Sitoxity Reviews - Assassin's Creed 2
This is a review for Assassin's Creed 2 that I wrote, it never got posted on any website, so I bring it here for you guys. I know it's been months since it's release, but why not. This was written before the announcement of the two packs of DLC.
Tired of all the sequals this year? Well, here's another one! Assassin's Creed 2 continues at the exact moment of the firsts ending, but is it changed enough to warrent a sequal? Or will fanboys cry that it should have been downloadable and boycott it? Well, sufice to say Ubisoft did a great job with this game. They listened to fans complaints and compliments and adjusted accordingly. Is it worth your money?
Let me start out by saying this is a grogeous game on any platform you play it on. Just climbing to the top of a tower and looking at the city below you is breath taking. The attention to detail is amazing. Some people may critisize the cutscenes for some strange detail problems and animation issues, but even that doesn't impact how great this game looks, especially since slow down issues are a rare occurance. It's definatly a beautiful tour of Italy. I personally don't see that there are any of these issues. Sure, some of the lip syncing might be a bit off and odd looking, but everything is finely detailed. Just the sheer look of Ezio's armor is glorious! Much more interesting than Altairs, which you can even unlock. The animations are very realistic and well done. Every move Ezio makes through the city looks real and fits very well, even when you're charging through the streets and falling over pedestrians.
Speaking of unlockables, there are a ton of stuff to collect and even a town to manage in Assassin's Creed 2. Early on in the game you are given the option to use some money to renovate the Villa, and by doing so you gain bonuses. Upgrading the shops give you discounts, and the more you upgrade, the more income you recieve. It was a nice addition, although seems a bit pointless in the end. The money you gain is way too much and you end up being able to buy every new piece of armor or weapon as soon as they are available. It makes some sense with Ezio's character, but it could have been implemented a little better. There are also new missions to undertake. Side missions include races, assassination contracts, beating up cheating husbands, exploring tombs and of course there are plenty of Viewpoints to find. Collectables have thankfully been overhauled. Gone are the hundreds of flags in each town to collect, instead being replaced by Feathers, Statues, even some 30 odd Paintings and things like the weapons and armor. All are displayed or kept in the villa. This means it's less of mindless romp looking for those stupid flags.
The combat would be best described as more refined, but very similar. There have been a lot of moves added but it works in much the same way as the previous game. There's still those counter moves that make you cringe, and just the fact that they added more weapons means some of them are even worse. One of the moves added that will most likely be used a hell of a lot, since it's the most useful, is disarming opponents. The combat is not without its faults. Sometimes disarms and counters just don't happen, but this doesn't happen often. The free-running aspect is still the same, which unfortunatly means the frustratingly strange jumps still happen if you aren't extra careful. It can be a pain, but it's nothing game breaking.
Throughout the game the story throws many twists and turns at you, and it flows very smoothly, even though there is a gap of about 20 years or so nearing the end of the game. Even that doesn't break the pacing and it was definatly a focus point of the developers. This is what most sequals should be. They removed what gamers felt were wrong with the first game, and even added more things to improve the time you spend with this game, and you will spend a lot of time playing this game.
