad when it comes to the achievements in AC2. Happy because you’re once again getting cheeves in Assassin’s Creed! Sad because they’re such basic achievements. All 50 can be easily attained in one playthrough. They range from your given Story achievements to a variety of combat related objectives that are reasonably easy, and will probably see use at least two or three times anyways. The No-hitter achievement is easily obtained as you reach about three-quarters of the way through the story, as you will then be a fully capable assassin with some of the best weapons. For me, the most frustrating were Messer Sandman (throw dirt) and Sweeper (5 guards at once). I have Titan Eric to thank for posting the simple and helpful solutions on TA. There’s also a group of achievements which involve making your way through Prince of Persia inspired acrobatic environments, in pursuit of seals that unlock a valuable treasure below your villa. These sequences are extremely fun and the reward is nostalgic, beautiful, and almost tear inducing...
Altogether I would recommend this game to anyone who finds any enjoyment in being free to run through, over and across a crowded, living city with ease, all while knowing you have the capability to take out any single one of these people with one swift move. If you like to stalk your prey like an animal and then crave for the kill and relish in the frantic and bloody battle for survival and escape that is guaranteed to follow after, I really don’t think you can do much better than this one. Additionally, DLC has been heavily rumored and almost guaranteed...
As much as I would love to give it a 5, it’s just not THAT good. Still,
4.5/5 or 9/10
Sorry this was a long review... but I thrive on constructive criticism so if you feel like giving me your two cents I’m happy to listen. Enjoy the game!
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PeaceSquid
376,694
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 06 December 09 at 15:25, Edited on 06 December 09 at 15:32 |
This review has 56 positive votes and 7 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
If you take a cursory look at the original Assassin's Creed's Metacritic page, you'll see that a bunch of sites and publications thought it was literally gaming sex in your mouth. The sites capable of reviewing it in a more reasoned way, all said the same thing. It was a great game engine that had been given ten minutes of gameplay which was then copied and pasted until ten hours later you were wishing it would just stop.
Achievement whores were punished further with hundreds of black flags to find in the shadows and a bunch of stupid tasks such as pressing 'A' whenever you saw a glitch and invoking a bunch of conversations that you had no way of knowing were available until you went up to Lucy the lab assistant and pressed 'A' at her.
It was the repetition that really killed the first game though. Each mark had to be targetted by completing a bunch of eavesdropping and pick-pocket missions until they showed up on your map. The game's real saving grace was that the actual hits - whilst not being up to Hitman standards - definitely involved a little strategy (especially if you wanted the achievement for assassinating every target without taking damage).
So, has AssCreed 2 improved things at all? The short answer is 'yes'. A slightly longer one might be 'fucking aye'. Before we get into how, here's a little background for the uninitiated.
Assassin's Creed 2, much like it's predecessor, is an open-world, platforming, hack and slasher. Actually, the combat is a little more refined than your usual X, X, X, Y archetype, but that's basically what you get. Where Assassin's Creed saw you playing as Altair, an assassin operating during the Crusades of 1191, this sequel puts in the role of Ezio, a carefree playboy in Renaissance Italy, who is lucky that Altair's athletic genes haven't skipped his generation.
For the most part, Ezio and Altair play the same way. They leap, climb and free-run their way around the game world with the grace of a cat and have many of the same combat techniques. However, there is less emphasis on perfect kills for Ezio as he isn't motivated by duty but rather revenge.
Whilst this makes the game a lot... well... easier, it does make your hits a lot less interesting which is a shame because that was the first game's strongest feature. Indeed, perfect kills are often impossible as targets are sometimes followed around by two guards within two feet of them and any action against either guard will result in the target initating Operation: Save Ass and running like a bastard.
So, ultimately your best course of action is to run in, assassinate the mark and then run like bloody fuck until you lose the guards. Or you could just stand and fight, after all Ezio makes short work of counter-attacking their strikes just like Altair used to. These sections can be a little unsatisfying if you spent any real time with the first game but that's not to say that things aren't a lot better generally in this game.
The good news starts with the graphics. AssCreed 2 is as jaw-droppingly gorgeous as the first game but Renaissance Italy makes for an even more attractive playground. Running around real-life landmarks, especially those in Venice, is as close to virtual tourism as it gets and executing bent officials is just that bit sweeter when it's in a 15th Century church.
The side missions are no longer mandatory and are just a way to raise cash. Not that you'll need to do them as there is loads of loot lying around (and you can even buy maps to find it quicker) and not a whole lot of stuff worth buying. This leaves you free to race through the storyline. This immediacy is certainly a welcome change of pace from the first game and there's a whole lot less bollocks to play through as Desmond (the near-future descendent of Altair and Ezio) as well. This is a good thing.
So for the first ten or so hours, you'll enjoy the sites, the story and the slaying. After that though you may well find yourself killing yet another bent politician or corrupt clergyman and wondering if you really give a toss anymore. Still, that's a lot later than the first game took to get old.
If you can pace yourself and not try to mainline the game in a few days, then AC2 gives you a fantastic playground to dip in and out of. Achievement whores be warned, there are a few things to collect (100 feathers being the most annoying) but it's not nearly as bad as the first game.
The game does have a few nice gameplay twists and set-pieces to keep you interested and is genuinely a tremendous game. I still can't help wishing that it'd stop worrying about being so slick and would add a bit more variation but it's a genuine contender for GOTY and I can't wait for the next one.
(Achievements)
Overall, a much easier max than AC1. Most of the achievements are obtained during the story or with a small amount of additional effort. Collecting the feathers takes a while - you should avoid them until you decide to get a map off the internet and grab them all in one go - and the glyphs are a little awkward to get.
Nothing difficult though and you can go back for remaining achievements after you finish the story.
Note: Flyswatter appears to be a missable one.
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xxW0LFxx TFD
122,398
TA Score for this game: 995
Posted on 20 December 09 at 16:12 |
This review has 43 positive votes and 2 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
The original Assassins Creed split gamers down the middle,some loved the innovative free-running system and unique story and settings,whilst other’s loathed the game due to a lack of variety in it’s missions and simplistic control system.
However the creators of Assassins Creed payed attention to these people,looked at what they loved and at what they hated and learned from them,and thus Assassins Creed 2 was born.
