Assassin's Creed 2

Format Xbox 360

Developer Ubisoft

Publisher Ubisoft

Genre Action, Adventure

7 Comments

They do say fashion comes around in cycles - somehow flares occasionally become chic again, and subsequently need to be stamped out like a flaming bag of dog muck on a doorstep. Similarly, it turns out that Altair's iconic look has swung back into the Assassins' style bible, some 300 years after the original Assassin's Creed, during the Italian Renaissance.

The latest Assassin to don the hood is nobleman, Ezio Auditore De Firenze, yet another ancestor trapped in the DNA of near-future barman, Desmond.

He's on a quest for vengeance in the cities of Florence, Venice and Tuscany, which were at the heart of the 15th century Renaissance movement.

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Ezio shares many similar talents and some of the same weaponry as his Middle Eastern ancestor. The wristblade is back, only now it can be upgraded to dual blades or even, brilliantly, an all new gun blade, which we can't wait to get our, er, wrists on.

He has several new abilities too and, unlike Altair who inconveniently drowned whenever he fell in some water, Ezio can now dive into the canals of Venice and swim like some kind of giant white salmon.

He's also handy with a much wider variety of weapons than Altair was, and is now able to disarm enemies during a dust up, meaning swords, pikes and hammers can be discarded in the confidence that there will be others available soon.

Ezio appears to be a kind of Renaissance Robin Hood, taking out all of the tyrants that are abusing the people of Italy, while uncovering a secret conspiracy which has repercussions that will reach all the way into the present day.

With the first game introducing the sinister Illuminati style group that kidnapped Desmond, we can only assume it has some connection to them and their roots.

Of course the original Assassin's Creed never suffered from a lack of involving story moments or interesting settings - it was the sheer repetition of the missions that was the main problem.

Ubisoft aims to solve that particular conundrum by bulking up the variety of mini-missions on offer, having several different characters offering missions, each with their own motivations, and more diversity in the way your assassination attempts play out.

United front
Adding coherency between missions is an all new faction system. No longer will you just be acting on behalf of your own Assassin's Brotherhood, but you'll be performing hits for various other factions as well.

The thieves' guild, for example, is led by Venetian, Antonio, who is kind and compassionate, but a born thief. Earn his trust, and you'll have the entire faction of thieves at your disposal.

You'll also interact with a guild of Courtesans in Florence, which is based in a brothel and led by Paula, a wronged madam who now looks after the city's ladies of the night. One aspect of Ezio's personality that has been revealed is his charm and ability to seduce, which will no doubt play a big role in how he interacts with the guild of Courtesans.

Get on the right side of Paula, and the Courtesans will be available to distract guards, enabling you to sneak past unnoticed.
The other personalities you'll get to meet in your travels will, unlike the first game, be real personalities from the era.

One famous face that will be key to Ezio's assassination attempts will be famed inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci. In real life, Da Vinci was a famed artist and genius who created designs for numerous machines, including weapons and flying vehicles.

Pay a visit to his Venetian workshop and you'll be able to use some of his engineering marvels to better murder your targets. We've already seen a shot of Ezio using Da Vinci's famous light hang glider design to soar above the city, but whether or not we'll see a pedal powered version of the 'flying screw' helicopter is yet to be revealed.

In addition to Da Vinci, you'll also be able to interact with other men from the Renaissance including Machiavelli, the influential politician and philosopher, Botticelli, the artist, and also members of the House of Medici.

Ubisoft is certainly making all the right noises about Assassin's Creed 2. The new setting looks beautifully detailed and is far enough removed from the Middle Eastern cities and medieval age as to feel almost fresh. Ezio looks just as slick as Altair did, but as both a character and a tool for exploring the rich, detailed environments, he appears to be much more complete as well.

Finally, Ubisoft appears to have focused on ensuring that the historical story will be just as intriguing as the near-future one, and that the missions will reflect this increased depth, rather than being simply another laundry list of targets who need to be relieved of their lives.

The first Assassin's Creed was justifiably popular, but it looks like this sequel will turn each of the beautiful cities that Ubisoft Montreal has sculpted into a set of far more interactive playgrounds.

Mike Channell