Game Review: Assassin's Creed II

Last November I decided to embark on a reemergence into the gaming world, more-so a reemergence into the Assassin's Creed franchise. I suppose the reasons being that I have an Xbox One that I hardly use, also because I have too much free time on my hand, but mostly because I just love the historical series of Assassin's Creed. After finishing Origins and Odyssey I bought all the other AC games that were released in the last 10 years. My goal is to finish all the following games before the latest AC: Ragnarok is released in the fall of 2020.

• AC 1: Set in the middle east during the Crusades (Released in 2007)
• AC II: Set in Venice and Florence during the Italian Renaissance (Released in 2009)
• AC Brotherhood: Set in Rome during the Italian Renaissance (Released in 2010)
• AC Revelations: Set in Istanbul during the Italian Renaissance (Released in 2011)
• AC III: Set in America during the American Revolution (Released in 2012)
• AC IV Black Flag: Set during the Pirate Age of the 1650s-1750s (Released in 2013)
• AC Rogue: Set during the Seven Years War of 1756-1763 (Released in 2014)
• AC Unity: Set during the French Revolution (Released in 2014)
• AC Syndicate: Set in London during the Victorian Age (Released in 2015)
• AC Chronicles China: Set in 1526 China (Released in 2015)
• AC Chronicles India: Set in 1841 India (Released in 2016)
• AC Chronicles Russia: Set during the Russian Revolution (Released in 2016)
• AC Origins: Set in Egypt during the Roman Civil Wars (Released in 2017)
• AC Odyssey: Set in Greece during the Peloponessian War (Released in 2018)

Assassins Creed II

I bought this game used from Game Stop as part of a trilogy package entitled Ezio's Trilogy. It had the three games in one (AC II, Brotherhood, and Revelations) all concerning the assassin Ezio during the Italian Renaissance. When I first began installing the game I was afraid the disc was corrupted but later found it just needed a good cleaning. I noticed immediately the graphics were a major step back after playing Origins and Odyssey for a couple months. However it did not take long for me to adapt to the different control settings and begin to enjoy the game-play and the story.

The historical setting of the Italian Renaissance is once that I have always admired. I remember first being intrigued by the setting after finishing AC 1 in 2012. I made a deep dive into religious studies (see ____) and intended to play AC II shortly after but for some reason I never did. I hit a long gaming hiatus, mostly just playing FIFA the next few years. Also I especially enjoyed the Netflix TV shows of The Borgias and the Medici. Everything about this age intrigues me, from the politics, the corruption in the church, the architecture, the stylish clothes they wore, yet especially the art of the renaissance. It was no doubt a very inspiring time in history and this game AC II demonstrates all of that!

The present day animus story of Desmond trying to retrieve his ancestors memories is honestly just a bunch of BS as usual. The good stuff is the historical content based on the assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze. His father and two brothers are killed by a mysterious order and Ezio vows to seek vengeance. He travels thru Florence during the 1470s, and befriends notable figures such as Leonardo de Vinci. Leonardo serves as his weapons expert and constructs various designs such as his hidden wrist blade, a gun, and a hang-glider. 

Ezio also befriends the local guilds of mercenaries, thieves, and prostitutes that help him blend in with society and achieve his quests. I found this feature of the game to be quite different than Origins and Odyssey and really made for new scenarios. The armor and fighting took some adjusting and obviously was nowhere near as involved as in Origins and Odyssey. However after some time I realized that using counter attacks with the switch blade was my best approach. There was also many other weapon options that I perhaps didn't utilize as much. 

I began the game with an intention to zip thru it, however about half way thru I found myself more intrigued by the side quests. Another different feature than the other AC games was the chance to renovate a villa located in the mountains of Tuscany known as Monteriggioni. The investment of renovated buildings and collecting Renaissance Art added to the value of the city which became more money in Ezio's pockets. 

The maps of Florence and Venice are incredibly detailed and perhaps the biggest reason I love this historical game series. To be able to climb up the Cathedral of Florence is quite surreal. I found the Cathedral of San Marco to also be as equally impressive. This game also featured a series of tombs to explore, to obtain the 6 seals of Altair's armor. These 6 tombs were extremely difficult puzzles that consisted mostly of climbing elements. Although this was a side quest I made sure to complete it before I finished the game.

I was able to complete this game in a little over a week, (compared to the 6 weeks it took me to finish AC Odyssey). I finished 82% of the game's main quest, side quests, and other various objectives which was satisfactory enough for me. I found the game very enjoyable and don't know why I waited so long to play it. However this is only chapter 1 of the Ezio Trilogy and the corrupt pope Rodrigo Borgia still lives and continues on in the next game, Brotherhood.