Assassin's Creed 2 Is The Ultimate Sequel
Ubisoft started working on Assassin's Creed 2 early in 2008. By November 2009 the finished game was on store shelves and spinning in people's disc trays. That's an astonishing time frame for a game of this scale. We're talking multiple cities, cinematic cutscenes, hours of voice acting, and major improvements over the original game—including revamped combat, a new notoriety system, and the ability to hire factions to fight for you. Over 300 developers worked on the game, and I'm sure they were forced to pull some gruelling all-nighters to get it finished. But the result of this effort is one of the best sequels ever made.
Related: Assassin's Creed Origins' Egyptian Setting Is Great Because It's Beautiful And Tragic In Equal Measure
A big part of the game's appeal is its protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. We're introduced to him seconds after being born, wiggling the analogue stick to move his arms and legs. Then we skip forward in time to his wild teenage years, where he fights, wise-cracks, and shags his way around Renaissance Florence. Immediately, his charisma is infectious—which makes him the polar opposite of the first game's dour lead, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Assassin's Creed can get very self-indulgent and serious at times, which makes Ezio such a breath of fresh air. He's driven by revenge, but takes time to enjoy the finer things in life too.
When designing Assassin's Creed 2, Ubisoft set itself two clear goals: answer every criticism of the first game and repeat its commercial success. Ezio is a prime example of this. Most reviews of the original game criticised its dreary hero, and this spirited new character was a response to that. To this day, most Assassin's Creed fans agree that he's the series' best, most
Read more on thegamer.com
