Video game industry rockstar, Patrice Desilets, is back in the spotlight again and strutting his stuff with the hottest release on his arm, Assassin's Creed 2 (AC2). Announced on June 2, 2009, AC2 was the long awaited sequel of Assassin's Creed, released in Australia November 19, 2009 and November 21, 2007 respectively. Both triple A blockbusters were developed by Canadian studio, Ubisoft Montreal, and published by Ubisoft. The creative development helmed by the man himself, Creative Director Patrice Desilets and partner in divine crime, then Executive Producer Jade Raymond.
Having never played AC, I can not give much of a comparison between the games, although I do have the advantage of experiencing the game with fresh eyes and perspective. My first glimpse of AC2 was at a Ubisoft press event June 2009, on a projector in a crowded underground bar. Actual gameplay was demonstrated in real time by Desilets himself and I wasn't enthralled by what I witnessed. The textures and environments were up to the standard of games out at that time, another environment devoid of colour. The demo displayed time consuming, stealthy working around the edge of the building to kill a lonely guard which came across as mundane and didn't seem to appealing, especially if this going to be the main mechanic. However, the use of paying buxom courtiers to distract guards away from access points did perk my interest.
Several months after the release of AC2 I got my hands on a copy of the game and reluctantly put it in my 360, paying no heed to those who cried video game perfection..
The game opens with Desmond Miles escaping Abstergo Industries, with the help of Lucy Stillman, ex employee of Abstergo. The escape sequence is easy, a lot of following allies, Stillman, through the winding cubicles and corridors of Abstergo, whilst learning the eagle vision mechanic to avoid security guards. Pressing Y will activate Eagle vision, which highlight enemies in red, friendlies and safe points in blue and targets in gold.
Stillman leads Miles to a secret cell of Assassin's with their own Animus project, Animus 2.0 (iSnack 2.0 anyone?).Once safe at the Assassins hideout, Miles is plugged into the Animus 2.0, transversed to Florence, Italy, (late 1400's) into the body of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio is a young carefree nobleman, an unbeknown assassin, who's timeline and memories is needed to unlock the many conspiracies that entwine the story line.
The player is then free to explore Florence, with the exception of doing a few missions first and learning the controls of the game. I spent the better part of an hour free running across the rooftops and the feeling evoked was one I haven't felt since playing Grand Theft Auto 3 for the first time, it felt liberating. Holding A and left trigger are the free run/ climb controls, free running into a cluster of NPC's causes Ezio to stumble drunkenly and causes snide reactions from the NPC's. Restricted areas are littered with guards on the rooftops; notoriety and the time of day will also influence the number of guards stationed above the streets. These downers can sometimes break the flow of a free run if you chose to stay and fight them although it's easy to run straight past them and out of their circle of alarm.
Horses are a readily available transport for traversing the Italian country side, it makes for a novel, enjoyable transport and great for evading bands of alarmed guards. The horse animation irks me somewhat, the movement and poise of the mount is like a a rat in a horse skin. There are fast travel stations available, so there is the option skipping the horses altogether which come in handy when horse riding becomes tiresome or haste is needed.
The open world environment has memory starts scattered around the map, which are continuation points for the main story line. Memory starts are grouped into sequences, the number of memory starts in a sequence will vary anywhere from 3 to 6. Each time a new sequence is started, the game will progress in the timeline a few years. This time progression changes everything from the architecture of the environments, to the fashion of the NPC's, as well as making available new items to buy from stalls.
There are a number of stalls the player can chose to purchase from, most of which are vital to the gameplay, these outlets include Art vendors, Blacksmiths, Doctors and Tailors to re-dye Ezio's clothing. The design of Ezio's costume is superb with masses of layers and drapery. However I didn't see much point in changing the colour, except for achievement points, since variation from drab brown to earth red isn't terribly exciting. It's good to have the choice of course, however slight.
Personally, the art vendor is my number one and I seek the stall out first thing at the start of a new sequence and in each new section of the map unlocked. As with the veracity of the environments, the art available is accurate to the Renaissance period, each time sequence unlocks new works to acquire. The blacksmith is just as good as the art vendor with armour repair options and new weaponry. Purchasing armor, art and weaponry adds to the value of Monteriggioni , an estate in the country side and acts as a base of operations for Ezio.
There are a number of weapon classes available, such as blades, daggers, broadswords , long weapons and smoke bombs. Each assassination mission encourages the player to use a different method of assassination, be it a change of approach and/or the weapons and/or utilising the NPC's for hire. I found I used the hidden dagger in assassination missions more than any other weapon due to its stealthiness and the daggers in "day to day" combat, they are quick and get the job done I didn't get the hang of knife throwing. I would always reveal my position by throwing the dagger clumsily and hitting the target in the forearm or leg.
