Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Worth playing"

Assassin's Creed was a great game, and a lot of fun. Similarly, Assassin's Creed II is fantastic overall as well. They did a great job tackling one of the biggest problems with the original: replay value. They've added so much more content and it all works well. With lots of items to collect, treasures to find, and customization, the game offers up a lot of playtime. The setting is great and they even give you historical background into the Renaissance Era in which the game takes place through various interactive means. Along the way you'll meet many colorful characters from the era both historical and fictional. In addition, the story is strong and continues to develop the Assassin's Creed storyline, this time through the eyes of a new protagonist Ezio. The fight mechanics too have been vastly improved. They feel much more responsive and even offer more moves than the original.

So, overall a great sequel. But there is one thing that drags the whole game down: The acrobatic controls. They're bad. I mean really bad. I mean really really really really bad and I don't think I've added enough really's in there to quite cover it. I don't mean to suggest this should deter you from buying the game, as I've said, it's great overall, but I have to say, I was really disappointing with the porting job Ubisoft did on this one. After all, they did a great job with the first one, so why the trouble with this one? You'll find yourself constantly launching yourself in directions you never intended, grabbing ledges you didn't even know existed, and battling the worst camera angles ever invented in the Assassin's Crypts. It can be incredibly infuriating at times, especially when missions that shouldn't be that hard are made difficult solely by the bad control scheme.

That being said though, this game really is fantastic, and if you enjoyed the original, you should definitely enjoy Assassin's Creed II.