I picked up ACII through steam because I recently picked up the series again at ACIV: Black Flag and regained some nostalgia for what I considered to be one of the best games in the series at the time. That being said, this review will attempt to not be viewed through the rose-colored glasses of Nostalgia. However be warned, this is a comprehensive review and will contain SPOILERS . Read below the TL;DR for the full review.

TL;DR: AC II is a great game to play if your'e feeling nostalgic for the series, and the story is still captivating as ever. However, with the PC port the camera controls are extremely sensitive, the game will bug in some locations, and forced stealth missions may cause frustration. I played the game using a mouse and keyboard, I would recommend using a controller. Overall, the game still maintains its ability to entertain and captivate. 8/10
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Game Summary

Assassin's Creed II is a continuation of the AC series that follows Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an Italian noble who's life of leisure gets throttled into chaos after the false accusation and excecution of his father and brothers. After taking the mantle of "assassin", he hunts down the conspirators responsible for his family's destruction. The more he kills, the more Ezio comes to understand that the plot is bigger than just city corruption, and with the help of his uncle, as well as an interesting cast of supporting characters, Ezio grows into his role as assassin and attempts to discover a life-altering secret.

Combat Review

When it first came out, AC2 was my favourite of the developing series. A lot of the combat from ACI was drudgy, somewhat difficult, and unfair at times since it was easy to be swamped with enemies. AC2 provides not only more weapons for customizability of how you play the game, but also offers an easier overall combat system that includes techniques like dodging, strafing, and probably the most useful, COUNTERING.

Countering is a lifesaver, especially when dealing with multiple enemies. However, this version is a PC port, and as I played it with a mouse and keyboard, countering and chain killing took some effort of timing. The most difficult aspect of combat was the item wheel itself. Part of this problem has to do with mouse sensitivity which I will get into later, but the fact that you could choose, let's say, the Sword, and yet because of sensitivity you'll end up picking the Coin Purse or Double Blade. It's more annoying than unreliable, but it causes the player to have to focus more on easing the mouse to pick the weapon they want, instead of enjoying beating up bad guys.

Gameplay Review

Another highlight of AC2 was an improvement of the detection system. We all remember how annoying it was to run slightly above a snail's pace and the whole city was upon you in AC1 right? Thankfully, AC2 allows you to run at full sprint through the vast and beautiful cities of Italy without so much as maybe causing a merchant to drop a box or two. It's a nice change of pace and makes traveling from point A to point B much quicker and more satisfying than having to worry about triggering half of the city guards.

That being said, being on rooftops still angers the guards, so take caution (even if you are wearing a cape that reduces noteriety) or simply assassinate them when they're not looking.

Gameplay isn't too much different than AC1: free-running and assassination are still the main functions of the game. Viewpoints are available to find quests, codex, or treasures and open the map for more visibility as well as guard and hiding spot tracking. However, AC2 refreshes the formula by adding a lot more content and techniques to free-running and climbing.

First off is the idea of fast climbing. It's actually fast. I recall in AC1 that even holding R2 didn't make you go much faster. This is greatly improved in this game. There's even a reach climb technique that is taught later in the game that helps you jump gaps on walls for easier climbing of certain buildings.

In terms of content, AC2: Deluxe edition contains most DLC that was released for the XBOX editions. This includes:

• Battle of Forli
  
• Templar Lair at Palazzo de Medici
  
• Templar Lair at the L'Arsenal in Venice
  
• Templar Lair in Tuscany

Exploring the great cities of Italy is more exciting than ever with Races, Beat Up, and Courier missions that take you across the cityscapes, not to mention the eventual Assassin's Tombs .

The game also allows you to hire factions to distract or engage guards, so Ezio can sneak into places he may not necessarily be allowed.

Here's the downside to some of the gameplay though and it's two things: the camera and forced stealth missions.