Side missions are enjoyable and include Assassination, Courier, Race and Beat Up. There are a few collectibles to collect such as trivial treasure chests, feathers (100 in total), codex pages and Altair armour. Altair armour is collected by exploring assassin tombs, which involves a lot of climbing and acrobatic moves. These are my favourite levels of the game, as the visual markers only reveal the immediate path ahead, it is always a thrill to explore the secret tombs and see how far and high the catacombs extend once at the final goal. There are a lot of visual markers to help the player navigate the acrobatic levels, which are held in dizzying cathedral steeples to dank underground catacombs. In each subsequent Assassin tomb, the moves required get slightly harder and the number of guards increase. Stealth kills are an obvious option here but balls to the wall method works just as well if that gets too boring, as you are never overwhelmed by guards if the alarm is risen.
The story line is what I presume The Da Vinci Code would read like, (having never read it and never will), glutted conspiracies involving historical figures and sinister secret sects. It quips my interest from time to time and the layers of different time lines adds another level of complexity, although it could have done without the extra cream. The game also acts as an entertaining history lesson, offering blurbs of facts about buildings and non fictional figures that are interacted within the game. For example, Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game as Ezio's allies. The architecture and layout of Renaissance Italy is as true to fact as possible, which is an incredible feat by the art teams.
The audio is high quality, especially with surround headphones, ambient noises of the city and country really add a level of immersion. There are audio cues to elegantly alert the player to the presence of treasures feathers or other items of importance. Video game voice actor Jezebel, Nolan North is back with the team, and voices Miles/Ezio. North pulls off a somewhat cheesy Italian accent with some classic American gusto thrown in. The grunts that emanate from the character when landing a hard fall, sound like an effeminate fellow receiving a soft blow in a pillow fight.
My first preconceptions of AC2 were way off the mark, I fell in love within the first hour of putting the disc in, extremely happy that I got over my initial preconceptions to give it a chance. The game has kept me entertained for hours and there are umpteen more ahead. It has sucked me in so that I'm completing majority of the side missions without the feeling of wanting to burn through the main game in record time, I want to take my time. I only have one minor wish, that it had a co-op option, not multiplayer modes but co-operation with a buddy.
Since the release and success of AC2 Jade Raymond was promoted to President of Ubisoft Toronto in July 2009, and Desilets? It might be safe to say he is working on the next installment. Ubisoft recently held a competition on Facebook for fans to suggest what historical figure they would have in Assassin's Creed 3 (AC3) and why. I would like to see the game placed in either Feudal Japan, 15th century Iberian Penninsula or 16th Century Ottoman Empire. Or how about 16th century Mughal Empire, with Akbar the Great making an appearance?
I look forward to AC3 with anticipation, it will no doubt be another entertaining, well executed "stabbity stab stab" padded history lesson. Just let there be co-op, it can get lonely for an assassin.
Having never played AC, I can not give much of a comparison between the games, although I do have the advantage of experiencing the game with fresh eyes and perspective. My first glimpse of AC2 was at a Ubisoft press event June 2009, on a projector in a crowded underground bar. Actual gameplay was demonstrated in real time by Desilets himself and I wasn't enthralled by what I witnessed. The textures and environments were up to the standard of games out at that time, another environment devoid of colour. The demo displayed time consuming, stealthy working around the edge of the building to kill a lonely guard which came across as mundane and didn't seem to appealing, especially if this going to be the main mechanic. However, the use of paying buxom courtiers to distract guards away from access points did perk my interest.
Several months after the release of AC2 I got my hands on a copy of the game and reluctantly put it in my 360, paying no heed to those who cried video game perfection..
The game opens with Desmond Miles escaping Abstergo Industries, with the help of Lucy Stillman, ex employee of Abstergo. The escape sequence is easy, a lot of following allies, Stillman, through the winding cubicles and corridors of Abstergo, whilst learning the eagle vision mechanic to avoid security guards. Pressing Y will activate Eagle vision, which highlight enemies in red, friendlies and safe points in blue and targets in gold.
Stillman leads Miles to a secret cell of Assassin's with their own Animus project, Animus 2.0 (iSnack 2.0 anyone?).Once safe at the Assassins hideout, Miles is plugged into the Animus 2.0, transversed to Florence, Italy, (late 1400's) into the body of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio is a young carefree nobleman, an unbeknown assassin, who's timeline and memories is needed to unlock the many conspiracies that entwine the story line.
The player is then free to explore Florence, with the exception of doing a few missions first and learning the controls of the game. I spent the better part of an hour free running across the rooftops and the feeling evoked was one I haven't felt since playing Grand Theft Auto 3 for the first time, it felt liberating. Holding A and left trigger are the free run/ climb controls, free running into a cluster of NPC's causes Ezio to stumble drunkenly and causes snide reactions from the NPC's. Restricted areas are littered with guards on the rooftops; notoriety and the time of day will also influence the number of guards stationed above the streets. These downers can sometimes break the flow of a free run if you chose to stay and fight them although it's easy to run straight past them and out of their circle of alarm.
