Assasin's Creed II

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:09 pm

Not much talk here about this one. I just called my Gamestop to ask if it would be in when they open tomorrow and I was told they are actually having a midnight launch for it. I doubt I'll do that but I'm pretty excited for this one after reading some previews.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:30 pm

Oh, I'm all over this one. Loved the first one...

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:36 pm

I want it...just don't know if I should even bother since I'm so far behind with the rest of the games I've got. I don't know how you guys do it...and with kids too!

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:49 pm

I've got a huge backlog so i'll wait for the reviews and the proverbial $19.99 price point which is when I bought the last game.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:06 pm

I'm looking to pick this up tomorrow. Best Buy is offering a $10 GC with it, as they did with Dragon's Age. I'm nowhere near done with that one, but ACII is easily my most anticipated game of the fall. I didn't play the first one until this summer and - despite its many faults - I loved the feel of it, the look of it, and the way the character controlled. From the previews it looks like the fixed the crappy bits of the first one and added a ton of new stuff as well.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:59 pm

I'm holding off a bit.

Never finished the first one, because i thought some of the game play choices were stupid.

I expect this one to be much ebtter but I have so much stuff right now it would just sit there.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:45 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:I want it...just don't know if I should even bother since I'm so far behind with the rest of the games I've got. I don't know how you guys do it...and with kids too!

that's easy...take away a portion of social life for every child you have..lol

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:14 am

I LOVED the first one but there are just too many freakin' games out right now!!!!!!!! Will still probably buy it soon as I am weak willed.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:15 am

I loved the first one but with everything else out now I'm holding off and asking for this one for Christmas.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:03 pm

Reviews are starting to come in. Eurogamer gives it a 9/10
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assas ... ole-review

"Ubisoft Montreal has never been afraid to try new things, but after a few missteps with games like last year's Prince of Persia, perhaps the bravest thing it could have done with Assassin's Creed II was simply to make a classic open-world adventure, filled to the brim with things you want to do and the narrative motivation to continue doing them. The fact it's done so suggests we really should trust the studio when it says it's taken its lesson, and fills me with hope for the third game in the trilogy. In the meantime, we not only have the Assassin's Creed game we'd hoped for in the first place to play with, but one of the best open-world games of the year."

IGN gives it a 9.2
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/104/1045745p1.html

Closing Comments
"Assassin's Creed II transforms a middling action game into an intriguing and consistently entertaining open-world adventure. Based on this game, Ubisoft Montreal should run a clinic on how to iterate a franchise and if the series continues in this vein, the next installment will take aim at Rockstar's best efforts. The experience is layered, unique, and shows an incredible attention to detail. This is one case where the sequel has triumphed over the original by catching the gameplay up to the already excellent visuals. No matter what your preconceptions are about Assassin's Creed II, the game is well worth your time and money.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:37 pm

Does anyone know if there's a big difference b/w the PS3 or 360 versions? Just don't have the time to look around today but will be picking one up on the way home.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:46 pm

1up give it an A-

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3176964

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:57 pm

I am really interested in AC2 even though I skipped the first one, but I need to finish Uncharted 2 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 first.

Hm, the reference to Xenogears in the 1up review is conjuring up all sorts of weird possibilities in my head.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:48 pm

I thought AC1 was one of the most repetitive big budget titles. Most of stemmed with how large the cities were but there was very little openness. Go to a point, do something, kill a guy, and then sneak away. Rinse repeat.

I want to check out AC2 but AC1 wasn't what I thought it would be.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:15 pm

I thought AC1 was one of the most repetitive big budget titles. Most of stemmed with how large the cities were but there was very little openness. Go to a point, do something, kill a guy, and then sneak away. Rinse repeat.

I want to check out AC2 but AC1 wasn't what I thought it would be

This is an issue that if you read any preview/review has been addressed as i think everyone who played AC1 ended up bored for that exact reason, including me.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:26 pm

RallyMonkey wrote:
I thought AC1 was one of the most repetitive big budget titles. Most of stemmed with how large the cities were but there was very little openness. Go to a point, do something, kill a guy, and then sneak away. Rinse repeat.

