So, today is November 18, 2009. I got Assassin's Creed 2 yesterday, and by god it is the greatest game of all time. You're probably wondering, does it live up to the hype this time? Well, the undeniable answer is HELL YES! I have been playing the game nonstop since I got it, and that's because I just can't get myself to stop playing! It's just so much fun! I've been building my town, making friends with thieves and courtesians, stabbing guards, climbing towers, stabbing guards, getting lots of money to blow on armor, dungeon diving, and stabbing guards! I've also been racing, delivering letters and things, swimming in Venice, taking is the gorgeous scenery and landmarks, stabbing guards, ripping down wanted posters, beating up cheating husbands for angry wives, hijacking gondolas (Grand theft gondola, biznitch!), and stabbing guards.

I'll get my review done in a week or two, probably next time I can get myself to put down the controller. Since I'm on a roll so far though, it's time to catch up on the sleep I lost last night.

No replies?

...Well, in the time between my last post and now, I've beaten the game. That is, beaten it 100%. So now that my lust for the game is ever so slightly beginning to die off, I'll get started on the review. It should be up tomorrow, or maybe tonight if I keep staying up late. I just need to find some decent screenshots and I'll be set.

Oh, and did I mention that I've been working on a cosplay replica of Altair's bracer? Probably not, but I finished that today. Maybe I'll post some pictures somewhere, or maybe I'll have you beg me to.

Well the site's been down for a while. :p

Oh, yeah I noticed that today. I didn't know for how long though since I was a little busy.

Sadly the only thing making the game amazing is the up close view on peoples faces it just looks terrible but the game is still great.

I'm planning on getting it, but I'm going to spend some time with Dragon Age Origins first (and that could take a while). I've been playing AC1 a lot lately, though.

So what you're saying is that the only bad thing is the close-ups on the faces, am I right? Hm, well the game is a lot more about rendering large vistas beautifully than pretty faces, but even then I don't find them to be that bad. In fact, I think they look really good, especially the expressions. But I guess you're probably used to the crystal-clear faces in games like Fallout 3, so I see where you're coming from.

In other news, all I need to do is get screenshots I can use that don't have watermarks, and my review will be done. After that, I'm taking Ezio for another round!

No the only reason I really noticed was because I have been playing a lot of Mass Effect lately which has amazing character models and expressions(why can't that game keep a steady framerate ) but yeah thats they only bad thing about Assassin's Creed 2.

First couple batches of DLC are on their way! The first is "The Battle of Forli", another episode of Ezio's memory set to be released in January. The second is "The Bonfire of the Vanities", coming in February.

Ok, time for me to set up an Xbox Live profile. It's about time anyhow.


...You know, I just want to throw this out there. I just beat it for the 3rd time (2nd time at 100%), and I really want to emphasize that the game's soundtrack is FREAKING INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!

Just check this out, you'll see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFecIcXa ... re=related

Ive been listening to the soundtrack for a while now actually....

I probably should've posted about this yesterday, but they made a video that shows some of the action you'll get to experience in the upcoming DLC. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcmcqq0z ... r_embedded

Well, I got it for Christmas and am pretty pleased with it. It's a lot of fun, and definitely a big improvement over the first game, but I wouldn't call it the "greatest game of all time". It has a few issues.

There's lots more to do, but the game is longer so it still gets repetitive, although not nearly as much as the first game, and the side quests are basically rehashes of the story missions without the story and they get old pretty quick.

The voice acting is good and the story's decent, although I felt it weakened towards the end as it focuses less on the personal side of the story and more on the grand scheme, which makes it feel less personal. I thought the lack of closeness to the story was a flaw in the first game, and I liked how the story in AC2 played out at first, but as I said I felt it weakened towards the end.

All in all, I'd give it about a 9/10, maybe a little less.

Yeah, I definitely think you're right.
I've been replaying the game a bit lately, and I noticed the same flaws as well. Basically, the story just drops in quality. I remember the devs saying Ezio's journey would go from the desire for revenge to a sort of inherited duty to kill evil people. Well, that's good for Ezio, but it doesn't help the story.

I was certainly amazed with the game at first, so amazed that I either didn't notice or didn't care about the gameplay issues. I think I've come to a conclusion, though. If there is to be something to do in a game, there must be a motivating reason to do it, be it story, uber loot, or sheer pleasure. The only missions that really offer any of those are in the main story.

So I'll admit, I was too quick to judge the game. I might rewrite my review in greater detail and with less bias toward the game. After all, this website is meant to be quite the opposite of what its name would lead you to believe.

Well technically the name comes from the soon-to-come contributor system as well as the quiz system where any user can freely express their biases.

Battle of Forli is coming out on the 28th. Just making it known. No date for Bonfire of the Vanities yet, but I'd imagine it would be sometime from the middle to the end of February.

If only my parents would allow me to use their credit card for DLC, oh well AC2 is still completely amazing

You can just get a card from the store that has MS points on it. You just scratch it off and enter the code. However, I'm not sure if PS3 has anything like that in case you don't have it on Xbox.

MAJOR TIP FOR DLC BUYERS!

Be careful when getting Sequence 13, Bonfire of the Vanities. There are two versions, one as a standalone and one that also includes the 3 bonus maps from the collector's editions. I made the mistake of buying the one immediately presented when I logged on to Xbox Live, which did not include the 3 maps. That means that I'll need to buy that again on top of the added cost of the bonus levels if I am going to get those. So, just to lay it out clearly...

Sequence 13: 320 Microsoft Points
Sequence 13 With 3 Bonus Maps: 560 Microsoft Points

So there's a cheap trick for you, present the version that DOESN'T have the extra stuff so that they'll have to buy it again to get the extra stuff. Dammit, I like the dungeon levels! I'm not giving Ubisoft another penny until they get that **** on there seperately.

In case you're a total idiot like me and haven't figured it out yet, I fell to their little trick.

Thanks for pointing that out; I probably would have done the same thing. Still not decided if I'm going to get the DLC at all though...what did you think of it?

I thought it was pretty fun, and probably worth it considering how cheap it is. I was, however, a bit disappointed at how short they were. I beat them both within an hour or two. Battle of Forli is ridiculously easy, but Bonfire of the Vanities definitely has several of the hardest missions in the game, usually involving killing a single target located among tons of guards without being seen by any of them. Also, Battle of Forli lets you use the flying machine whenever you want in Forli. It is, however, practically pointless and gets boring pretty fast.

But yeah, I'd say get them if you want more Assassin's Creed.

Battle of Forli wasnt really that entertaining to me, I really just didnt give off the same vibe as the actual game. Oh and also if you're planing on replaying it, set the language to Italina with English subtitles, it makes it feel like you're there even more than it regularly does.