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Assassin's Creed II - Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.
UnbreakableVow
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
:whistle: When you're the best of friends...having so much fun togetherrrr :whistle:
So we're here to talk about this stellar game:
It is the sequel to this game that is also stellar or less-than-stellar, depending on whom you speak to:
Some shamelessly stolen Wiki info!
Assassin's Creed II is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. The sequel to Assassin's Creed, it was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2009. A PC version is scheduled for release on 20th November 2009. The player assumes the role of a young nobleman-turned-assassin named Ezio Auditore da Firenze who is seeking revenge on the rival families that murdered his father and brothers.
The Story So Far (Assassin's Creed 1 spoilers)
Assassin's Creed is the story of Desmond Miles.
+ 
= 
A (presumably) twenty-something bartender, Desmond wakes up one day to find himself strapped to a metal table of sorts. He has no recollection of how he got there, but he is being held captive by two scientists - Dr. Warren Vidic and Dr. Veronica Mars - that work for a scientific corporation called Abstergo Industries.
Vidic reveals to Desmond that the scientific team at Abstergo has uncovered the fact that memory is stored in DNA. So when you die, your memory will be implanted somewhere in your child's DNA, you have your father's memories in your DNA, so on and so forth. This accounts for "animal instinct" in lower life forms, such as the migratory patterns of birds in the winter. Bad news for Desmond, they reveal that not only do they know that Desmond was raised since birth to be an Assassin, but he is also the descendant of an Assassin who knew information they considered vital. Seeing as death sucks pretty badly, Desmond has to comply and be hooked up to a machine that will allow him to remember the life and times of an ancestor in 1191 Jerusalem, an Assassin named Altair. (Editor's Note: Altair means eagle. So does Ezio!)
In Altair's memories, he's kind of a dick. There are three simple rules to being a good assassin (a creed, if you will) and he manages to horribly fuck up all three in the span of one mission and also fails to kill his target, but yet we are led to believe that Altair was valedictorian of the Assassin school. Anyways, he kills an innocent, is not very discreet, and compromises the brotherhood. He tries to be a cock and lie about it, but one of his clan members exposes him, and also brings the treasure that they were sent to retrieve, effectively upstaging Altair. In retaliation, the target who was supposed to be dead, Robert de Sable, leader of the Knights Templar, leads an attack on the Assassins.
The Assassins are successful in defending their home. However, to make an example out of Altair and punish him for his terrible behavior, his clan leader, Al Mualim, fake-stabs him for some reason but then tells him that he can make up for his transgressions after all. I never really got the whole fake-stabbing thing 'cause it's not like he secretly let him live, all the Assassins you meet afterward are all like "Oh hey Altair! You're a pretty cool guy."
Anyways, Al Mualim is all like "Hey, there are nine bad men out there. Kill them and you'll no longer be a novice. Also you'll remember some of the physical abilities you magically forgot when I demoted you." Since Altair lacks a personality and doesn't really have much else to do anyways, he agrees out of sheer boredom. Altair traverses through the three cities of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre, picking off the nine targets one at a time. Upon meeting their end, each has time to give lengthy speeches that sometimes bores to tears and always successfully freeze time; upon the instant of their death, time unfreezes and guards start attacking.
They all say vague, cryptic things, and when Altair confronts his master about this, he spits out vague, cryptic things. Upon assassinating Robert de Sable, his target reveals that Al Mualim himself is a member of the Knights Templar. Altair confronts Al Mualim with this accusation, who responds with a resounding "Well duh." He then brings out the treasure that was retrieved (by the lesser student) in that first mission that Altair botched, and reveals it to be a "Piece of Eden", which is apparently good for mass mind control in addition to looking pretty nifty. Remember when Bright Eyes parted the Red Sea so that he could let his people go?
Impossibilities like that (also the ten plagues of Egypt and Clash of the Titans) were apparently caused by the kind of mind control this thing delivered, so obviously it was being fought over by these two powerful groups of Assassins and Templars. Tired of the manipulative dickery he had been subject to his whole life, Altair shanks Al Mualim and takes the Piece of Eden. At which point, a holographic map shoots out of it and shows the locations of the other pieces.
This is the memory that Abstergo was looking for. After they retrieve the memory, Vidic tells Desmond he was ordered to be killed, but Veronica saves his life by claiming that they might still have more use for his memories. Vidic reluctantly agrees, and Dr. Mars looks at you and bends her ring finger down, a gesture showing that she's on your side (Assassins in the old days would have their ring fingers removed because they were fucking hardcore). As Desmond is left alone, he finds that he has received a new gift; he knows kung fu. Not really, but he can see stuff in Dayglo vision, which is also handy, as it lets him see stuff that is incredibly well-hidden and also reveals enemies and allies. As the game closes, he goes back to his room with his newly acquired skill and sees the walls covered in a bunch of crazy shit: a bunch of symbols on the wall all alluding to the end of the world on December 21, 2012.
