Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video game Assassin's Creed. The game was released for video game consoles in November 2009, and for Windows in March 2010. Its direct sequel, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, was released in November 2010.

 The frame story is set in the 21st century, with player-controlled protagonist " Desmond Miles " escaping from Abstergo Industries with an employee, Lucy Stillman, after being forced to relive the genetic memories of ancestral assassin Altair ibn La-ahad through a machine known as the "Animus". After escaping from Abstergo, Desmond enters a device which is more advanced than the original Animus, the Animus 2.0, and relives the genetic memories of ancestral nobleman Ezio Auditore da Firenze who lived during the Renaissance period of the late 15th century in Italy. The player controls Ezio, who becomes an Assassin after his father and brothers are murdered by a traitor to their family. While controlling Ezio, the player can explore game renditions of Italian cities, regions, and landmarks in open world gameplay. 

Assassin's Creed II was met with widespread acclaim, garnering aggregated scores of 91% for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and 86% for the PC, from review aggregated Metacritic. The game was praised for its stronger emphasis on open-world exploration and interaction, non-linear gameplay and greater mission variety compared to the first Assassin's Creed. The game was also credited with improved non-player character AI and combat mechanics, and its new economic system allowing players to purchase accessories, armor, and improved weapons through the course of the game.

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed II takes place in an open world with nonlinear gameplay allowing the player to roam freely within several regions throughout late fifteenth-century Italy such as Venice, Florence, Forli, Quend Plage and the Tuscan countryside. The Animus 2.0, a new version of the machine of the same name present in Assassin's Creed, provides in-game context for changes and additions to several game elements. A database is also available, providing extra historical information about key landmarks, characters and services that the player encounters. The health system has been made more dynamic, with synchronization to the Animus and causing the character to recover only from minor injuries. More grievous injuries require visiting a street-side doctor or use of medicine (which can be purchased from doctors or found on bodies).

The player may now swim in water, and Eagle Vision-- the ability to identify specific people and landmarks-- can now be used in third-person view and while moving. A young Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game, aiding the player by creating new weapons from translated "Codex pages" that Altaïr, the original game's main character, left behind for future Assassins' analysis and insight. Within the game, the player will be able to use Leonardo's flying machine (based on real-life plans by Leonardo) during one mission. The player also has the ability to control a carriage in one level, and can row gondolas, as well as ride horses at any point in the game where they are readily available between towns and cities. The setting of the various places the player may go to have been made more detailed and in-depth; civilians can carry objects and sometimes cough or sneeze. Additionally, the player can hire different groups of NPCs, such as mercenaries, courtesans, or thieves; these groups can be used to fight, distract, or lure guards, respectively. A day and night cycle has been added to the game, giving the game more of a sense of time, in addition to setting missions and events at certain times of the day.

There are many ways to interact with NPCs. Money thrown to the ground, or a corpse carried and then deposited on the ground, may also serve as a distraction for both guards and peasants. There are also several different types of enemies, some more agile or stronger than others, and some of which will actively search hiding places where Ezio was last seen.

The combat system is more complex than that of its predecessor, with the ability to disarm opponents using counter-attacks while unarmed. If the player steals an enemy's weapon, it is possible to follow up with an attack that instantly kills the enemy. Da Vinci provides the player with specialized weaponry, such as the dual hidden blades, poison blade and the miniature wheellock firearm, which are all based on schematics found in Altaïr's Codex pages. Generic swords, cutlasses, maces, axes and daggers can all be purchased from vendors in each city or otherwise looted from corpses (some items, such as spears and brooms, cannot be acquired from vendors). In addition, players are able to purchase artwork for their villa, obtain new armor as the game progresses, and even dye Ezio's clothing with a number of different colors. Other equipment includes larger pouches to carry more throwing knives  and medicine. Six additional weapons can be unlocked by connecting a PSP with Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines to the PS3.

The Auditore family's countryside villa, located in Monteriggioni, acts as Ezio's headquarters: the surrounding property can be upgraded, drawing income for the player's use. There are several outlets for using currency, with vendors selling items such as medicine, poison, weapons, repairs, upgrades, paintings, and clothing dyes. When these shops are renovated, Ezio receives discounts at the shops on the goods they sell. Purchasing weaponry, armour sets and artwork also contributes to increasing the villa's overall worth, in turn generating more income for Monteriggioni.

There is now a broader array of methods for hiding or blending in the area. One can dive underwater to break guards' line of sight, and blending may be performed with any group of people, rather than only a specific type (as in the first Assassin's Creed). The game features a notoriety system, with guards more alert to Ezio's presence depending on his behavior, location, and current mission. This infamy can be reduced through bribery, removing wanted posters, or assassinating corrupt officials.

The missions in the game now have an expanded variety, with different structuring. For example, a mission may have the objective to escort someone, but may change to a chase and assassination. Investigation is less explicit, and instead missions may follow people and/or a narrative. There are roughly 200 missions in the game; about half are part of the main storyline, while the rest are side quests which need not be completed in order to finish the game's main storyline. Cities also contain hidden locations such as catacombs and caves (the design of which have been compared by the developers to the Prince of Persia series, where the objective is to navigate the area). Exploring these locations eventually rewards the player with an Assassin's Seal; the collection of all six Seals allows the player to unlock the Armor of Altaïr, in a concealed section of the Villa.

Like Assassin's Creed, characters based on historical figures are present in the game, including Leonardo da Vini , Niccolo Machiavelli, Caterina Sfroza, Lorenzo de' Medici, the Pazzi family, and Pope Alexander VI.

Locations in the game include the Tuscany region (Florence, Monteriggioni and San Gimignano), the Apennine Mountais, the Romagna region (Forli), Venice and Rome. Specific landmarks include St Mark's Basilica, the Grand Canal, the Little Canal, the Rialto Bridge, Santa Maria del Fiore, the Sistine Chapel, Santa Croce, Pallazo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio and Santa Maria Novella.
  

"Killing you won't bring my family back. I'm done. Nulla e reale; tutto e lecito. Requiescat in pace. (Nothing is true; everything is permitted. Rest in peace.)"

-Ezio Auditore Da Firenze 

(Relase Date: *NA November 17, 2009  *AUS November 19, 2009  *EU November 20, 2009  *JP December 3, 2009)