Assassin's Creed II - Greatest Hits edition

by Ubisoft

• Explore the deadly, shadowed world of the assassin with new assassin Ezio
• Roam freely through the lush and dangerous world of Renaissance-era Italy
• Do whatever it takes to complete your missions in the game's all-new open world and mission structure
• Thrive in an environment rich with power, revenge and conspiracy
• Practice your assassin's art with all-new weapons and instruments created by Leonardo da Vinci

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00269DX5W
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 17, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (503 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #563 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #12 in Video Games > PlayStation 3 > Games > Action > Fighting

Product Description

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3 | Edition: Standard

Amazon.com

The world of the assassin is one cloaked in shadow and steeped in danger. Ensnared in a web of revenge and conspiracy, the assassin embraces power at its most elemental, acting as the dividing line between life and death. As an assassin confronted by perilous new challenges and difficult choices, what path will you choose?

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Synopsis Get ready to plunge into the lush and deadly world of the Italian Renaissance, an era of arts, riches and murderous conspiracy. Assassin's Creed II introduces you to Ezio, a new assassin carrying on the deadly lineage of his forebears. Confront an epic tale of power and corruption as you hone your assassin's art, wielding weapons and instruments designed by the legendary Leonardo da Vinci himself in this gripping and deadly sequel. Key Game Features: Explore the deadly, shadowed world of the assassin with new assassin Ezio Roam freely through the lush and dangerous world of Renaissance-era Italy Do whatever it takes to complete your missions in the game's all-new open world and mission structure Thrive in an environment rich with power, revenge and conspiracy Practice your assassin's art with all-new weapons and instruments created by Leonardo da Vinci

Product Description

The world of the assassin is one cloaked in shadow and steeped in danger. Ensnared in a web of revenge and conspiracy, the assassin embraces power at its most elemental, acting as the dividing line between life and death. As an assassin confronted by perilous new challenges and difficult choices, what path will you choose?

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

196 of 214 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Massive Improvement November 17, 2009

By M. D. sadek

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3|Edition:Standard

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

Fans of the previous game will be very impressed with Assassin's Creed II. I must say that the previous game was quite disappointing. I felt it had a lot of potential as a game but the repetitive gameplay and frame-rate issues made it a big let down. This time though things have changed drastically for the good. I have yet to complete the game but have played enough to formulate a review.

The first thing you'll notice is that the game has a very cinematic feel. The cutscenes are a bit lengthy and drive the story very well. The voice acting is pretty good and the lip syncing is almost spot on. Graphically the game is stunnning. The first Assassians creed looked very pretty but this one seems a notch above it. There is no denying the beauty of it all.

The gameplay has a very GTA style feel to it. You go from place to place to do a variety of different things. Unlike the last game where the gameplay was very reptitive where each section of the game required you to gather information in order to assassinate your victim (which only consisted of 3 or 4 different ways). Ubisoft have completely revamped that flawed style into a more enjoyable experience. Basically, think GTA but in the 15th century.

The freestyle movement is well done and easy to use. Although sometimes I had difficulty jumping up walls, Pressing the X button sometimes makes Ezio jump outwards rather than up. Having said that, its still an enjoyable experience, very much like the last game. Its also quite easy to navigate around your map.

The combat system hasn't changed that much. There are a few minor modifications. Ezio can do a few different things this time round like snatch enemy weopons while fighting and thrusting them down there body. The combat is a lot of fun and quite easy to learn.... Also Ubisoft have added a currency system in the game. You can steal money from passing citizens or search enemies for money or earn money by doing errands and missions. The money can be spent on buying weopons and armor or upgrading current items. It makes the game much more enjoyable and interactive.

One thing of note is that this game is not for kids. There is a lot of sexuality in this game. Ezio can hire whores to distract gaurds and there is a bit of dirty talk. Its fun but some might feel it to be offensive. The ESRB does rate it at 17+, young children should stay away from this game.

There are a few minor glitches in the game but nothing major. I had a problem picking up boxes in the beginning of the game but nothing major so far. Hopefully these issues will be fixed with a patch.

Overall this game is a lot of fun. Its way better than the previous game. Anyone who enjoyed Assassins Creed should pick this one up. They will not be disappointed. Read more ›

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive Upgrade November 18, 2009

By Michael J. Marziale

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3|Edition:Standard

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I have been looking forward to this release for a long time. While I was a fan of the first Assassin's Creed, the original game felt sort of unfinished. The concept was there, but the game felt like it hadn't been fully fleshed out. The game was beautiful but repetitive, fun overall, but you can only pickpocket or eavesdrop on someone so many times before it gets boring.

This game fixes many of those issues. While I am still playing through the game, obviously, I can already see huge improvements. Water doesn't instantly kill you. I have yet to run into a lunatic or beggar, for which I am extremely grateful. You have many more choices for weapons. These are just for starters. The game just has a better feel to it, the storyline and the characters have more depth. You will evolve into the role of an assassin with Ezzio, instead of "re-earning" the title with Altair. They have also added a monetary system to the game, and things like blacksmiths, tailors, and doctors to go along with it, which the first game could have used.

