Heed the Creed
Assassin's Creed II has finally arrived, a bigger, better sequel in every way, sure, but in the process emerges as one of the best games of the year.
Published: December 1, 2009
Video games have long attempted to inject themselves into the history books, weaving a back story and characters that are, in a purely superficial sense, taking place at far-flung points in our common ancestry. And why not? Nearly every historical tome is rife with the seeds of truly fantastic tales, but it's safe to say that few games -- if any -- have ever wormed their way into such a complete and captivating peek into what may have been.
It helps, of course, that the second dive through Desmond Miles' DNA to find and learn from the genetic memory of his precursors takes place during the Renaissance, one of the most creatively dense moments in time where new things were being discovered or re-discovered almost constantly. Leonardo da Vinci (who, fittingly, plays a fairly major role in the story of nobleman-turned-assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze's quest for revenge) could probably fill volumes all by his lonesome if one were to tap his raft of inventions and discoveries over the years.
More than any one character, though, late 15th/early 16th century Venice, Florence and Tuscany is absolutely teeming with historical wealth. The dissemination of news, political machinations, draconian ideals of justice, and even the world's oldest profession are all injected directly into Ezio's story. It suffuses what would normally just be the story of a rich ladies' man discovering his family's true heritage and joining the series' ages-old battle between the Assassins and Templars with something infinitely more impressive than a smattering of actual historical figures; it makes everything feel real.
Much of it comes down to just how pregnant with activity the cities and countryside you'll explore over the course of a good 20 hours. Docks, mountains, cities, farms, garrisons, forts -- every last one of them is peppered with people going about their business down below and guards patrolling the rooftops, and while the game happily borrows some of the more successful elements from the original game like Eagle Vision lookout points to uncover the map (as well as the bales of hay that serve as epic swan dives back down to street level), the ability to blend in with the crowd (now Ezio can blend with anyone in addition to taking refuge on benches and in rooftop hiding spots or diving underwater while swimming), his Eagle Vision can be flicked on at any time and while moving without having to go into first-person view, combat has gotten deeper and allows for disarms, the weapons themselves have gotten more diverse... it's a sequel, through and through.
Rattling off a list of all the changes made doesn't really do justice to what Ubisoft has done with the franchise. Quite literally every major complaint with the game has been addressed, leading to more variety in side quests, more ways to incur and dampen notoriety, an arguably more riveting plot, and characters that are packed with more personality and linked far more closely to actual historical figures. In short, it's a better game in every way, but it goes beyond just repairing some of the less entertaining parts of the first game and sails right into "holy crap you have to buy this game" territory quite soundly. In no uncertain terms, this is one of the best games of the year, and it's taking everything in me not to spoil some fairly major additions to the overall plot.
No one addition to things was as compelling for me, however, than the game's light bits of city building. After a few hours of learning some of the game's basics, Ezio is invited to stay with his uncle, Mario, in the countryside. Though not exactly a slum, the family villa is in disrepair and Mario hints that pouring a bit of time and money into it and the surrounding shops below might help bring back some of the former luster. In truth, shelling out the money you earn from pickpocketing, stealing and assassinations becomes something of an investment, pouring value into the village that in turn drops a fixed amount of cash into a collection box every 20 minutes. In a very real sense, you're paying to fix up the place which in turn allows you to collect more money; you're spending money to make money. I'm sure it sounds like a quaint little addition, but there's something utterly infectious about scraping together enough cash to upgrade the weapons shop instead of actually buying a new weapon or armor, then seeing your investment come back to you fivefold while you scamper about doing story or side missions. It helps that you can actually see the town becoming more prosperous and you'll get better equipment and weapons, but for me it was just the addition of a place to invest cash that really got me hooked.
It helps, of course, that the second dive through Desmond Miles' DNA to find and learn from the genetic memory of his precursors takes place during the Renaissance, one of the most creatively dense moments in time where new things were being discovered or re-discovered almost constantly. Leonardo da Vinci (who, fittingly, plays a fairly major role in the story of nobleman-turned-assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze's quest for revenge) could probably fill volumes all by his lonesome if one were to tap his raft of inventions and discoveries over the years.
More than any one character, though, late 15th/early 16th century Venice, Florence and Tuscany is absolutely teeming with historical wealth. The dissemination of news, political machinations, draconian ideals of justice, and even the world's oldest profession are all injected directly into Ezio's story. It suffuses what would normally just be the story of a rich ladies' man discovering his family's true heritage and joining the series' ages-old battle between the Assassins and Templars with something infinitely more impressive than a smattering of actual historical figures; it makes everything feel real.
Much of it comes down to just how pregnant with activity the cities and countryside you'll explore over the course of a good 20 hours. Docks, mountains, cities, farms, garrisons, forts -- every last one of them is peppered with people going about their business down below and guards patrolling the rooftops, and while the game happily borrows some of the more successful elements from the original game like Eagle Vision lookout points to uncover the map (as well as the bales of hay that serve as epic swan dives back down to street level), the ability to blend in with the crowd (now Ezio can blend with anyone in addition to taking refuge on benches and in rooftop hiding spots or diving underwater while swimming), his Eagle Vision can be flicked on at any time and while moving without having to go into first-person view, combat has gotten deeper and allows for disarms, the weapons themselves have gotten more diverse... it's a sequel, through and through.
Rattling off a list of all the changes made doesn't really do justice to what Ubisoft has done with the franchise. Quite literally every major complaint with the game has been addressed, leading to more variety in side quests, more ways to incur and dampen notoriety, an arguably more riveting plot, and characters that are packed with more personality and linked far more closely to actual historical figures. In short, it's a better game in every way, but it goes beyond just repairing some of the less entertaining parts of the first game and sails right into "holy crap you have to buy this game" territory quite soundly. In no uncertain terms, this is one of the best games of the year, and it's taking everything in me not to spoil some fairly major additions to the overall plot.
No one addition to things was as compelling for me, however, than the game's light bits of city building. After a few hours of learning some of the game's basics, Ezio is invited to stay with his uncle, Mario, in the countryside. Though not exactly a slum, the family villa is in disrepair and Mario hints that pouring a bit of time and money into it and the surrounding shops below might help bring back some of the former luster. In truth, shelling out the money you earn from pickpocketing, stealing and assassinations becomes something of an investment, pouring value into the village that in turn drops a fixed amount of cash into a collection box every 20 minutes. In a very real sense, you're paying to fix up the place which in turn allows you to collect more money; you're spending money to make money. I'm sure it sounds like a quaint little addition, but there's something utterly infectious about scraping together enough cash to upgrade the weapons shop instead of actually buying a new weapon or armor, then seeing your investment come back to you fivefold while you scamper about doing story or side missions. It helps that you can actually see the town becoming more prosperous and you'll get better equipment and weapons, but for me it was just the addition of a place to invest cash that really got me hooked.
