Assassin's Creed 2 improvements provides the game that most players were hoping for from the original.
Right off the bat changes are apparent because of the difference in the environment. Gone are the cities from the Holy Land during the time of The Crusades, to be replaced by Renaissance Italy, depicting several major cities such as Florence, Tuscany and Venice. Instead of the quiet, mysterious Altair the new protagonist is a personable young nobleman named Ezio, who's living an enjoyable life until a betrayal leads to turning his life upside down. Motivated by vengeance, Ezio hides his family and accepts to learn the ways of the assassin.
GAMEPLAY (9.5) - Contrary to the first game, a great number of moves during fights will be available to Ezio from the start. Granted, some time will pass before he can learn every move. On the whole, the combat feels more polished and generally more intuitive than in the previous game. It's still possible to take out a small army simply by pulling off counter attacks but it gets more interesting this time around. The developers refreshed the combat with additional assassin take outs and more moves accompanying the counter attack option. For instance, Ezio can taunt enemies before they attack and then effectively execute a counter-attack move. Disarming opponents and using their own weapons against them is another available tactic. Weapons range from spears, axes, mauls and hammers, to swords and daggers, of course. Numerous new assassin moves were added. Now assassinations can happen from very high up; in fact, from almost any place, be it a rooftop, window ledge or building wall.
Relying heavily on the platform mechanics of the previous game, it once again features lot of free-running, climbing, shimmying across rooftop ledges and scouting the area via viewpoints.Ubisoft really made an effort to improve nearly every aspect of the game. Free-running and climbing is more intuitive, while climbing less accessible buildings and structures is now easier when Ezio learns a special move. This move will allow him to leap and then grab hold of higher ledges that were previously unreachable. It takes a bit of practice, but is extremely useful in most situations. Ezio can distract guards by throwing money in the street, by hiring mercenariess, thieves or courtesans and then instructing them to lure soldiers away from their posts. Ezio is also able to swim which is a great addition to the gameplay mechanics. It's easy to jump off of high positions into water and then dive below the surface to avoid conflict.
The mission structure is one of the fundamental changes incorporated into the gameplay mechanics. Gone is the routine of pick-pocketing or eavesdropping towards the main goal. Instead, how Ezio approaches targets is completely up to the player. Scouting the area first is an option or simply heading into action directly. Of course, most of the assassination missions are carefully planned thanks to Ezio's friends like Leonardo da Vinci and others. That improvement alone should be a huge plus to players that had problems with the first game. Furthermore, currency plays a key part in the whole experience because money will be needed for improving armor and weapons. Money is also spent on healing as well. Doctors are scattered throughout towns and are always there to heal or sell medicine. At some point in the game Ezio will get access to a huge mansion - it's almost like a small town unto itself and it's going to need improvement; everything from barracks, the church, banks and art dealers. The mansion generates income depending on how much is invested in it. It's a fun element and it eventually saves Ezio the trouble from going around stealing money and looking for treasure chests. Just wait for the regular income to arrive and stop by the mansion to collect the cash every now and then.
GRAPHICS (9.0) - Renaissance Italy is quite a sight to behold. In stark contrast to the original's cold grey and blue alleyways, Assassin's Creed II's regions are full of color and rendered in intricate detail. Synchronising viewpoints is every bit as impressive as before, if not more so, showing off the incredible draw distance and immense scale of the environments. The cities feel unique and the amount of people roaming the street is impressive. Ezio's animations are great to watch when he climbs the side of a building or is in combat. One flaw is that sometimes the facial animations aren't quite right. It's not such a terrible thing in itself but it becomes noticeable only because of how great the rest of the game looks. There were also occasional clipping issues where objects or limbs will poke through walls and benches, but this was more than offset by the always steady framerate, an issue with the first game.
AUDIO (9.0) - Sound is equally impressive with a great score that is subtle enough not to interfere and memorable enough that it will not be quickly forgotten. Nolan North (Uncharted) delivers a solid performance as the modern day protagonist Desmond, but the real stars are the actors within the memories. The Italian accents, while at times a bit over the top are still enjoyable to listen to, especially because of the excellently written and delivered dialogue. Unlike Altair, Ezio does plenty of talking and as the game goes on players will appreciate the growth and depth of his character. From Ezio's footsteps on the tiled roofs, to the shop assistants yelling, to the sounds of the forge, it all creates a sense of realness that works towards immersing players into this world.
VALUE (9.0) - Most people will spend 20 to 25 hours to complete the game, and that's not including all of the numerous sidequests. There are quite a few side missions to do, such as assassin contracts, races, and beating up cheating husbands that are fun distractions from the main quests. Adding to this is the Assassin Vaults, six locations spread throughout Italy where Ezio will have to use his athletic skills to get to remote vaults to unlock Altaïr's armour. These Prince of Persia style puzzles will involve jumping and running and swinging, sometimes while trying to get to a certain point before the time runs out. While a little frustrating, especially when Ezio jumps the wrong way from a wall jump, these challenges break up the other action of the game well. There are also hidden glyphs that can unlock an optional real world riddle. In addition to just being fun the sidequests actually provide rewards for the effort, either in cash or unique items.
SUMMARY - For those that played the original almost all of the causes for concern have been addressed by being either reworked or replaced by something better. The storyline is intricate, there's depth beyond the main quest, the presentation is wonderful, and the action can be incredible. All of the work that was done to improve the original has made Assassin's Creed 2 one of the top games of 2009. Recommended for not only fans of the original but for any fans of action games as well.