Oh come on, don’t tell me you didn’t see this one coming. What, you didn’t? Do you not read the reviews here? Well, fair enough, you’re probably here for the guides. Truth be told, so am I. But anyway, for those of you that don’t know, tonight’s review is Assassins Creed 2.

Having now completed this on PS3 and almost finished on the 360 (because trophies just aren’t as satisfying as achievements) I’m pretty sure I know what I’m talking about. AC2 is a straight up continuation from AC1, and here we see Desmond breaking out of Abstergo with Lucy and heading off to help the Assassins (which includes Danny Wallace, a king in my country, as Shaun) find whatever it was the elusive “Subject 16” was looking for. But where to search? 1400’s Italy, of course. You take control of Ezio Auditore de Firenze, a charming young gentleman often found with one hand on a woman’s back and the other in a man’s face. Through a series of events, Ezio begins his training to become an assassin, and you’re along for the ride. It’s a nice way of introducing people to the game mechanics, rather than AC1’s Metroid-esque tutorial system.

Little has changed from the core gameplay of the first game, but what has changed really adds to the game and makes for a more exciting experience. The running around, climbing up to rooftops and just generally screwing around is the same as it always was, and thank God, since that was one of the best parts of the original. No, the combat has been changed slightly. Money has been introduced into the world, and you can use it to buy new weapons, upgrade your armour, or pouches to hold your ammo for certain weapons. You get money for doing the missions, which now progress in a more logical fashion, so instead of being given a target, doing a bunch of side missions, then killing said target, you go from mission to mission and end the overall memory with the assassination. You can also get money from pick pocketing people, which is always good fun as you wander the streets, stealing everyone’s cash and watching them frantically search for their purses.

The actual fighting isn’t all that different. The combo kill from the first game appears to have been dropped at first, but instead it seems it just requires more hits in the combo to kill an enemy without depleting their health bar. Fisticuffs are now useful in a fight, as you can disarm your opponents and use their own weapons against them, or throw sand in their faces to stun them. The weapons available vary from swords to hammers and axes, although it’s generally best to stick to a sword simply because it’s balanced. Still, try out some of the other weapons, because some of the kill animations are pretty damned cool. You can also use smoke bombs to stun everyone, and the hidden blade has had some MAJOR upgrades. I’m talking two of them, or you can tip one of them with poison. Hell, later on in the game you get a frigging gun (although admittedly it’s totally useless unless your target is standing still). Still, two hidden blades makes for some sweet double kills. You can even swim. Swimming is cool, I guess. Better than drowning anyway.

Graphically, everything looks a lot smoother and sharper than the first game. The environments are definitely more varied and interesting, with different times of day being employed during missions, which adds a lot more to the atmosphere. The architecture of 1400’s Italy is also far more interesting than the buildings in the original game, and there’s more variation due to a wider divide between the rich and poor, so there’s plenty to see as you run over the rooftops. The characters look smooth and well presented; although Lucy seems to have taken a few punches to the face as her lips have ballooned in size, but no matter. Overall everything is good looking and interesting enough to keep the eyes entertained.

Sound wise, the voice acting is well done across the board, with Ezio’s voice actor bringing over a lot of charm and every evil character sounding stereotypically evil, the way it should be. The clashing of swords can be heard well, along with all those other weapons previously mentioned, and stabbing people still makes them “urk” in pain. Only one problem with it; if you pause during a sound effect, the sound carries on through to the pause menu, and you’re left with a muted action when you return. Very minor complaint, but it’s something that niggled me a few times.

I was cautious of Assassins Creed 2 to begin with. I like the first game, but never thought it was a truly great game. AC2 pulls out all the stops and turns a great concept into a fantastic game, and for that Ubisoft should be commended. If you like the first game, or you enjoy screwing around for hours in a sandbox world, I would definitely recommend picking this up.

Score: 9/10

Preferred it when I was slamming games? Got a humorous tale to tell from your travels with Ezio? Tell us in the comments!