Once again you will be living the life of one of Desmond Mile’s ancestors,more precisely Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Unlike Altair from the original game,Ezio is no master assassin to start with and Assassins Creed 2 follows Ezio through a very large portion of his life (spanning roughly 30 years)
A tragedy in Ezio’s teen years moves him to seek revenge.
Thus over his lifespan Ezio becomes a deadly Assassin,and unlike AC1 where you were already a master assassin it is a welcome change to play as Ezio as he learns these skills through his experiance.
Ezio is also a much more likable character than the rather cold Altair (who makes an appearence in AC2 and plays and important part in the story) he’s a charming Italian,and is well acted and played.
As you might expect the story deepens in AC2,as subject 16’s background is slowly revealed and new information is learned with some amazing revelations at the end of the game.
However,i’ll leave this review spoiler free by saying the story is engrossing and keeps you playing.
Thankfully the modern day part of the game does not interfere to much,unlike the orignal game where you were dragged back into modern day fat to often with nothing to do in those little interludes.
For the few times tat you are brought back to the modern world it’s for good reasons and some nice gameplay touch’s.
Desmond is less of a useless lump and now seems to have toughened up,making for some intresting changes in his character,as the game progress’s Desmon also becomes an assassin thanks to the bleeding effect,which see’s him learning the same skills Ezio does.
This opens up many intresting possibilitys for the next game.
The new economic system is the biggest and by far best change to the gameplay,players now earn Florins as they complete missions which can be used to buy new armour,weapons,smoke bombs,throwing knives,healing items and poison.
Money can also be invested in your own private Villa and small town which you gain access to early in the game.
You can upgrade the town and villa,which in turn earns you extra money every 20 minutes (real time)
Your villa also stores all your weapons,armour,collectibles and more whilst your town has many shops.
It’s a fantatic addition to the Creed world.
Ubisoft have also addressed the variety issue in many diffrent ways.
Gone are the investigation missions that plagued the first game,in it’s place is a more natural and free flowing missions system which builds up to each major assassination.
It’s almost taken it’s cue’s from GTA’s mission structures and it works very well,everything seems far more natural now and flows better.
They’ve also added in side missions,which are entirely optional throughout the game,these include assassination contracts,couries missions,race’s and even beating up unfaithful husbands.which takes me smoothly to the combat.
While the core mechanics of combat remain the same,Ezio is by far a superior fighter that Altair ever was.
Thanks to a massive increase in the range of weapons,you can now fight with mace’s and massive two-handed swords and axes now as well,making for some brutal kill animations.
The new Disarm move is fantastic,by fighting unarmed you can now counter and attack and steal your opponents weapon and get an insta kill on him.
It’s fantastic to watch as you disarm a masive armoured Knight and bring his huge two handed axe swinging down into his shoulder.
Combat is improved by new enemy types as well,such as the Brute who is a massive armoured foe,and is best fought with your dual hidden blades or using the disarm technique.
Other enemies wield massive pikes or spears and can attack you from a good distance and are best taken out from combo kills.
Graphics are still amazing,and cutscense are now present in the game,however the facial animations can sometimes be a little ugly.
Attention to detail is still staggering and this is by far the best looking sandbox game yet.
Venice and Italy as a whole look amazing as this game takes you through these beautiful cities and landscapes.
Animations are once again a joy to behold,Ezio moves,climbs and leaps with precision and grace and the combat animations are brutal to behold.
A raft of smaller additions also make there way into Creed 2,such as driving boats,faster climbing and extra equipments such as smoke bombs.
You can now pick up dead bodies and either hide them or use them as distractions and the new smoke bombs add a nice extra tactic to your arsenal.
Poison is introduced as well,you can now prick any person with a small needle to deliver this poison,which drives the victim mad and they will begin attacking people around them.
Use this on something like a Brute and he will most likely do some major damage to his allies as well as cause a great distraction.
However the game does not make use of these items well enough,they get introduced but after that the game never forces you to use them,so many people will forget these abilites exist and never use them,as such the game should of had a mission or 2 after each item and skill is introduced where the player could get used to using these items and abilities.
The hidden gun is a neat new feature as well,allowing for some nice long range kills,as well as your new Double Hidden Blades which allow for some satasfying kills.
Collectibles return,but in a much better form.
Around the world there 100 feathers to collect,however you do get rewards this time round.
There are alos 20 Glyphs which when found,act as puzzles which slowly unlock a video made by the illusive Suject 16.
The new Assassins Tombs are a great addition as well,these indoor area’s are parkour playgrounds,designed to challenge you i many ways.
Some simply ask you to work out how to get to the tomb,others see you using precision and speed as you race around the area to hit switches in time.
Others provide enemies as well to test your techniques and often see you trying to chase down a guard through a fantastic chase sequence before he alerts the other guards.
All in all there are 6 of these tombs,each one gives you a Seal and collecting all six is well worth the effort for the reward your recieve.
All said and done Assassins Creed 2 is a fantastic game that solves most of the originals flaws and provides a breathtaking adventure and gripping story that will keeped you hooked in its 15 hours of campaign time.
And after that you can always add another 10-15 hours in side missions and collectibles and just general mucking about.
One of 2009’s best releases.
SCORE’S:
Graphics: 90%
Gameplay: 92%
Lifespan: 90%
OVERALL: 92%
If you enjoyed my review please check out my site at:
http://wolfsgamingblog.wordpress.com/
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Harrison101
95,709
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 29 January 10 at 02:23 |
This review has 34 positive votes and 1 negative vote. Please log in to vote. |
A long anticipated return to the Animus...And boy, it was damn close to being my game of the year. Damn close. I had to almost toss a coin to decide. But this is one of the best sequels ever and a real return to form for Ubisoft and for the Creed.
The story starts as you play as Desmond, being broken out of Abstergo (The labs from the first Assassin's Creed), and being transported to another warehouse to re-enter the Animus. Only this time, you're learning how to be an Assassin in the real world. You're reborn as Ezio Auditore in Renaissance Italy (1460's-1490's), with the task of joining a family of Assassin's that Ezio wasd blisfilly unaware of until his dad and 2 brothers are framed and hung for treason. Now Ezio goes on a path of assassinsating top ranking figures in Italy, eventually even The Pope gets the treatment...Wow.
