Ubisoft Montreal

Bells and Whistles, for the Win

HIGH "The Truth" is out there. Waaay out there.

LOW "Don't jump that way again!! Gah—this is a timed segment!"

WTF The soldiers of the near-future will baton your ass.

Violence is a Disease

HIGH That revelatory moment when the game's brutal message finally sinks in.

LOW The ending sadly seems to dodge that brutal message more than it should have.

WTF In a late scene set in the prison, your ability to shoot is inexplicably taken away from you.

How Much Do You Like Running on Rooftops?

HIGH Feeling my stomach pitch climbing the heights of a towering church.

LOW The poorly-planned, hours-long, painfully slow beginning.

WTF Is finding feathers supposed to be fun?

Game Description: Get ready to plunge into the lush and deadly world of the Italian Renaissance, an era of arts, riches and murderous conspiracy. Assassin's Creed II introduces you to Ezio, a new assassin carrying on the deadly lineage of his forebears. Confront an epic tale of power and corruption as you hone your assassin's art, wielding weapons and instruments designed by the legendary Leonardo da Vinci himself in this gripping and deadly sequel.

Sadly, the adventures of both Altair and Ezio fall far short of what I would expect from such a rich, promising premise. My review is complete, but I'm going to sit on it for another day to make sure that I'm not letting it go too soon—with such a high-profile title, I'm really making every effort to ensure that the piece says what I'm trying to say. Readers can disagree with me all they like, but I want them to disagree because they actually disagree, not because they misunderstand what I'm saying. (Inevitably, both will happen.)

In spite of my dismay, I held out hope that Ubisoft would take the copious amounts of player feedback and apply it towards the sequel, finally crafting a title that lived up to the promise. The early word was good, and practically everyone I spoke to said that the developers had seen the error of their ways and had delivered a game that "kept all the good stuff and got rid of all the bad". I wanted to believe. Oh, how I wanted to believe.

More isn't Always Better

HIGH Using real-time fire as a strategic advantage.

LOW Driving, driving, driving.

WTF People just leave diamonds lying around in the wilderness in unlocked briefcases?

"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction." —Albert Einstein

HIGH Effortlessly running, jumping, and climbing across the entire game world.

LOW Lightseed collection gets extremely monotonous.

WTF The final "battle" where your opponent is apparently a drunk Pokémon on steroids.