I wasn't expecting that. Call it a sucker punch it you'd like. I'll tell you what I thought it was...I thought this title would be more of less of an apology for the first one. I thought it`d be better than Assassin's Creed, but mostly similar. I thought it would follow a very narrow pattern and provide a mild form of excitement. I was wrong. Call it a sucker punch yeah...but I call Assassin's Creed 2 a soul swallower.

Yes guys Assassin's Creed 2 is the first integral soul swallower that the PS3 was able to provide me. In fact, I haven't had an experience like that since I played San Andreas somewhere in 2006. Assassin's Creed 2 owns its predecessor and every other previous title on the console.

No, I wasn't expecting to have my soul swallowed.

STORYTELLING

Things pick up soon after the assassins crash into Abstergo laboratories looking for (former) useless whiner Desmond Miles. Right from the start...things change, you can control Desmond you can fight as him and you can get out of that stupid room. They already chalk up points as it starts and they just keep going.

The new character, Ezio, the son of a noble banker from Florence, Giovanni Auditore...who is..if you watched Lineage that I posted here a month ago, an assassin. As he could`ve been a noble pussy, well it's none of that, Ezio is victim of some political treachery and looses his dad and his two brothers and embarks on a journey to find out why his family has been so gruesomely murdered.

Ubisoft let go of that assassination checklist format in the first one, to follow a San Andreas inspired mission system. The world is opened, but the action is tunneled through precise missions (memories) that you have to follow closely, which I think is the way to go with open world games. There is an evolution with Ezio that slowly becomes an assassin as fierce as his father.

The plot, beside following a linear structure, has a lot of moments. There is a little lull around Memory Block 8 and 9, but it kicks back up. There's good surprises...and if you know a little bit of renaissance history, you'll go like ¨NO WAAAAAAAAAAAY¨ many times. The subject 16 storyline also got me hooked up and was well handled by the design team so that it would stay under control.The ending delivered big time, but...but...it`s so good and cryptic that Ubisoft has A LOT to live up to for the third title.

NOTE:24/25

GAMEPLAY

Much has been said about it...but I'll tell you again....IT'S NOT REPETITIVE. Basically all the elements of the first one are still in there, but they have such a down tuned role that you don't mind doing them once in a while. When most of the time you ran from the guards in AC1, well, this time you'll run from them maybe...what 10% of the time?

There are some frustrations that still happen. Controls are still abysmal. Platforming is hard as hell under pressure...and in the tombs, despite being a nice challenge, it becomes frustrating as hell...it's my main complain with the game...jumping in a pit for 40 times in a row before achieving something is frustrating. The counter-kill system also is pretty boring after three years. I would've wished for more functional combat gameplay.

But enough with the whining...let's talk about killing peeps. Assassinations are like three times as numerous and the customization level for the kills is completely off the hook. The new blending option is a sandbox for creativity in murder. The fixes done to eagle vision power are also very interesting. Made the killing even more strategic. I had a jolly good time killing folks with a range of different weapons.

The economy system was also great. Ezio has a villa now in the town of Montereggioni. Throughout the game, you invest money in that town, which gives in back to you by giving you discounts. The attention to detail of Ubisoft is insane. Sometimes I forgot about the outside world...and sometimes, I even forgot about Desmond! That's how absorbing being Ezio Auditore is. Story-Driven, varied, high paces....it's all worth it.

NOTE:23/25

PRESENTATION

There is good and there is bad...but the good outweights the bad big time. Let's talk about the bad first...as it's minor...character models...I don't know what happened to them...but, they're ugly. They go from cartoon drawn to monster-like. The sexy-lab assistant Lucy in the first looks like kermit the frog. Desmond is nice to her but doesn't really want to have anything to do with since a mutant. But the game sucks you in so bad that most of the time you forgot about it.

Italy is represented so well in this game it's not even funny. A friend of mine that went to Italy was like once ¨Shit, I bought a t-shirt for my sister at that place¨. That's how detailed and realistic it is. So much details for so many locations. Italy feels mapped from A to Z. Unlike the first one where there were three towns, there is seven locations in this one, urban or rural, which makes it even better.

As far as the commercial presentation goes, theres a lot offered for your buck in that game. I'd say it took me 25 hours to go through the games, the side quests are interesting and have a purpose, the trophies are surprisingly fun to work on and help with in game content. Everything is relevant in that game. It's a conscious effort put to sink the player in the game.

NOTE:24/25

AWESOMENESS

Two words for you...CONSPIRACY THEORY. We've all been sitting next to a conspiracy theorist at a party who cannot shut up about how the masons or whatever group are secretly ruling the world. Well behold fellow Philip K. Dick enthusiasts, playing Assassin's Creed 2 is like living in one of these crazy conspiracies where the assassins and the templars are making a race at finding the secret of origins.

The end never loses your sight as Subject 16 is keeping you geared on the idea that the templars are conspiring meanies. Other than the conspiracy, there are a lot of kick ass historical figures you'll recognize...and some surprising self-reflecting video game history from Ubisoft, which brought a huge grin on my face.

One low point...which is not really one...but...the bad guy is played by Manuel Tadros. For those who aren't from Quebec, let me explain. If you live in Montreal and shut your PS3 down a few times a week...you'll find Manuel Tadros selling you Taco-Mix on TV Commercials. He's an actor used to play the funky gangster with flower shirts. Having him as Rodrigo Borgia was maybe a little ill advised...even Yahtzee noticed it wasn't very convincing. But, it's minor because it's funny too.

NOTE:24/25


ACES

-Subject 16

-The new blending system

-There is finally a storyline

FAILS

-Manuel Tadros...come on guys...I could've got you ten better local actors.

-Controls

-Character Models looking like circus freaks.


Just buy it! It's a good lenghty game that will keep you up for strange hours during the holidays. There are minor quirks, but nothing frustrating or nothing that overcomes the positive experience. Prepare your soul to be swallowed.


FINAL NOTE:95%

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Created Dec 15, 2009 at 8:59am • Submit your own review...