This, like the original, is a very story driven game, and the story its self for the most part, is told incredibly well. However, on occasion, bits of the story are suddenly fast forwarded. Example, you complete one part of the story, then all of a sudden, you find Ezio sitting on a bench two years later with evidence that was only just revealed. Some explanations would be somewhat nicer, but overall, it's a really well done story, and the voice acting is SO much better than in the original, for once I can believe these people are Italian...Or voice artists with really good Italian accents, whatever.
Also I love the look and the feel of the game. Maybe I don't know for real what it's like as I never played the original Assassin's Creed, but I think it visually looks amazing. The cities are really well designed and are crafted in an amazing amount of detail. Every person looks different in the game and you can really feel that Ubisoft put a lot of time and effort into producing this sequel, and it really shows. Not to mention the amazing soundtrack that it has as well, it compliments the game PERFECTLY. It's so good, it's on my iPod. Go buy it, you won't be dissapointed.
Now one of the biggest criticisms of the last game was its repetitive-ness. It had a tendency of repeating the same very similar tasks over and over again...However, this is not the case in AC2. Although the main-story isn't a marathon at 12-16 Hours, It'll probably take you longer due to you deviating from the main story on a regular basis. There's assassination contracts, Races, Beat Up events, Secret Locations, Viewpoints and Collectibles to find and much more. By the time you've done everything major in the game, you'll have played for 30-40 Hours. Which is one of the great things about this game, it's lasting appeal is huge due to the fact there's always something to do. There's even a villa you live in which you can restore to its former glory by spending your florins on weapons, paintings, feathers and building improvements. It's a nice touch.
Gameplay mechanics themselves are a little bit of a mixed bag. The fighting controls are perfect, intuitive and very well done. The free-running controls though aren't great. Ezio can sometimes just have a mind of his own, which can be detrimental when falling off a 100 foot tower. And since you learn most of this from the beginning of the game, I think the learning curve is a little steep. Shame that, as they nailed the fighting aspects. The free-running is nothing that Uncharted 2, Infamous and Mirror's Edge haven't done better.
Apart from that, the only real complaint from me is that the game is just a little too easy. I didn't die once during the entire 15 Hours it took me to complete the game, and I think if you're competant in the fighting system, you'll probably do the same. Minor complaint, but more than noticeable.
Overall, this is one truly magnificent sequel, as what Ubisoft did is they took every major flaw with the first Assassin's Creed and either changed it for the better, or removed it altogether. You will get such a pleasure from playing this game and I highly recommend it to anyone with a brain. No wonder it was Number 2 Harrison game of 2009. Sayonara.
Presentation: 95/100 - Incredible
Looks wonderful and is. Really intuitive and easy to design menus. You'll never go wrong with these. And if you do, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
Gameplay: 85/100 - Great
Fighting is wonderful, but the free-run controls can be frustrating at times, but it's nothing that really harms the experience on the whole.
Graphics: 95/100 - Incredible
It overall looks stunning. Ubisoft did an amazing job capturing that 15th Century feel, and everything looks top notch.
Audio: 100/100 - Perfection
One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a game. It does an amazing job capturing that feel of the time like before, and I'd listen to it all day. Amazing.
Lasting Appeal: 95/100 - Incredible
You'll be hard-pushed to NOT find something to do. You've got over 25 Hours of gameplay at your disposal, as well as 5 Playgrounds. What more do you need?
Overall Score: 94/100 - Outstanding
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LitaOsiris
241,550
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 04 October 11 at 09:27, Edited on 04 October 11 at 11:31 |
This review has 28 positive votes and 4 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Originally written for gamingirl.com in 2009 but slightly updated here
If you’ve played the first Assassin’s Creed game, forget what you know about it. The repetitiveness is gone and has been replaced with an in-depth story with varying fun missions. The assassinations have also been improved upon with players finding they’ll have to be even more sneaky to find a way in.
Assassin’s Creed 2 is based upon revenge. It is what causes Ezio to become an assassin. His family was betrayed, a tragedy occured because of it and Ezio is set to seek revenge on all that were a part of it. The game takes place from 1476 – 1499 so as players work through the story, they’ll find it’s a long list of names.
As a player of Assassin’s Creed, I found I fell right back in with the controls in no time at all. However, there’s no need to worry about having not played the original as the game presents you with a tutorial as part of the storyline in the very beginning. Ezio is very nice to control with all of his movements feeling quite fluid and natural. The combat system has been improved upon since the original with disarms now part of Ezio’s fighting repertoire. I find this to be the most lethal out of all of the combat moves as you can steal the guard’s weapon and use it on them. This is extremely useful when dealing with more stronger enemies like Brutes. I definitely enjoyed the addition of a second hidden blade. I found several times I would just walk up to a pair of guards, kill them and walk away quite casually.
Ezio has more gadgets to use such as smoke bombs and a poisoned blade, which are useful for causing distractions and speaking of which, the various factions – thieves, courtesans and mercenaries – are also quite useful for this purpose and Ezio can also enlist help from them at any time – for a certain price of course. I definitely enjoyed having the factions since sometimes in the original it was a bit annoying when constantly having to get into a fight with guards to get to a certain area. I know the scholars were there but they walked too slow and were only designed to go to certain areas. The factions walk at Ezio’s speed and go anywhere with him. So now it’s just a case of hiring a faction, distracting the guards and sneaking right past them. It just makes the game more about being an assassin, which is always fun.
There are more stealth assassinations to play with since Ezio can now assassinate enemies from the environment. As a result, hay stacks and ledges are no longer safe for guards to stand next to! Diving into the Venice waters as an escape method is now a possibility (and highly enjoyable!) since Ezio can swim.
There is a new notoriety system in the game whereby doing things considered an offense to the law will add to the meter. When completely filled, Ezio will be wanted by the guards and if they see him, they will give chase. Fortunately doing certain actions like removing posters, bribing heralds and killing witnesses will drop your notoriety level and Ezio can go back to being anonymous. This is certainly more favourable than in the original game where galloping past guards on a horse was enough to make them attack. When running from chasing guards, once they lose sight of Ezio, a radius will appear on the map showing where the guards are most likely going search so don’t waste time trying to hide in hay or sit on a bench. The guards are more intelligent this time round.
