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In quick succession to our first Community Feature, I present to you the second, by community member Khy!

When I turned on the Xbox 360, I was pretty damn excited. I had just put in the disk for “Assassins Creed 2,” which I have been waiting to play for a long time. I Couldn’t wait to jump into the world of Italy and run around and do whatever I want. Yeah whatever, everyone has their pleasure.

Before I start, let me say, this game is very mature, and rated M for it. There is blood, and many sexual references.

Now, let me start off by saying, this game was incredible, but nowhere near perfect. But should worrying about perfection stop you from playing a fun game? Not at all.

If you’re one of those people that read the first chapter of a book to decide whether to read on or not, this may not be the game for you. The beginning is extremely dry, as you start of in modern times filled with cut-scenes and parts where you aren’t sure where to go. It has a few fun parts though, one of them being sneaking through a giant room of cubicles trying to avoid guards. (Although, it wouldn’t matter if you avoided them or not, as in modern day you have no health bar, to speed things up.) Eventually you get the go to transport to the Renaissance period or Italy, specifically in the town of Florence.

The gameplay is a bit choppy, but still great. Near the beginning in a “gang fight” I “killed” a guy near a rail near a river, and he spazzed with his body in parts unthinkable, twenty times in a mere two seconds. Yeah, that kind of glitch. But that was the only glitch I experienced in my time playing the game. Free running around the town is fun, but it does get a little hard to get used to. A and RT are both running, while holding them both make you run faster. A is also the button to climb/jump so things get a little weird as you hop around places you don’t want to go. The controls adjust to the nearest landmark around you, and so many times you will hop off of a ledge, or bounce off a wall you were planning to stick on too, although it isn’t a big deal. The fighting in this game is incredibly fun, and going up against a group of guards isn’t a necessary win, but being an assassin and a real human has its advantages. A really cool feature is to take the weapons of the enemies you have killed or are about to kill. The assassinations are so unique and they are incredibly fun to watch. This game also throws a moral issue in. If you kill a civilian, others may gang up on you, and guards will notice the crowd, and you. My favorite feature is crawling on a ledge, and having a hay barrel way down below you, and being able to jump off and land in it, sometimes without anyone noticing. Overall the gameplay is flat out fun, with a few things getting in the way here and there.

The plot in this game is very interesting, as your character, Desmond Miles, is forced into fighting a group of Knights Templar, and forced to live as his ancestor Ezio in Italy 1400’s. Ezio is not immediately an assassin, and the beginning of your times in Italy features small missions which teach you the games controls. He finds out his father is an assassin, but his father and two brothers are hanged when he does. The beginning of the game puts strong ties to your family, and you actually have feelings for them, and it is sad when they die. You become an assassin in your father’s footsteps, being taught by your uncle. You have many friends to work with, such as thieves, prostitutes, and even Leonardo Da Vinci, who builds armor and weapons for you, even a tiny gun in your sleeve. The game uses the many cities to integrate different characters into your quest to find the killer of your father, and there are many plot twists. It even uses real historical figures in fictional positions. There are many ways to use the people. Use prostitutes as a distraction for guards, or throw money on the ground to distract people so a crowd will build while you assassinate or loot somebody. The plot is very well done, and it makes you feel for Ezio and his position.

The graphics in this game are absolutely beautiful. While choppy in the modern times sections, they are stunning in Italy. They boast Italy’s architecture and amazingly show off It’s features. Every building and city is detailed and realized to the highest standard. The sound is also amazing. When walking in the city, music will occasionally come on, and it is beautiful, fitting to the time period. Also, the city noises are all intertwined, making a very authentic feel. The graphics and audio are so good, there really isn’t much to say.


Score:

Story: 9

Gameplay: 8

Graphics/Sound: 10

Overall: 9.4 (Definite Buy)