Review: Assassin's Creed 2, a Renaissance masterpiece

It seems a rarity in the industry when a particular title hits on all cylinders, where gameplay, presentation, story and sound all find a relative balance akin to the writings of Lao Tzu. However, Ubisoft was able to find this balance — with stunning results — in Assassin's Creed 2.

The follow-up to 2007's hit third person action-adventure title, Assassin's Creed 2 — which is available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 — puts the player, once again, in the role of Desmond Miles as he relives the adventures of his assassin heritage. Unlike the first game, which took place during The Crusades — letting players control Altaïr ibn La-Ahad — Desmond this time around takes the guise of Italian nobleman, Ezio Auditore da Firenze during the 15th century Renaissance.


The story is filled with intrigue and conspiracy as players work to uncover — and stop — the zealous plot of the Knights Templar to control Italy. The non-linear gameplay allows players to explore the story at will, giving them a wonderful open-world environment to reconnoiter. And what a gorgeous open-world it is.

Rendered beautifully, the Italian backdrop of Assassin's Creed 2 is a stunning sight to behold. Throughout each city and town are view points that can be selected from atop towers. Doing so results in a beautiful 360 degree panoramic view of the area, allowing the player a few seconds to take in the game's aesthetic.

Unlike other titles in the genre, such as The Saboteur, the open-world in Assassin's Creed 2 is not a hurdle for the player to cross. Instead, it's a playground. Ezio's ability to traverse the towns with l'art du déplacement, or parkour, makes the buildings in the game very easy to cross over.

The fluidity of the parkour is continued in the combat. This is how cinematic combat should be. While other games — I'm looking at you Batman: Arkham Asylum — boast alike combat, Assassin's Creed 2 does more than just turn the action into a rampant exercise of button mashing by letting the player use strategy and timing to overcome odds. Button mashing in Assassin's Creed 2 will, more likely than not, result in constant parries from enemies. Therefore, players must exercise patience and time their parry and riposte perfectly in order to deliver the cinematic death blow.

It is no different for stealth activities, which is where Assassin's Creed 2 really shines. Ezio is able to deliver death to his targets through multiple means. His iconic weapon, the hidden blade, protracts and retracts through a bracer and lets Ezio entrust his foes with one-hit kills. And entrust he will. From behind, from above, from below and from concealed locations, players have numerous way to dispatch enemies. However, unlike other games where players must get into stealth mode — a.k.a. crouching — Assassin's Creed 2 has a wonderful "blending" mechanism that allows Ezio to appear as just another townsperson walking down the road. This allows the player to get as close as they need to deliver their stealth kill.

Weapons are varied and include daggers, swords, warhammers and poison. Sure to be a fan favorite, Ezio is equipped with a second hidden blade. This allows Ezio to deliver two simultaneous death blows to unsuspecting targets. This can be done from the front, behind or from above.


With the help of Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio is able to learn additional techniques and weapons. One of these include the hidden gun, which is fastened to the back of Ezio's hidden blade bracer. While historically blasphemous, the enjoyment in dispatching enemies from afar using the hidden gun quickly allows the player to temporarily suspend disbelief. No matter what Ezio is doing, the gameplay remains smooth and elegant. This includes the horse riding and the control of da Vinci's short lived flying machine.

The music, which is composed by Jesper Kyd (Borderlands, Assassin's Creed, Hitman, The Chronicles of Spellborn), provides a subtle and layered backdrop to the Italian setting. At no point does the music or other sound effects become overwhelming. Just like the gameplay, everything is presented with balance.


With hundreds of secrets to find and uncover, players have many things to occupy their time with. A fiefdom is also introduced, where the players can purchase upgrades to their family's town to make it more prosperous. Doing so will net the player with a steady of level of income to use as they see fit. This economical gameplay element is both simple and quick, meaning that there's hardly any learning curve involved. Once again, showing that Ubisoft found just the right level of balance for the system's inclusion.

Overall, Assassin's Creed 2 comes off as a well-polished masterpiece, deserving of every bit of praise it gets. This is what open-world games, as well as cinematic combat and gameplay, should be like. Assassin's Creed 2 should be the benchmark for a new Renaissance of open-world games.