On a more amusing note, I even discovered a bit of a Grand Theft Auto moment in the game involving hijacking a gondola. You don’t even have to go to the bother of removing the operator as just jumping onto the gondola will be enough to knock off the user so you can claim it as yours! Overall, the entire game was pure fun for me. Ezio’s character also adds to the game’s fun level as he’s naturally charismatic as opposed to Altair’s moody and arrogant persona.
Multiplayer
There’s no multiplayer in Assassin’s Creed II, but the game doesn’t need it.
Graphics
The scenes are incredible and Ubisoft really did a fabulous job at recreating Renaissance Italy. With the day and night element introduced in Assassin’s Creed II, it really adds to the breathtaking environments. The main characters themselves are designed well, but the standard NPCs are still left looking a bit plain.
Music
The score is just simply amazing. Composed by Jesper Kyd, the music seriously adds to the atmosphere of the game by playing the right songs at the right moment. By walking around Venice, one can hear a tranquil, choir-like angelic theme whereas getting caught up in a fight sequence will treat players to an upbeat, chilling tempo. Last time I checked, all 35 tracks were uploaded onto YouTube so happy hunting!
Uplay
Ubisoft introduced their Uplay service for Assassin’s Creed II that allows the player to earn credits through playing the game and then spend them on items. One item I believe is up for grabs is the Altair outfit. One doesn’t necessarily have to spend the credits on a certain game; they can be kept for another game.
Achievements
The achievements are all fairly standard and it’s quite easy to get the full lot of them as I got the 1000 achievement score in 10 days – and I was taking my time. The achievements include story related ones, performing certain actions, doing some side missions, upgrading and finding collectibles.
Collectibles
Collectibles I know are the big taboo thing about Assassin’s Creed after the flags and templars on the first game but Ubisoft really have improved on them and made them useful.
- Subject 16's videos. There are 20 puzzles to do in which the player is rewarded with a small video clip that obviously shows something important. No spoilers.
- 30 Codexes. They’re a small scroll that get added onto a wall in the villa which when using eagle vision, something else is revealed. This is essential to do to unlock the final mission. The codexes are found in buildings in the cities with four guards at the door. I often just used one of the factions to distract the guards and walked in and took it. I found I just did these as I was running through the area and they’re all marked on the map. Some are also gotten through missions.
- 6 Assassin Tombs. These are physical puzzles in which the player has to figure out how to progress from one room to another. There can be guards along the way. Collecting these rewards the player with Altair’s armour which will also colour Ezio’s clothes black.
- 100 Feathers. These would be the standard collectible. They’re not that bad and again they’re not necessary to do, but the player gets the Auditore cape as a reward. This puts Ezio on permanent notoriety so a fun thing to do if looking for a challenge. The DNA area in the pause menu will inform players about what areas are complete and how many feathers have been collected. They are quite easy to spot when in eagle vision.
- 66 Viewpoints. Not essential to do but it’s handy so the player can see the map.
Other bugs
At the time of playing in 2009 I found several times the game would freeze on me. I think I pinpointed it down to the use of the fast transport system when traveling to Tuscany or Romagna. I had no problem going to Florence, Venice or Monteriggioni, which are really the main areas of the game. I also found maybe one or two instances where guards would be stuck in a rooftop.
Summary
I loved Assassin’s Creed despite its flaws but to have a game that completely excels its predecessor is just something amazing. Ubisoft really did listen to the fans and they went back to the drawing board, kept what was good (the handling of the game), got rid of the bad (repetition/flags/templars), added in some extra stuff and came up with a masterpiece.
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BRECON2
54,434
TA Score for this game: 1,063
Posted on 05 April 10 at 04:23 |
This review has 22 positive votes and 1 negative vote. Please log in to vote. |
Assassin's Creed II was a great game, I did not get to play most of the first one, but heck, my brother got it as a gift, and once he completed it, I guess I just wanted to try it and got hooked quite fast!
Gameplay: *****
So, this game had great gameplay, the story was easy to follow and it made sense. Not much you could hate about this game! The memories weren't terribly hard, in fact, some were too easy, but thankfully, not were overly hard! This game was realistic, which is also a plus, theirs stores which you could upgrade stuff, but I honestly completed the game with no armour and a 5 medicine pack only... I guess I was just good at fighting!
Graphics and Sound: *****
The graphics in this game were amazing, the movement was nice and their were no stupid glitches that I have found yet! The only downside was the in some memories, in the middle of some roofs, their was for some reason some around a 5 by 40 steps area which you could not go in or you would desynchronize, that was kind of dumb to me... The sound effects in this game were also very nice, also the voice acting was good, it was not bad like some games have...
DLC: ****
Ahh, the DLC in this game was good, I was happy to see that they added sequences 12 and 13, and did not get lazy! Not to mention, there at a reasonable price to buy! Anyways, you obviously, these sequences follow the storyline after sequence 11, not to to give away how it goes, just in case you want to buy them, although it really isn't a spoiler anyways, but what the heck.
Achievements: *****
So the achievements in this game were good in my opinion, just following the story, side missions, and certain things in combat! Also searching for things such as Subject 16 videos, feathers and statuettes. Although, I did not complete the 100 feathers because it takes too long, and I guess its not worth a few hours for 30g. (30g because of the cape achievement also) My favourite achievement to get was the one involving Subject 16, the puzzles were fun to solve! In all, these achievements aren't terribly hard to get, I obtained around 950G in 3 days! One downside is their is one missable achievement if your not willing to buy the DLC, but it's only worth 5G anyways.
Verdict: *****
All in all, Assassin's Creed II was a phenomenal game, if your into adventure/action games, I think you should get it! This game is well deserving of 5 stars! Great game!
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DavieMarshall
188,918
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 14 April 10 at 14:29 |
This review has 28 positive votes and 7 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Assassin's Creed II, the successor to the first game of the same name, but with many notable differences.
For one, you'll be playing this one through as Ezio Auditore. After a tumultuous youth which sees his father and brothers killed by a corrupt governing body of Florence Ezio embarks on a quest of revenge and to carry on his fathers work. The true details of such are revealed in due course throughout the story so I won't ruin anything here.
