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Assassin's Creed II

EMAIL PRINT xbox360

9.0 User Score:

Universal acclaim

Based on 37 critic reviews
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Based on 92 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: November 17, 2009

Summary

Assassin's Creed II is the product of over two years of intensive development by the original creative team behind the Assassin's Creed brand. In a vast open world environment, the game invites players to incarnate Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who's been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy. Ezio's subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into an epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new gameplay elements, diverse weapons and a profound character progression that appeal to fans of the original Assassin's Creed as well as entice players new to the brand. [Ubisoft]

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GAMES: Assassin's Creed PS3 version

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

GamePro

Few games so deftly balance the contrasting qualities achieved here. It's at once both epic and intimate, earnest and lighthearted. The scale of it is truly magnificent, but often its largest and most moving moments come from the smallest and most carefully composed scenes.

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100

Cynamite

Assassin's Creed 2 manages to surpass its predecessor in almost every way.

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100

Games Radar (in-house)

A huge improvement over the first game, Assassin’s Creed II offers up an enormous, beautiful open world that’s easy to get lost in, an epic storyline and all the fun that comes from creatively killing villains and tearing across 15th-century rooftops at ridiculous speeds.

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100

GameSpy

Fantastic narrative aside, the most important thing to know about AC2 is that it won't make you want to throw your controller through your TV like the first game did.

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3DJuegos

Assassin’s Creed II is a gem, a truly masterpiece. Developing a new economic system, and bringing more attention to combats, notoriety and context-script, Ubisoft achieves an awesome and epic experience. This sequel is far better than the first one.

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Everyeye.it

Assassin's Creed 2 is miles away form the first chapter. It's a whole new game, different in many aspects. The main quest is involving and nice to play, and the number of side mission and extra activities is impressive (and all of them are fun to play). The setting is peculiar and unique, and the panoramic views are sharp and, somehow, magic.

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TeamXbox

A game that takes the free-running and huge cityscapes of its predecessor and adds in a host of action-RPG elements that combine to form a much deeper and more satisfying game, and a surprise frontrunner for the best of 2009.

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Gamer Limit

Assassin's Creed II is a vast improvement upon its predecessor, and it delivers an engaging narrative with a heap of longevity.

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Game Informer

Assassin’s Creed II is a complex, mature, and engaging journey from beginning to end. It stands as a benchmark for design that combines innovative ideas with tried-and-true techniques to create one of the great games of this generation.

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Play.tm

Despite the original Assassin's Creed's less than well hidden inadequacies, we were bowled over by the sheer ambition of the title, the daring of the setting, plot and characterisation. That this sequel goes along way to addressing many of the previous gameplay concerns, while expanding on what made the first release such a wonderful slice of escapism, leaves us convinced that Ubisoft really are building a truly vital franchise that this sequel is a pivotal part of.

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Planet Xbox 360

Everything about Assassin’s Creed II screams believability, from the real life characters that you interact with to the conflict – it plays out as though direct from the history books. More than once while playing this game did I get that feeling of “this is why I love to play video games” and “it’s one of the best titles of 2009.”

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Vandal Online

With a more complete story, much more varied gameplay and the same virtues than the original, Ezio's adventures in the Renaissance will captivate everyone this time.

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Computer and Video Games

A massive, brilliant sequel that one-ups the original in almost every way.

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MondoXbox

Assassin's Creed II is all the first game should have been if the authors developed more deeply plot, characters and gameplay: being able to rely on a well proven engine, they focused this time on a making the game more interactive and varied, even if it’s missing some of the wow factor the first game had two years ago. A fascinating action-adventure, full of things to do and moved buy an intriguing story: a must buy.

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IGN

The experience is layered, unique, and shows an incredible attention to detail. This is one case where the sequel has triumphed over the original by catching the gameplay up to the already excellent visuals. No matter what your preconceptions are about Assassin's Creed II, the game is well worth your time and money.

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Cheat Code Central

Assassin's Creed II is greatly improved over its predecessor. At the same time, it doesn't mess with what made the game so attractive to fans in the first place. The varied and refined gameplay along with the engaging story makes this title a must-buy for any serious gamer.

