The first Assassin’s Creed was a unique experience and had a lot of potential. It’s amazing graphics, open world gameplay, and accurately modeled real life cities made the game a big hit resulting in millions of copies sold. But at the same time, the game was called repetitive and shallow by its fans and some critics for the lack of variety in the gameplay and the predictable game structure. Now, with the arrival of the sequel, there is one big question gamers around the world wants to know the answer for: does the sequel overcome the shortcomings of the original?
 

The sequel begins immediately after the events of Assassin’s Creed with Desmond staring at cryptic messages on his bedroom wall. Desmond and a fellow assassin Lucy Stillman escape from the lab to a nearby warehouse where Lucy reveals she and a new team have been working on a new device. Soon, you will find that this new device is an upgraded version of the Animus (Animus 2.0). Once you jump on the Animus 2.0, you will be sent to Italy during the Renaissance. From here, you will see the birth of Ezio, the protagonist of the game.
 
 

The purpose of the first couple of missions in the game is to familiarize the player with the basic gameplay elements and to introduce the player to Ezio’s family. After completing some errand missions for Ezio’s father, an unfortunate plot twist happens. As Ezio will witness the execution of his father and his bothers in front of his eyes. After that, Ezio plans to escort his sister and his mother to safety and to avenge his family loss. From here, the story gets more and more complicated, as you will see more plot twists and you will meet with new characters throughout the course of the game. When everything is said and done, the game’s story is more fleshed out than the original and very exciting to follow.
 

The game plays exactly like the first one, but with more things to do. The developers seems to have listened carefully to the community feedbacks. The huge selection of the missions and the variety of things you can do in the game is a huge improvement over the original. As an example, the new Assassin Tomb areas, which plays like Prince of Persia games are challenging and fun to play. The side quests are more varied with some old (from the original) and new mission types. Also, there is treasure chests to open, codex pages to collect, assassin crests to obtain and much more.
 

Another new feature in Assassin’s Creed II is the economy system which allows players to use an in-game currency to purchase items such as smoke bombs, healing potion, poison bottles, armors, swords and much more. Players may also hire mercenaries and women to distract guards. Further in the game, you will meet with uncle Mario who will introduce you to your new home, a small villa which will act as a home space, but can be upgraded to include doctors, shops and brothels. The more money you spend on the Villa, the more people will come to visit, and consequence to that more income to your pocket. While the investment system is not very deep, it’s a welcome addition to the series. Also, Leonardo da Vinci the infamous Italian figure plays a big role in the game, as he will supply Ezio with new tools and skill techniques to use in his journey.
 

Another new feature in the game is the notoriety system. A rounded meter at the top-left of the screen will show you how notorious you are. The less this notoriety meter is filled, the harder the task for enemies to spot you from the crowd. You can cool down the meter by performing various task such as removing wanted posters, bribing heralds, and killing officials.
 

What does make the game even a better experience are the great voice acting and the amazing soundtrack. The graphics in the game has improved from the original, and some locations such as the beautiful city of Venice will make you stop just to admire the views. But what has disappointed me regarding the game’s visuals are the character models. As you will see some characters lacking some facial expressions, in which it could lessen your immersion in the game.
 
 

Since Assassin’s Creed 2 gameplay focus too much on stealth, I think enemies A.I is an important segment I have discuss. While the developers of the game did a good job in implementing the enemies A.I in the game, I have witnessed some weird A.I behaviors from the enemies and some bugs in the game. I saw an enemy soldier walking on the edge of a house rooftop, then he suddenly fall of by himself and died. In another scene, I was chased by some soldiers and I climbed up a ladder, one of those soldiers climbed the same ladder, but he continued climbing up while he is floating in mid air.

Ubisoft did a very good job in delivering a better experience this time around. I played this game non stop and I have never felt bored while playing the game. If you liked the first one, then you will enjoy the sequel even more. But for anyone who didn’t like the original, the developers made a lot of changes that could change your mind. Assassin’s Creed 2 is a very enjoyable action-adventure game. The game’s great story, beautiful environments, great gameplay and the variety of things you can do in the game makes this game a must have title for anyone looking for an amazing action adventure experience. My advice to you: Get this game.
 
 

Score: (9.5/10)