Reviews - Assassin's Creed II (2) - PC, Xbox 360, PS3

[HEXUS]

Betrayed by rival ruling families of Italy, a young nobleman plans his revenge in Ubisoft's open-world action adventure.

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[danroyle]

am looking forward to this will be buying it tomorrow

[mcfstep]

It's a shame it doesn't come out on PC until early next year :-(

[MrPink]

Glad to hear they've taken on-board the criticisms of the first one. I still don't think I'll be rushing out to buy it straight away. I was massively disappointed after finishing the first one, but I may be willing to give them one more chance.

[Prime]

going to GAME at dinner to pick up my reserved White version!
the 'wife' is insistent its being wrapped up for xmas as she is buying it me . . . . . . . foolish girl!

[Ferral]

I've got no option in that one mate. Wife has said I am getting it for Christmas so dont go buying it before hand!

Might pick up that brutal legend today, was gutted when I found out its not heading to the PC

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Can anybody tell me a brief summary of the storyline from the first one. feel free to include spoilers and the lot as i cant be bothered to go through AC1 as i felt it was boring. This one looks alot better

[Zak33]

Can anybody tell me a brief summary of the storyline from the first one. feel free to include spoilers and the lot as i cant be bothered to go through AC1 as i felt it was boring. This one looks alot better

Imagine a big city that Indiana Jones would wander around in... kinda Marakesh feel to it.

You're an assassin with the ability to peg it up the wall, over the roof tops and down the other side of a house... but on a vast scale.

You look a lot like Spiderman,,, crouched on top of huge spires and tall towers...looking for people to kill.

When walking through town, you ocassionally think you've been spotted and you peg it .. and if you need too.. you can barge people out of the way...sometimes they get the ump about it.

Occasionally you get cornered and you peg it up a wall and try to run across the roof tops....

I got bored of it after that.... lots of spiderman style wall climbing without acvtually being spiderman... more... free runner style.

But you look more dodgy than a Hole In the Wall Contestant would on an LA beach.... so you get spotted a lot... so you peg it up a wall....

[Prime]

just picked up the WHITE version on my dinner - 54 bags it was, im sure i remember it being advertised for 60 something.
bonus!

[Jonessie]

Yeah no PC version until 2010. I found this article

Ubisoft has tweeted that the PC version of Assassin's Creed II has been delayed to 2010. Specifically, the game has been moved to the ever-so-crowded first quarter of 2010. According to the necessarily brief announcement, Ubisoft has decided to delay the PC version in order to secure "a bit more time for the dev team to deliver the best quality game."

[samcross]

Can anybody tell me a brief summary of the storyline from the first one. feel free to include spoilers and the lot as i cant be bothered to go through AC1 as i felt it was boring. This one looks alot better

In September 2012, bartender Desmond Miles is kidnapped by the Abstergo industries company, for use as a test subject in the "Animus", a device that can simulate the memories of his ancestors. Abstergo intends to put Desmond in the device to simulate the memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad, in the "Assassin Clan" during 1191 as part of the Third Crusade in the Holy Land. Desmond has trouble adjusting to the device, but eventually relives Altaïr's exploits over the next several days. The game then primarily takes Altaïr's point-of-view, with occasional swaps to Desmond when he exits the "Animus".

Altaïr is first shown attempting to retrieve one of a series of artifacts known as the "Pieces of Eden" from Solomon's Temple with the help of other assassins, but is stopped by Robert de Sablé, Grand Master of the Knights Templar and sworn enemies of the assassins. While retrieving the treasure, Altaïr breaks all three tenets of the Assassin's Creed ("Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent," "Hide in plain sight" and "Do not compromise the Brotherhood") within the opening minutes of gameplay to attempt to kill de Sablé, but fails. Upon returning to the Assassins' stronghold at Masyaf and after narrowly defeating a retaliatory attack by the Knights Templar, Al Mualim, leader of the Assassins, demotes Altaïr to an initiate but gives him another chance to rise through the ranks of the Brotherhood. Al Mualim assigns Altaïr the task of assassinating nine key figures across the Holy Land in Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus, to attempt to bring peace between the Crusader and Saracen forces. Each target is based on real historical figures from around 1191, including Majd Addin (Regent of Jerusalem), Garnier de Nablus (Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller), Jubair al Hakim (an eminent scholar in Damascus), Abu'l Nuqoud (the wealthiest man in Damascus), Robert de Sablé, Grand Master Sibrand of the Teutonic Order and William V, Marquess of Montferrat (Regent of Acre).

Altaïr completes each task, learning how each target is connected to Robert and the Templars, and how together they aim to end the Crusade and place the Holy Land under their own control. With men on both sides killed, he discovers that de Sablé's last ploy is to attempt to unite Christian and Muslim against their new-common enemy, the assassins themselves. Altaïr defeats de Sablé before Richard the Lionheart, failing to convince the king that an end to the war would be welcome to both sides. From de Sablé he discovers that Al Mualim is himself a member of the Knights Templar, and used Altaïr to kill the other members so he could keep the treasure for himself. Altaïr quickly returns to Masyaf to accost his master, who reveals the truth: the Piece of Eden which he had received from one of the men in the Temple after Altaïr's transgression creates illusions. He denounces religion and other seemingly supernatural events (e.g. the parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Plagues of Egypt and the presence of the Greek Gods in the Trojan War) as illusions caused by it, then states his intention to use the artifact to compel mankind into a brainwashed state and so bring an end to all conflict. Altaïr is eventually able to see through deceptions created by the artifact to kill Al Mualim. When Altaïr recovers the artifact, the Piece of Eden activates, showing a holographic view of the world with numerous locations of other Pieces of Eden marked across the globe.

When the process is complete, Desmond learns that Abstergo is a modern-day version of the Knights Templar, and are already seeking other artifacts at locations identified in Altaïr's memory. He further learns that the modern-day assassins had tried to rescue him before the memory was complete but had failed. Desmond was to be killed after completion, but a researcher named Lucy Stillman saves him from death. Though Desmond remains trapped in the Abstergo laboratory, his experience in the Animus has created a "bleeding effect" of Altaïr's life in his own, allowing him to see strange messages painted on the walls of his room, as well as allowing Desmond to use Altaïr's eagle vision (which proves to him that Lucy, who earlier bends down her ring finger as if to show him that she's on his side, is indeed an ally, as she glows blue). The messages all deal with various forms of the end of the world from different cultures, including several references to the date December 21, 2012, the date that Abstergo plans to launch a satellite that will "permanently end the war". It is hinted at that this will be by the same method that Al Mualim hypnotized Masyaf, only on a larger scale. The game ends with Desmond wondering what these images all mean and who could have drawn them.

Couldn't have put it better myself