Assassin’s Creed II is the second installment of the series of action-adventure games with a touch of science fiction, a lot of history, and amazing exploration.
Great Characters
Great Music
Great Story
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Story & Themes
Assassin’s Creed II is about present-day descendants of the Templars and Assassins. In the game, modern day protagonist and Assassin Desmond Miles is rescued from captivity in Templar-run Abstergo, but must again relive the memories of an ancestor—this time Ezio Auditore of 15th century Florence. Throughout the game, Ezio attempts to thwart the efforts of the Borgias as they seek to acquire ancient technology.
One of the greatest appeals of these games, rather than the assassinations, is the exploration of historical cities. Assassin's Creed II allows the player the free-run through Florence, Venice, and the Italian countryside. As Assassins, you can climb buildings with ease and leap across rooftops. Players can spend hours exploring the realistic cities, which are all populated with shops and citizens. The cities also contain real-life landmarks. Have you ever wanted to stand atop Florence’s Duomo and look out over the city? Assassin’s Creed II lets you do just that.
In addition, each game has the player interacting with historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci or Lorenzo de Medici. An in-game encyclopedia keeps players informed about the historical aspects of the game, including characters, locations, and events.
Save Points
The Assassin's Creed games save automatically at checkpoints throughout the game. This means that you can quit pretty much anytime, but also you can't go back and repeat sections. If you start a side mission, like a race, the game will save and you won't be able to move on until you win the race.
Difficulty
For an inexperienced gamer, some of the missions may require multiple attempts and perhaps even a walkthrough for help navigating trickier free-running areas. Otherwise, gameplay is at an intermediate level: not too difficult, but also not overly easy.
Heads Up!
Violence As an Assassin, the player does a lot of killing. There are many kinds of weapons available throughout the games, though the classic weapons used by the Assassins are a set of sharp blades that shoot out of the character's wrist guards. There are some more cinematic kills where the player can see blood and weapons stabbing people. Other times, there are only sound effects, and the corpse falling. There are cutscenes that can get somewhat gory, showing blades entering necks, swords penetrating people, etc.
Sex & Nudity In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio is quite the womanizer. There is no graphic sexual imagery, but he does spend the night with a woman at the beginning of the game—you can see her naked back, but nothing more. There are courtesans in the game, and the player can hire them to flirt with guards to distract them.
Strong Language The game does have instances of adult language, usually in moments of stress or anger. Much of the swearing in AC II is in Italian and therefore only understandable with subtitles turned on.
Substance Use There is no in-game drinking, but occasional references to wine.
Consumerism An Assassin's Creed fan may be inclined to purchase the many games in the series, but otherwise the franchise does not promote consumerism more so than any other game.
Discrimination Ethnic diversity is scarce in Assassin's Creed II. There are some female characters, notably Ezio's sister and his mother. Unfortunately, the female characters in this game don't drive the plot as much as the male characters who help Ezio, though they are good characters in their own right. In the modern storyline, Desmond is helped by a team with two capable women.
Conversation Starters
- Why do you think Ubisoft chose to tell this story as science fiction instead of straight historical fiction?
- Does the game do a good job of making you feel like you're in a real location?
- Do you think these games would appeal to someone who isn't interested in history? Does it make you want to learn more?
- Many of the powerful figures in these games are corrupt. Do you think it's true that power can make someone evil?
- What other historical periods do you want these games to explore? What cities do you think would be good locations?
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