Nowhere near as fun as the original. Repetitive game play with a few refreshing exceptions. Same old viewpoint climbing and guard killing. This game is too short, the story is lacking, and the ending sucked. There is way too much jumping around and Super Mario stuff in this game and it makes it seem less realistic and less engrossing but if it wasn’t for all that jumping around and falling and having to start it all over this game would have taken like 3 hours to beat. The first Assassin’s Creed was one of my favorite games of all time but the second installment did not thrill me or capture and hold my attention like the first did. Disappointing.
Rating: 1 / 5

Just so you know, I really liked Assassin’s Creed. The first game was a joy just to run around in; especially exploring the various cities and countryside. That’s why this game was such a dissappointment; exploration is a tedious, frustrating experience and, because of the new monetary system, MANDATORY.

Firstly, story. I don’t know what game the other review sites are playing, but it’s not the one I’m playing. This story is a ridiculous stereotype of bad buddy cop and action movies with a healthy dollop of tired conspiracy thriller; EVERYONE is betraying everyone else; there, I just spoiled it for you. The characters are just as stereotypical: Ezio is basically a drunken, whoring moron who is too stupid to understand anything beyond drinking and violence but we’re supposed to excuse that because he’s handsome and physically able; the writing is just full of terrible garbage in a similar vein. All villains are either fat or old. Everything is a just a huge neon sign blaring WE CAN’T WRITE. I just cannot get across how really, really poor the whole thing is.

The health system has been re-worked so, rather then just regenerating health if you find a quiet spot, you actually have to break off from the mission you’re currently on and seek out street doctors to heal you. This would be fine if it wasn’t for the horribly oversensitive, paranoid guards in the game which pretty much attack you on sight now. Instead, it just ends up being a immersion breaking task similar to an annoying fetch quest. Happily you can buy some medicine vials to use on the fly though which aleviates the annoyance; of course, you still need to hunt up money to buy them.

The guards bring up my other big problem; I can’t explore anymore. They’re so senstive that even running by them will trigger a huge chase and they’re so numerous that you can’t get anywhere without having to deal with them. They make the whole game seem terribly claustrophobic and not free roaming and non-linear at all. The messy combat system is back simply with additional options making it even messier; lacking even a basic tutorial unmtil well into the game (other then control pop-ups hints which, if you stop to read, you’ll end up dead because they don’t appear until you’re IN a fight) fights end up being sloppy, button mashing dissappointments. Even with all the bizzare, rock-paper-scissor weapon match ups they’ve added, the only effective way to kill EVERYONE is still simply the same move as the first game; Counter Kill with Hidden Blades, which makes all the weapon buying in the game nothing more then decorations for your villa.

The free running system in this version is touted as improved; in reality it’s totally broken. You’ll find Ezio constantly veering over 45 degrees off your course to make jumps he doesn’t even need to do; he overcompensates ridiculously when jumping so you’ll repeatedly find yourself plummeting to the streets below, usually triggering yet another guard chase or need to find ANOTHER doctor, and Ezio’s feet are apparently magentically attracted to posts, probably so he can do that lame “crouch on a high place” pose as often as possible. I actually had Ezio TURN COMPLETELY AROUND at one point to hop onto a pole he had just passed rather then simply leap across a small alley to the platform on the other side. He’ll also frequently get hung up on regular six inch steps; the whole character will freeze and refuse to move at all as if he was on the edge of a steep precipice.

That’s not to say the game is devoid of improvements; the new Blending system is neat (and necessary since the guards are complete turds), buying new dyes, armour and weapons is fun and the graphics are as good as they were in the previous game; albeit very similar. There’s really no telling you’re in different cities then any from the first games at most points; Venis is beautiful tho.

When you do manage to explore, the game is as fun as the first with TONS of things to find but they’re hard as anything to find; most are sourrounded with a white glow that almost perfectly matches the sky and roof shingles; if what you’re looking for is on the roofs, either wait until night or you’ll only find it if you trip over it.

So, if you liked Assassin’s Creed for the exploring, this game pretty much kills it and the story is reason alone to never even look at the game case on the shelf. Yes, there’s lots of new things added to the game but it’s like a spaghetti sauce that started out good but then had way too many ingrediants dumped into it to try to make it better.
Rating: 3 / 5

I was sorely disappointed by Assassin’s Creed 1. After all the hype, after all the publicity, and after the pimple-faced kid at Gamestop told me it was a “Must Buy…” It turned out to be one of the most boring and uninspired games I’ve ever played. I’ve been entertained longer by Diner Dash.