The story itself is solid and hangs together well, but my only trouble is the way through the which the story progresses in your own hands. Each mission inevitably boils down to, go there, kill this man, return here. One could argue, 'well the clue is in the name of the game after all', but to me is just felt hollow for a lot of the time.
Incredibly annoyingly, as the game moves along the missions become more convoluted but often with the same premise. For example, one mission asks you to 'go there, meet this man, inexplicably follow him along rooftops for a while, kill that man, return here'. Adding in an unnecessary free running section with a less than genius AI character (who fell to his death causing me to fail the mission on one occasion) does not count for variation and only serves to annoy in my opinion.
There's also some odd occasions which seem to take a trip back to the early nineties in terms of level construction. One such mission sees a boat arrive laden with uniforms. You need to get a hold of these items. You think you infiltrate the boat, kill the crew and make off with the loot? No.
The loot arrives in port and then mysteriously dissipates itself around the city to three locations in three separate treasure chests. These chests are on the street and guarded by three or four soldiers, so you must flit round the various chests killing the guards and stealing a part of the uniform. I actually laughed out loud several times at the preposterousness of it all during the course of this section.
I also have a gripe with the notoriety system. In practice it sounds good. You become more infamous as you assassinate and complete daring tasks. As you become more well known guards spot you easier and posters appear around the city meaning you become more notorious, much like a vicious cycle. That is until you start to bribe officials, kill key guards and take down the wanted posters.
The first two elements work well, no problems there, but the posters... well, this is where it gets odd. Nine times out of ten the posters are placed on rooftops amongst the mazes there, and, I kid you not, some are placed near enough to the top of towers and church spires. Yep, because Joe Public would be able to make use of the information a hundred feet above their head. Come on Ubisoft, this was just plain daft.
The combat system works as well as it did in the first game, with little done to change or enhance the system. It works, it's solid, it gets the job done, but as I said with the first game, it's just not all that 'fun'. I'd much preferred to have seen a free floww-esque system ala Batman: Arkham Asylum with a more fluid combat mechanic.
There's a couple of new additions to your kit as an assassin. You'll have access to poison blades to incapacitate your enemies. A great addition it makes for a satisfying kill as you wend your way through the crowd, casually jab your target and continue on your way, all without breaking stride. Sitting on a bench you watch from a distance as your prey turns delusional through the poison, thrashing wild before collapsing, dead. As I say, very fun, very satisfying.
You of course have the standard techniques using your hidden blade (though you can now dual wield these performing double assassinations), and the sword play element. Throughout the course of the game you can visit blacksmith's to upgrade your armour and weaponry as you unlock it.
You earn money through completing memories but you can also earn it through the Auditore family villa/region. By renovating the area you bring in more money from new business, tourism and other such avenues. A fairly shallow addition in my eyes. The renovation is completed very easily and only yields more money as a reward. As a result, by the time your 50% or slightly more through the game you'll have more money than you know what to do with (having bought all the weapons/paintings etc. available to you).
The voice acting is top notch as you'd expect from a game like this with all characters voiced believably and with a real sense of personalisation. Leonardo da Vinci is a likeable chap with a distinct personality which developers through the game for example.
The choreography on display from the characters is great too as they 'act out' the lines put in their mouth with appropriate movements and facial expressions. Something which is often overlooked in some games as mouths flap unconvincingly.
The game offers some longevity in the sense that once you complete the game you can still peruse the cities at your leisure to pick up hidden objects to unlock those missing achievements. On which note, the 1000/1000 is entirely doable with a little hard work and some Youtube assistance.
However, much beyond that you'll want to start a new game if you want any further life from the game as you'll find yourself wandering the streets armed to the teeth with nowhere to go and no-one to fight who poses a real threat or challenge.
It's this kind of thing which sums up the game for me. The locations are varied, rich in detail, gorgeous to look at, well populated, atmospheric, authentic and a real triumph for the designers. But it all feels hollow. There's actually very little to do aside from go here, kill, return, rinse and repeat.
Perhaps I expected too much from the sequel, but I can only give it a three star rating. It just left me wanting in so many departments.
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PinataZombie
99,849
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 21 June 10 at 05:02, Edited on 21 June 10 at 06:08 |
This review has 20 positive votes and 0 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
As a sequel to a game that has its following but definitely its critics, Assassin’s Creed 2 was most definitely burdened with some sizeable anticipation. If your only question is, “Is Assassin’s Creed 2 a good game?” The answer is simply yes. It’s worth your time and you will most likely enjoy your experience with it. But why? Well, I’ll explain it to the best of my ability so hopefully by the end of this review you have some newly added confidence to either play it or to never lay a hand on it.
STORY- 5/5
You return to the game as Desmond directly following the conclusion of the first game. After a series of events you find yourself back in the Animus playing as one Ezio. Now while the game itself is only a mere minutes following the end of the last game, the majority of the game is spent in the “flamboyant” time of the Renaissance. Once things get going you will be presented with your enemy(s) and the explanation to why you want to kill them all. It is a classic revenge story although done very well with constant reminders to why your character is doing what it is that he is doing. The story progresses on as any normal game does, but along the way you will be presented with side activities that are both enjoyable and addictive. These activities directly impact the main story line eventually and in a big way. While the conclusion of Animus story (the real conclusion) may receive varying opinions, I personally enjoyed it thoroughly due to the intentions the developers had by making such an ending and in the way they did it. But again, you’ll have to judge it yourself.
GAMEPLAY- 4/5
The gameplay is extremely similar to its predecessor with some noticeable additions. While there have been complaints about controlling Ezio at times, in general he is easy and enjoyable to control. Fighting is easy as it gets the game takes a lot of the work out of it for you via finishers, etc. The “free-running” aspect is fluid until you try and make a jump that’s slightly to far, then you fall…hard. Other aspects such as the horses/carriages/flying device, are all equally simple to control unless you try and push them beyond their means.
ACHIEVEMENTS- 5/5
Very easy completion. All that’s required is beating the game completely, collecting items, and doing obscure, but easy, things while in combat. Should only take a couple hours of grinding through it to get the completion.
