Review No. 93 Assassin's Creed II - PC (18+)

Strong Points:
Strong parkour - definite improvement from the first Assassin's Creed
Scale - definite improvement on size (both horizontally and vertically)
Collectibles make sense - give you upgrades etc.
Voice acting - great, although some lip-syncing problems on PC

Weak Points:
Combat is dumbed-down - less stealth and alert things - more below
PC controls - are really confusing
Doesn't link with one - the end of 1 and start of 2 don't really work

Rating: 80%

In-depth Review:

Release Dates:
World Wide: 4 March, 2010

Controls:

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/futurilla/4548694852/in/photostream/

Assassin's Creed 2 is the direct sequel to Assassin's Creed, and shows a significant jump in graphics and mechanics, both improving greatly. The parkour is improved, yet somehow feels the same as the original - it doesn't lose that spark, although somehow things feel more set up for parkour, more designed and less spontaneous. It feels built as opposed to natural, and although running flows more smoothly, it loses the feeling that "this is what it would have been like at the time". The graphics are a noticeable improvement, although I encountered some lip-syncing problems on PC, most of it ran well.

Story wise, we jump forward 1400 years or so into Renaissance Italy. You play as Ezio Auditore de Firenze, but I don't want to reveal much more, as the story in this game is something to be savoured. In the modern world, meanwhile, we play as Desmond Miles - the incredibly interesting lead character (sarcasm). He has escaped from the Abstergo Templars and is now with the Assassins, my favourite of which is Shaun, if only for the way he takes the mick out of Desmond just as much, if not more than I do.

The music score on this game is great. It really helps you immerse yourself in the time you're playing in.

I did encounter one bug - at a point in the story, you are required to switch to your assassin blades by holding 'Q' then selecting them. I did so, but the game froze. The hair, clothes etc. still worked, but I couldn't do anything. Turned out you had to hit '3', even though you were prompted otherwise. I know that I'm not the only one with this problem, as there were several threads on the steam forums. Other than that, I only encountered the odd minimization, as is standard with my laptop.

Overall, Assassin's Creed 2 is a good game and is worth your attention if you enjoyed the original. For me, it'll never be perfect, but it'll always be great.


Euan