Assassin’s Creed remains one of the most hyped video games ever but it was far from perfect. Does this high-profile follow-up, Assassin’s Creed II, have that vital killer instinct or will it share a similarly messy fate? Read our Assassin’s Creed II review to discover the answer.
For those of you that soldiered through the likeable but flawed Assassin’s Creed, the good news is that Assassin’s Creed II rectifies all of the issues that conspired to make the original game such a rough diamond.
Moving the action forward from the Crusades to 15th century Italy, Assassin’s Creed II puts you in the shoes of aspiring hit man Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he attempts to uncover a sinister plot that has tragic consequences for both him and his family.
Just like Altaïr – the hero of the first title – Ezio is a surprisingly nimble chap; he’s able to effortlessly scale tall buildings and leap over rooftops without even breaking a sweat. Thanks to the excellent control system, performing such audacious acrobatics in Assassin’s Creed II is exhilarating rather than frustrating.
Read our Modern Warfare 2 review now
Combat has also been upgraded in Assassin’s Creed II. While the basic premise remains the same – with many offensive moves tied to either one button or a simple combination of presses – you quite literally have a larger arsenal of tricks up your sleeves; using your dual-hidden blade manoeuvre to take down two unsuspecting foes is just one of the game’s many delicious highlights.
One of the first title’s biggest failings was the constant repetition of the tasks at hand, but Ubisoft has duly noted this criticism and as a result Assassin’s Creed II is bursting with diversity. The jarring “stop-start” nature of the original is also a thing of the past, with each assignment blending neatly into next.
Assassin’s Creed II also feels less linear than its predecessor, with various intriguing sub-quests available to offer a welcome distraction from the main storyline. There’s even the optional opportunity to pimp-up your base of operations to ensure you earn more moolah – a feature which perceptive gamers will notice has been cleverly borrowed from the excellent Fable II.
It’s not an entirely perfect experience, however; the ambitious nature of Assassin’s Creed II sometimes throws up unintentionally amusing bugs such as floating bodies and twitching limbs, and the tiresome Sci-Fi plot that was intended to be the first title’s big twist now feels like a millstone around the neck of the franchise, but these points are easy to forgive when there’s so much blood-soaked fun to be had.
Assassin’s Creed II is best described as a Renaissance-era Grand Theft Auto – which is about as high a commendation as anyone can give a game these days. Essential.
