The backstory: Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed received a lot of praise, awards, and sales success for its innovative gameplay, along with its intriguing story. In it, players begin as a Desmond Miles, a bartender in the year 2012. He is kidnapped by the Abstergo corporation, and subjected to a machine known as the Animus that allows him to view ancestral memories. Desmond then experiences the memories (with occasional cutbacks to Desmond and "Animus glitches") of an ancestor named Altaïr, a member of a brotherhood of assassins. The leader of the group sends Altaïr on quests to assassinate nine different members of the opposing Knights Templar, and eventually their Grand Master. He then learns that his master, the leader of the Assassin Clan, is secretly a Knight Templar who wanted certain treasures to himself. Altïr confronts his master and learns that the treasures, called "Pieces of Eden" have the power to produce illusions on a large scale. He claims he intends to use these pieces to end all wars. After defeating the leader of the Assassin's Clan, Altaïr receives the Piece of Eden, and it produces a hologram showing the location of the other Pieces of Eden throughout the world. It is then revealed that Abstergo is trying to use Desmond to retrieve the Pieces of Eden for their use, since he can "experience" memories from Altaïr using The Animus. The story then returns to Desmond. Having seen the memory of the locations of the Pieces of Eden, they decide to kill Desmond, as was their plan all along. A researcher named Lucy convinces them to wait until they have actually recovered the stones. Desmond is then left alone at the end of the game, and with Eagle Vision (a power the Animus gave him while using it), he is able to see writing and symbols on the walls, and he wonders what they mean.

Episode II

Assassin's Creed II picks up where the first left off. Lucy helps Desmond escape from Abstergo. Then she reveals that she is a member of a modern clan of assassins, as Desmond was once. And, like in Altaïr's memories, Lucy's clan is committed to stop Abstergo, which a modern version of the Knights Templar. She shows Desmond to a new device she and her team had built, called the Animus 2.0, which she has Desmond use to try to stop Abstergo. When Desmond enters the machine, he again is able to experience the memories of an ancestor, who was also an assassin. This time, though, Desmond lives through Ezio (pronounced Etz-e-yo), a young nobleman in Renaissance Italy. He lives a sheltered, comfortable life. But that life is turned around when people who were supposedly close family friends turn on them. His only allies then are the thieves, prostitutes, and mercenaries he once looked down on. After his father and brother are killed, Ezio commits to learning the ways of the assassin, and seeking revenge on those who have wronged his family while protecting his mother and sister. That's where you come in . . .

Be the assassin

One of the things people really liked about the first Assassin's Creed was its different approach to gameplay. Since you play as an assassin for the majority of the game, this game was a departure from the style of shoot-em-up games like Call of Duty or the XBox's Halo series. Stealth tactics are essential, so the gameplay focuses around parkour. Players could climb, crawl, jump, drop, and roll through the game instead of just shooting. And if you got into a hot spot, there were a variety of options to escape. You could sit on a bench to blend in, walk among a group of similarly-dressed scholars, run, hide, or even fight. Sometimes patience was essential to perform a mission properly, requiring you to play smarter. That unique gameplay is back for the second game and much better than ever before. Read on to learn about some of the gameplay improvements for Assassin's Creed II.

Explore Ezio's world

One thing that was improved between the first and second Assassin's Creed games was the structure of the game. In the first game, there was a very linear story, requiring you to complete several investigation quests, then perform your assassination for each mission. At the end of the mission, you were transported back to your clan, and given pre-determined rewards. The world was also more limited than many people would like. In Assassin's Creed II, you can fully explore the world of the hero. Virtually any surface can be scaled, you can run along rooftops, swing across gaps, and much more to move throughout Renaissance Italy. And when you're exploring, the Animus 2.0 includes a historical database, so you can get real-life information about some of the places in the game. You can also complete the missions in a much more free order. Not only is there a tremendously more open story structure, there are around 15 mission types in ACII, compared to about 5 in the first Assassin's Creed. Missions may also take several different directions, changing from one type to another unexpectedly. And during the missions, your choices affect the outcome. For example, you can choose to chase down a guard running to warn his friends, or let him alert them, resulting in more guards to elude or fight later. Gone too are the "You did this mission, you get this reward" perks. Instead, a currency system has been implemented, letting you spend your money on upgrades, items, or bribes for help from shadier citizens. You can even throw money on the ground to cause a frenzied distraction, rob other characters, or be robbed. Overall, Ezio's world is yours to control. Explore it, and play the game your way for a totally custom experience.

