Better story, better gameplay
In Assassin's Creed II, players will once again delve into the memory of Desmond Miles, AC1's main but not-so-main character. You will play as the genetic memory of Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, a noble from Florence during Italy's Renaissance period. Ezio is a much more likable character than Altair, he has personality, a decent background and a good sense of humor. I liked him from the beginning, unlike AC1 where my first thought of Altair was "Man, this guy's a dick", even after he redeemed himself.
The first thing you will notice about Assassin's Creed II is the improved lighting and sharper textures. If you're new to the Assassin's Creed universe then my first instinct would be to point you to the latest Assassin's Creed game available and that would be Assassin's Creed II. However, Assassin's Creed II picks up just SECONDS after AC1 finishes so I would highly recommend you finishing AC1 before touching AC2.
Playing a game set in the Renaissance period is a first for me and may be also for other players, however it worked very well and its always fun to laugh at their funny hats. Some players may half expect that the game to be little too steampunk after seeing the pistol and the flying machine on the trailers, I felt this way also, but my expectation was completely overthrown as the flying machine minigame happens only once (twice with DLC) and Ezio takes a few seconds to take aim with the pistol. Being able to only fire one shot at a time and the pistol being incredibly loud, makes this weapon a total last resort and is realistic in the sense that Ezio is the first person to use this prototype technology.
The combat has been drastically improved. With several new types of weapons included in the game, many players will get enjoyment out of experimenting with the fighting system (I know I did) and the time space to counter attack has been increased. One of the new main features of this system is the ability to disarm an enemy and use their own weapon against them. I truly felt like a professional going into combat and not equipping any of my weapons, just using my bare hands to disarm guards and strike them down. Also proper counter attacking and normal striking with the hidden blades has been properly integrated into this system, unlike in AC1 where you could only counter attack with them. The blades are fast and powerful to most guards, however not as effective to some of the new guard types, Brutes in particular.
Many players will also be happy at the ability to customise your character, being able to dye Ezio's clothing with different colour pallets depending on the city you're in creates much more immersion and realism, as a real Assassin would blend in with the crowd without standing out too much, which AC1 failed to do (I mean seriously, a Scholar with swords and knives covering him?). Being able upgrade your OWN TOWN with different shops and upgrading your Villa with different paintings creates a great task to be sidetracked in. Upgrading your town and Villa also generates income for you, which is one of the main ways to make money in the game, also some weapons can only be bought from the vendors in your town.
There are collectables, but only one type, and they're spread throughout the five cities so there's no city-specific flags to worry about. These collectables are small and are spaced through the very large cities, a guide may be necessary to find them all. Another thing that most players will be very thankful for is the ability to swim, it makes escaping from tight situations much, much easier and it is fun great fun swan diving off the tallest tower in Venice and plummeting into the water.
Aside from there being so much more stuff to do, this game doesn't come without its share of bugs and frustrations. Firstly, the free running has been improved a huge amount, making it faster and smoother, but it still suffers from the "jumping-in-the-opposite-direction-when-I-wanted-to-go-that-way" bug or directional mapping on the controller, whatever you want to call it, it gets f*cking annoying when doing races. I also suffered being clipped and stuck into a wall from guards throwing rocks at me while I was climbing, causing me to have to exit the game and reload. The lip syncing on the characters though is laughable, watching their inflated mouths move up and down is quite entertaining but can sometimes stop you from taking the game seriously.
You will spend a small portion of the game playing as Desmond. However his gameplay instances are few and far between. Although you do get to utilise free running abilities as Desmond on an obstacle course in a hangar. The game has Desmond much more involved both as a more playable character and as a protagonist. Players should expect to see more of him in Assassin's Creed III.
After finishing AC1 several times I can safely say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it was extremely tedious and repetitive. Assassin's Creed II builds and improves on the story and gameplay of the original, even if it does retain some of the bugs, although they are less dramatic. I spent a solid week on this game, doing everything there is to do and there was never a moment where I felt any sort of boredom. In fact, I probably wouldn't have gone upstairs to eat if didn't know there was left over Christmas pudding. After finishing Assassin's Creed II, all I can say is that it is simply a better game. Ubisoft have done a brilliant job in making Assassin's Creed II much smoother and more enjoyable experience than its predecessor and improving the story and character development.
