Ubisoft Montreal released the then new and 'hyped' IP in Assassin's Creed just two years ago. There's no doubt that at the core the game had a lot of strengths although was let down somewhat by a rather repetitious mission structure, yet the game otherwise got its deserved attention for its presentation and slick gameplay.

Now, the development team have clearly taken some of the criticism to heart, but just how well has this user feedback been implemented into the development of Assassin's Creed II – is it merely just what the first game should have been or does it improve on the Assassin's Creed experience in every deadly way?

Gameplay:

Assassin's Creed II picks up right from where the original left most of us, which was staring at some confusing holographic markings on Desmond's cell wall. Immediately picking up from here you are busted out of the Abstergo laboratory by the sassy female turncoat who has a change of heart, and meet a few new characters along the way as well as the Animus 2.0 or “baby” as one of your new techie friends likes to call it. Unlike the first game however there is a lot less time spent as Desmond Miles as you are now able to get some chatter and updates from your new friends whilst in the Animus, with the main story taking place during the Renaissance period in Italy and focusing on Ezio Auditore Da Firenzie, naturally another assassin, whom you follow through his early years and have some, what I like to call “attachment” missions to some of his family members, that is right before they get executed and thus Ezio begins his journey as a deadly assassin seeking vengeance, and ultimately answers.

The missions themselves are much more diverse than that of the original, no longer will you be repeating similar missions frequently throughout the game. Not only this, but the scope and combat have also been touched upon as well, it adds up to a much needed refreshing experience and the new killer animations for the blood filled combat add that extra icing on the cake as you can now also disarm enemies of their weapons and use them yourself, and naturally countering an enemy offers up some rather incredible and over the top execution based finishing kills.

As tweaked and refined as the combat may be, with enemies even having the ability to counter Ezio's attacks themselves, the A.I. of the guards, especially in large groups still persists with one of the flaws from the first game – the enemies can surround Ezio and on most occasions just stand their and take it in turns to attack you, usually with noticeable and awkward gaps in between, this of course breaks that barrier that the rest of the game strives for, successfully I might add, in making the player forget they're even playing a game. It's otherwise just that engrossing and unfortunate that something such as what was present in the first game, still hinders the experience here.

The big highlight of the original Assassin's Creed was features such as free-running and climbing, but more importantly the way in which you navigate through crowds of civilians and how they react to your actions. The sequel naturally continues this trend and further improves on the stealth aspects with Ezio having the ability to hire friendly prostitutes and even combatants, both of which can be used to distract guards on those many occasions where you want to slip through without having to enter into some drawn-out sword battle or running and climbing your way to the nearest bail of hay.

Ezio's ways and means of travel remain very much intact from that of Altair's from the first outing, although Ezio has the ability to fast-travel via. horse and cart, albeit with a rather painful loading period of travelling to one of the seven rather huge and detailed cities. Other than free-running and climbing through the cities themselves, the newest mode of transport comes in navigation of the canals via. small boats, which are seamlessly integrated into the experience as you can quickly switch to free-running and immediately get back into the action in the blink of a hidden blade through someone's eyeball, as well as even swimming and going underwater to hide from any guards that may be giving chase – apparently they need armbands, lest they be dead.

As well as some new friends in the 'real' world for Desmond; as Ezio your new best buddy comes in the form of painter and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci, who is your go to compadre for weapon upgrades and gives you the ability to test out his incredible Flying Machine, although sadly this is by no means a new form of regular travel as it's flyable only for one mission.

Graphics:

It still looks and plays very similar to the two year old original, which looked rather stunning for the time and Assassin's Creed II holds the fort strongly here as well. The only minor 'niggles' per say come in the form of drawn-in details such as grass and shadows, although this only really stands out whilst riding horseback and speeding through the otherwise lush landscape. In terms of visuals it's the contrast between night and day and the certain ambitious and authentic take on Italy's architecture which stand out, and just so happens to be yet even more entertaining for running and jumping across rooftops.

Sound:

ACII features some stellar voice-acting with rather convincing Italian accents, some lines get repeated from characters during the course of gameplay if they're left waiting around a little while though, along with this, the awkward combat moments – it's these which hinder the game somewhat, for that simple reason, they make you snap out of whatever gormless and satisfied look you might have on your face, and make you realise once again that you have a controller in hand and are playing a game.

More satisfyingly though, it's the sound effects themselves that contribute considerably into an otherwise believable world that you won't want to leave in a hurry, with the sound of steel clashing in sword battles, or penetrating an enemy stealthily from behind can be amusingly satisfying, especially if you're in the rare position to take down two at the same time with your hidden blades – although it's the fluid animations along with the SFX that play a vital role.

Longevity:

Story wise, this is certainly more intriguing off the bat, although it does lose its way along the course as the list of co-conspirators increases, needless to say though this time around – the missions themselves are far from repetitive, right up to the solid 20+ hours it will likely take most to complete the main story. Afterwards though, there's plenty of mopping up to do for achievements in collectibles and puzzle solving, with some rather massive and dazzling Assassin Tombs to navigate through if you don't focus on them first time round.

Overall:

It's clear that Assassin's Creed II is more akin to what gamers had no doubt hoped for from the original, bar the still awkward, yet improved combat moments with large groups of enemies. Assassin's Creed II has certainly delivered and overhauled what was 'right' with the original in terms of gameplay and thus created a living, breathing and convincing game world that rivals even that of GTA IV's Liberty City. This is one sequel certainly worthy of a purchase, and no doubt a contender even for game of the year.