Assassin's Creed 2

[BlueNGold]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

Wow. All those reviews have me wanting this game desperately now.

I liked the first one but there wasn't enough to do and the side missions were repetitive. It sounds like this one definitely fixed those issues.

Man, if it isn't NBA 2K10, it's Modern Warfare 2 and if it isn't that, it's ACII. Too many games, not enough money.....

[Flawless]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

Game Informer Review - 9.5

Combat features strong new additions like disarming techniques and an expanded array of weapons. Countering and special kills remain a blast, and the new techniques and weapons make defensive fighting more enjoyable than ever. However, enemy AI is often questionable; guards will stand and stare without attacking for too long or ignore you completely when they’re fighting your allies. In addition, I’d love to see a more engaging way to handle attacks initiated by the player. Most enemies auto-block any frontal assaults, so it’s hard to bust out into a flurry of motion to take them down. The combat is still thrilling, but it needs some work to stand toe-to-toe with the best action games.

Stepping back from the many disparate elements of the game, the picture that emerges is impressive. Assassin’s Creed II is a complex, mature, and engaging journey from beginning to end. It stands as a benchmark for design that combines innovative ideas with tried-and-true techniques to create one of the great games of this generation.

Second Opinion - 9.0

To anyone with mixed feelings on the original, I’ll say this: They fixed Assassin’s Creed. With clinical precision, Ubisoft Montreal has addressed the list of issues that interfered with the first outing. The repetitive missions are gone, the heavy-handed exposition is cut short, and the formulaic structure has given way to a natural narrative flow. With these legacy problems swept aside, Assassin’s Creed II puts an intriguing focus on new protagonist Ezio, his lethal set of skills, and the Templar plot surrounding him. For the most part, it all blends together wonderfully; the Renaissance setting is visually and historically compelling, and striking down your foes from the shadows still imparts a primal satisfaction. New weapon types and a currency system build a little on the first game’s foundation, but the excellent core gameplay is essentially unchanged. In light of these additions and improvements, Assassin’s Creed II should be leagues beyond its predecessor, but I didn’t enjoy it as much. It is superior on a mechanical level, but the story and tone have taken steps back. Through cutscenes and conversations, the first game fostered a chilling connection between the hunter and the hunted, lending gravity to each kill. That sensation is totally gone now, replaced by scenarios that require you to fight your way to whatever generic old guy the Dan Brown-like conspiracy points you toward. Assassin’s Creed II is still a fantastic game, but it feels like the team listened too closely to people who didn’t like the original, losing some of what made it special in the process.

Giant Bomb Review - 4/5

I came into Assassin's Creed II with a certain qualified affection for the original, and was thoroughly pleased with the lessons the developers learned between the two. But this isn't a reinvention, it's a refinement. Assassin's Creed II offers, fundamentally, the same kinds of thrills as its predecessor--leaping from rooftop to rooftop with surefooted ease, appearing out of nowhere to kill your target with a quick blade, then vanishing effortlessly into a crowd. It's just been expanded, streamlined, and overhauled in ways that bring it closer to grace and make it a much easier game to recommend.

1UP Review - A-

AC2 is everything a sequel ought to be: An improvement on the original in nearly every way. Perhaps more impressively, it actually has me interested to see where the series goes from here -- something I wouldn't have expected after I slogged my way through the original. Anyone who enjoyed the first game will definitely like AC2, but the real accomplishment is that people who didn't enjoy it will likely have a good time, too.

TeamXbox Review - 9.5

It’s rare to find a sequel to an ambitious but flawed title up the ante the way that Assassin’s Creed II does. Ubisoft Montreal has successfully addressed the failings of the first game while simultaneously raising the bar even further for itself. The end result is a game that takes the free-running and huge cityscapes of its predecessor, then adds in a host of action/RPG elements that combine to form a much deeper and more satisfying game, and a surprise frontrunner for the best of 2009.

