Assassin’s Creed II In Depth Review

Ubisoft-Montreal’s Assassin’s Creed II is the direct sequel to the first Assassin’s Creed, but unlike many other big name sequels Assassin’s Creed II does not give us a bittersweet experience throughout the game. Most sequels for games with a profile as big as this one tend to always have major flaws that are looked over when developing. This is because the respective game developers are so caught up on making the flaws from the first game go away, in turn missing obvious things in the second game.(Gears Of War Series)

Ubisoft-Montreal this time around did one thing that many game developers fail to do, and that is taking the feedback received from their first game and ACTUALLY listening to it. Assassins Creed II is  like its predecessor is a phenomenal game, but it flawlessly succeeds in so many more aspects which ends up taking the game to a whole new level.

Here’s the Break Down

Presentation: 2 words : Holy Shit… Ubisoft-Montreal once again show their flair for style. They couldn’t have picked a better location for their brand new adventure. The game takes place in Renaissance Italy, and by god does it look stunning. One thing to note is that the game is much more colorful than the first one, which isn’t surprising, given the location, for you have the Renaissance on one side and the dreary old Crusades in the first game. Picture this; its a game with whores and thieves, instead of your usual everyday religious fanatics. Everything that happens in the game is delivered with such a style it keeps the player wanting more.
Presentation Score : 10

Plot: The plot in Assassin’s Creed II is first and foremost much stronger and much more in depth then the first installment. It picks up directly where Assassin’s Creed  left off, continuing the story of ever so “emo” character Desmond Miles and a new ancestor; Ezio Auditore da Firenze.  The plot is delivered in witty dialogue and in game cutscenes making it a very pleasurable experience. It’s hard to write about the plot, without spoiling anything. I know that many of my friends here at iXi will kill me if I do. So mums the word. However, I can tell you this much, that the plot does answer many questions from the first game, but also gives you a strong desire to play the next  game in the franchise.(if released)
Plot Score: 9.2

Gameplay: Remember those rants about the first game’s repetitiveness? Well, if you think that now…your a complete and utter fooligan*(hooligan+fool). The gameplay from Assassin’s Creed II is in technical terms the refined and tuned engine of the first game, but with a whole bag-o- tricks.  When I say bag I mean INDUSTRIAL size bag. First things first, Free Running! It’s back and sexy as ever, there is not a game that comes close to the free running/exploration capabilities of this game, the seamless transitions from one obstacle to another is quite the beauty especially in Italia. In addition, new techniques have been added such as swimming, disarming, and actions while grabbing an enemy.   Also, there is a weapons system overhaul and its a really great thing, because now instead of being limited to 4 tools to aid in the killing of those Templar bitches, you have knives, swords, hammers, maces, smoke bombs, and many more violent ways of penetrating your enemy’s skull.  There is also a very awesome hidden blade upgrade in which you have two BadAssMotherFucking blades, one equipped on each arm.  There is so much content and so much more variation that if I were to write about every thing gameplay wise in Assassins Creed II it would take all day, and believe me …. I don’t have all day.
Gameplay Score: 9.5

Graphics: Though Assassin’s Creed II may not have the sharpest textures, or character models in the gaming  world, on the whole the game is visually breath-taking and not because of the graphic quality.It’s due to the amount of effort put in throughout the huge scale of the game. The game was running an upgraded graphics engine from the first Assassin’s Creed, but not surprisingly there were some significant upgrades.  Ubisoft-Montreal designers consistently were able to pull of  different locations with historical accuracy, but actually showed textural  differences in between the different locations, which to me was a very intriguing aspect. A location like Forli which was very dreary and murky place, actually seemed murky and dreary, while Florence was bustling and colorful, just like I learned. It was very cool to see the developers staying true to their vision.  Character models were high in detail close-up as well as their facial expressions. Each character that had an affect in the story line made a lasting impression. There was some popping and some glitching going on, but with the amount of detail put in, one cannot be too critical of this game.  Although the game’s graphics were overall good, they weren’t groundbreaking  as the first Assassin’s Creed even if it did look better. I look to see a major overhaul if there is a next Assassins Creed Game.
Graphics Score:9.0

Sound: Now I know many games are known for their original sound track, Assassin’s Creed II didn’t have a halo-esque mega symphony. However, in no way does that mean that the sound was on point with the game. The voice acting was pretty much flawless, with everyone in their funny Italian accents. The in-game sounds of people, markets, and guards were so consuming, made you feel like as if you were there buying fish. The sounds that each weapon made, the footsteps, the water, all enhanced the game further. Lastly, The music was very dynamic, it changed with mood and really set the tone of the game, making it a more pleasurable experience than it already was.
Sound Score:9.4

Final Thoughts: Hope this review helped with those who want to try this game, I wish I had more energy to write these long ass in-depth reviews, but I don’t. Frankly, Assassin’s Creed II deserved it, I hope this review did this phenomenal game by Ubisoft-Montreal justice… Even if I missed a few things.

Overall Score: 9.420-  Exceptional