Assassin's Creed II Review by: pray75 - 9.3/10
Requiescat En PaceWelcome, everyone, to the Renaissance Era in Florence, Italy, where you can experience the world as it was in the 1400s, the lavish way. The character is Ezio Auditore, and the task is defeating the Templars at their own game, assassinating people. Corruption, killing, and war abound in this classic adventure which started one of the most popular trilogies in video game history. Released in 2009, Ubisoft Montreal had a real gem on its hand, and it showed, being a commercial success all over the globe. This game is primarily a free-running game, and there are many buildings to scale and things to jump over. Ezio is a beloved character in the gaming universe, as the contrast between his charming wit and thirst for vengeance makes him a complex character that people can't help but feel for. Furthermore, this second installment into the series is a drastic improvement over the first, as it eliminates the repetition of the first game and allows you to defend yourself with the hidden blades, which is something that was difficult to do in the first one. At any rate, before I spoil everything, let me give you my review of this excellent game!
Graphics: 10
This game looks absolutely outstanding! From the Venice Rooftops to the streets of Florence, everything in this game seems so real. The cut scenes really exhibit the graphical capabilities of both the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and the facial animations look spot on. When you look Ezio in the eye, staring back at you is a man, someone that could be as real as your brother or your best friend at your house. From atop the highest points of the game, you can look down and see the entire, expansive landscape that looks absolutely beautiful from such a high vantage point. The Leap of Faith literally took my breath away when I performed it for the first time, as I was not prepared for the camera to follow Ezio in such a fashion, even though the same thing happened with Altair in the original Assassin’s Creed. On the streets, there was a wide array of different people that looked pretty real as well, and when looking one in the face, it’s the same thing as before. Even the death animations look good. As in the first game, when assassinating a major target, the screen becomes white and you zoom in on a conversation between Ezio and the target moments before he dies. Blood stains the face of your enemy, and the entire thing just looks cool. Even in Desmond’s mode, things look good. The Abstergo Laboratory got a huge upgrade from the first game, and now that Desmond actually left it, you see a lot more of the lab itself. It’s so huge that it’s creepy. The graphics get a well-deserved 10.
Sound: 10
The sound of this game is amazing. From people crying in the streets at the sight of a dead guard, to the clash of steel against steel, to Ezio’s charming Italian accent, this game sounds awesome. I really feel like I’m enveloped in Italy when I’m playing this game, even though the actual use of the Italian language is limited to phrases such as “Requiescat en Pace” (Rest in Peace) and a few curse words. What’s more impressive than that, though, is the musical score this game employs. Literally, I listen to this soundtrack when I’m reading or doing homework. It’s that good! Venice Rooftops is one of my favorite songs. Fast pace, it’s used as a chase song and really fits the bill when you’re trying to kill that elusive enemy who fears Ezio’s steel blades. The bass of the song Earth mixed with the vocals and the drums is incredible. Whoever they got to sing the vocal parts of the song is incredible (I just found out her name is Madeline Bell, check her out)! The song Ezio’s Family plays when Ezio climbs the tower and looks over Florence with his brother. Ezio’s family is good, too, because it takes the same core melody seen throughout the game and puts more vocals to it, also using an acoustic guitar to bring out a real emotional feeling. The music in this game just has a way of attaching you to the game, perhaps even more so than the story and the characters, because it promotes this explorative nature inside of you to seek out and find everything that’s out there. Jespyr Kidd and his team were absolute masters in creating the soundtrack for this game. The mesmerizing sound earns itself a perfect 10.
Addictiveness: 7
This game is fairly addictive, but after the first play through, you have to wait a while to pick it back up. To be fair, that’s because this game has two sequels and Assassin’s Creed III, but once you’re done with this game, there isn’t much of a reason to go back to it other than to enjoy the story again, which I believe is worth it. Unlike the future games in the series, this game doesn’t have a multi-player mode, which I think limits the experience just a little bit, as most games coming out around this time did have one. That being said, the game is still fun, and it’s hard to put the game down while you’re going through the first play through. I got more done than most people would in their first play through, but if you’re a perfectionist, you’ll find that you’ll be spending several play-throughs trying to get everything done, because the game is huge. Addictiveness gets the score of 7, because it’s extremely addictive during the first round but not so much afterwards, unless you’re a perfectionist.
Story: 10
Perhaps the most compelling part of the game (but perhaps not; I still love the music so much!) is the story of this game. If you’ve played the first game, you know about Abstergo, the Assassins, and the Templars. This war has been going on since the Crusades, with Altair being one of the first sets of assassins to battle the brutal Knights Templars. Fast forward to 2012, where you are Desmond Miles, tasked with defeating the future Templars, who take the form of the pharmaceutical company Abstergo. Miles, a former bartender, is son of the leader of the Assassins, but he tried to leave that lifestyle and become a bartender. Unfortunately for him, he was found and kidnapped by Abstergo after trying to buy a motorcycle. Before then, he paid cash for everything, and it allowed him to stay under the radar from both his dad and Abstergo.
