Assassin’s Creed II – Bigger, better and more badass…
Just about everyone I know that played Assassin’s Creed says the same thing… “I got bored and stopped playing after the 3rd assassination”. It’s true that the first game played all of it’s cards pretty early on and the remaining 70% of the game felt like an arduous grind. Ubisoft created an amazing world wrapped in a cool science fiction story that had a ton of potential, but it kind of felt like they forgot to flesh it out with an actual game. For whatever reason, I muscled my way through the original game and found the story compelling enough that I wanted to see what happens next. Just a note that this article contains some light spoilers…
As you’ve probably heard, Assassin’s Creed II delivers in every way where AC1 came up short. It features an emotionally driven story with a charismatic main character. The missions (for the most part) don’t feel repetitive and drive the plot forward rather than acting like an obstacle. Most importantly, AC2 fills in the void of the enormous world with actual stuff to do… revolutionary, I know.
The first bullet point on my list of improvements is the main character. Ezio is infinitely more likable than his brooding ancestor Altair. His development over the game’s 10 year span is not only physical but very emotional. The first few missions in the game give you an idea of Ezio’s world. He’s basically a naive kid, with a loving family and an ideal life. When all that gets ripped away from him it really makes him a sympathetic character that is easy to connect with. Altair’s main motivation was to regain his status in the Assassins, which I personally found very shallow and uninteresting. Ezio is all about vengeance and making sense of his tragedy.










