The End - Assassins Creed II
Added 11/22/2009 by Se
Welcome to The End, a new column that I'm going to be writing detailing my final impressions on Xbox 360 games. I'm going to try to keep it to high profile games, but nothing is off the table. Don't get this confused with a standard review. We have an outstanding review team here at Talk Xbox, what I'm basically going to be doing is filling up space with my personal after-impressions. I'll try to keep it spoiler free, because I'm aware that many people may not have played the games that I will be referencing. If you have the game and have played it, feel free to comment and let me know what YOU think.
So now that we got that out of the way, let's get it started.
When Ubisoft announced Assassins Creed II I was bit skeptical. While the original game was gorgeous, I just could not get around the repetitive gameplay. Gameplay that at times had me dozing off, only to be awakened by the abrupt vibrating of my controller. No, Assassins Creed was not a terrible game. I just felt that it was missing something.
So here comes Assassins Creed II, one of the most high-profile games for the Xbox 360. Notable for following a successful new IP, but also for being one of the only titles to be released in the same time frame of Activision's Modern Warfare 2. While other developers where afraid their game might suffer because of Activision's titan FPS, Ubisoft stuck to their guns and didn't budge with the release schedule for Assassins Creed II. All the while touting that the game would correct the "issues" of the first game.
Leading up to the release of Assassins Creed II, Ubisoft kept everything tasteful. They didn't go overboard with the ugly-hype machine, and most of the information outside of press releases was contained in informative developer diaries. This is one of the things that made me enjoy Assassins Creed II, while I knew about the general story premise, I didn't know every single plot detail and twist. The game felt fresh from the start and stayed that way.
As far as the actual game goes? My experience with Assassins Creed II was leaps and bounds better than the orginal. Ubisoft definitely made good on their promise to correct certain issues. In Assassins Creed I found myself playing missions,not because I wanted to; but because I just wanted to keep the story moving. In Assassins Creed II due to the story, pacing, and added elements, I found myself totally immersed in Renaissance Italy. There's just so much to see and do.
In The End
Liked: Story Gameplay Voice Acting
Did Not Like: Camera angles, that lead to your death. Desmond Shaun
