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The first Assassin’s Creed was about as divisive a game as you can get. Despite having a massive amount of hype, beautiful graphics, a compelling story, it was hampered by repetitive gameplay, an open world that contained almost nothing fun to do and completing assassination missions required lengthy and largely unrewarding footwork beforehand with almost no blending into the plot.

Assassin’s Creed II has fixed every issue anyone ever had with the first game. Some spoilers of the first game will ensue.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze – Assassin

Ezio is perhaps the biggest reason the sequel stands heads and shoulders above its predecessor, not just because he’s a likable fellow, lovable rogue and a genuinely good piece of character design – the success of the game is built around him.

Read on for more.

At the start of the game, meta-hero Desmond is sprung from the Knights Templar’s research facility by the assassin’s and taken to their hideout, where he can explore other genetic memories.

This time, rather than following the blandest character in game history, Desmond’s genetic memory goes to Renaissance Italy, where he takes the body of Ezio, who learns the trade of the Assassin from scratch. By doing so, Desmond learns as well.

The entirety of why the game is so great begins and ends with Ezio.

Ezio’s Italy

Ezio’s very existence also makes the setting that much more appealing. By starting the game in Florence, Ezio’s home town, we get a sense of belonging Assassin’s Creed could never produce. Altair felt like a stranger in a strange land, doing the bidding of his masters, Ezio is in his own country, doing his own thing. Tthis connection with the setting makes it that much more enjoyable.

Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre were sprawling cities of nothing but filler. Florence, Tuscany, Venice and Rome are densely populated and every corner has something to show and something to hide. Though they seem smaller than those in the first game, the streets have been come more densely packed and the buildings more realistically arranged.

There’s even more to do. The Auditore family estate needs sprucing up. You can spend money improving the mini-town and bring in visitors, who spend money and put money back in your pocket. Merchants in the town also give you discounts the more you improve their stores. Buying artwork increases the value of your villa, giving you something worth doing with all the money you’ll be pickpocketing.

Put simply, there’s a lot to do. Chasing down pickpockets and races were a personal favorite of ours.

Merchants are also in abundance. There are blacksmiths, art merchants and even tailors who will dye your clothes for greater anonymity or just a change of pace. There’s also doctors who will cure your ills with leeches and lead-and-rosemary rubs for a small fee. Remember where they are, they will come in handy.

Ezio’s story

After watching his father (check out his excellent story here) and brothers betrayed and hanged, Ezio sets out to learn the ways of the Assassin for vengeance and for justice.

Ezio’s story of revenge and the conspiracy he discovers along the way is actually compelling. It’s easy to understand how Ezio’s motivations change as the story progresses and it’s these changes that make his story so much more engrossing than Altair’s.

Even plot devices and missions don’t just get you from A to B. They add a dimension and a layer to the story that the first game simply couldn’t touch. Escort missions are punctuated by meaningful conversations that add insight and even tips on getting better at your deadly occupation.

The Assassin’s Creed franchise was something of a surprise as far as its story goes. The meta-game with Desmond took most players entirely by surprise so the inclusion of a millennia-old Dan Brown conspiracy of Templars and Assassins wasn’t too much to swallow.

It gets weirder from there, trust us.

Most of the weirder points are hidden puzzles that are part of the larger meta-game, but Ezio’s story is achingly good.

Ezio’s Craft

Much of the gameplay has remained intact, though the developers at Ubisoft must have sore arms from all the polishing they’ve been doing.

The learning curve is much more natural than the forced one Altair had to go through.  Ezio is actually learning his craft from scratch from his Uncle Mario (who actually utters “It’s-a me! Mario!”) and there are little snippets when you do things right saying “Hey! Do this more often!”

Free-running is fluid and faster than the first game. The densely packed rooftops of Italy lend themselves easily to sprinting from point to point.There are some spots where the camera angle lets you think that ledge is just within reach (it isn’t) and that you can totally jump that high (you can’t) but the frustrations are minor compared to the fluidity and overall level of fun you can have.

Actual assassinations are much more fun this time, since Ezio’s hidden blade can be upgraded, greatly so. Targets who run can be slowed by a quick throwing knife and skewered from behind once you’ve caught up. The “research” you have to do beforehand is minimal and plot-centric.

Most of the techniques from the first game are still there, but now the hidden blade can be used effectively in combat, parrying and slicing easily.

The button-mashing combat of the first game can still exist, but has been complemented with dodges, ducks, dives, more varied counter kills and a slew of new weapons. Whereas fighting was a chore in the first game, Assassin’s Creed II makes it a comparative highlight, the variability is massive, if you take the time to do everything and not just mash buttons.

In the first game, Altair could only blend with certain groups, with a Metal Gear Solid-style of “you’re hidden or you’re not.” The sequel lets you blend with any group of civilians large enough and even pay thieves and courtesans to follow you around, start fights or seduce guards.

It’s stealth re-done and we like it much more than exclamation marks on someone’s head.

You can lower your level of notoriety (much more subtle than “Exposed” and “Anonymous”) by tearing down wanted posters, bribing heralds or killing city officials, making surviving and managing your reputation just as important to the plot and mission as actually killing a mark.

Ezio’s World

The graphics have been polished somewhat since the first game, thought they’re not nearly on par with Modern Warfare 2 or Uncharted 2. Why? Skin.

The environments are every bit as believable as those games and clothes ripple and fall with eerie realism. Unforunately, anything organic; plants, faces, animals, are all stuck in 2007.Forgivable? Absolutely.

The cities themselves are beautiful and varied and the models beneath the characters have motions that are nearly perfect. Everything from writing to free running is done with believability you don’t normally find in a game.

What is impressive are facial expressions. From raised eyebrows to smiles and frowns, all are clear and easy to see but can also be subtle and add a layer of detail to cutscenes most developers wouldn’t even bother with.

The soundtrack is fantastic. The game utilizes the rear speakers in a surround-sound set up exactly like a movie, for poignant moments and for ambience. Play this on a good TV with decent speakers and it’s incredibly immersive.

Our Finale

Assassin’s Creed II is a great game.

Period. Graphical trifles and minor quibbles with camera angles do not equate to a bad game at all. Anyone who enjoyed the first game should absolutely buy it. It’s far too deep for just a rental. Those who had their doubts based on the first one should absolutely give it a shot if you’re a fan of the genre.

The franchise is a model in how things can be done right. If Ubisoft keeps up the trend the next game may well give Grand Theft Auto a run for its money on the sandbox pile. Where will the next game take Desmond?

We’re not sure, but we can’t wait to find out.

(Revolutionary France? Please, Ubisoft?)