As for what they kept, the beautiful graphics and sweeping vistas are still there, you will still find yourself climbing to dizzying heights to peer out over cities from a new viewpoint. You still have your hidden dagger, in fact they've given you a second one to play with. The graphics have, of course, been improved, and look even better than the first one. The world is still a very open, free roaming environment, your standard sandbox game, and you still get to climb and vault all over everything, which is immense fun. The quintessential core of the original game is still there in all its glory, they have just filled in the details and improved the game play for you....

That being said, there are still one or two things in the sequel that annoy me. Most importantly, running still get everyone's attention. I would understand that if I was talking about barreling through streets and knocking people over left and right. I'm not. Just running will draw the guards' attention, which gets old quick. Apparently no one was ever in a hurry in the Renaissance. This has been slightly improved by giving the player a fast walk mode, but it can still take forever to get from point A to point B at that speed. This part of the AI could use some tweaking, since there is a difference between challenging and annoying.

In my opinion, the coolest feature they have added is the database function, which gives you all sorts of interesting and amusing facts about the regions, cities, buildings and people that you will be interacting with. This does a great job of drawing you further into the period and culture that you are exploring, and really helps you relate to the story. This feature adds a lot of detail to the game that most developers would have simply left out.

Bottom line, I am thrilled with the game. It is exactly what I was anticipating, and if you enjoyed the first game, you will love the sequel. Read more ›

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hugely Satisfying and Entertaining... April 21, 2010

By Arun Thuraiarasan

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3| Edition:Standard|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

First off, I haven't played AC I and a newbie to open world themed games. But reading all the positive reviews of AC II prompted me to try it and I have to say I hugely enjoyed this game. I really enjoyed this game broadly for its story, pacing, attention to detail of the environments, character development, voice acting, rich color pallet and varied missions. But what really stands out are Renaissance era Italian cities. They are literally living, breathing characters in this game. I have to commend the developers at UBI Soft for painstakingly recreating these cities and their architectural marvels in gorgeous detail and staggering scale. In my past life I had dabbled in Architecture and been fascinated with Italian, Greek and Egyptian architecture. Just being able to run around these cities, scale all historic buildings and take in the magnificent cityscapes from top of view points as the camera revolves around you, was the next best thing to actually being there in person. The experience is quite visceral and astounding. If you scaled the Florence Duomo Cathedral, you know what I'm talking about.

Apart from that, the missions are quite varied and don't seem repetitive at all which was a big complaint against AC I. The voice acting with Italian accents and dialogue for most characters are spot on and added more authenticity to the game. Character development for lead character Ezio Auditore and other important characters are quite well done and the actor giving voice to Ezio seems to have really put some effort into it and it shows. Other than that, the population of the cities have colorful PCs and NPCs from thieves, brigands, mercenaries, prostitutes, nuns, annoying minstrels, merchants, announcers, messengers and normal citizenry.... The navigation and combat controls are not that difficult to get used to and navigating the cities and climbing felt natural. Navigating using the map took some time to get used to in the open world but once down pat, felt quite comfortable. You will get lost in the cities unless you use the map! The AI system seems better than most other games and not that forgiving that you feel unchallenged.

Pros:

1. Gorgeous and detailed environments.
2. Lengthy game and huge cities to explore.
3. Excellent voice acting and character development.
4. Interesting storyline - Integration of real life historical figures and incidents into the storyline is nice.
5. Monetary system - Earning money and spending on upgrades added an interesting aspect to this game. But midway/three-fourths through the game you will have money to burn and nothing to do with it afer all the upgrades.
6. Apart from main story line there are non-essential side missions like assassination contracts, races, message delivery, beat ups, finding feathers, unlocking futuristic conspiracies etc. which adds a ton of replay value.
7. The developers have achieved a lot of breath in game elements variety and little less in depth.
8. Decent AI.

Cons:

All accolades aside, there are some blemishes in this well-made game.

1. A lot of characters look blocky in close-ups and dating back to PS2 standards of rendering while the environments themselves are gorgeously rendered making this a glaring anomaly. In doing the inevitable comparison to Uncharted 2 and God of War 3 in terms of overall graphics, AC II going to come off as second best.
2. Combat leaves much to be desired. The choice of weapons and how you earn them is interesting. Its not for lack of variety in combat moves and weapons but its just that combat could have been more fluid. I guess I'm less forgiving in this aspect as the bar for combat has been set very high after playing the God of War series. (I know, I know I should not be comparing a hack and slash with a third-person action adventure :))
3. Much as I try to get into it, the Animus concept just doesn't fly.
4. The final boss fight felt a bit tame and the ending abrupt.

I'm at a stage in life where family and professional obligations don't allow for playing at a stretch where day turns to night and then back again. I found Assassins Creed II to fit the bill perfectly and I played this on and off for a couple of months till I finished it at my own pace. Read more ›