17 November 2009
Assassin’s Creed II
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.
(Eurogamer, 9/10)
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.
(IGN, 9.2)
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