If you're someone like me who really gets into the atmosphere of a game like this, you're most likely using the camera to make sure you won't trigger a guard that could potentially cost you the mission, or you need to see the next possible area you can climb to reach your goal. Let me say this, using the PC camera with a mouse and keyboard: THE CAMERA CAN, AND WILL MESS YOU UP .

The main issue with the camera is the sensitivity of the mouse for the PC port; I do not know if this issue is fixed by using a controller. As soon as I started the game and touched the mouse to look around, it was almost dizzying how sensitive it was. Looking into the options there is NO OPTION to change mouse sensitivity. You just have to deal with it. This can cause a multitude of problems including glitching into walls and roofs due to weird and quick camera angles.

The other issue is forced stealth missions. This is most likely a personal opinion as I get easily frustrated with a game if I have to do something over more than three times. This happens a lot in this game towards later in the game's plot. Let it be known that I don't have an issue with forced stealth missions. For a game like AC it should be a staple that the player doesn't just run in and kill everything and get out without consequence. However, making a requirement that you can't be detected at ALL can make for an interesting gameplay style but also a frustrating one.

There are at least four forced stealth missions in this game, meaning if you get seen by a gard (indicated by a red marker) it's instant desynchronyzation. Granted, this mechanic did make me have to be more clever in HOW I completed the mission, but there were times where the game want's you to be a specific KIND of clever, and doesn't quite give you inference on how to do it. It got to the point where I desynched roughly 9 times on one aspect of a mission, and it made me not want to complete the game. That last sentence is purely from my own experience, but I know that strict stealth can cause frustration, and it makes an interesting scenario just not fun and dreadful when it's expected in the future.

The story in this game speaks for itself, and the beautiful landscapes and cityscapes of the major cities of Italy makes it all the more breathtaking. Artistically speaking, the look and feel of the game is much improved on the first AC, despite having some minor setbacks in terms of gameplay mechanics. I definitely enjoyed it and is well worth replaying for all the collectibles available.

