Assassin’s Creed II First Impressions

Assassin’s Creed II (ACII) picks up exactly where the first instalment in the series left off. Players will take control of the bartender, Desmond who was kidnapped by Abstergo in order to relive his genetic memories by use of the Animus machine.

To give some context, Abstergo Industries are said to be in medical and scientific fields as well as any huge progressive movement throughout the world. Abstergo is also a front for a modern day Templar movement. Dr. Vidic, one of Desmond’s captors, claims they have been responsible for every scientific accomplishment for the last 1000 years.

Abstergo also funds the Animus machine. The game centres on this machine and Desmond goes into the machine to re-enact one of the genetic memories of his ancestors.

In the first instalment of Assassin’s Creed, players embarked upon the journeys of Altair, a member of the Assassins. They were a real-life group that performed politically motivated assassinations between the 11th and 13th centuries. It was set in the Middle East during the third crusade.

In ACII, players are introduced to the controls by escaping the Templar’s facility at Abstergo and heading towards the Assassin’s hideout in the war between the modern day Templars and the Assassins.

This time, the Assassins send Desmond back to 15th century Renaissance Italy where players control the life of Ezio Auditore de Firenze. Players will quickly pick up and learn the movement as they see life from the birth of Ezio and his life as a banker’s son.

From there, players will get into the game very quickly. The first few missions and tasks will get players familiar with the control scheme and movement around the city. Players will need to scale walls to find feathers, beat up an ex-boyfriend and carry objects for a famous painter.

The storyline takes a swift turn at this point which involves betrayal and revenge. It’s addictive and players need to be prepared to be sucked in for hours of gameplay.

ACII takes everything that was fantastic about Assassin’s Creed and has kept it in the game, and then improved upon the faults and flaws that existed in the first instalment.

Players will find there is a lot more fighting, which is also more varied in style; there is improved movement when scaling buildings and moving throughout the city; and the improved ability to move around unnoticed.


From the first introduction to Ezio as a youth, players will find themselves at the centre of a gang war where the end goal is to beat up as many enemies possible. The best part about this is looting all the enemies that players take down and using the money to buy better things as well as repair items and see doctors to renew one’s health.

Players will also no longer need to wait for a group of hooded civilians in order to blend, as they are able to blend quite easily with any small crowd. It involves walking a lot slower and keeping the finger off the “steal” button.

ACII is able to keep players enthralled with a brilliant, albeit far-fetched storyline, that goes hand in hand with the great gameplay and visuals that players are used to from the first instalment. The setting is vast and beautiful and players will be able to make the game their own, however way they wish to play it.