[360, PS3] Assassin's Creed 2

[zed]

Mario is getting good reviews and is a *major* industry IP.

but there are mario games every year (from a quick glance in fact more than 100!!!, making him perhaps the most over used character in gaming history)

MW2 is a sequal to a game that stood toe-to-toe with Halo3 and sold well on the 360, PS3, and PC

Last novemeber COD:WAW released and the way activision plays it with milking sequels, u can guarantee there will be plenty more to come in the following years

You have been having fun hating on big franchises as of late, but these two are very strong franchises. And based on critical reviews and sales MW2 is doing some amazingly strong movement in the market.

Ive always been against the hype/marketing factor in (everything) games, esp when publishers misrepresent their products.
On the subject of reviews (well we know WRT sales they dont matter as much as marketting ) but it would be nice if the reviewers were a bit more critical, look at film reviewers often u will see AAA blockbuster getting absolutely hammered in reviews (though it often doesnt stop ppl turning out in their droves to watch it )

 

[Sigfried1977]

I'm loving it. This has to be the most improved sequel I played in years. Love the graphics as well. Screen tearing is very apparent (PS3) but that's just about the the complaint I have. Venice in particular is so amazingly detailed that it's hard to believe that this is actually a huge, open-world game.

 

[dabomb665m]

I'd like to say... having tried both 720p and forced 1080p, 1080p is definitely inferior. It actually looks very blurred out. Eurogamer thinks the resolution is quite low for the 1080p. I forget the exact figures but the game definitely displays less detail in 1080p mode. Whats sad is... I would use the lower res 1080p mode if the game ran smoother with the lower res but sadly, it does not. The tearing doesn't seem as severe only due to the fact that the picture is not as sharp so the edges of the tears also get blurred out in 1080p mode.

This is of course the PS3 version. It's much better than the first game in terms of performance... but still far from ideal. Here's to hoping that Ubisoft will issue a patch to fix all the tearing / framerate issues on the PS3. I don't care if they have to lower some parts of IQ.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

It's supposed to be 960*720, with quincunx added on top.

 

[nightshade]

I must say that the wet shaders on Ezio's clothers when he comes out from water are very very good looking ..too bad the water effects are just the opposite ie very bland.

 

[RobertR1]

This game is really good. I'm liking how the city comes to life at day and slowly starts to thin out by night. Lots of NPC's and chatter means you really feel like there some life in the areas. It's not as rich as Fable 2 in bring the area to life but works much better than the last one.

The side missions are interesting as is the introduction of economy. The main story is a bit easier to follow also or maybe because everything else is well done, I'm just paying more attention. Either way, the game is really appealing to me and if it wasn't for MW2, I'd be marathoning this.

 

[Tap In]

agreed

this game is leaps and bounds ahead of AC1... great story telling and much more interaction and involvement emotionally and with the world.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Noone has mentioned the music yet, so let's get it done: Jesper Kyd rocks. I seriously couldn't decide between this one and ODST, seems like they're gonna be competing for most awards this year.

 

[woundingchaney]

Marvelous game. This is exactly how to tell a very evolved story line in a modern game. This game is considerably better on just about all accounts over AC1.

 

[PARANOiA]

I picked this up yesterday. The intro was beyond awful, but the way the game has opened up is nice and refreshing. I just completed my first assassination and I'm liking the way there's generally something around me to try and find no matter where I am, so I'm not feeling a pull onto the main story... I get around to it when I happen to end up near it.

Having said that I'm not seeing a huge difference between this and AC1 other than the story seeming a bit more interesting. At what point did you guys feel this game really opened up and made you feel it was vastly superior?

 

[RobertR1]

I picked this up yesterday. The intro was beyond awful, but the way the game has opened up is nice and refreshing. I just completed my first assassination and I'm liking the way there's generally something around me to try and find no matter where I am, so I'm not feeling a pull onto the main story... I get around to it when I happen to end up near it.

Having said that I'm not seeing a huge difference between this and AC1 other than the story seeming a bit more interesting. At what point did you guys feel this game really opened up and made you feel it was vastly superior?

About 3 hours into it. It's a long game also. 16hours if you rush through. 20's if you play it at a good pace.

 

[betan]

It's way better game than the first, but still far from being the great game people let me believe.
Decent at best.

However, I loved the race music, the Altair armor side quests, and the ending.
In fact, the game's ending is probably the best I have seen this year, even somewhat makes up for ultraboring Desmond sections before that.

 

[RudeCurve]

Here's the first live action AC2 movie, they'll tell a story about the hero's father.

I wonder what you guys think about this, and the approach to live action movies for games in general (think Halo ODST). I think the original Command and Conquer was the first game with significant material but it kinda died of when 3D acceleration became the big feature to put money into.
So should this replace CG cinematics, is it better to look at real actors instead of animated characters?

I think live action is pretty cool but for games I prefer realtime cutscenes that are done really well like the ones RE5, KZ2 etc. I don't like highend CG cutscenes. For full length movies I think all 3 types would work.

 

[PhilB]

Noone has mentioned the music yet, so let's get it done: Jesper Kyd rocks.

I can't believe I forgot to mention that! And agreed. Absolutely amazing soundtrack. They completely nailed it - level music, chase sequences, etc... all are sublime.

 

[the ignoramus]

I prefer the music from the first game, actually, the music in that game is more memorable. Only one piece from AC2 stands out in my mind, while most of the pieces from AC1 stood out the moment I heard them. I think it may have to do with the songs from AC1 having a more mystical theme.

 

[Tap In]

sold 1.6 million first week

 

[suryad]

Must resist snagging a copy for the PS3. Must wait for the PC version...absolutely must....

 

[PARANOiA]

So I completed my second assassination the other day and I must say now I get what you're all saying about the improvements over the first game. The way everything opened up was actually quite clever, though I hope the third game launches straight into an open structure... if I was more impatient I'd probably have shelved the game in favour of another.

I'm genuinely impressed with this one. Highly recommended.

 

[specwarGP2]

can someone who owns the PS3 version comment on the framerate? The framerate in AC1 made it totally unplayable for me.

 

[BadTB25]

The latest CO-Op also commented on the disappointing framerate compared to the XBox360 version. He stuck with the PS3 version hoping that the PSP-sync would be worth keeping...it's not unplayable, but it is disappointing-also more pop-in and shorter draw distance.