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GameTrailers

Assassin’s Creed II has plenty of fixes and additions, but the story can drag, and the sense of awe that the parkour provided two years ago is muted. Yet new mission types, freedom from a linear quest, added depth, and a stronger historical bent fortify the overall experience. There’s still no other game quite like it, and whether you dismissed the first game or absolutely loved it, this is one creed worth taking.

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Gamers.at

Ezio has no problem beating Altair's efforts. On the technical side there might be some problems, but Assassin's Creed II is one of the best open world games out there.

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ActionTrip

The ending is, of course, something I do not wish to spoil for you guys, but it needs to be said that Assassin's Creed 2 comes to a decent conclusion. So much so that I cannot wait to find out what the folks at Ubisoft Montreal have prepared for the franchise's next outing.

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SpazioGames

Assassin's Creed II delivers a great story driven experience. Solving most of the problems of its predecessor, this accomplished sequel offers compelling action, beautiful environments and a great plethora of well written characters. A must have for every action-adventure fan with a taste for history, and one of the best games of this fall.

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1UP

AC2 is everything a sequel ought to be: An improvement on the original in nearly every way. Perhaps more impressively, it actually has me interested to see where the series goes from here -- something I wouldn't have expected after I slogged my way through the original. Anyone who enjoyed the first game will definitely like AC2, but the real accomplishment is that people who didn't enjoy it will likely have a good time, too.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

The first Assassin's Creed's charm was in the sumptuous graphics and straightforward action - that incredible climbing and free-running, and the visceral thrill of stapling evil people to the dirt with a wristblade. With AC2 the rest of the game has caught up with the brilliance of those central ideas to create a complete and coherent experience. We can think of plenty of words that could describe Assassin's Creed 2 - involving, exciting, cinematic - but there's only one word that sums it up beautifully. Killer. [Dec 2009, p.74]

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GameSpot

Assassin's Creed II is what you'd want an action sequel to be: bigger, better, and more beautiful.

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Eurogamer Italy

Assassin's Creed 2 has more variety than its prequel, and it's a great gaming experience. Despite a graphics engine which is good but that no longer represents the cutting edge, the real difference is now the storyline and the gameplay. Ubisoft has listened to what people were asking for, and we are now in front of what Assassin's Creed was supposed to be.

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VideoGamer

The storyline is intricate, there's depth beyond the main quest, the presentation is wonderful, and the action is incredible at times. We've had some stunning single-player experiences this year, and Ubisoft has given us another gem to add to the list.

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Total Video Games

Perhaps the ultimate testimony is the fact that it left us longing for another sequel, something the original certainly never achieved.

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IGN AU

It is not, however, a flawless experience by any means – and we think the series' finest hour is still coming – but for fans of the original, it's the step forward we were rooting for and just tempting enough for new players to savour.

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9Lives

Assassin's Creed 2 manages to wipe away most of the criticisms towards the previous game and delivers a gameplay experience you shouldn't miss. It's varied and addictive; character animations are realistic and fluent; the story is excellent and audio-visually it is good looking. It deserves a place in your game collection.

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Gameplanet

One of the most immersive games of 2009. An epic storyline and excellent gameplay leave us almost entirely satisfied.

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MS Xbox World

This is one sequel certainly worthy of a purchase, and no doubt a contender even for game of the year.

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XGN

Ezio is the evolution of Altaïr. The game shows improvement and keeps you fascinated because it offers enough variation. The graphical performance is high and the sound is just fine. This game just simply can't be missing from your collection!

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IGN UK

AC2 is a dramatically better game than its parent. It takes itself far less seriously, it's identified what was fun and thrown out what wasn't, and it's built upon a core free-running structure that's forever spectacular and thrilling. A little sadly, its fundamental concept and structure has been seriously overshadowed by the slicker likes of Mirror's Edge (in some ways) and Arkham Asylum (in a whole lot of ways).

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Giant Bomb

But this isn't a reinvention, it's a refinement. Assassin's Creed II offers, fundamentally, the same kinds of thrills as its predecessor--leaping from rooftop to rooftop with surefooted ease, appearing out of nowhere to kill your target with a quick blade, then vanishing effortlessly into a crowd. It's just been expanded, streamlined, and overhauled in ways that bring it closer to grace and make it a much easier game to recommend.