+ = A (presumably) twenty-something bartender, Desmond wakes up one day to find himself strapped to a metal table of sorts. He has no recollection of how he got there, but he is being held captive by two scientists - Dr. Warren Vidic and Dr. Veronica Mars - that work for a scientific corporation called Abstergo Industries.
Vidic reveals to Desmond that the scientific team at Abstergo has uncovered the fact that memory is stored in DNA. So when you die, your memory will be implanted somewhere in your child's DNA, you have your father's memories in your DNA, so on and so forth. This accounts for "animal instinct" in lower life forms, such as the migratory patterns of birds in the winter. Bad news for Desmond, they reveal that not only do they know that Desmond was raised since birth to be an Assassin, but he is also the descendant of an Assassin who knew information they considered vital. Seeing as death sucks pretty badly, Desmond has to comply and be hooked up to a machine that will allow him to remember the life and times of an ancestor in 1191 Jerusalem, an Assassin named Altair. (Editor's Note: Altair means eagle. So does Ezio!)
In Altair's memories, he's kind of a dick. There are three simple rules to being a good assassin (a creed, if you will) and he manages to horribly fuck up all three in the span of one mission and also fails to kill his target, but yet we are led to believe that Altair was valedictorian of the Assassin school. Anyways, he kills an innocent, is not very discreet, and compromises the brotherhood. He tries to be a cock and lie about it, but one of his clan members exposes him, and also brings the treasure that they were sent to retrieve, effectively upstaging Altair. In retaliation, the target who was supposed to be dead, Robert de Sable, leader of the Knights Templar, leads an attack on the Assassins.
The Assassins are successful in defending their home. However, to make an example out of Altair and punish him for his terrible behavior, his clan leader, Al Mualim, fake-stabs him for some reason but then tells him that he can make up for his transgressions after all. I never really got the whole fake-stabbing thing 'cause it's not like he secretly let him live, all the Assassins you meet afterward are all like "Oh hey Altair! You're a pretty cool guy."
Anyways, Al Mualim is all like "Hey, there are nine bad men out there. Kill them and you'll no longer be a novice. Also you'll remember some of the physical abilities you magically forgot when I demoted you." Since Altair lacks a personality and doesn't really have much else to do anyways, he agrees out of sheer boredom. Altair traverses through the three cities of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre, picking off the nine targets one at a time. Upon meeting their end, each has time to give lengthy speeches that sometimes bores to tears and always successfully freeze time; upon the instant of their death, time unfreezes and guards start attacking.
They all say vague, cryptic things, and when Altair confronts his master about this, he spits out vague, cryptic things. Upon assassinating Robert de Sable, his target reveals that Al Mualim himself is a member of the Knights Templar. Altair confronts Al Mualim with this accusation, who responds with a resounding "Well duh." He then brings out the treasure that was retrieved (by the lesser student) in that first mission that Altair botched, and reveals it to be a "Piece of Eden", which is apparently good for mass mind control in addition to looking pretty nifty. Remember when Bright Eyes parted the Red Sea so that he could let his people go?
Impossibilities like that (also the ten plagues of Egypt and Clash of the Titans) were apparently caused by the kind of mind control this thing delivered, so obviously it was being fought over by these two powerful groups of Assassins and Templars. Tired of the manipulative dickery he had been subject to his whole life, Altair shanks Al Mualim and takes the Piece of Eden. At which point, a holographic map shoots out of it and shows the locations of the other pieces.
This is the memory that Abstergo was looking for. After they retrieve the memory, Vidic tells Desmond he was ordered to be killed, but Veronica saves his life by claiming that they might still have more use for his memories. Vidic reluctantly agrees, and Dr. Mars looks at you and bends her ring finger down, a gesture showing that she's on your side (Assassins in the old days would have their ring fingers removed because they were fucking hardcore). As Desmond is left alone, he finds that he has received a new gift; he knows kung fu. Not really, but he can see stuff in Dayglo vision, which is also handy, as it lets him see stuff that is incredibly well-hidden and also reveals enemies and allies. As the game closes, he goes back to his room with his newly acquired skill and sees the walls covered in a bunch of crazy shit: a bunch of symbols on the wall all alluding to the end of the world on December 21, 2012.
Is this game better than the first? I hope they changed X, because X sucked in AC1!
Yes, and they most likely did.
Mark your goddamn spoilers
We are getting into Lost and Battlestar Galactica territory here, folks. People use spoilers for jokes, I get that, so please mark if you're going to use the spoiler tag for actual spoilers, MARK IT SO. If you're not finished with the game, better to operate on the side of caution and just not click tags anyways.
Also, no fake spoilers. Crazy shit is happening, shit so crazy that if you were to pop in and say "The Animus was created by Wal-Mart in a bid to make everyone buy Miley Cyrus CDs!", some might have reason to believe it. Note: As far as I know, the Animus was not created by Sam Walton.