Play your way

Despite its unique gameplay, a lot of people wanted a more interesting combat system than the one in Assassin's Creed. So with the release of Assassin's Creed II, their wishes are answered. In the new game, you can craft your own style, since the way you play the game has been totally changed. Now, dual hidden blades give you greater power, including the new ability to kill two nearby people at once. Those blades are thanks to the help of your in-game friend Mr. Leonardo da Vinci, who provides you a lot of help in designing weapons and other tools to help you complete your mission. You can even use his flying machine at a certain point. But flying is not the only new addition to gameplay. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and when in Venice, well, pilot a gondola of course! But if you get hot and sweaty rowing under your heavy cloak, hop out of the boat. In Assassin's Creed II, you can swim! This offers a couple advantages. Sometimes you can use the water as an easy place to hide in an escape. In other cases, you can use it to sneak around, then pull an unsuspecting guard in the water to drown him. In fact, that's one of many new ways to eliminate an enemy. Other great options include the popular air assassination (jumping on and stabbing an unsuspecting victim) from the first game, the new double-kill, throwing an elevated guard over the edge of a surface you're climbing up, using a primitive gun in the place of a hidden blade (thanks again to Leonardo), or even using a poisoned blade to kill someone without getting immediate attention, which is great for guarded foes.

But beware . . .

However, when you're taking on the guards, don't expect them to all act exactly the same. The guards in volume II are more formidable in the first. There are three different types of guards in the second Assassin's Creed. One is a heavily-armored, slow, dumb, strong guard. The next is somewhat of a transition guard, with some armor, and better speed and smarts than the heavy guards, but less power and lighter weapons. The last type of guard is a very quick, agile guard that is a tough opponent to escape or catch using your parkour, although not as tough as the other guards. And all three guard types have gotten a little smarter (the game is near the Age of Enlightment after all). Now, they can check hiding places like haystacks or benches to find you. But if you're patient, Ezio has his own tactics he can use to counter them. When a guard tries to investigate a hiding spot, he can kill them and place them in that hiding spot (in a haystack, or on a bench between friends, etc.). Not only that, but with his fighting skill, he can disarm an opponent and use their weapon against them. The combat physics have also been revamped for an improved, albeit more morbid feel to fighting. In addition, hand-to-hand combat is expanded so Ezio can deal with opponents in a variety of ways. You can even use smokebombs to escape when things get a little hot, blend in with any crowd (instead of just scholars), or hire friends to help fight or create a distraction. But if you think you're going to be able to fight your way through or sneak your way around every situation, think again. The missions are specifically designed to get you to think differently. Some will be very hard if you try to use combat the whole time, or if you try not to use it at all, so you have to think outside the box. Assassin's Creed II will challenge your wits, your reflexes, and possibly even your patience.

Rating information

The ESRB gave Assassin's Creed II a rating of "M" for Mature with designations for Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, and Strong Language, so nobody under age 17 may buy, and shouldn't play the game. It's an awesome game, but between watching blood spurt out of guards you stab and being able to operate brothels, this isn't one for the kiddies, so make sure to monitor kids' gaming.

Comparison Specifications

• Third-person action-adventure game
• Direct sequel to Assassin's Creed
• Improved parkour gameplay
• Increased variety of mission types
• More open gameplay, world, and story structure
• New assassination techniques
• Addition of currency system
• Wider range of tactical options
• New ability to use a flying machine, operate a gondola, and swim
• Single-player

Manufacturer Specifications

• ESRB rated "M" for Mature (17+)

Ubisoft Assassin's Creed II Warranty Details

Warranted against initial defect

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