This game has been called the “perfect sequel.” I agree to an extent with that opinion. It takes what the first game did right and made it better. Then it took what the first game did wrong and/or was lacking and fixed them and/or added them. The developers didn’t try and reinvent the game by adding strange gameplay, etc, which was a very good decision. This game is simply a great game and well worth your time.
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Vursus
163,238
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 13 September 10 at 18:58, Edited on 13 September 10 at 19:00 |
This review has 21 positive votes and 1 negative vote. Please log in to vote. |
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Release Date: Nov. 17th 2009 (NA) Nov. 19th 2009(EU // AUS)
Platforms: Mac OS X // Xbox 360 // PS3 // Windows
Developers: Ubisoft Montreal
Genre: Third person action adventure // Sandbox
Publishers: Ubisoft
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As a warning, this review is likely to be quite stocky, as this game is one of my personal favourites, and has a vast amount of stuff that can be described, I'll try to keep the spoilers as few as possible too. So, now you've been warned, let’s begin.
The sequel continues on from the first game, once again following Desmond Miles and the new syndicate that he is now allied with (Lucy Stillman, your rescuer, being one of the members). However, you won't be seeing Altair once again as you may have expected, for this game brings forth your Italian assassin ancestor, Ezio Auditore de Firenze. As said person, you'll be taken through renaissance Italy in an adventure to thwart the evil powers attempts at world domination once again, be prepared for one hell of an adventure.
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Storyline: 9.5/10
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Well, what can I say? This game is practically flawless, and you'll definitely be at a challenge finding any faults. The storyline once again delivers greatly, immersing you into the animus to take control of another of Desmonds ancestors (Ezio).
After a gruesome betrayal which leaves your family fractured, Ezio realises the true nature of his origin and takes up his families crest to seek vengeance against those who have wronged him. Swaying across rooftops, scaling countless buildings and incredible reflexes are just some of the attributes that you will be required to utilise, with the aid of a vast array of weapons of course, in order to bring justice to the evil menace and take revenge for those who broke your family so uncaringly.
Oh, and be prepared to take control of an unlikely hero too, whom role in this is much more than he may have first calculated.
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Length and replay value: 8/10
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Well, although it isn't amazingly long, there are a variety of things to do after finishing the game that although may seem mundane, are surprisingly enjoyable (with the exception of collecting feathers, which can be tedious when only a few remain). You're able to pimp - in a sense - out your uncle’s small town, which increases the income you receive and gives a beneficial discount on the corresponding shop. Also, you'll be able to gather up the great Altair's armour (which is pretty amazing) from the tombs of your dead ancestors to give you a helpful boost in fights if you haven't already gained it. And there are numerous events you can play such as assassination targets and 'beat -up' scenarios. So, even when the story is over, you'll be left with a wide variety of activates to perform.
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Gameplay: 10/10
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As for gameplay, much like the storyline, there is very little wrong. The combat has been enhanced since the first game and feels a lot smoother; the addition of a variety of weapons (including a small projectile gun) and the ability to disarm your foes and wield their weapons is a much appreciated introduction. Add this to the sense of weightlessness as you fleet seamlessly from rooftop to rooftop, building to building, and the variety of even minor improvements and you get a truly amazing game.
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Graphics and Audio: 9/10
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The graphics of this game leave little for the eye to wonder as they bring the Italian renaissance to life with stunning surroundings that will make you feel like you're immersed in the action yourself. Not only has the setting got an amazing graphical sense, but the entire game and all its components have a crisp, refined feel to them.
Now, obviously graphics aren't the entirety of what makes a good setting, without sound they must lustrous images can seem lifeless. However, that is far from the case in this game. The sounds stream through the streets of the cities giving the desired renaissance effect and with the graphics, give an almost perfect environment.
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Achievements: 8/10
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The achievements in this game aren't exactly difficult it can certainly be said; however they do have some variety in them, and definitely require you to fully explore the game to its true extent to obtain the 100% completion. Even with the collecting of 100 feathers which can be tedious, I still managed to never get bored of this game, which is a lot to be said for a collection achievement.
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Overall Score: 44.5/50
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LessrOf2Weevils
74,074
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 17 October 10 at 18:41 |
This review has 16 positive votes and 1 negative vote. Please log in to vote. |
This is a game I had asked for Christmas, but I couldn't wait any longer, and my son and I rented it to give it a go. The first Assassin's Creed received somewhat mixed reviews, but I for one greatly enjoyed it. Ubisoft Montreal was promising many improvements in the hype leading up to the sequel, which left me a bit concerned. I worried that the immersive world and unique game play that I loved would get lost in an attempt to reach a wider audience.
It turns out my worries were unfounded. Assassin's Creed 2 improves upon the original in every way without sacrificing in the least what made the original a great game. The core game, and story, is left intact, but is now surrounded by a much greater variety, not only in the missions, but in the game play too.
The core fighting mechanics are still the same where timing is at the essence of performing combinations and counter attacks, but they entered in a great many more moves, sneak attacks, and a whole armoury of weaponry. Being able to blend into the crowd is handled much more naturally without using a walk-real-slow button, and guards will no longer chase you simply for running to get to where you want to go. In addition, instead of improvements in weapon and armour being parcelled out, you can earn (or steal) money in the game and visit shops to get what you need.
The game play elements change up frequently with mission structure being modelled more after something like Grand Theft Auto. In addition there are tombs and catacombs to explore, taking full advantage of Assassin Creed's movement engine, with acrobatics that are reminiscent of Tomb Raider or Prince of Persia. The game even has DaVinci Code like moments with hidden glyphs and ancient puzzles to solve, and a simple sim game where you make improvements to your villa to help you earn more cash.
As much as I've enjoyed playing Grand Theft Auto IV the last little while, I think I like this one better. The game play is just as fun, the variety almost the same (the edge going to GTA), but for me what puts Assassin's Creed over the top is the detail and immersive feel of its world set in 15th century Italy. GTA has wonderful characters but it's dark, satiricaly, mood (although often hysterical) doesn't pull me in in the same way as Assassin's Creed's compelling, clever, story and historical detail.
Anyway, the game got returned today, unfinished, and I'm going to discipline myself to wait until Christmas to get to the end. Some things are worth savoring.
