filmfreak-ochoa23 Review of Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed II (2009 Video Game)

The Tombs are the selling point of this game!

[9/10 · 27 July 2011]

Assassin's Creed II- 2009 Not having played the first entry, the game picks up immediately after the first one but this does not matter. The game features a new protagonist, who Desmond controls through the Animus, a matrix-type machine. Ezio is your typical swashbuckling ladies-man, starting trouble with a rich rival who is a jerk just because he is the protagonist's rival. Ezio's family is portrayed as poor, or middle-class, of course but noble in heart and spirit. So, off the bat, Ezio is an unlikeable douche who gets everything his way, the villains have no real personality other to be evil and slimy, and the dialogue is sometimes funny mostly from Uncle Mario or when Ezio is talking to DaVinci and his "crazy" inventions. The game makes up in superior gameplay though, with new weapons such as dual blades, pistol, throwing knives, countering system, hiring system, and faster free-running with on-the-spot camouflaging within crowds. Even if Ezio himself is an unlikeable character, the story is interesting to follow from his perspective rather than Lucy and her team or from Mario and his Assassins. From everyone, the plot is this long time war between the Templars and the "holy" assassins who "liberate" the people, it is clichéd writing and is very black & white. From Ezio's perspective; however, it's a basic revenge story because Rodrigo, the leader of the Borgias, killed his family and Ezio seeks revenge. The game flows better in this fashion, since it accommodates the assassin's life better than some savior. The true jewel of the game are the Templar Temples which are free-running timed puzzles a la Prince of Persia to acquire parts of the armor of Altair, which the armor itself doesn't do anything special is just a Macguffin, the temples are the true treasure. A disfavor is done skipping any of these because they are the most awesome part of the game, truly utilizing the free-running mechanic to its fullest potential. The final boss is not challenging, at all but who you get to fight is pretty awesome, normally my reviews contain spoilers but this one you have to find out on your own!! This is a game worth buying, most definitely.