Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360) Review

Worth a trip down the rabbit hole?

The first Assassin’s Creed was as divisive a title as has been released this generation. While some players loved the ability to free run over an impressively detailed medieval Holy Land, most derided the title for the repetitive and mostly mundane missions. Love it or hate it, it can’t be denied that it was a somewhat missed opportunity with the promise of freedom over assassinations never properly realised. In answer to the critics, Ubisoft went back to the drawing board and returned with Assassin’s Creed II, what is quite possibly the most improved sequel of this generation. As Ezio Auditore da Firenze, you will be given the chance to visit Florence, Venice and a number of other, lesser known but no less impressive locations. The issue of variety has been addressed in spades and with no two missions feeling the same and there are a number of standout set piece moments. This is the Creed promised two years ago, but does it still make the same impact?

There isn’t a much of ACII that hasn’t been tweaked, and if it hasn’t it’s because it was completely overhauled or dropped entirely and replaced with a more streamlined system. The game, as expected, is gorgeous, though there is a noticeable amount of pop in, especially when galloping a horse across the contado of Tuscany. Despite this, Ubisoft Montreal has produced easily the best looking open world game to date. Every location feels lived in and crowds move through the streets and react to your presence with frightening believability. Interaction with the world is definitely one of the biggest improvements the number of ways it’s possible to interact with the world around Ezio. There are so many examples to pick from, be it the comments from the crowd when Ezio begins to climb, how their manner changes when he’s flanked by (hired) courtesans or how the crowd will gather around a fist fight, but keep their distance when blades are drawn. One of my favourite activities was to throw money from a rooftop to draw a crowd, then drop a body from the height into the middle of the throng. Watching some flee while others scrabble to gather the last of the coins never gets old. The new notoriety system tracks when the Assassin breaks from the crowd and does something out of the ordinary, such as pickpocketing the populace entering restricted areas or stabbing someone in the face. This can be reduced by tearing down wanted posters, bribing heralds or assassinating officials. However, while the heralds add a lot to the immersion, making it really feel like the world is reacting to your presence, and the officials are a lot of fun to stalk (they run if they see you, which is also fun if you’re up for a chase), the posters don’t gel well with the other activities, mainly because they are in places that no one would ever see them. Most of the game fits so well together that when something is out of place, it’s quite jarring. Overall though, talking Ezio through Renaissance Florence is an immersive joy that few games have matched.

The narrative too, has received a complete reworking, and is all the better for it. Although you are no longer given a choice as to the order of the assassinations, the result is a more focused and fully fleshed out story, charting the Ezio’s character from one of a young, rich Florentine, to a focused and quietly dangerous assassin. It’s a far cry from the vacuous and frankly uninteresting Hashashin from the first title and the plot is well served from having a protagonist worth caring about. It’s to the studio’s credit that Ezio never succumbs to the ‘badass’ personality so many games suffer with this generation. He remains at all times a sympathetic character, drawn by fate, led by the pain of loss and resigned to his destiny as the one to bring vengeance on those who brought suffering on the Auditore family. The supporting cast is also mostly excellent. Special mention must go to Shaun Hastings, a character in Desmond’s timeline who delivers some of the most memorable lines in the game, all while reminding Desmond that there are no real ‘good guys’, just two factions with different goals attempting to wipe the other out. The music to this game is another highlight. Leagues ahead of what was heard in the first game, it really does add to the sense of wonder in the game, capturing Ezio’s flamboyant early years perfectly, but becoming more sombre as the game progresses.

As previously mentioned, Assassins Creed II is beautiful. However, apart from the aforementioned pop in, the game exhibits one other curious graphical oddity. The day/night cycle, while responsible for some extra variety in the missions, moves so quickly that whenever Ezio is stationary, the shadows can be seen to move. This would be fine if it were fluid, but they adjust frame by frame. This means that there is a constant sense of the city trying to readjust itself and it really hurts the overall feel of the game. Bear in mind, this was something noticed after 21 hours of game time, but once noted, it’s impossible to ignore. The single worst element in the game however, are the puzzles involving hidden glyphs. Many of the solutions are so obtuse that they seem to be solved more by random chance or trial and error than through any puzzle solving skill. Thankfully these are entirely optional, but bear in mind that should you pursue them, it will cause much frustration.

Closing thoughts

There is simply so much to discover in Assassin’s Creed II, that it would be a shame to spoil the surprise by reading about it in the review. Be it the upgradable villa Ezio inherits, the ability to change the colour of your robes and buy new armour, the linear areas and with Prince of Persia style platforming, or simply the fact that he can now swim, all of these elements combine to create something truly special for the franchises second outing. This is especially true if you have an interest in the history of the period as the game provides an interesting twist on some established historical events and characters. Play with the subtitles on however, because unless you speak Italian, much of the game’s humour and character is lost in translation, one mercenary in particular speaks with much… colour in his expression. If you’re still in doubt as to the authenticity of the environments, I’ll say this: at one point I used the Lonely Planet guide to Italy to navigate around Florence as I searched for the major landmarks… and it worked.

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