Never had I expected that I would be a sucker for Assassin's Creed II. It shames me not that I have fallen captive by this game! Unlike the prequel, this one is fairly easy to digest story-wise, and not only that, the characters were entertaining enough to pull me in. It's weird enough that we witness Ezio's birth, but how he ascends to being an assassin clouded only with vengeance was what grappled me to seeing him develop as a person.
The stealth, maneuver and combat mechanics improved in many ways and I can only imagine how more polished those will be in Brotherhood and Revelations. The architecture of the cities played a huge part, too for it provided rather successfully the Renaissance mood; and the structures made it so smooth to do parkour on. The missions such as the one with the carriage, and also the flying machine (both missions involved Leonardo da Vinci, a comfort character) surely added variety to the campaign.
I have this compulsive knack of completing collectibles (codecs, seals, even paintings and such) early in the game, which proved very rewarding because there's a particular requirement that may keep the player from progressing into the last sequence. Also, how Monteriggioni goes from a gloomy little town to a vibrant and populous headquarters every time you renovate, explore tombs, and collect items is a creative way to make such a video-game chore quite motivating.
Although there were fewer moments of Desmond here than the prequel, the modern-world scenes were sufficient enough to make things make more sense. Ezio's ending however was kind of ambiguous and Minerva gave me the creeps. I also love how the ending credits roll while also letting you play the game still. It seems that Ubisoft knew that no one actually pays any attention to the credits. I wish the person in their company who thought of that idea was given a raise.
I might get ridiculed for actually putting this game on my favorites list, but it would just be a disservice for me not to. I know that there are better stealth games out there but too bad, because this one became a personal core memory.
The stealth, maneuver and combat mechanics improved in many ways and I can only imagine how more polished those will be in Brotherhood and Revelations. The architecture of the cities played a huge part, too for it provided rather successfully the Renaissance mood; and the structures made it so smooth to do parkour on. The missions such as the one with the carriage, and also the flying machine (both missions involved Leonardo da Vinci, a comfort character) surely added variety to the campaign.
I have this compulsive knack of completing collectibles (codecs, seals, even paintings and such) early in the game, which proved very rewarding because there's a particular requirement that may keep the player from progressing into the last sequence. Also, how Monteriggioni goes from a gloomy little town to a vibrant and populous headquarters every time you renovate, explore tombs, and collect items is a creative way to make such a video-game chore quite motivating.
Although there were fewer moments of Desmond here than the prequel, the modern-world scenes were sufficient enough to make things make more sense. Ezio's ending however was kind of ambiguous and Minerva gave me the creeps. I also love how the ending credits roll while also letting you play the game still. It seems that Ubisoft knew that no one actually pays any attention to the credits. I wish the person in their company who thought of that idea was given a raise.
I might get ridiculed for actually putting this game on my favorites list, but it would just be a disservice for me not to. I know that there are better stealth games out there but too bad, because this one became a personal core memory.