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Worth Playing

Fans of the original Assassin's Creed will find a lot to love here, but anyone who left the first game feeling unsatisfied will want to rent before they buy.

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Teletext GameCentral

A vast improvement on the flawed original, with much more variety and a much greater sense of fun.

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BigPond GameArena

I've got to recommend it as a purchase - if only because the fantastic free-running, beautiful Italian vistas and engrossing Animus world far outweigh any ludicrous ending or shaky start. If you didn't finish the first Assassin's Creed however, you would do well to find some background information on the story using the magic of the internet - something you really shouldn't have to do.

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Meristation

Two years later, Assassin's Creed tries again to make real those promises from Ubisoft, and prove itself as a better game than it was. The truth is that, despite the Renaissance setting, the vivid locations and the historical landmarks, the new features added don't really improve the sequel: the same repetitive mechanics remain, as the flawed enemy AI, a rough combat system and moments of frustration coming from issues with the camera and the control response in the platform sections. Assassin's Creed II it's still a good game but far from the masterpiece Ubisoft has been promising.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 92 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

A. B. gave it a10:
What is "Meristation" talking about. This is nothing like the first one. It's almost like this is a totally different game with the same skin. People, I am the most critical person when it comes to games. I rarely play anything but sports and racing games. This game rocks. Yes, the first 2 hours are slow, but once you get to the part where you escort your mom and sis out of the city, this game completely opens up and is completely ADDICTING!. If you like ANY kinds of video games, this is a must buy and must play. Prepare to give up time in your life to play this.

Cranston P. gave it a10:
I can't believe I am saying this, but this game has my vote for Game of the YEAR! I was reluctant to buy this based off the the horrible repetitiveness of the first one. I decided to take a gamble solely off of the reviews it was getting. Boy did it pay off! Jackpot! Just read the reviews of all of the critics and that will sum up beautifully how awesome this game is. I can't put the controller down.... well except to type this review.

Chris S. gave it a9:
Simply amazing, what the first game SHOULD have been like.The only reason It doesn't get a 10 is because of a few little bugs and clipping glitches that dampen your mood, but they only dampen the mood because the game is so amazingly fantastic. I would even recommend this to people who haven't played AC1, you can skip AC1, the only thing you miss is the story, but they do a nice little recap at the beginning which was very nice.

Cody B gave it a10:
I must say that I am completely surprised! I loved the first2 hours of the first one and absolutely loathed the remaining 8 hours. They have truly taken the faults of the 1st and fixed them. I have played this one for 6 hours straight and am cursing the fact that I have a job right now because I can't stop thinking about playing this game. I can't remember the last time a game had me at hello. The story is completely immersive, you get emotionally attached to the characters, and the gameplay is solid. The repetitiveness from the 1st is completely gone and every mission flows perfectly. I absolutely love how they have incorporated the many different mini puzzles with the cool little video clips that you are awarded with by solving the puzzle. Each video clip continues off of the last one to reveal "The truth". Quite addicting and massive. MUST BUY!

Daniel G gave it a10:
This game improved everything and ever since it was announced I have been deathly excited for it, and it has lived up to my expectations. Perfectly Executed.

Miguel R gave it a10:
Assassin's Creed 2 delivered all that was promised by their creators. Anyone who played the game needs to admit that some quality time was spent by just looking at the scenery. The cities are so beautifully rendered, you just need to get in a view point and plan ahead which path to take for the other view point or just go randomly from roof to roof, streets or water. The music chosen for this game cannot be compared to any other; each song is perfectly implemented into the story and game-play. The eagle vision looks amazing when you look at the sky and all the animations, day/night cycle, and counter moves are performed flawlessly. I could write a 20 page-essay just describing how good this game is, but I leave it for you to decide.

gonzalo n gave it a10:
3 hours playing the game, all i can say is damn i have classes, i could happily be al the day playing the game, i loved the gameplay of the first one, now you have the same but with little improvements, i like the fact that is a fiction but take place in great parts of history, with great names, jesper kid keeps his great style in music, from gameplay music story i have nothing bad to say, but good job ubisoft

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Assassin's Creed II

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