Story: 5
Interface: 5
Game Play: 4
Challenge: 4
Fun: 5
Overall: 9.5/10
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Menacing Scarab
93,665
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 23 February 11 at 15:32 |
This review has 15 positive votes and 0 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I started with the first Assassin's Creed on release day and was overwhelmed by the brand new gameplay I was presented with. I do not believe I had ever played a game with the action-platforming style that AC had shown me. AC 2 is certainly no let down. It takes everything that I loved about the first AC and builds on it in just the right way. Issues that I experienced in the first one seemed to be much more ironed out in 2. I particularly remember hating all of the flag chasing of the first game due to how many there were. AC 2 gives you some of the same find x number of "these" but it doesn't seem to go overboard with it. It strikes a good balance of find feathers, glyphs, and statues.
The ability to blend in with crowds anywhere now makes the stealth so much better than in 1 where you had to find you that perfect pathing group of scholars that only went their own way. Also being able to hire certain groups of people that can follow you help with the blending. The ability to hire a group and then use them as a distraction to guards is a great way to get into places unnoticed not to mention how fun it is to watch a thief steal from a guard and then see them all go chasing the thief while the real threat of an assassin walks right in the door they were guarding.
I do feel that more could have been done with the economy system. Overall it felt just a little too easy to get all of the upgrades for your villa which allowed you to make even more money. By the end of the game, I found myself still with about 400,000 florins built up which made running out of anything completely impossible. There were even times when I would spend 10 minutes just throwing money out to the peasants and watching them all scramble for it and not even notice a hit to my total money.
Still a few issues with Ezio not jumping where I told him too, or jumping somewhere when all I was trying to do was turn a corner, but overall not really a big problem.
If you enjoyed the first Assassin's Creed, then you will definitely enjoy 2. And while the ending still isn't the best in the world, it is certainly more interesting than the ending to 1. Now if only I had the money to go and buy Brotherhood.
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ostermann1992
28,243
TA Score for this game: 1,002
Posted on 15 August 11 at 10:54, Edited on 15 August 11 at 10:55 |
This review has 10 positive votes and 3 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
2007: Das Spiel Assasins Creed erscheint auf dem deutschen Markt. Es wird gehypt ohne Ende! Und es sieht verdammt gut aus! Und was noch viel wichtiger ist Jade Raymond begeistert die Nerdwelt!
… Doch das Spiel? Das ist Scheiße! Ich kann es nicht anders sagen! Sich immer wiederholende Missionen und spielerisch nicht wirklich motivierend.
Dann erscheint Asassins Creed 2 und alles wird anders…
Ja ich bin mir darüber im Klaren, dass Asassins Creed 2 nun schon fast 3 Jahre auf dem Buckel hat. Doch ich bin ein armer Mensch und kann nicht alle Spiele gleich zum Vollpreis kaufen. Und für AC 2 traf diese Regel ganz besonders zu, da Teil 1 so enttäuschend war. Doch dank einem super Angebot bei Amazon hab ich mir das Spiel geholt, gespielt und lieben gelernt!
Zuerst zur Handlung: Offiziell seid Ihr nach wie vor Desmond, der mit Hilfe des Animus in die Erinnerungen seines Vorfahren reist. Doch dieser Vorfahre ist nun nicht mehr Altair, der Assassine zu Zeiten Richard Löwenherzens, sondern Ezio Auditore, ein wilder Jungspund der zur Zeit der Renaissance lebte. Nach einer kurzen Einführung wird gleich zu Beginn fast eure ganze Familie ausgelöscht und ihr seid natürlich stink sauer! Ihr erfahrt, dass euer Vater ein Assassine war und wie sich das für einen guten Sohn gehört, tretet Ihr in seine Fußstapfen und macht euch auf die Reise um die Verschwörer, die hinter dem Mord an eurer Familie stecken, zu finden und zu töten. Im Großen und Ganzen war das die Story. Natürlich hat jedes eurer Opfer eine eigene „Episode“ mit eigener Handlung und im Spielverlauf gibt es mehrere Storytwists doch diese jetzt zu verrate ginge zu weit. Ich will ja nicht spoilern!
Darum jetzt zum Gameplay: Auf den ersten Blick ist alles gleich geblieben. Steuerung und Ansicht genau wie in AC 1. Doch es gibt kleinere Neuerungen die das Spiel erst so richtig gut machen. So habt ihr nun verschiedenen Attentats Möglichkeiten. Sei es ein Attentat aus einem Heuhaufen heraus, bei dem ihr das Opfer unbemerkt ausschaltet und gleich versteckt. Oder Ihr hängt euch unter einem Balkon auf dem das Opfer steht und reist es dann gekonnt in die Tiefe. Es gibt noch viele weitere, kreative Möglichkeiten unentdeckt an euer Ziel zu kommen. Doch bevor Ihr euer Ziel ausschalten könnt müsst ihr erst einmal zu seinem Aufenthaltsort gelangen und das geht genau wie in AC 1 am schnellsten über die Dächer der Stadt. Das Sprungsystem funktioniert einwandfrei und geht schnell in Mark und Bein über. Nur die Wachen auf den Dächern nerven nach einer Weile. Hervor zu hebe ist auch noch die Tatsache, dass die Missionen nun nicht mehr alle gleich ablaufen. Zwar steht am Ende meistens die Ermordung eines Verschwörers, aber es ist nicht so, dass ihr, wie in AC 1, zuerst kleine Missionen machen müsst, welch sich ständig wiederholen um dann euer Ziel zu verfolgen und es auszuschalten und dann vor einer Horde wütender Soldaten zu flüchten. Nein der Missionsaufbau in AC 2 ist viel kreativer und abwechslungsreicher.
Eine nette kleine Spielerei ist auch die Stadt, die Ihr euer Eigen nennt. Ihr könnt Geld in die verfallene Ruine inverstieren und Bordelle, Märkte usw. bauen um wieder Leben in die Stadt zu bringen. Und es macht sehr viel Spaß zuzusehen wie die Stadt wächst und voller wird.
Ach ja und Rollenspiel Elemente gibt es auch! So könnt ihr neue Fähigkeiten erlernen, Waffen kaufen, eurer Rüstung anpassen und Gegenstände suchen um bessere Objekte zu erhalten. Nichts innovativ neues, aber doch sehr nett!
