Assassin's Creed II corrects nearly all the problems of its predecessor, transports players to a beautifully realized Renaissance Italy, and results in one of the best games of 2009.
Posted by Christian Sorrell (sirdesmond) on Dec 24, 2009 - 1:07am EST (Dec 24, 2009 01:07)
From a performance standpoint, the game shines. Regardless of what’s on screen whether that is a huge unit of guards or the intricate alleyways Ezio often speeds through amidst an escape, the game keeps the frame rate high and smooth. I can’t recall running into bugs of any sort, although I heard tale of a very specific but nearly game breaking bug found at launch that has since been patched. One that did stand out was the pop-in which is the game’s only flaw performance wise but can be quite noticeable at points. That being said, it isn’t nearly as bad as graphically similar titles like Mass Effect where you would find yourself stopping for a few moments as the room loaded in. For the sake of this review, I played the game on the 360 but I have heard that the PS3 version of the game tends to not be as graphically impressive and suffers from some frame rate and pop-in issues that the 360 does not which is unfortunate.
Overall, Assassin’s Creed II retains all of the great aspect from the first title (the story, graphics, environments, and core gameplay) and adds everything that was missing (varied missions, combat complexity, and considerably more content). This game is clearly the vision that Ubisoft Montreal was shooting for with the first game in the series and as such will reinvigorate those who loved the first game while also giving its naysayers a reason to give this game a go. With a huge amount of content that keeps itself interesting, exciting, and, at times, awe-inspiring, Assassin’s Creed II is a must-play title for the 2009 holiday season. After knocking out the main story, fully outfitting your villa, collecting every weapon, plucking up every feather, and uncovering the truth shrouded by the glyphs, you’ll find yourself fully satisfied with the experience and begging for more. Assassin’s Creed III can’t get here soon enough.
Presentation A strong visual style, amazing graphics, and an absolutely breathtakingly accurate recreation of renaissance Italy all lead to one of the most memorable and best looking games of the year.
90
Gameplay Fixing the vast majority of the flaws from the first tile, the game is an absolute blast to play with only the combat retaining a certain level of awkwardness from the original.
95
Single Player With one of the richest stories of this generation, Assassin's Creed II builds on everything from the first title, adding both character and variety in spades.
NR
Multiplayer None
90
Performance With few bugs, great frame rate, and only the occasional glitch in controls, Assassin's Creed II performs exactly as you'd expect AAA title to.
93
Overall A first-rate story, great visuals, voice work, varied game play, and some of the most memorable characters of recent years, Assassin's Creed II is a simply must-play title that'll round off your 2009 with a bang (or a hidden blade to the throat)
The visuals on PS3 seem to be hit or miss as far as a consensus is concerned. Some people think that the PS3 looks better than 360, while others have been really upset with things like pop-in, etc. so who knows. I haven't had an excess time with the PS3 version, so maybe rent it and see how it is or find a friend with it.
Man, sounds like i'll be getting this for the PC when it comes out. The first one was ok but flawed, although it sounds like the majority of these problems have been fixed.
Dec 26, 2009 01:48:49 (Dec 26, 2009 01:48)