I want to check out AC2 but AC1 wasn't what I thought it would be
This is an issue that if you read any preview/review has been addressed as i think everyone who played AC1 ended up bored for that exact reason, including me.

I haven't read a lot of the previews/reviews to be honest...so RM I'll have to catch up I guess. Because of AC1, I didn't really do any reading up on this one.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:29 pm

RallyMonkey wrote:
I thought AC1 was one of the most repetitive big budget titles. Most of stemmed with how large the cities were but there was very little openness. Go to a point, do something, kill a guy, and then sneak away. Rinse repeat.

I want to check out AC2 but AC1 wasn't what I thought it would be
This is an issue that if you read any preview/review has been addressed as i think everyone who played AC1 ended up bored for that exact reason, including me.

I didn't get bored with AC1, because I liked just tooling around. Played the game all the way through at least twice, in fact. So this one's gonna be lots of fun for me.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:38 pm

They opened a Play n Trade near me, never been in there so went in with some games I am done with 4 games got me $100 credit so i got this and L4D2.

I doubt I'll even open it before the weekend

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:56 pm

I just did the tutorial and then played about 40 minutes; just messing around, getting viewpoints and the like and it is a HUGE improvement on AC1. I haven't been accosted once, avoided some thugs and guards by jumping in the river and swimming away, and had to visit a doctor as health doesn't auto-regenerate. Also, I accidentally pick-pocketed a guy because I was using the fast walk button, which is also pick-pocket if you get close to someone. He got mad and I had to fast walk away before he figured out it was me. So far so good. Might even have to play this instead of going back to Dragon's Age, which I really didn't expect.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:36 pm

I am about 5 hours in now. This game starts off pretty decent for the first couple hours, but then the story really kicks in, as well as the cool weapons you are able to obtain. There is really no comparison between AC and AC2. AC2 destroys AC in every way conceivable. The story is actually very compelling for a video game and has me wanting to keep playing to see what happens next. I won't give any spoilers, but the story does take some cool turns. I also like the bevy of historical information given about the various events, people, places, etc. I read in an interview that the development team got professors to consult on the game so that the contextual information is accurate. You can actually learn a great deal about the Renaissance period just by clicking on the info screens that pop up throughout the game.

The gameplay itself is more varied than the first AC and does not get nearly as repetitive. The story moves relatively fast, which is good. The control has been improved quite a bit as well. Overall the long wait has been worth it. This is one heck of a well-produced game that really appeals to my gaming tastes. Now that I've seen how AC2 is I'm going to play F1 2009 on the PSP for a few hours. Hopefully it's fun as well.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:59 pm

Holy cow, this game is MUCH deeper than AC1, story-wise. I know who Ezio is, I care, and he has much more personality than Altair did. Everything is richer, fuller, and more fleshed out. This is a kick...

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:11 pm

Teal wrote:Holy cow, this game is MUCH deeper than AC1, story-wise. I know who Ezio is, I care, and he has much more personality than Altair did. Everything is richer, fuller, and more fleshed out. This is a kick...

Is it like the original in that you are actually a modern day person virtually living out the life of medieval assassin?

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:25 pm

LAking wrote:
Teal wrote:Holy cow, this game is MUCH deeper than AC1, story-wise. I know who Ezio is, I care, and he has much more personality than Altair did. Everything is richer, fuller, and more fleshed out. This is a kick...
Is it like the original in that you are actually a modern day person virtually living out the life of medieval assassin?

Yeah, but from what I've seen and heard, there's not as much 'interruption' back into the modern day as there was in the first, although the game starts out with quite a bang. But yes, you are still doing the Animus stuff.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:11 pm

OMG.. how many good games have to come out every week?

Will get this at some point for sure!

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:22 pm

Teal wrote:Holy cow, this game is MUCH deeper than AC1, story-wise. I know who Ezio is, I care, and he has much more personality than Altair did. Everything is richer, fuller, and more fleshed out. This is a kick...

It's hard to be specific about the story without giving out any spoilers, but suffice it to say after some of the early events in the story you really feel the need to find out more about what is going on in the story and assassinate certain people. The game is a lot of fun to play, but it is equally fun to watch the cut scenes and try to piece the story together. The deeper I get the more I want to play and see what's around the next bend. Sort of the opposite of the repetitive AC1.