Assassin's Creed II

[Skyblade]

So, low and behold, the new game is out. Despite being severely crippled by the PS3's controls (the PC version of AC was soooo nicer, but ACII won't come out on PC till March), the game is turning out very nice. It starts very slowly, but once it picks up, it turns into a very nice game. Tons of exploration, quests, and killing to do around town.

Right now, my biggest complaint is that they removed health regen. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem with using a fixed-health system to make the combat harder or more solid, but it is crippling the rest of the game. AC was full of the run-jump-splat moments, and having to either use medicine or hunt down a doctor every time you misjudge a jump is just annoying.

But, overall, it's a fun game, and has some really great points.
(SPOILER)Although the glyphs and Subject 16's messages aren't among them.

[darkchrono]

How good is the story in the assassins creed series. And is it a continuous story or are they completely separate from eachother like FF.

The guy on the cover looked similar to the person on the cover from #1 so I assume it is a continuous storyline.

[Freya]

Well the assassin's creed stories are you are a guy playing memories of the past basically. The guy outside of the past it's the same story and then the past mentions the previous guy you played in the past.

Right now, my biggest complaint is that they removed health regen. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem with using a fixed-health system to make the combat harder or more solid, but it is crippling the rest of the game. AC was full of the run-jump-splat moments, and having to either use medicine or hunt down a doctor every time you misjudge a jump is just annoying.

Learn to jump better and problem fixed.

I love the setting of italy though. If you stop and look around it's really pretty

[ljkkjlcm9]

this game is infinitely better than the first game.

I like the health thing, it makes far more sense. Yes it can be annoying at times, but honestly, even with one health block and some medicines, you never have to worry. I rarely if ever visit doctors to heal, only for medicines. I run around with 1 health block all the time, and only heal myself if I'm in a big fight.

However, every other portion of this game is awesome. I also suggest signing up at the uplay.com thing. It's free, you link it to your game (PC, PS3, or 360) and can unlock 4 different things, after acquiring the points (which are the same as trophies/achievements). for 10 points you can get a Theme/wallpaper, for 20 points you get 5 extra throwing knives, for 30 you get an Altair costume, and for 40 you unlock the Family Crypt (which gives more backstory). Definitely worth it for the 0 effort it takes.

Probably won't really be playing anything else until I beat this (besides Mario with friends).

THE JACKEL

[Pete for President]

Reviews are very positive about this game. I love stealth games, but since the first AC was quite a dissapointment imo, I'm not convinced yet.

Somehow I expect ACII to be too accessible and therefore too forgiving, unlike the older Tenchu games and ofcourse the MGS series. I'm afraid it might lack the depth and challenge to actually be the stealth game I'm looking for.

This is all based on things I've heard and read so far, I haven't had the chance to play it myself. I will check it out somewhere though.

[Yeargdribble]

So, low and behold, the new game is out. Despite being severely crippled by the PS3's controls (the PC version of AC was

It's so bizarre to hear you say this. I would've considered myself primarily a PC gamer for most of my adult life and when there was an option I would always buy the game on PC and use PC controls.

AC was the first game where the PC controls were so obviously not designed for PC that I literally had to go out and buy a USB controller to be feel comfortable playing the game.

It seems that most PC games are just straight ripped ports from the consoles with no attention to the control differences. Oblivion suffered from this (yeah PC mods). Luckily Dragon Age: Origins treats the platforms differently.



But as to the topic, I've been very excited, but was never planning to buy the game at launch. After seeing a few bits of the game play I was struck by how ghastly some of the character models are. I'm not graphics whore, but Lucy looked better in AC1 than AC2. She looks incredibly awkward and just bad. Overall the game looks beautiful. It's another of those where the scenery is infinitely better than the close-ups of the character models.

Hearing about Ubisoft putting pressure on journalists for good reviews leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The review at gametrailers.com had plenty negative to say about the game and then oddly gave it an 8.9 for after a review that made it sound like a 7 (but they always average well on the high side).

I want to wait and feel out the differences between the 360 and PS3 before picking which to grab the game for. I really hope I can avoid spoilers (unlikely), but I don't want fear of spoilers being the only thing forcing me to pay $60 for a game that I'm not certain about. I know it's not as bad (in terms of utter disappointment) as AC1, but beneath some of the swelling reviews, there have been quite a few nitpicks. I want to let a little more press hit it and hope the price drops a bit.

[LunarWeaver]

The first had me excited and was not all I expected. From all of what I've read this has more variety in it, so that's good, but it's still not anything I'm creaming my Hello Kitty! panties over. It's in my Gamefly's Q list, though. It'll be sent to me sometime or another and then I'll see how it goes.

[Breine]

The first had me excited and was not all I expected. From all of what I've read this has more variety in it, so that's good, but it's still not anything I'm creaming my Hello Kitty! panties over.

xDDD


...Other than finding it funny, I also agree with Noctacular's reply.
It's probably not something I'll buy, even though it kinda looks like it's pretty fun.

[Raistlin]

AC was definitely a disappointment, but from what I've heard ACII is a significant improvement. I'll probably buy it at some point next year, though because of AC's severe letdown it's not really a priority.

[Quindiana Jones]

Anyone within a 100 mile radius of me just heard the sound of me jizzing in ecstasy at the mere mention of this game.

[Bolivar]

This game is all but sold to me, just gonna wait till christmas or so to get it. I really enjoyed the first game and learned to appreciate its strengths to outweigh its shortcomings, which were largely due to the unfortunate popular conventions at that time in HD Gaming.

[ljkkjlcm9]

Honestly, this game makes the first game seem like a joke. The game is far more complete in every way, and there's so much more to it. I can never go back and play the first one after playing this game, because it would feel so incomplete. Trust me people, this is what the first one should have been, and then some.

THE JACKEL

[Skyblade]

Honestly, this game makes the first game seem like a joke. The game is far more complete in every way, and there's so much more to it. I can never go back and play the first one after playing this game, because it would feel so incomplete. Trust me people, this is what the first one should have been, and then some.

THE JACKAL

Agreed. This game is so much more developed and refined than the original (except for some of the character models, most notably Lucy). Far more variety in the missions, much more character development, a better designed world, and far better gameplay.

[JKTrix]

This game is all I've been playing.

When I did the Leonardo's Flying Machine part, I was trying to control it like the cape in Super Mario World. It worked, a little, but I still had to fly over those fires.

My 'villa' is making so much money now that I've bought all the armour and most of the weapons and upgraded all the shops, that my favourite waste of money is to keep poisoning every guard I come across and buying more of it. I started just randomly throwing money around too. I think there's an achievement for it.

For a while it got on my nerves that there were some jumps that looked possible but I just narrowly missed. But then once I learned you could hold B (or Circle) to stick your arms out to grab stuff (in multiple directions), my acrobatics really opened up.

The bards are funny. I found the easiest way to get rid of them is to just 'run' into them when they get in your face. Usually they drop their lute and run away, but if I have some courtesans around me they try to fight them :P

A consistently great moment: When there are two guards guarding something I want to get to, I just walk right up to them. They go, "Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" and I go DOUBLE SHIV TO THE FACE!

Ugly, ugly characters, but otherwise great game.

[Pete for President]

I'm starting to get interested, but I'm still not 100% convinced. I'll have to check it out somewhere.