EDGE Review - 8

Many players immersed in all Assassin’s Creed II has to offer will find these issues nitpicking. Certainly, Ubisoft Montreal has succeeded in welding a game to what once felt like a proof of concept, and without overshadowing its many strengths. Much devolves into mere stuff – one sword is much like another; a painting’s easily bought and just fills a hole in the wall – and once the story is over there’s little reason to replay it. At the end of it all, though, you’re left with that setting, those cities, and Ezio, and they lend the experience a substance that endures.

G4 Review - 4/5

It's not uncommon for a developer to take criticism to heart and incorporate changes in ensuing games, but the structural overhaul done to Assassin's Creed II exposes the indefensible flaws of the first game. Some older things didn't get fixed, and some new things were broken in the process, but the Montreal studio is definitely sending the message that this is what they've wanted to do from the beginning. It shows.

Gamersyde Review - 5/5

Assassin's Creed 2 manages to correct all of its ambitious but flawed predecessor's issues, and even adds many new, and for the most part interesting, things that make the game even more varied. It's also a very long game (we finished it with 62% completion, clocking 16 hours in the Animus clock) that never feels like it's repeating itself. Assassin's Creed 2 could have simply been a very good sequel, but thanks to the great work done by Ubisoft Montreal it now becomes one of the must-haves on the both consoles it's being released on.

CVG Review - 9.4

In fact it's difficult to name any area of Assassin's Creed II that isn't head and shoulders above its 2007 predecessor. You could argue that out-and-out sword combat falls short of the rock-paper-scissors bliss found in the excellent Batman: Arkham Asylum, or that the cut-scenes are still sprinkled by the odd wooden awkwardness. But the scope of Assassin's Creed II's great achievements - excellent stealth gameplay, varied and entertaining missions and a narrative-rich plot wrapped around well-designed, gorgeous environments - almost entirely overshadows these complaints.

Assassin's Creed II is one of the best sequels of the generation. There's enough quality content here to rival all the GTAs in the world, while the core storyline delivers a blockbuster experience that'll match any of this year's top linear action games.

[econoodle]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

just a note
amazon has shipped my copy of ACII
so with the code & the already low price it came to 50.99
pplus i am putting the ten dollar gift card they give u towards a future game, towards MLB 10
which will now come to 45
go for this deal guys!
unless u cant wait till thursday lol

[Chizzypoof]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

G4 Review - 4/5

That's surprising. They usually hand out 5 out 5's like it's nothing.

It's pretty annoying that the PS3 version is lacking in textures. By this time in the generation, you would think the developers got passed the programming curves with the consoles.

[65South]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

just a note
amazon has shipped my copy of ACII
so with the code & the already low price it came to 50.99
pplus i am putting the ten dollar gift card they give u towards a future game, towards MLB 10
which will now come to 45
go for this deal guys!
unless u cant wait till thursday lol

Good deal -- Thanks for the heads up Eco!

One deal I came across, BNG has it for 43.95, no coupons or anything needed. Xbox 360 PS3

[NEOPARADIGM]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

Unfortunately yes from the GT review.

I don't know what's "unfortunate" about it. That's just how the combat is in this game. Ever play a turn-based combat system? It's not like it's a flaw or "dumb AI," it's a design choice.

Anyway, played for about four hours just now. Game takes a while to get going. I mean like after four hours I still feel like the game hasn't even started yet - i.e., considerable, considerable depth and variety.

Fans of the first game, don't hestiate - it's great.

People who didn't like the first game at all, this is kinda more of the same in a sense.

But then, for those who liked the first game but just found it too repetitive, this game truly answers those criticisms times a thousand. Again, from what I've seen so far, the game is deep as all hell. Even having heard they were gonna do that from the beginning, I'm still kinda shocked by just how much there is to do.

Graphics are good but not great - i.e., they don't push the envelope, but they're what you expect from a big-time release.

Atmosphere is top notch.

Overall I'm quite pleased and, like I said, I haven't even really scratched the surface yet.