Die Technik hinter dem Spiel kann sich auch 3 Jahre nach Release noch sehen lassen. Die Grafik sieht sehr schön aus, der Soundtrack ist klasse und atmosphärisch und die Synchronisation ist gut. Schön finde ich die Option die Sprache manuell auf Englisch um zu stellen, ohne die Settings der Xbox verändern zu müssen.
Assassins Creed 2 ist, nach der Enttäuschung von Assasins Creed 1, eine wahre Perle! Es macht Spaß ist mitreisend und macht Lust auf mehr. Und mehr gibt es bereits! Mit Brotherhood und dem im November erscheinenden Revelation stehen bereits die Nachfolger in den Startlöchern.
Assassins Creed 2 erhält von mit 8 von 10 Ostermännern!
Diese und andere Reviews und Kritiken zu Spielen, Filmen und Serien findet ihr auf meinen Blog:
http://movies-gaming-and-more.blogspot.com
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HWNDarkside
576,355
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 07 March 10 at 18:27 |
This review has 22 positive votes and 23 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I'm going to get crucified for this but seeing as everyone is giving Creed 2 slaps on the back let's try and get some perspective here.
Before we start I should point out that I hated Assassins Creed. With a passion. It was by the far the most annoying game I'd played at the time. You can read my review (http://www.trueachievements.com/gamereviews.aspx?gameid=1267#c11055) if you're interested. My main annoyance was that there was obviously a good game, and some great ideas, lurking beneath the seriously repetitive and boring gameplay. It was a glorious tech demo where someone had forgotten to throw playability into the mix. And don't even get me started on those damn flags.
So, Assassins Creed 2 was tipped by many as Game Of The Year. I approached with caution given the mental scarring endured during the 1000/1000 of the first adventure but I'll play almost anything for achievement points. How pleasing then, to see a lot of the issues that crippled the first game addressed so effectively. Some, on the other hand, were not.
The good points then.
The sequel is a lot friendlier to play. The story is allowed to play out without the need to complete repetitive tasks. It's not as fragmented as the original and is all the better for it. It flows, maybe a bit protracted at times, but it makes reasonable sense. DNA completion (the game's levels) is only linked to the story. Now all the side missions are voluntary. YAY! Freedom!!! Do what you want, when you want (mostly). You'll still need to scale a good percentage of the vantage points - but not all of them as per the original. It's possible to complete the whole game without having to see off every single mission marker on your map. Hurrah!
Graphically it's the same as the first game. Well done. Some nasty pop-up crops up now and again which occasionally detracts from the experience but no deal-breaker. The story cutscenes are excellent and add substantial weight to the proceedings. Voice acting is good and it definately feels authentic. Lots of lovely history lessons to be learnt to if you're that way inclinded. The story itself is intruiging. The ending is a git though - guess I will be playing Assassins Creed 3 after all.
Right, go your "negative vote" clickers at the ready? Here comes the bad news.
It's boring. BORING. Assuming you've played the first game (or any other sand-box game for that matter) there is nothing new here. Jumping over rooftops might never get old for some, but I couldn't help feeling I've done all this before. There are no stand-out moments. No real challenges. Nothing to hang your hat on and say "yes, I did it!" Every achievement bing felt like I was being rewarded just for having my eyes open and a controller in my hand.
Combat is still ridiculously simplistic and uninvolving no matter how many new toys you've got to play with. Block and counter kills everyone! It's almost as if combat is designed to put you off confrontation. If that's the case then tick-in-the box for the developers. I know it's not supposed to be hack-n-slash but it could at least be something other than X kills all. How ironic that your final assassination prompts you to "Press X" to kill.
Outside the storyline you've got some Tomb Raider levels to collect some maguffins to obtain Altiars armour. Great. How original. Not badly done but out of place in the grand scheme of things. They come across as more of an after-thought, more like DLC you'd expect after launch rather than an intergral part of the gameplay. There are lots of pointless races, beat-up missions and other things to do if you want but there's no real reason to.
Feathers, there I've said it. Not the ball ache that Flags were but still an unneccessary menace. I hate collectables. Full stop. Did I mention Codex? Some more collectables for you right there - but at least these added something to the story. Oh yeah, and glyphs. Best collect those too. And statues. And wanted posters. And while you're at it chuck in some pointless property management sub-game too.
I'm came away from the game feeling unchallenged, let-down and slightly miffed at having to spend close to 30 hours to see it off.
If you've never played a free-roam open-world sand-box game before, if you loved Assassins Creed or haven't played it, give the game 4 stars. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself.
For me though it's been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, the commemorative mug, the offical soundtrack, the DVD, seen it twice on pay-per-view and slept with the director's wife.
It's got a good ending though.
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xXxN1GHTFALLxXx
170,324
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 23 November 09 at 04:54 |
This review has 3 positive votes and 4 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
This game was a nice little peice of the Renaissance era yet still contains alot of the first games core qualitys. The fighting is somewhat the same other than new moves and more weapons and more options with what you want to do. Such as assassination missions apart from the main quest line and some courier missions and many many more options. The game does have its few flaws though not many in my own opinion. The first AC that came out a few years back had better character models yet was missing a few things that would make it better. So as with all sequals they did better just could have done a bit more. They did however come up with a much more sought after storyline and didnt leave such a horrible cliff hanger as the first one did. All in all i would say this game was worth the $60 was worth it and for all you achivement hogs this game is amazing for you as well. Provides a good game and a good chance to get some quick points.
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FatalDragonfire
153,199
TA Score for this game: 1,134
Posted on 10 December 09 at 19:33 |
This review has 2 positive votes and 5 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I liked the first assassins creed alot and when the second one came out i had to get it. i think that the second one is a little better then the first but there both great games if u haven't tried them i would recommend it. the second one has whole lot of new stuff spoilers ahead like the smoke bombs and a gun u get later in the game also if u get all the seals u get altairs armor which is completely black and max's your health also if u get 50 and 100 feathers u will get a war hammer for 50 and a black auditore cape for a 100 which makes everybody alert on the game of u but both are great things to get i have everything in the game and i would say play it until your hearts content.
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