Wade Manns – The Corsair
Assassin’s Creed and Assassin’s Creed II
by Ubisoft
Genre: Third-person action-adventure-platforming
Rating: M for strong violence, sexual situations, blood, and strong language.
Back in 2007, the software company Ubisoft, which had previously done more realistically-themed stealth-heavy action games such as Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six and their sequels, came out with a cross-time tale of genetic memories and conspiracy, Assassin’s Creed. Players took on the role of Desmond Miles, a modern era bartender with a somewhat shadowy past, but seemingly more interesting ancestors.
A callous, uncaring scientist, Dr. Vidic, at a research firm called Abstergo forces his prisoner, Desmond, under the supervision of his subordinate Lucy Stillman, to use a machine called the Animus, which is able to retrieve Desmond’s genetic memories and visualize them. One of Desmond’s more important ancestors, at least to Abstergo, was known as Altair, a Middle Eastern man living in the 12th century Holy Land. Altair was one of the Assassins, whose sworn enemies were the Knights Templar.
While the details of the epic story are best experienced for yourself, suffice to say, Altair is able to safeguard the Holy Land against the Templars, but Abstergo has a hidden, sinister agenda for the information the Animus reveals…
Assassin’s Creed II continues the story just seconds from where the first game left off; Lucy and Desmond, revealed to be modern-day Assassins, realize that Abstergo has become a very dangerous place and that they must leave quickly; Lucy escapes with Desmond to a secret hideout, where a new Animus is set up.
Together with Lucy and a new support team of a historian and technician for the Animus 2.0, Desmond explores the life and times of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young man in late-15th century Renaissance Italy, and experiences his trials and tribulations first hand. Ezio, who discovers his Assassin heritage fairly early, gets many opportunities to test out, among others, that most important weapon of the Assassins, the wrist-mounted Hidden Blade, which can kill a man before he knows he’s in danger. Over the years, Ezio has many experiences, good and bad, and assassinates many behind the conspiracy against his family, who were killed or traumatized in the opening hours of the game, and attempts to subvert a plot that could threaten the entire world.
Ezio makes a home base at his family’s villa, and is able to repair and renovate many aspects of it using the money he finds or earns in his journeys, and is even able to make more from the visitors to the shops and amenities of the surrounding town. Ezio, and through him Desmond and the player, adventures through many regions of Italy including Ezio’s home city of Florence, Venice, and the Tuscan countryside. With his uncle Mario and several other Assassins, Ezio begins to piece together the mysteries surrounding several ancient, extremely powerful artifacts and strive to keep them from the Templars.
The graphics in this game are simply beautiful; review sites have said this is the best-looking free-roaming game ever, but I believe it’s about tied with Grand Theft Auto IV. The animations, just like in that game, are pretty spectacular; you’ll rarely, if ever, see Ezio miss a nook or chink in the wall while climbing unless you cause it to happen. Each one of his movements is accounted for in the architecture.
Free-running, sometimes called Parkour, makes its return in this sequel. Letting nothing stop you from going forward, always finding a way over or under obstacles, the several locales that Ezio finds himself in are very fun to navigate. With methods created in the first game, you as Desmond control Ezio’s movement, fighting, climbing and jumping with the greatest of ease. It can be very dangerous when you run out of rooftop during exploration or a chase, and if should you fall, you don’t automatically heal in this installment; you must use pain-numbing smelling salts.
This is definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played; from beginning to end, I was greatly entertained, from the great combat to wonderful exploration to shocking denouement, and I was pleasantly surprised at the portrayal of the real historical figures I met. If I could give this game six stars on my established scale, I would, but I give this five stars.