With the arrival of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, I decided to visit the second game and refresh my memory of the story and immerse myself in the world, plus I love this game and we have been estranged for a while now and I felt the need for a reunion. I really do have strong feelings for this game. It’s so intricate and beautiful to look at, it has elements of good and evil along with actually historical events (I think), plus there is Kristen Bell whom I love. So without further ado, lets get this epic showdown on the road…

Assassin’s Creed 2 is all about Desmond Miles becoming a real assassin by playing through Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s life as he learns the Creed; Desmond takes on Ezio’s skills and knowledge through the bleeding effect which is conveniently explained by Lucy. This leads up to a huge fight just like the first game except this one is far more epic, SPOILERS, cos it’s the freakin’ Pope! Yes, you fight the Pope. The one in Rome. If that doesn’t class as epic, I don’t know what is. But anyway…

If you haven’t played the first one, it doesn’t really matter; you learn while playing the game the basic controls – there is a place to practice moves just like AC 1 at your villa in Monteriggioni – and the rest kinda follows. The story is different and although the beginning of the game when you’re at Abstergo won’t make much sense, it doesn’t effect the rest of the game. If you want to know about Desmond and Lucy Stillman (Kristen Bell) then go back. I do recommend it if you’re new but for us that have been there I’ll skip over it.

The major differences to this game are the fact that your character is a lot better at moving around, particularly climbing the buildings because if you’re not fighting, that is what you’ll most likely be doing. In the previous game it took far to long for Altair to climb a simple wall, now he is more like Spiderman. BIG thumbs up on this one. Another noticeable thing is the fact that the places are a lot nicer to look at; there’s more colour and space and variation. Previously there was dingy grey Acre, the poor district looked the same as the rich. Damascus and Jerusalem looking pretty similar. Don’t get me wrong though, the cities were so detailed and wonderful, but they didn’t really have much colour or many distinguishable features. It doesn’t really cross your mind though when your waist deep in action – imagine running over roof tops being chased by guards and suddenly thinking “ooh! That wall would look great in a shade of terracotta!” It just doesn’t happen.

You will probably notice right away that the health system and weapons etc is drastically different. You now have to visit a doctor or use medicine you have bought from him when you are feeling a little faint during a fight, along with having to earn money through the missions or looting to buy better weapons, armour, the aforementioned medicine and repairs, along with refurbishing your villa and the town of Monteriggioni which comes later. I like this change to be honest. It gives the game a more realistic feel rather than Al Mualim giving you upgrades when you act like his little lapdog by killing people for him. Now you are in charge of how awesome you are! Speaking of awesome, you can now dye, yes dye, your clothes. And guess how many colours? 15! There are 15 colours to choose from but most are restricted to a certain city, such as Florentine Crimson only being available in Florence. You will not only be the most skilled assassin, but also the prettiest and most fashionable.

I’m over 600 words in and haven’t even hinted at the graphics. Well that is a disgrace. AC 1 was pretty darn sweet in its presentation but it can’t hold a concealed blade to AC 2. Each city is unique in it’s layout and choice of colours, among other things. The characters look nicer, even if they are not the best looking graphics in the world, they certainly don’t ruin the game. During cut scenes you can see the characters emotion clearly, for instance, towards the beginning before Ezio dons the white outfit, you have to do a few little tasks for your dear family members. When talking to Mama Auditore, she mentions Ezio’s activities the previous night and his face changes from being cool and calm to a surprised “quick I better deny this” look with eye-rolling included. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the detail is impeccable in this game. Every city down to each tile of the roofs and vines on the trellises have been designed to perfection. What can I say, I’m a sucker for beauty.

Correct me if I’m wrong but in AC 1 the only collectables were the almost impossible to find flags which earned you gamerscore and bragging rights, whereas in AC 2 there are feathers which doesn’t just give you GS, but also a neat cape. There are also glyphs to be de-riddled – symbols on important buildings that appear on your map, require you to crack some sort of code, whether it be finding a symbol in one picture or a recurring symbol in many, or spinning sections on a picture so it fits together etc, confusing I know but when you see them you’ll understand. If you can figure these out all by yourself you are indeed a genius because they are difficult and don’t be ashamed if you need to use a walkthrough, I did. When you completed the puzzle you will get a clip of footage depicting some unknown scene. This is very important if you want to know background on the game and have your mind blown so STICK WITH IT, IT GETS BETTER! Plus you feel dead smart after getting them all.

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One of the great things about AC 2 is the fact that it is such a good re-playable game; you have a great action element to it so if you are not down for the story you can just go and fight things and ride your horse into people (that’s right, a horse), but if you like the intrigue over the history, it is so complex that you are blown away first time you play it that you may need to play all over again to properly understand it and pick up missed details. Now, because there are so many itty bitty parts to the background, they are easy to forget which means when you come to play the game after a long time away from it, it’s almost like you are playing it for the first time, except you know where you’re going, who the bad guys are etc etc.

While I’m talking about good stuff, I should probably mention my second best bud in the whole game (Lucy Stillman obviously beingmy fav, don’t judge). Now, this guy comes in kinda early to the game and stands by your side until the very end. He aids you in becoming the best killer in the whole of the Mediterranean by inventing weapons and a flying machine (hint). He is truly, a genius. Please welcome, the wonderful, the magnificent … Leonardo! Not DiCaprio, DA VINCI! Yes, the man himself is Ezio’s best buddy and you get to test out his infamous flying machine which allows you to kick guys off buildings at night. Oh yeah!

Well I think I’ve covered pretty much everything about this game and if not I’ll just update it. One final thought, if you haven’t played this game, play it. If you have played this game, play it again.