Assassin’s Creed II is better than I thought it would be

I enjoy role-playing games and those with historical settings, but I generally avoid action-adventure titles because they combine two things I don’t really like: puzzles and physical challenges. This summer, however, I made an exception for Assassin’s Creed II, a 2010 action-adventure game set during the Renaissance. I didn’t pick it up because I saw it recommended somewhere – it’s fifteen years old, after all – but because part of the game takes place in Florence, where I had planned a work trip right after the summer holidays.

Reviewed version	Windows (via Parallels on an M1 MacBook)
Release date	5 March 2010
Developer	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher	Ubisoft

In the original Assassin’s Creed (2007), the protagonist, Desmond Miles, is kidnapped by modern-day Templars. They force him to use a special machine called the Animus, which allows him to relive the memories of his ancestors. Through this process, Desmond experiences the life of one of his ancestors, a prominent member of the Assassin Brotherhood — a group opposed to the Templars — in order to uncover powerful ancient artifacts lost in history.

Assassin’s Creed II continues the story, with Desmond being rescued from captivity by modern-day Assassins. Using their version of the Animus, Desmond relives the memories of another ancestor, Ezio Auditore. By doing so, he learns important skills and knowledge that the Assassins need for their modern-day fight against the Templars.

All of this is explained at the beginning of the game. I have to admit, I didn’t understand most of it at the time, but that didn’t really matter because for the majority of the game, you’re simply playing as Ezio Auditore.

Ezio is an interesting enough protagonist, who starts off as a womanising douchebag but gradually develops into a competent assassin as he gains new skills, learns important life lessons, and grows a beard. All the while sounding more like GTA IV’s Niko Bellic who does impressions of an Italian than an actual Italian.

The similarities with Grand Theft Auto don’t end with the voice acting. Assassin’s Creed II offers an open world to explore, missions from different factions, side quests, random encounters, mini-games, combat, a “wanted” level, and even a light tycoon-style element.

If we break down what truly defines Assassin’s Creed II as an Assassin’s Creed game, three core elements stand out: the historical setting, the combat system, and the parkour mechanics.

As mentioned earlier, much of Assassin’s Creed II takes place in Renaissance-era Florence, with parts of the story unfolding in other cities of the period, most notably Venice. Before playing, I wasn’t particularly interested in the Renaissance or the game’s locations. But the game managed to spark my curiosity and got me genuinely excited for my own trip to Florence (side note: The trip turned out to be what the Dutch might call a “feast of recognition.” Not only did I instantly recognise many of Florence’s major landmarks, but I could also navigate between them with ease — without a map — even though real-life Florence looks quite different from its in-game representation.).

Combat is a bit of a mixed bag. I really enjoyed the game’s stealth elements, which often require a fair bit of creativity. Direct combat, on the other hand, feels more like a nuisance at times. While there’s room for strategy, mindless button-mashing is often just as effective. Add in Ezio’s auto-healing, the ability to use potions, and the fact that enemies politely wait their turn to attack, and it’s clear why combat never feels particularly difficult.

Assassin’s Creed is also known for its parkour. Over the course of the game, Ezio frequently climbs buildings, scales rooftops, and dashes across tightropes. When everything works as intended, parkour can be genuinely enjoyable.

The problem is that it often doesn’t. Part of that might be a skill issue on my end (side note: I just really suck at games that require me to push to right buttons at the right moment.), but I think the game’s design deserves some of the blame as well.

Too often, I found myself in situations where I was climbing a tower and tried to grab a nearby ledge – only for Ezio to leap off the tower and fall to his death. In other instances, while chasing an enemy, I attempted to climb onto an object, but instead Ezio would jump away from it, causing me to lose sight of my target.

This happens because many actions – jumping, grabbing, climbing, interacting, attacking – are all mapped to the same button. The action that actually occurs depends on the context, and Assassin’s Creed II is not good at figuring out which context that is (side note: Assassin’s Creed II sequels, Brotherhood and Revelations, do a much better job at guessing what you had intended.).

Another major annoyance is that the game indicates available actions with icons — like a fist or a grabbing hand — rather than showing the actual button you need to press, such as Shift or Space. This makes the game unnecessarily complicated and often caused me to fail missions or break immersion, as I had to pause to figure out which button corresponded to each icon.

Still, I had a lot of fun, so if you haven’t played this game yet, I highly recommend picking it up when it’s on sale, along with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed Revelations.