In the game, the discovery of “genetic memory” led to the creation of the Animus, which allows those who use it to access the memories of their ancestors. Desmond’s ancestry was highly sought after, as many of his ancestors came into contact with the “Pieces of Eden,” god-like artifacts that held unprecedented power. These artifacts were supposedly what gave Hitler, George Washington, Genghis Khan, and Jesus their power over words and over life itself. These pieces were constructs of beings known as “Those Who Came Before,” humanoid-like creatures whose technological advances far surpassed that of humans. Unfortunately, a war consumed the earth, followed by a massive solar flare, and most of “Those Who Came Before” were eliminated, whereas a few thousand humans survived to repopulate the Earth.
This story is the smaller part of the entire brunt of the game, which is spent as Ezio Auditore of Florence. His father, Giovanni Auditore, is a well-known banker with a lesser-known career as an assassin. Friends with the powerful Lorenzo de Medici (and the famous Machiavelli), Giovanni becomes the target by political opponents of Lorenzo. He and two of his sons are captured, convicted, and murdered before Ezio’s eyes, which spurs on Ezio’s desire for revenge. The best scene from the entire game, to me, was when Ezio enacted his revenge against his father’s betrayer, Umberto, stabbing him multiple times in rage and screaming, “The Auditore are not dead! I’m still here! ME! EZIO! EZIO AUDITORE!” Absolute excellence.
Ezio enacts his revenge against his family’s biggest rival family, the de Pazzi’s, before discovering an even bigger conspiracy against his father that leads him up the food chain. The game takes course over several decades, and you watch as Ezio grows from a boy fueled by revenge to a calculating, stone-cold killer. He makes many allies along the way, including a den of thieves, a gang of prostitutes, and others as he becomes a full-fledged assassin, realizing that his fight was not just about his family but about the entire country of Italy and even the world, as the ultimate perpetrator of these crimes, Rodrigo Borgia, becomes the Pope, and Ezio becomes tasked with assassinating him.
This game takes a few liberties with historical events, changing the deaths of many historical figures, but this is because they have to have things for you to do in the game. Not only that, but they even explain it away, saying that the history we know today is a concocted history, covered up so that people didn’t know the truth about the work the Assassins did. I find this explanation acceptable, because the reality is that it could technically be true, however unlikely that it is. Remember, history is written by the winners.
Anyways, the overview is now behind us. I find it to be extremely compelling. As I’ve stated a few times, Ezio really drives the story home, and I even like Desmond and his relationship with the cast of characters in Lucy, Rebecca, and Shawn. Both the story in the present and the story in the past are extremely powerful, and they work well in tandem. And I’m a guy who enjoys his history, so this game really brought home the bacon in that department. I’ve even referenced Assassin’s Creed (the series as a whole) as a big help to me for understanding some things of that era, which in turn gave me better grades (Dead serious)! All of these elements combined make for an excellent game and a perfect score of 10.
Depth: 7
I said earlier that there is a lot to do in this game. There really is. There are assassination contracts galore, secrets to find, treasure chests everywhere, and high points to jump off. So why only a score of 7? Because the other games had more, plain and simple. I wanted an online mode when this game came out, and it didn’t have one. I wanted more teammates, but there were no more to help you. These things came in Brotherhood and were expanded upon in Revelations, but this game had none of it. So while there is a lot to do in this game, there is simply more in the others. I know that they are sequels, but these games were in development as this one was coming out, and I think they could have done a little bit more with it. The depth earns a 7.
Difficulty: 5
This game isn’t that hard to pick up and play, but it’s not the easiest game ever, either. When you first are getting used to the controls, it’s awkward, but the movement becomes seamless as you improve, which you do rather quickly. Other than a few missions, there aren’t a lot of hard spots in the game. The following two games are more difficult, as they add stipulations to get a “perfect completion,” but this one doesn’t have that, so when you complete a mission, that’s it. The difficulty is a 5.
Overall: 9.3
I’m a huge fan of this game, as you can probably see. It’s one of my favorite stories of all time, with one of my favorite soundtracks of all time, with one of my favorite characters of all time… You can see where this is going. That being said, because of the limited depth and addictiveness, I can’t give the game a perfect 10, but a 9.3 isn’t too shabby by any means. Had they put in a multiplayer mode and some sort of support system of teammates, it would have received a higher score, but alas, these things were not there. Still, I love this game so much, and it’s one of my favorite games regardless of its few flaws. I hope you guys check it out if you haven’t, because it’s a game you don’t want to miss.
Graphics
10 Sound
10 Addictive
7 Depth
7 Story
10 Difficulty
5
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