Assassin's Creed II

I was very skeptical about the Assassin's Creed games. I didn't buy the first one due comments such as repetitive, glitchy etc. and I don't like stealth games to be honest. Eventually I took the plunge and bought AC2 Platinum Edition due to its great reviews and bargain price, and it was the best purchase I have ever made. It's super cheap now and there is nothing else I have ever bought that was such good value for money! Even though I am not too keen on stealth games I found the stealth aspects to be mostly good fun and rewarding. I say mostly, because there were some missions that were really tough and I lost patience having to sneak around and re-do bits over and over again, and I would get sloppy and repeatedly fail missions. Luckily there were only a handful of missions like this and I managed to complete them eventually.

I have put in over 60 hours on this masterpiece but it was not always plain sailing! At one point I did throw the joypad across the room. Luckily it has a rubber skin on it, so it bounced! The main reasons for these frustrations are the slightly iffy controls. Sometimes, Ezio will get stuck in a roof or his horse will get stuck on 'sticky rock' or 'sticky bridge' and it is so frustrating when you are in a race and he decides to fling himself off a rooftop for no apparent reason. These are minor glitches though and I can overlook them.

This huge game is made up of 14 main storyline sequences, tons of secondary missions, odd, baffling 'glyph' puzzles, collectible sets, secret locations, upgrades to the villa (an easy add on)and other collectible items. It is easy to navigate but the story was hard for me to follow but I never did play the first one. It's some cockamamie nonsense about an apple, Adam and Eve and aliens.

The main difference between this game and the original edition is the two extra main game sequences and secret Templar lairs. In the first edition, sequences 12 and 13 were 'corrupted' or missing or whatever, but with this edition you get 'Battle of Forli' and 'Bonfire of the Vanities' included. The game now flows from sequence 11 to 'repaired memories now available' which are sequences 12 and 13. You don't have to complete the game to access them or download anything with a code. It flows seamlessly and the two extra levels are excellent, but tough. I had some difficulties with some of the assassination missions. These two extra sequences really beef up the last part of the game and I reckon the regular edition would appear lacking (but that's probably because I have played this version!) There is also some terribly foul yet highly amusing language. Most of it is in Italian, but the subtitles are mostly in English. I switched them on because I was struggling to hear the dialogue, and I am glad I did becasue I was howling with laughter at some of the less than child friendly profanities. If I had a 15 year old kid, I don't think I would let them play this until they were 18! This is a seriously gruesome game and is peppered with swearing and sexual overtones and at one point during the Battle of Forli, a section of dialogue was so blue it was pretty much verbal pornography - it is screamed in Italian but the subtitles are in English! My husband was playing at the time and the dialogue was so hilariously vulgar he asked me to read it out because he couldn't read and play at the same time! For those of a sensitive or easily offended nature it is perhaps best to leave the subtitles off! I would personally rate this game 18 and parents with under 16's asking for this game should be aware of its content.

This game is simply vast and can be very overwhelming at first, so my advice is to simply follow the tutorial and don't get too side tracked with the animus and options and the map. For those who have not played the first one (and I don't think it is essential)the learning curve is just about right and the game slowly introduces you to the complex gameplay structure.Eventually, you will know the system like you know your own home but it takes a couple of play sessions to really get into it - but once you are it is a serious life sucker and it just reels you in to its brutal and complicated world.

You can check your progress via options and there is a 'DNA' strand that allows you to see your current missions progress. The game has many great maps, fast travel stations and you also have the option to climb a great many high structures to synchronize viewpoints with them and fill in your map. This was one of my favourite, non-mission based parts of the game.

Secondary memory missions are fun yet challenging and have four types. Assassination contracts, beat up (cheating husbands), courier (deliver embarrassing letters - don't forget to read them!) and race. I found the races very, very challenging but when I managed to do them I felt like I had really achieved something! The main bulk of 'secondary memories' is made up of many Assassination contracts. If there was any repetition in this game it was via these missions and on occasion they did feel a bit of a slog. There are also a LOT of those crazy glyph puzzles hiding on landmarks. These can be tough to find and I used a guide for the last few.

This game is almost too big to review, but it's far too good not to. I got me a copy of AC2 Brotherhood the day after I finished it. I was getting withdrawal symptoms! I would not hesitate buying further games in the franchise either. I think there may be one other follow on to this, then AC3. I would like to see AC3 set in Victorian times and perhaps by AC6 we will see a modern day Assassin's Creed set in LA or someplace with skyscrapers for viewpoints, dumpsters and swimming pools to land in after a leap of faith. Motorbikes, fast cars and jet skis instead of a horse. Modern, ultra hi tech weapons, super fancy armor. Missions taking place in amusement parks, water parks, shopping malls! How much fun to perform a double air assassination from a roller coaster or a big wheel or something, and how fun and spooky it would be skulking around in a ghost train. Oh the possibilities.

Even despite it's minor flaws and a bit too much forced killing (you need to climb all over the place to play the game, yet you climb, you get attacked, so you have to kill loads of guards just to synch with a viewpoint or collect something) this game is probably in my top three of finest console games ever. In fact, I think it might even be my No. 1 all time favourite, and I have been playing console games for almost 20 years now, harking back to the old Master system.