Thumbs up.

[Flawless]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

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[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

IGN AU comparison

This is what I don't get, is the PS3 can produce a game thats looks as good as Uncharted does, which is one of the best looking games to date IMO, how does ACII take a back seat to the 360 version.

[mgoblue]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

I don't know what's "unfortunate" about it. That's just how the combat is in this game. Ever play a turn-based combat system? It's not like it's a flaw or "dumb AI," it's a design choice.

Anyway, played for about four hours just now. Game takes a while to get going. I mean like after four hours I still feel like the game hasn't even started yet - i.e., considerable, considerable depth and variety.

Fans of the first game, don't hestiate - it's great.

People who didn't like the first game at all, this is kinda more of the same in a sense.

But then, for those who liked the first game but just found it too repetitive, this game truly answers those criticisms times a thousand. Again, from what I've seen so far, the game is deep as all hell. Even having heard they were gonna do that from the beginning, I'm still kinda shocked by just how much there is to do.

Graphics are good but not great - i.e., they don't push the envelope, but they're what you expect from a big-time release.

Atmosphere is top notch.

Overall I'm quite pleased and, like I said, I haven't even really scratched the surface yet.

Thumbs up.

Thanks for the impressions...every review I've seen says similar. Takes the awesome of the first game, fixes the annoyances, and adds a bunch of cool new things.

Picked it up at lunch, look forward to playing this week!

[jmood88]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

This is what I don't get, is the PS3 can produce a game thats looks as good as Uncharted does, which is one of the best looking games to date IMO, how does ACII take a back seat to the 360 version.

Blame Sony. It's obvious there's a problem with how they have their system set up when it's rare that a multiplatform game doesn't look worse on the ps3.

[goh]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

I got the last LE,haven't played it yet but would like to comment on something.

This is ridiculous.

To get the full game you need...

1. A pre-order code to get the Shipyard. Thankfully Futureshop had them.
2. The LE to get those other 2 sections.
3. A Ubisoft account to get the Auditore Family Crypt and 5 more throwing knives. That doesn't even appear to be up yet.

Of course my auto-login Ubi account on here didn't work. (Guess I had it from PoP last year)
I don't know what date of birth I put so I couldn't get my password.
I had to sign up for a new account and re-activate my yahoo e-mail to be able to do so then found out my yahoo e-mail was .com and not .ca like I put but I hope that doesn't make a difference.

As it didn't actually download anything it's clearly all on the disc already.

Anyone remember when you just got a game and the stuff was there?

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

Blame Sony. It's obvious there's a problem with how they have their system set up when it's rare that a multiplatform game doesn't look worse on the ps3.

is Sony really to blame, or could it be that developers still are learning the system,the first AC seemed to look identical.

[jmood88]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

is Sony really to blame, or could it be that developers still are learning the system,the first AC seemed to look identical.

If you have something that continues to be an issue with multiple games then it's pretty obvious to me that it's not the developer's problem. Sony went out of their way to make their console as different from the others as they could and you guys who only own one system end up getting the short end of the stick. That's why I never buy a multiplatform game on the ps3 and is why my ps3 is pretty much nothing more than a Blu Ray player right now.

[Cyros]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

Good deal -- Thanks for the heads up Eco!

One deal I came across, BNG has it for 43.95, no coupons or anything needed. Xbox 360 PS3

I'd be wary of ordering from buynextgen.com

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: Assassin's Creed 2

If you have something that continues to be an issue with multiple games then it's pretty obvious to me that it's not the developer's problem. Sony went out of their way to make their console as different from the others as they could and you guys who only own one system end up getting the short end of the stick. That's why I never buy a multiplatform game on the ps3 and is why my ps3 is pretty much nothing more than a Blu Ray player right now.

I hear ya, I would love to own both, but it just doesn't make sense, I keep my PS3 only because of games like GOW and Uncharted and the SHOW, also the 360 failure rate keeps me and has kept me away, I don't wanna got through that.