Horses are a readily available transport for traversing the Italian country side, it makes for a novel, enjoyable transport and great for evading bands of alarmed guards. The horse animation irks me somewhat, the movement and poise of the mount is like a a rat in a horse skin. There are fast travel stations available, so there is the option skipping the horses altogether which come in handy when horse riding becomes tiresome or haste is needed.
The open world environment has memory starts scattered around the map, which are continuation points for the main story line. Memory starts are grouped into sequences, the number of memory starts in a sequence will vary anywhere from 3 to 6. Each time a new sequence is started, the game will progress in the timeline a few years. This time progression changes everything from the architecture of the environments, to the fashion of the NPC's, as well as making available new items to buy from stalls.
There are a number of stalls the player can chose to purchase from, most of which are vital to the gameplay, these outlets include Art vendors, Blacksmiths, Doctors and Tailors to re-dye Ezio's clothing. The design of Ezio's costume is superb with masses of layers and drapery. However I didn't see much point in changing the colour, except for achievement points, since variation from drab brown to earth red isn't terribly exciting. It's good to have the choice of course, however slight.
Personally, the art vendor is my number one and I seek the stall out first thing at the start of a new sequence and in each new section of the map unlocked. As with the veracity of the environments, the art available is accurate to the Renaissance period, each time sequence unlocks new works to acquire. The blacksmith is just as good as the art vendor with armour repair options and new weaponry. Purchasing armor, art and weaponry adds to the value of Monteriggioni , an estate in the country side and acts as a base of operations for Ezio.
There are a number of weapon classes available, such as blades, daggers, broadswords , long weapons and smoke bombs. Each assassination mission encourages the player to use a different method of assassination, be it a change of approach and/or the weapons and/or utilising the NPC's for hire. I found I used the hidden dagger in assassination missions more than any other weapon due to its stealthiness and the daggers in "day to day" combat, they are quick and get the job done I didn't get the hang of knife throwing. I would always reveal my position by throwing the dagger clumsily and hitting the target in the forearm or leg.
Side missions are enjoyable and include Assassination, Courier, Race and Beat Up. There are a few collectibles to collect such as trivial treasure chests, feathers (100 in total), codex pages and Altair armour. Altair armour is collected by exploring assassin tombs, which involves a lot of climbing and acrobatic moves. These are my favourite levels of the game, as the visual markers only reveal the immediate path ahead, it is always a thrill to explore the secret tombs and see how far and high the catacombs extend once at the final goal. There are a lot of visual markers to help the player navigate the acrobatic levels, which are held in dizzying cathedral steeples to dank underground catacombs. In each subsequent Assassin tomb, the moves required get slightly harder and the number of guards increase. Stealth kills are an obvious option here but balls to the wall method works just as well if that gets too boring, as you are never overwhelmed by guards if the alarm is risen.
The story line is what I presume The Da Vinci Code would read like, (having never read it and never will), glutted conspiracies involving historical figures and sinister secret sects. It quips my interest from time to time and the layers of different time lines adds another level of complexity, although it could have done without the extra cream. The game also acts as an entertaining history lesson, offering blurbs of facts about buildings and non fictional figures that are interacted within the game. For example, Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game as Ezio's allies. The architecture and layout of Renaissance Italy is as true to fact as possible, which is an incredible feat by the art teams.
The audio is high quality, especially with surround headphones, ambient noises of the city and country really add a level of immersion. There are audio cues to elegantly alert the player to the presence of treasures feathers or other items of importance. Video game voice actor Jezebel, Nolan North is back with the team, and voices Miles/Ezio. North pulls off a somewhat cheesy Italian accent with some classic American gusto thrown in. The grunts that emanate from the character when landing a hard fall, sound like an effeminate fellow receiving a soft blow in a pillow fight.
My first preconceptions of AC2 were way off the mark, I fell in love within the first hour of putting the disc in, extremely happy that I got over my initial preconceptions to give it a chance. The game has kept me entertained for hours and there are umpteen more ahead. It has sucked me in so that I'm completing majority of the side missions without the feeling of wanting to burn through the main game in record time, I want to take my time. I only have one minor wish, that it had a co-op option, not multiplayer modes but co-operation with a buddy.
Since the release and success of AC2 Jade Raymond was promoted to President of Ubisoft Toronto in July 2009, and Desilets? It might be safe to say he is working on the next installment. Ubisoft recently held a competition on Facebook for fans to suggest what historical figure they would have in Assassin's Creed 3 (AC3) and why. I would like to see the game placed in either Feudal Japan, 15th century Iberian Penninsula or 16th Century Ottoman Empire. Or how about 16th century Mughal Empire, with Akbar the Great making an appearance?
I look forward to AC3 with anticipation, it will no doubt be another entertaining, well executed "stabbity stab stab" padded history lesson. Just let there be co-op, it can get lonely for an assassin.