*slight spoiler*:

Update for those struggling to get 100% synchronization. I finally managed to achieve this and it was no easy feat. Here is what I did:

Firstly, you need this edition or have the full compliment of missions. I collected all the treasures according to the DNA strand (those on the map anyway), all the feathers, did all the viewpoints etc and had no empty diamonds on my DNA strand. Basically, the DNA strand needs to be complete. I don't know if the collections and villa upgrades count, but these are easy enough to achieve. Any hidden treasures that are not on the map don't count towards full synchronization. When I finished getting the last feather, I thought I had cracked it - but no. I was stuck at 99.29%! Annoyingly, you have to create an account with U Play (I did this online and it was free of course and straight forward) and from your PS3 sign in to PSN (at least you can now), then load up the game and sign in to U Play by pressing triangle on the main menu screen. You should have 100 U points as you will have earned them during play. This works even if you completed the game without being signed in to the PSN or anything. From the U Play screen, redeem your points in exchange for Altair's outfit, five extra throwing knifes and the Auditore family crypt map - the first two are optional but the map is needed to complete your synch . I think there might be one other thing too. Now go to the Villa and there will be a new tomb location on your map. Go there and enter the crypt. I would say it is of medium difficulty (it is very similar to other Assassin's tombs but I actually thought it was a little easier even though there were more levers and gates) and there are some interesting scrolls on the wall to read. Complete the series of timed levers and gates and finally you will get your reward - the Auditore family treasure and the 100% synch! If there is any extra in-game reward for doing this I have not found it yet - but it was just for the sheer satisfaction of seeing that 100% synchronization! I have heard stories of a 'Desmond skin' but so far, no sign of it. Who would want a dull Desmond skin anyway? (Aww poor Desi).

I am new to this reviewing thing but ... after writing a short but scathing review of mass effect 2 for ps3 - I thought I should restore the balance. Assasins creed 2 - well done ubisoft! Looks slick, has a good story and the characters are a pleasure. The controls are also very slick - Ezzio does what you want him to do and looks cool doing it. If you are female this game does not fall afoul of using one dimentional female character roles, i.e the women in the game have a part to play not just eye candy for those who like to oggle pixelated cleavage. Ezzio is a charming character to be and the setting is a joy to roam around in. This game is fun and good value for money now buy it you may then run out and buy the next one - I know I did! Enjoy.

"My name is Desmond Miles. I'm a prisoner of war ... a war I never knew existed, waged by two groups I never thought were real - Templars and Assassins."

At the end of Assassin's Creed we left Desmond Miles still in the hands of Abstergo, a rescue attempt having failed. His time in the Animus has also had a strange effect on him, it has enabled him to use the "eagle vision" that his ancestor Altair had used and as he watches Dr Warren Vidic and his assistant Lucy Stillman walk away Vidic has a red aura - enemies show in red.

Desmond must try to escape from Asbergo before they decide he is of no further use to them (like his 16 predecessors), but before be can think of what to do Lucy returns and puts him back into the animus and we witness the birth of Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. Ezio will be Desmond's new animus alter-ego, and Renaissance Italy will be his play-ground.

One of the best things about the AC games, for me, is the freedom-to-roam game play. You play the game at your pace and you can travel anywhere within the map (providing you have completed the necessary steps to open the area).

There are a number of mini side games - all available as you:

- villa statues - first of the collectables - collect all eight and place on their stands to receive hidden treasure along with a trophy "myth maker"

- glyphs - find the glyphs, solve the puzzles and discover what subject 16 left behind

- feathers - collect all 100 feathers and receive a special gift from Ezio's mother (if you collect and return more than 50 feathers you will receive a gift from Ezio's uncle)

- codex pages - to see what Altar did once he had the apple of eden

- seals - raid the Assassin's tombs and recover the 6 seals to get Altair's armour.

- paintings - purchase the latest and famous artworks and decorate the Villa Monteriggioni

- collect all the treasures and gain a trophy

There are many trophies to collect, for example "street cleaner" hide bodies in the piles of hay, and so on, and after a while you will receive the "street cleaner" trophy. Some of these trophies are automatic (you get them for completing a chapter of Ezio's life), some are easier to discover than others. I doubt I have discovered them all.

The controls are extremely natural to use (I'm a beginner at this game playing so the controls had to be easy to handle and they were).

With the "Platinum Edition" you receive the downloadable areas (DLC) as standard on the disc, meaning that you can use them without having to spend the extra money for a download. These are: "Battle for Forli", "Bonfire of the Vanities" and "Templar Lairs".

Remember to repair "Monteriggioni" to increase Ezio's income and allow him to purchase upgrades for armour and weaponry faster, as well as throwing coins to distract enemies, and bribe heralds. You need to return to the Villa and speak to Claudia in order to get your income and this can be a bit-of-a-bind when you are doing something else and keep getting the on-screen reminders that your income has reached the maximum.

When I played the Resident Evil games (on the Wii and more recently on PS3) I didn't think any other game franchise would be able to captivate me as much - that was until I started playing Assassin's Creed. Once I started playing AC I was hooked, not just by the game play but by the story too.

Assassin's Creed 2 has taken that further than I thought possible. I like the new avatar character of Ezio and the Renaissance period. I know an amount that period and it is interesting to see how they have linked it all together.

It is a superb game. One that has built on AC with both game play and story rather than regurgitating the same game play, or completely altering the game play that it is known for.