[360, PS3] Assassin's Creed 2
- Thread starter L. Scofield
- Start date
I beat the game last night. Absolutely my surprise hit of the year. It's a long game but it never got repetitive. The story was well presented also, which I thought was lacking in the first one. I enjoyed the various options in combat and choices in how I wanted to take down my targets.
For AC3, I'd like to see more chatter from NPC. I liked that there were a ton of NPC's that brought the world to life in cities but they often just walked around. I want Fable 2 like dialouge from NPC's where you can walk by and hear them talking about random things and such. That would be a big plus. They could also work the combo system a bit so that you can be offensive when fighting. Right now, it's all about counterting and disarming. Being offensive simply takes too long. I hope they don't feel the need for some tacked on MP because this game needs none of it. It's got the right formula. A lenghty well done campaign.
For AC3, I'd like to see more chatter from NPC. I liked that there were a ton of NPC's that brought the world to life in cities but they often just walked around. I want Fable 2 like dialouge from NPC's where you can walk by and hear them talking about random things and such. That would be a big plus. They could also work the combo system a bit so that you can be offensive when fighting. Right now, it's all about counterting and disarming. Being offensive simply takes too long. I hope they don't feel the need for some tacked on MP because this game needs none of it. It's got the right formula. A lenghty well done campaign.
One could argue that as an assassin, you're not supposed to get into combat and go openly offensive. The first game failed at this because they had no real and enjoyable alternate choices, apart from trying to run away which was dodgy and got frustrating quite soon.
In this game however, you have many other options: double assassinations, throwing knives, hidden gun, poison, smoke bomb, or hiring and using various factions. Even the battles in the final stretch can usually be avoided or quickly finished with these tricks. If you could hold a little more of each weapon/equipment, you could almost go trough the whole game without a swordfight and hot waste too much time visiting the blacksmiths.
On the other hand, I do agree with you that a feared assassin should have other options beyond 'wait until my enemy makes a wrong move'
In this game however, you have many other options: double assassinations, throwing knives, hidden gun, poison, smoke bomb, or hiring and using various factions. Even the battles in the final stretch can usually be avoided or quickly finished with these tricks. If you could hold a little more of each weapon/equipment, you could almost go trough the whole game without a swordfight and hot waste too much time visiting the blacksmiths.
On the other hand, I do agree with you that a feared assassin should have other options beyond 'wait until my enemy makes a wrong move'
I absolutely exercised those options. I was playing the game quite stealth and even when I was forced to engage, it'd would be smoke bombs, dual knives and end of battle. Just once in a while I'd have the urge to fight with the sword or blades without smoke and each time it proved to be a wait and counter or disarm and kill game.
Silent_Buddha
Legend
That just reminded me of playing the Thief series long ago. I kinda miss something like that where open combat was discouraged because as a thief, you obviously weren't as good a fighter as most trained soldiers...
I view assassins the same way for the most part. Skilled in killing with the least chance of being discovered, which means the most chance of leaving with your skin intact.
Just out of curiousity, does this game allow true assassination attempts through say poisoning a drink for example? Or sabotaging a targets saddle on his horse prior to him going out on a hunt so he hopefully breaks his neck.
In other words, more traditional assassination types rather than the more open combat and knifings...
That was the one drawback for me of the first AC1. I never felt like an assassin. I felt more like a really well trained thug/soldier but without armor.
Regards,
SB
The NPC chatter is a little better in this game. I skipped killing one guard because he was talking about his pregnant wife.
The original assassins (on the Holy Land) performed politically motivated killings. Back in that age there was no TV, radio, telephone etc. so most of the important people's deaths could have been covered up, even for many years. Thus the assassinations had to be performed in public, in front of the biggest possible audience, in order for them to have the desired effect.
This of course also meant that most of the assassins were on suicide missions as it was almost impossible to escape from the bodyguards of the target once the killer exposed himself. There are many legends trying to explain this level of fanaticism, usually with the islam religion and the clan leaders' lies about the afterlife.
The game does a good job of this with the 'leap of faith' trick and also makes sure to avoid the religious issue completely... so that the public won't call Altair a forerunner of today's terrorists...
Yeah I used to get the butterflies every time
It should go into first person mode during the leap of faith. Rushing headfirst toward the ground, and then your view changing as the roll takes place so you are looking at the sky as you crash into the hay.
I'm starting to really get into this game. I wasn't crazy about the first one, it seemed repetitive and I got bored. This one though starts slow but keeps building and getting more and more interesting. I'm in Venice now which I think is about halfway through, and it's a great game. It's really pretty also, I find myself sometimes just standing there watching the city and the people go about their business as the sun moves. Good stuff, very well done game.
That reminds me about a really cool ambient/spoken word album called Hashisheen - The End of Law, which is about the history/legend behind the whole assassin culture.
I keep thinking to myself, "This is a very good game, but not a truly great game" and then I find myself still playing it at 3:30am (as last night), having quit a couple of times cos "it's time for bed" and then getting a glass of water and somehow convincing myself to start it again to play for "another 10 minutes".
For me then, this is a game that is the very definition of addictive.
Also, this is likely to be the fisr 360 game where I get close to the 1000 achievement points. Well, there was Fight Night 3 where I got 1000, but that was simple. Usually I get about half of them.
But AC2? I want to do all of the side stuff. The codex stuff is interesting, the tomb raidery stuff is cool. The only Achievement points I can see not getting is the feather collection. I pick them up when I see them, but I can't see myself scouring every inch of the cities trying to track down the last few.
For me then, this is my game of the year.
For me then, this is a game that is the very definition of addictive.
Also, this is likely to be the fisr 360 game where I get close to the 1000 achievement points. Well, there was Fight Night 3 where I got 1000, but that was simple. Usually I get about half of them.
But AC2? I want to do all of the side stuff. The codex stuff is interesting, the tomb raidery stuff is cool. The only Achievement points I can see not getting is the feather collection. I pick them up when I see them, but I can't see myself scouring every inch of the cities trying to track down the last few.
For me then, this is my game of the year.
Here are the reasons to get the feathers:
The only things you don't get points for are completing the side quests (races assassinations beat-ups etc) beyond the first one AFAIK.
- you get to talk to your mom
- for 50 feathers you get a big warhammer
- for 100 feathers you get a cape with the family crest; you also get an achievement if you wear it in every town, knowing that it'll make you instantly notorious
- for 50 feathers you get a big warhammer
- for 100 feathers you get a cape with the family crest; you also get an achievement if you wear it in every town, knowing that it'll make you instantly notorious
The only things you don't get points for are completing the side quests (races assassinations beat-ups etc) beyond the first one AFAIK.
