Assassin's Creed 2 Review [360/PS3]

26 Nov 2009 at 13:24:20 by
Systems used to review this title: (PS3, 360)

It's been centuries, and your bloodline is still potent with hatred for the Templars, you just don't know it yet as you cause havoc on the streets of Florence, getting into fights and romancing girls you should really be staying away from.

But it all comes to a head pretty quickly for Ezio, the protagonist of this story if you didn't know, and his carefree life crumbles around him when he sees his father and two brothers hanged, his sister abused and his mother raped. It was Abba that said growing up was never easy, but unfortunately, that was after Ezio's time. It's all a little bit serious, and this time you engage more with Ezio's story rather than the wider story of Assassins versus Templars. This is the foundation of this game and allows Ubisoft the opportunity to really expand the diversity of the game.

After the death of his father and brothers, Ezio is consumed by anger and longs for revenge. The only way to reach the killer is to unknowingly assimilate into the ranks of the Assassin's Creed, completing a whole host of objectives that will get you to your ultimate assassination goals.

When I say a whole host of objectives, I do actually mean that. One of the criticisms of the first game was its repetitiveness and lack of diversity when it came to missions, as well as a few other niggles which are now, in retrospect, far too minor to dwell over. All you need to know is that this game is a lot more diverse than the first ever was and if you liked the first game, then you're going to absolutely love the second instalment's range and variety in missions. Not only do you have the main storyline to complete, but AC2 also offers the alternatives, and I don't just mean pickpocketing and saving local women from being taunted and abused by horny guards. There are races with thieves across the rooftops of cities in Italy (Mary Poppins would have been extremely envious), assassination quests which can be accessed from carrier pigeon houses located and marked on your map and messenger tasks which see you delivering notes and letters to various people across each city. There are also the interception missions, consisting of chasing down and stopping pickpockets and message deliveries which spawn randomly every now and again.

Along with these side quests, there are the standard map locations from the first game, like finding all the viewpoints in the game. Finding flags has been replaced with feathers, something your late younger brother was fond of; and you can also scour the cities and surrounding areas for hidden treasure chests. In addition to all of this there are other, smaller, puzzle-like games weaved into the fabric of the game. Not necessary to complete, but extremely beneficial if you do. For example, there are six assassin's tombs strewn across the various locations in Italy, and each one of these tombs houses an artefact that acts as one of the keys to open a locked room housing Altair's armour, which is unbreakable and boosts your health bar. Equally there are hidden glyphs across the cities which are anchor points made by a previous subject in the Animus (we'll come to that later) which help unlock the truth - cunningly name The Truth - in a series of video clips. To access these files you have to prove yourself by completing a selection of mini-game puzzles and riddles. Again, this isn't vitally important, but if you're paying attention to the story (or are a bit of a completionist) then this is compulsory gaming.

Factions too will help you complete missions and objectives, and factions are unlocked during the course of the game. Courtesans (or whores) and thieves can be hire to distract or engage guards giving you the chance to sneak by unnoticed. You'll also be able to take advantage of groups of people and crowds by slipping into their midst, making it more difficult for guards to notice you. This is, of course, an extension of the ability to blend in with monks in the first game and gives a whole new way to approach objectives, with some objectives impossible to do without utilising these crowds.

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