[h1] ACII: Deluxe Edition Comprehensive Review [/h1] I picked up ACII through steam because I recently picked up the series again at ACIV: Black Flag and regained some nostalgia for what I considered to be one of the best games in the series at the time. That being said, this review will attempt to not be viewed through the rose-colored glasses of Nostalgia. However be warned, this is a comprehensive review and will contain [b] SPOILERS [/b]. Read below the TL;DR for the full review. [b]TL;DR:[/b] AC II is a great game to play if your'e feeling nostalgic for the series, and the story is still captivating as ever. However, with the PC port the camera controls are extremely sensitive, the game will bug in some locations, and forced stealth missions may cause frustration. I played the game using a mouse and keyboard, I would recommend using a controller. Overall, the game still maintains its ability to entertain and captivate. 8/10 ---------------------- [b] Game Summary [/b] Assassin's Creed II is a continuation of the AC series that follows Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an Italian noble who's life of leisure gets throttled into chaos after the false accusation and excecution of his father and brothers. After taking the mantle of "assassin", he hunts down the conspirators responsible for his family's destruction. The more he kills, the more Ezio comes to understand that the plot is bigger than just city corruption, and with the help of his uncle, as well as an interesting cast of supporting characters, Ezio grows into his role as assassin and attempts to discover a life-altering secret. [b] Combat Review [/b] When it first came out, AC2 was my favourite of the developing series. A lot of the combat from ACI was drudgy, somewhat difficult, and unfair at times since it was easy to be swamped with enemies. AC2 provides not only more weapons for customizability of how you play the game, but also offers an easier overall combat system that includes techniques like dodging, strafing, and probably the most useful, COUNTERING. Countering is a lifesaver, especially when dealing with multiple enemies. However, this version is a PC port, and as I played it with a mouse and keyboard, countering and chain killing took some effort of timing. The most difficult aspect of combat was the item wheel itself. Part of this problem has to do with mouse sensitivity which I will get into later, but the fact that you could choose, let's say, the Sword, and yet because of sensitivity you'll end up picking the Coin Purse or Double Blade. It's more annoying than unreliable, but it causes the player to have to focus more on easing the mouse to pick the weapon they want, instead of enjoying beating up bad guys. [b] Gameplay Review [/b] Another highlight of AC2 was an improvement of the detection system. We all remember how annoying it was to run slightly above a snail's pace and the whole city was upon you in AC1 right? Thankfully, AC2 allows you to run at full sprint through the vast and beautiful cities of Italy without so much as maybe causing a merchant to drop a box or two. It's a nice change of pace and makes traveling from point A to point B much quicker and more satisfying than having to worry about triggering half of the city guards. That being said, being on rooftops still angers the guards, so take caution (even if you are wearing a cape that reduces noteriety) or simply assassinate them when they're not looking. Gameplay isn't too much different than AC1: free-running and assassination are still the main functions of the game. Viewpoints are available to find quests, codex, or treasures and open the map for more visibility as well as guard and hiding spot tracking. However, AC2 refreshes the formula by adding a lot more content and techniques to free-running and climbing. First off is the idea of fast climbing. It's actually fast. I recall in AC1 that even holding R2 didn't make you go much faster. This is greatly improved in this game. There's even a reach climb technique that is taught later in the game that helps you jump gaps on walls for easier climbing of certain buildings. In terms of content, AC2: Deluxe edition contains most DLC that was released for the XBOX editions. This includes: [list] [*] Battle of Forli [*] Templar Lair at Palazzo de Medici [*]Templar Lair at the L'Arsenal in Venice [*] Templar Lair in Tuscany [/list] Exploring the great cities of Italy is more exciting than ever with Races, Beat Up, and Courier missions that take you across the cityscapes, not to mention the eventual [spoiler] Assassin's Tombs [/spoiler]. The game also allows you to hire factions to distract or engage guards, so Ezio can sneak into places he may not necessarily be allowed. Here's the downside to some of the gameplay though and it's two things: the [b] camera[/b] and [b]forced stealth missions[/b]. If you're someone like me who really gets into the atmosphere of a game like this, you're most likely using the camera to make sure you won't trigger a guard that could potentially cost you the mission, or you need to see the next possible area you can climb to reach your goal. Let me say this, using the PC camera with a mouse and keyboard: [b] THE CAMERA CAN, AND WILL MESS YOU UP [/b]. The main issue with the camera is the sensitivity of the mouse for the PC port; I do not know if this issue is fixed by using a controller. As soon as I started the game and touched the mouse to look around, it was almost dizzying how sensitive it was. Looking into the options there is NO OPTION to change mouse sensitivity. You just have to deal with it. This can cause a multitude of problems including glitching into walls and roofs due to weird and quick camera angles. The other issue is forced stealth missions. This is most likely a personal opinion as I get easily frustrated with a game if I have to do something over more than three times. This happens a lot in this game towards later in the game's plot. Let it be known that I don't have an issue with forced stealth missions. For a game like AC it should be a staple that the player doesn't just run in and kill everything and get out without consequence. However, making a requirement that you can't be detected at ALL can make for an interesting gameplay style but also a frustrating one. There are at least four forced stealth missions in this game, meaning if you get seen by a gard (indicated by a red marker) it's instant desynchronyzation. Granted, this mechanic did make me have to be more clever in HOW I completed the mission, but there were times where the game want's you to be a specific KIND of clever, and doesn't quite give you inference on how to do it. It got to the point where I desynched roughly 9 times on one aspect of a mission, and it made me not want to complete the game. That last sentence is purely from my own experience, but I know that strict stealth can cause frustration, and it makes an interesting scenario just not fun and dreadful when it's expected in the future. The story in this game speaks for itself, and the beautiful landscapes and cityscapes of the major cities of Italy makes it all the more breathtaking. Artistically speaking, the look and feel of the game is much improved on the first AC, despite having some minor setbacks in terms of gameplay mechanics. I definitely enjoyed it and is well worth replaying for all the collectibles available.