By Cody Webb

The first Assassin’s Creed amazed gamers by putting them into the shoes of a master assassin and setting them loose in three very big, and very beautiful, medieval cities. Players were tasked with assassinating important figures tied into a conspiracy and they were able to do so with various weapons and responsive controls. Unfortunately, however, the game wasn’t perfect; the cities were varied enough, but the mission structure wasn’t. The explore city, gain information, assassinate target, rinse and repeat mechanic got old fast.

Luckily for fans of the original, the folks at Ubisoft Montreal decided that instead of remaking everything they would improve on the mechanics from the first game. We’ll get to the improvements in a moment, but first I must mention that, like most of the games I write about, this one is also rated M. As implied from the title, there is murder and yes, it is bloody. There are also a few slightly raunchy moments and comments, so keep that in mind when purchasing this game for a younger one.

ACII starts off with Desmond’s escape from Abstergo’s test lab, which is a great opening to offset the rather crappy ending to the original. And even better than the opening: now our hero can fight, and the segments where you aren’t in the Animus won’t fill you with dread this time around. The name of the ancestor that players will find themselves controlling whilst in the Animus is Ezio Auditore de Firenze, who may be the most likable assassin I’ve ever seen. Ezio is quite the Italian: he’s charismatic, a ladies’ man and loyal to his family. Over the course of the game, players will watch this energetic man grow from a young adult to a master assassin in very believable way.

The free-running and world exploration remain at the forefront of the experience, both having been tweaked in all of the right ways. Climbing up buildings and leaping across rooftops feels more fluid than before and is accentuated by wonderfully done animation. It doesn’t hurt to be running around some of the most gorgeous cities in Renaissance Italy. Although the free-running is still a little touchy as it was in the first game, one small touch can send Ezio in a direction you don’t want him to go.

Speaking of the gorgeous visuals, the graphics have received quite the boost from the first game. Characters now show a wide array of emotions as they converse, Ezio’s cloak folds and flaps as he runs, climbs and jumps, and the lighting changes to fit the time. The developers even took the time to map out and add in historic landmarks for Ezio to climb all over, and these usually contain some sort of hidden secret.

Also improved is the mission structure: Ezio won’t be investigating his targets like Altair from the original did. His story has a flow to it and spans years, leading him from one city to the next and introducing him to new and interesting characters. A small negative side effect of the sprawling narrative is that sometimes it seems to jerk forward from one major plot point to the next. It’s a common problem in open world games like these, exacerbated by gamers taking a break from the story to pursue optional objectives.

These include tasks that have you doing things from delivering letters, to beating up cheating husbands for their wives. Several noteworthy side missions are also included, albeit a couple of them don’t open up until you’re a little ways into the story. One is the six Assassin Tombs you can find under famous landmarks, each of them a test of your free-running and puzzle solving skills. You’ll want to best all of these, for completing them all unlocks a set of armor fans of the first game will love. Another genius move on behalf of the developers was that they took out the soul-crushing flags from the original game and made the rest of the collection items either part of the story or used for unlocking good equipment and bonuses to your home.

So all in all, if you enjoyed the original Assassin’s Creed then you will love the sequel. They improved on just about everything, and the only complaints I can level at it would be the slight jumps between plot points and still-iffy free-running. These are little issues though and shouldn’t prevent anyone from trying this excellent title out. I give Assassin’s Creed II an A, and I hope they keep everything on track for the third game!

Cody Webb lives in Live Oak.