BECAUSE TWO HIDDEN BLADES ARE ALWAYS BETTER THEN ONE!

The original Assassins Creed developed by Ubisoft Montreal Studios met with mixed reception upon it's release back in 2007, despite offering a rather unique take upon time travel and historical settings, many felt that the whole experience was let down by repetitive gameplay mechanics and a less then well developed story. But even with such flaws it became a hit with many gamers and sold reasonable well, so of cause both Ubisoft and gamers saw future potential in a sequel. Roll on the year 2009 and we sit only weeks away from that anticipated sequel, Assassins Creed 2.   
 
From the start, the development team from Montreal spoke of offering more variation in almost every department to improve the overall flow of the experience had by the gamer. This meant more ways to assassinate, more activities to participate in within cities and a more rewarding linear story. That tale tells the story of Ezio Auditore Di Firenze, a young nobleman from the Italian city of Florence. The confident young Ezio lives the rather normal life of a teen aged nobleman until he and his family are betrayed, he soon witnesses the hanging of his father and brothers, promising that vengeance will be had. Of course also being part of the Assassins Creed time line, Ezio is also a descendant of Desmond Miles, a key figure of the first game and connected to the original games protagonist Altair.  
 
Ezio's tale promises to be richer then that of Altair's, while also answering questions first asked in the original Assassins Creed. It's a much more linear experience, with the developers wanted to concentrate on the story being told. One of the larger complaints aimed towards the original game was it's almost mechanical gameplay order, Altair was ordered to kill a number of targets, not leaving a great deal of options for a true story to be told and so it eventually felt somewhat flat. The sequel will offer deeper character development and even see Ezio mix with some of histories most iconic figures such as Leonardo Da Vinci.  
 
The way the story is told doesn't just apply to Ezio's renaissance time, Desmond to will be seen doing much more then simply walking about in a office. The development team have stated that although he will feature less, Desmond will have a much bigger part to play, one that will see him understand his ancestral ways. The sequel looks to please those who were left disappointed by the ending of the first game while also providing more details of the endless fight between the Knights Templars and the Assassin order. The story will also feature key historical events of the time and as Ezio, the player will play their part in experiencing such events.
 
While gameplay hasn't seen vast changes, the experience as been better defined with more options and more variations. Ezio is now equipped with two hidden blades instead of Altair's one blade and his combat style is both more rugged and violent then that of Desmond's other assassin minded ancestor. In a rather interesting twist, Ezio unlike that of Altair, is not born and bred to be an assassin so must learn the ways of combat, parkour and stealth from other factions of whom the player will commonly interactive with. Factions themselves will play a much larger part, Ezio won't always be fighting alone and can rely on the help of friends from time to time. Another new addition to Assassins Creed 2, is an economic system which will allow the player to buy many varied items for Ezio to use or even wear. New armour types are available as the story progresses and the player will also be able to loot from downed targets, cause distractions with the scattering of money and much more.  
 
Graphically Assassins Creed 2 looks to offer the great degree of immersion of that found in Altair's tale, with unique settings based upon real iconic locations of the featured cities and deeper more involved crowds. Ezio carries with him a somewhat more cheerful tone then that of Altair and one that the player should find easier to interact with, while also a great sense of anger in his movement and animations. While there clothes might seem alike, it's clear that Ezio and Altair are two vastly different assassins with the time in which they live affecting their personalities greatly. While the first game had some graphical issues here and there, it was still a great looking game and the sequel promises to be the same. Key historical events will also see cities themselves change, for example the one seen in the E3 presentation a few months back. 
 
How well these changes will be met is yet to be seen, the original was loved by some, disliked by many. So while the franchises current fan base will thoroughly be pleased that the developers have stuck to the fundamental gameplay mechanics of the first game, as enough been changed to interest those who disliked Altair's adventure back in 2007, only time will tell. Still, despite being a sequel Assassins Creed 2 looks to offer one of the more intriguing videogame tales of this year. It's a concept with great potential and if done right could be worthy of something great. If the Montreal development team can match the historical immersive atmosphere of the first game while also improving on as much of the content as possible, then maybe Ezio's search for vengeance is one we can all anticipate.   
 
Assassins Creed 2 is to be released on 17th of November (US), 20th of November (EU). 
 
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