Assassins Creed II is the perfect blend of history and science fiction.
First of all, lets take a look at the combat. Like the first game, you can use swords and daggers, and throwing knives as weapons, but unlike the first game, you now have access to maces, hammers, axes, broadswords, spears, and of course the iconic hidden blade. This time round, they can be used in combat. However, Ezio has access to not one, but two hidden blades. This means that you can assassinate two guards at once, with some very impressive animations. During combat, attacks can be countered, and the result is an extremely brutal kill that will cause you to simply applaud the skills of Ezio. This is the most effective way to kill an enemy, which means you will wait for your enemy to attack, so the combat can be a bit slow depending on the players aggression. There are also different classes of enemies. The standard soldier; wimpy and pretty easy to kill, the elite soldiers; slightly more difficult, the agiles; dagger-wielding goons that can free run as well as yourself, the Seekers; tough soldiers armed with spears that with look for Ezio if he's hiding, and the Brutes; big armoured tough guys with axes. There also archers on rooftops, that will shoot arrows at you, and if you using Leonardo Da Vinci's flying machine (yes, Da Vinci is Ezio's personal arms dealer) then they will shoot you with flaming arrows. Leonardo will supply you will a good deal of 15th century gadgets. He's essentially the "Q" of renaissance, and will give you a poisoned blade that cause enemies to go into a killing frenzy before falling to the ground and dying a slow, horrible, painful death. He will give you a primitive gun as well, which is a great way to blast enemies from a distance. And lastly, Ezio can use smoke bombs which stun your enemies, leaving them easy to butcher. Guards won't forget about you, also. There is a "notoriety meter" that says how notorious you are. When you become wanted, you'll have to lower it by killing witnesses, bribing good guys and tearing down wanted posters that for some reason are on rooftops where only birds can see them. There are also multiple new assassination techniques, such as jumping off a building and landing on your target, stealthily pulling them into a haystack, and brutally throwing them off a building. Speaking of buildings, Ezio is a free runner, much like Altair. It is endless fun climbing and jumping across buildings, especially if you are chasing a thief.
Your adventures will take you to Florence, Tuscany and Venice. Horses will be you mode of transport to get between cities if you don't want to fast travel, and you'll drive a wagon in one mission. In Venice, you can drive little gondolas. It is a tad odd how if you jump onto a gondola, anyone who was on it falls off and drowns, but luckily Ezio can swim, and even dive down to hide from guards. And we all remember those annoying beggars from AC1 right? Well they are gone from this game! Instead you will put up with musicians that are twice as annoying that will endlessly serenade you until you decide that you want to stab them in the face, which you most likely will. But then the game tells you that the real Ezio did not kill civilians.
Throughout the game you will earn florins, the currency of AC2. These can be used to buy new weapons, armour, upgrades to your village and used to hire factions. You can hires the services of thieves, mercenaries, and hookers. These groups can distract guards of help you blend into the crowd. (although I don't think Ezio really blends into a crowd of hookers very well) There are optional platforming sections which can be played to gain access to a piece of legendary armour that is indestructible. These mini games are great fun, and a reminder on how great platforming can be. Speaking of minigames, there are also mysterious glyphs which are strange puzzles.
Unlike AC1, the modern day sections in AC2 are rare. There are only three in the whole game, and you won't be standing around listen to old scientists lecture you anymore, this time, Desmond will see some action. He can sprint (finally!) punch, and really do a whole lot more than the tedious parts of AC1.
So, in conclusion, Assassin's Creed II is a fantastic sequel to the original. This is the kind of game that really should not be missed. The fantastic (if complicated) story, the engaging, stereotypical Italian characters, and most of all the brilliant gameplay make it my personal GOTY for 2009.
Pros:
-Beautifully designed Italian cities
-Ezio is a brilliant character
-Much more mission variety than the first game
-Brutal death animations are as satisfying as ever
-Huge amount of combat options
-Good story
Cons:
-Stupid AI slows the combat down
-A little too easy