Console: Playstation 3
Genre: Third person 'stealth' action.
Setting: A mysterious place in the present or future, and Renaissance Italy.
Story:
Continues from the original, with some surprises in store, as far as characters go...Desmond Miles is still the pivotal character. "Assassin's Creed" had a juicy hook to end the game with, and the sequel takes the narrative elements to a new high...up there with the "Uncharted" games. Unlike the original, the sequel's story telling peters out towards the end.
Graphics:
Again, fantastic looking, and much more sumptuous due to the new location of the historically set story. The locations are pretty as a picture.
Gameplay:
Much improved over the original. There is variety to the game which the original lacked, but some of the non-core gaming elements are infinitely frustrating. It's these elements which really drag the score down for me. The kinds of elements I have in mind include puzzles, racing and finding certain things in the cities and towns you are in. Whereas the original had mindless/inane collecting elements, in this game they are made more a part of the story and hence something you would choose to pursue. However, the difficulty levels are just absurd...some puzzles are seemingly solved with random button movements, whilst other puzzles seem to require an arts degree or a degree in cryptography. Utterly bizarre. My guess is that many people will have to Google solutions to these puzzles...it's odd how the game seems to want to appeal to little boys and people with tertiary qualifications...a middle road would have been better...puzzles solvable without going online out of frustration.
A non-core element of the game are timed foot races...on roof-tops (!). Some races seem impossible to complete...suggesting that they are set up for players of an elite level. Actually, returning to these races I have found them to be completeable but by no means fun...you're just glad that the whole thing is over. The marks that you have to hit are often hard to spot, so you lose time looking for them. The game makes completing them unnecessarily hard too...soldiers chasing you, or pedestrians being in your way. If you miss a jump you just know that you won't be able to complete the race...meaning you either have to let the clock run down to zero or cancel the race and retry. Basically the races are a grind...take many attempts to learn the route and not make mistakes. Just a real pain.
And the logic of elements like these is questionable to say the least...one such is the collection of feathers...I kid you not. An historical assassin collecting feathers? They increase the value of his home? His nearest and dearest won't move from prayer without you having all the feathers? Yuh. Inane. Since there is a narrative import to completing this quest, it grates when finding all those feathers is just such a massive, frustrating grind...even with the benefit of a downloaded map. A big improvement would have been having each feather numbered, so you knew which particular one you required and thus could limit your searching for it. Some are trickily placed to. The game makers imagine the world they have created is so wonderful you will want to explore every inch of it...then pretty much force you to do this with grinding quests like this...not fun at all.
Back to the races...you play an assassin...who, in his spare time races locals for fun? And there are city guards who can overtake you even if you complete the race? Hmm.
Another interesting addition to the game play is the renovations you can do to your home. These earn you money which you can spend on items. This seems a very undercooked element to the game for me...I've earned a million florins from doing this and have no realistic hope of spending most of that money as there is nothing to spend it on now. It would have been better to be able to build on this feature...have a particular artist in residence at your home, for example...or raise armies...or annexe castles and towns etc. None of this is possible...but what there is is a suitable alternative to the grinding treasure hunts of the game.
The Good –
The early narrative elements of the game are engaging
More variety in actions the assassin can perform
The Bad –
Buggy game play...if you run around the place (as I do) trying to get to a task quickly, you will see buildings and pedestrians be drawn ahead of you. This can actually adversely affect game play. For instance...you can enter a building and take treasure, but on trying to get out you will notice that guards have suddenly appeared there and you will have to fight them. Or certain citizens which trigger non-core game elements will not be where they are supposed to be...you have to wait for them to suddenly appear.
Occasional quick time events which are such a surprise you may miss them...not a fan of these...like giving my hands a break during a cutscene.
The Ugly –
Frustrating non-core game play...interminable races which give you no wriggle room to complete them.
Ridiculously difficult puzzles (involving code breaking) or annoying as hell concentric circle painting puzzles...both a massive grind to complete...the former at least having the 'virtue' of being able to be cheated on via online sources.
Annoying character actions or non-playable character movements. The thief kills are an example of this...you want to kill the thief so try and climb up a wall...instead you kick back and jump backwards...too late. Same thing for races. The thiefs are pretty hard to catch...so I'm happy they can be so glitchy...they get 'stuck' somewhere and run on the spot...easy prey. It's a glitch, but a welcome one!
