Assassin's Creed 2 Review

Assassin's Creed 2 connects the original Assassin Creed's dots, without forgetting to draw a unique picture. The predicessor, while technically impressive, is in retrospect a series of so-so scouting missions punctuated by unremarkable assassinations. The sequel, however, contains a more appealing roster of villains, a muddy, yet comprehensible story, the sprawling backdrop of Renaissance Italy, and most of all, memorable on-the-spot executions.

And there too is a new hero, Ezio (pronounced Eh-zee-oh). He's on a quest for vengeance, which of course becomes bigger than him and his dead family members and even the powers controlling Italy. What I mean to say is, Assassin's Creed II expands the series - what's a good word? - astronomically.

Ezio is a Robin Hood type that spends his day doing any number of tasks that befitting the time period: contracting thieves and harlequins or dispatching disloyal husbands, purchasing antiquities or renovating his family's estate. These are all playable activities, some more fun than others, that breath life into an open world that could have very well been a bunch of terracotta roof tiles of Italian palazzos speckled with NPC clones.

(For inquiring minds, the rooftops are layered with imbrex and tegula tiles. See, video games can teach us...to open a book and look up what they're called.)

When Ezio's not killing free time, he's killing members of an earthshaking conspiracy that could unravel the very fabric of....a mystery.

And it's the mystery -- I'll muster up the common sense not to spoil despite myself -- that takes the game a step above where Assassin's Creed even set out to stand. Yes, here the controls are improved, the settings are full of life and the weapons are way more brutal. The story, though, starts modest and creeps up on you like the eponymous stealth killer, adding a necessary weight to each corpse you leave behind.

And, Assassin's Creed 2 let's you care enough about characters, that the murder is sad. Unlike death in recent ginormous release. You hate villains, so that piercing them with a rapier pops open this bubble of relief inside you.

There are qualms to be had. The game starts slow, benefiting its plot, but suctioning Ezio to the rooftop until it expands, with it his arsenal and move set. And for its beautiful wide panoramic views, character models faces are unnerving with their detached mouths and knuckle deep eye sockets.

But if you have even a morsel of love for the original or need a third-person adventure to compliment the wealth of FPS action this holiday, Assassin's Creed 2 comes strongly recommended as a fine outline of how to do blockbuster titles right. Even if it requires a second draft.