Are you stuck in a certain spoilery memory?
SPOILERS
There's a section where you play as Altair, and apparently some people don't know that Altair/Ezio is, in fact, capable of jumping straight up. Hold RT/R2 and press A/X and he will grab the small light fixture above and pull yourself up.
I heard there was a giant squid in this game? Is this true?
Yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJZI-54QmRc
What the fuck sense does that make?
None at all.
UnbreakableVow on
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Posts
:P
I sort of pushed AC2 down to the bottom of my list for this season, until I figured out if that glaring issue with AC1 had been fixed.
The short answer is yes.
The long answer is absolutely.
Even the combat? Because in AC1, once you figured out the timing on your counter attack, that's all you ever did. If the answer is still yes, I'll probably pick this up earlier than I had planned.
The combat is still just as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. However, just like in the first game, if you stand around waiting for people to attack you, your battles will take considerably longer.
It's literally the one aspect they didn't improve all that much.
EDIT: No they didn't, I combo killed lots of people just last night.
What? I'm combo-killing fools left and right.
last time you could just wait, and counter everything
"harder" enemies had to be countered more times
You can auto-kill people on the second hit like in the first? It's never once happened for me. Certainly you get the scripted auto kills but only after reducing their health bunch (or by hitting them from behind), not by timing the second hit properly off of a defended blow.
Also they made bosses sometimes immune to things which is super annoying. Like knocking/throwing guys down and then you can't stab them with the hidden blade o the ground like you could in the first, really lame.
It's still just as easy, some enemies are just immune to certain weapon types. Hidden blade/bare handed countering can still easily kill anything in the game. It's faster too because you can force them to attack you with taunting so there's no waiting around.
I will be avoiding it until such time as I am no longer worried about spoilers.
Just so you all know.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
Yeah at the earlier parts of the game one counter and whatnot will kill anyone but once you get to the better guards with captains and heavily armored dudes you cant just counter or combo kill everyone.
I never asked for this!
Yes you can, you just have to do it with the right weapon.
Ok I take that back you can always one shot people with the hidden blade. Normal weapons though deal damage instead of killing.
I never asked for this!
Actually I don't think you can hidden blade counter the elite spear guys. You can disarm/kill them though, same with the heavies.
It annoys me that hidden blade/bare handed are the two best weapons in the game, one of the selling points was all the new weapons...
The one time I got him to make the correct jump, I was a bit too far over and I clipped the door frame which knocked me back into the water and made me start over.
I love the game, and generally speaking the controls are fine. I rarely have a problem with the contextual stuff but its situations like this where you have to be incredibly precise that you start to see the flaws in the system.
This would be the icing on an already delicious cake. From the announcement of AC1, I wanted this to be like Hitman...ie., varied ways to approach each scenario and varied ways to handle targets, the ability to go total stealth or non-lethal (or not), that kind of thing. The game certainly takes steps in this direction, but that level of freedom would make it even better.
I've seen a few other messages in other photographs, and finally bothered to try and figure one of those out. Nothing too spoiler-y, really, but it involves the topic of one of the truth puzzles:
Yes, there are musicians who are the same as the beggars were. At least they don't scream annoyingly at you.
I'm really enjoying this game, but I don't know why. Every individual element bugs the crap out of me, but for some reason it all comes together to make a pretty decent game. It's fun.
A new, and easy way to kill folk: if you have certain weapons (swords, daggers... not hidden blade, no idea why not) you can grab people and slit their throat. Instead of tossing them to the ground and stabbing them. Of course some enemies resist being grabbed. One improvement I really like is that there is a lot of variety in how you can kill someone in combat, not just the animations but also the tactics involved.
My favorite is hiring mercenaries and just walking through combat hidden-blading people from behind.
Once you purchase a dye, does it go to your Villa for future use? Or is a dye job a one time thing? I haven't really wanted to spend the money on it to experiment since there's so much other crap to buy with a bit more tangible reward other than just aesthetics.
If there's anything in the villa, I 'm clueless.
Just be warned that it is EXTREMELY cliffhanger-y, like the first.
There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
Moves I have discovered that are fuckawesome:
Tackling someone to the ground and using a double hidden blade attack to the face while they're pinned.
Chucking sand at people's faces, breaking their leg and then chokeslamming them to the ground.
In the middle of battle with like 10 soldiers next to a wall, hold RT and A, run up the wall while locking on and do a drop stab. Sometimes it'll take out 2 guys.
It's just SO fucking cool.
unfortunately, you have to go to the specific region and buy the dye every time you want to change
also, you cant re-dye the Armor of Altair, which sucks kinda
when im not wearing Altair's armor, im rocking the Misaglias and Wetland Ebony
Annnd crap like that means I'm out. :x Unmarked spoilers discussing ending make me sad.