Genre: Third person 'stealth' action.
Setting: A mysterious place in the present or future, and Renaissance Italy.
Story:
Continues from the original, with some surprises in store, as far as characters go...Desmond Miles is still the pivotal character. "Assassin's Creed" had a juicy hook to end the game with, and the sequel takes the narrative elements to a new high...up there with the "Uncharted" games. Unlike the original, the sequel's story telling peters out towards the end.
Graphics:
Again, fantastic looking, and much more sumptuous due to the new location of the historically set story. The locations are pretty as a picture.
Gameplay:
Much improved over the original. There is variety to the game which the original lacked, but some of the non-core gaming elements are infinitely frustrating. It's these elements which really drag the score down for me. The kinds of elements I have in mind include puzzles, racing and finding certain things in the cities and towns you are in. Whereas the original had mindless/inane collecting elements, in this game they are made more a part of the story and hence something you would choose to pursue. However, the difficulty levels are just absurd...some puzzles are seemingly solved with random button movements, whilst other puzzles seem to require an arts degree or a degree in cryptography. Utterly bizarre. My guess is that many people will have to Google solutions to these puzzles...it's odd how the game seems to want to appeal to little boys and people with tertiary qualifications...a middle road would have been better...puzzles solvable without going online out of frustration.
A non-core element of the game are timed foot races...on roof-tops (!). Some races seem impossible to complete...suggesting that they are set up for players of an elite level. Actually, returning to these races I have found them to be completeable but by no means fun...you're just glad that the whole thing is over. The marks that you have to hit are often hard to spot, so you lose time looking for them. The game makes completing them unnecessarily hard too...soldiers chasing you, or pedestrians being in your way. If you miss a jump you just know that you won't be able to complete the race...meaning you either have to let the clock run down to zero or cancel the race and retry. Basically the races are a grind...take many attempts to learn the route and not make mistakes. Just a real pain.
And the logic of elements like these is questionable to say the least...one such is the collection of feathers...I kid you not. An historical assassin collecting feathers? They increase the value of his home? His nearest and dearest won't move from prayer without you having all the feathers? Yuh. Inane. Since there is a narrative import to completing this quest, it grates when finding all those feathers is just such a massive, frustrating grind...even with the benefit of a downloaded map. A big improvement would have been having each feather numbered, so you knew which particular one you required and thus could limit your searching for it. Some are trickily placed to. The game makers imagine the world they have created is so wonderful you will want to explore every inch of it...then pretty much force you to do this with grinding quests like this...not fun at all.
Back to the races...you play an assassin...who, in his spare time races locals for fun? And there are city guards who can overtake you even if you complete the race? Hmm.
Another interesting addition to the game play is the renovations you can do to your home. These earn you money which you can spend on items. This seems a very undercooked element to the game for me...I've earned a million florins from doing this and have no realistic hope of spending most of that money as there is nothing to spend it on now. It would have been better to be able to build on this feature...have a particular artist in residence at your home, for example...or raise armies...or annexe castles and towns etc. None of this is possible...but what there is is a suitable alternative to the grinding treasure hunts of the game.
The Good –
The early narrative elements of the game are engaging
More variety in actions the assassin can perform
The Bad –
Buggy game play...if you run around the place (as I do) trying to get to a task quickly, you will see buildings and pedestrians be drawn ahead of you. This can actually adversely affect game play. For instance...you can enter a building and take treasure, but on trying to get out you will notice that guards have suddenly appeared there and you will have to fight them. Or certain citizens which trigger non-core game elements will not be where they are supposed to be...you have to wait for them to suddenly appear.
Occasional quick time events which are such a surprise you may miss them...not a fan of these...like giving my hands a break during a cutscene.
The Ugly –
Frustrating non-core game play...interminable races which give you no wriggle room to complete them.
Ridiculously difficult puzzles (involving code breaking) or annoying as hell concentric circle painting puzzles...both a massive grind to complete...the former at least having the 'virtue' of being able to be cheated on via online sources.
Annoying character actions or non-playable character movements. The thief kills are an example of this...you want to kill the thief so try and climb up a wall...instead you kick back and jump backwards...too late. Same thing for races. The thiefs are pretty hard to catch...so I'm happy they can be so glitchy...they get 'stuck' somewhere and run on the spot...easy prey. It's a glitch, but a welcome one!