So when Assassin’s Creed 2 started showing up on my TV screen, I thought, “Oh boy, here we go again.” I did lots of research, I read several reviews. Finally I picked up a copy for a discounted used price – knowing that my membership at Gamestop would give me some extra money should I decide to trade this one in as I did AC1.

The opening of the game was as I expected – the stunning graphics are evident immediately. The voice acting – as I have read – is superb. Finally I was at the controls of Ezio. Time to go killin’!!! Oh, no, wait… First I have to race someone to a rooftop. Okay, slice-and-dice time! No, hang on, gotta deliver some documents. Okay, now I have to… …deliver more documents. Oooh, okay – go rough up some guy who’s cheating on my sister. About this time I started to feel concern. This felt eerily like Grand Theft Auto IV. I was just waiting to have to take someone out on a “man-date.”

Then there’s a minor plot twist. Suddenly there’s a sword in my hand. Here we go…

…well, sorta. First there’s training (even though we’ve done this before) and a few more stupid races to do… And then next thing you know, you’re out and about, murdering at whim.

I CAN say that at this point – half-way through the main story – I don’t feel like I’ve done the same thing over and over and over. It’s not as repetitive as the first game, even though it’s still just traipsing around killing people for reasons you never quite feel like you understand… This game feels like an 80′s cartoon – the good guys verses the bad guys and though you never quite learn how the fight started or the actual intents of either faction, you’re told to root for the good guys, so there ya have it.

But the game still just isn’t INTERESTING. It isn’t FUN. There’s no real motivation to head off for the next mission except for maybe unlocking the next weapon. The variety of side-missions – though certainly more abundant then AC1 – still aren’t interesting. Running deliveries, racing people (who you never actually see racing – you just compete against an arbitrary clock) give you more to do, just no reason to do it. The assassination contracts are fun because, well, in case you weren’t aware – you’re an ASSASSIN. They’re the only side missions that actually relate to the overall objective of the game. They also aren’t dolled out to you by some lazy guy whining about his leg hurting so “please go do my job for me – oh and hurry ’cause I’m hungry…” There’s also the tomb challenges which are OK – basically the developers have chosen to show off how well their game engine can work as a platformer. Of course, if I wanted to PLAY Mario, I’d have BOUGHT Mario…

The challenge of the game isn’t working your way through the story – it’s finding ways to do what you have to do CREATIVELY. Sure, you can whip out the $11,000 sword you bought and time a couple button presses (the counter-attack is still the only method that really works in a fight) to clean out the guards, kill your target and be done. Or you can try to get creative – leap across some roofs, stick some throwing knives into a few unsuspecting archers, flip on the “blue-tinted-night-vision-titled-’Eagle-Eye’” and stalk your target until the opportunity arrives for a signature flying assassination – easily the game’s most pleasing visual. But most times this won’t work. Your throwing knives cannot be aimed – you have to select a guard which only works 25% of the time. A guard will see you too soon – or more annoyingly – from behind their own heads. Or you’ll jump off a roof as the camera spins around and suddenly you completely lose your bearings and assassinate some innocent woman carrying a box… It just doesn’t WORK like you expect it to, like the demo’s show it working, and you ultimately just end up feeling disappointed.

A true Assassin collects intel, they stalk their target and infiltrate the enemy’s life. They spend indeterminable periods of time waiting for the right opportunity and strike when it’s least expected. Assassin’s Creed just doesn’t present this strategy. It puts your targets inside a building and you have to attack that building. You have to generate a strategy on the fly and hope that the game lets you pull it off. Ultimately, the game itself limits you from doing what you feel needs to be done. Why can’t I drop down from a ceiling to make a kill? Why can’t I dress up as a guard and infiltrate the enemy compound? Why the hell can’t I crouch behind short walls or boxes?? Why can’t a guy who leaps from buildings and scales vertical walls somersault over a guard and put a knife through his back? And why do they keep scripting the story so that the target knows I’m there anyways? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose??

A lot of people have recommended Modern Warfare in lieu of buying Assassin’s Creed. I think that’s ridiculous – they’re entirely different genres of games. But if you really want a GREAT sleuthing game, with deep strategy and variety, incredible combat, and that really lets you pick your own way through unsuspecting guards in a way that makes you anxious to play it again and again and again because there might be a strategy you haven’t learned yet, then you NEED to pick up Batman: Arkham Asylum. It is EVERYTHING that Assassin’s Creed needs to be. And if you’ve already played through that game twice as I have, well, then just hope that IT has a more successful sequel than Assassin’s Creed.
Rating: 3 / 5