Challenge

As with Assassins Creed I, Assassins Creed II has no changeable difficulty level. However, certain adjustments in the sequel have made the game harder. To start off, the health meter is no longer rechargeable. Although this can be annoying at times, and limits the somewhat carefree attitude that you used to be able to bring to the game, the removal of the rechargeable health meter ultimately makes the game harder. Enemies and bosses can actually kill you, whereas before you were more or less invincible. The enemies in the game are marginally harder as compared to Assassins Creed I, but than again the Assassins Creed games have never been about enemy difficulty. Certain portions of the game feature climbing obstacles like those found in the Prince of Persia series, and although these obstacles can be annoying at times they really do not pose any major threat or challenge to the player. Ultimately, Assassins Creed II is a little more challenging than Assassins Creed I, but the two games have never focused heavily on challenge and therefore I feel that the game is sufficiently challenging to keep a player from getting bored.

Graphics

One word. Awesome. The graphics in Assassins Creed II are even better than those found in the first game, if that is possible. Characters and story locations have been recreated in painstaking detail so that you feel as if you are actually in Medieval 1480 Venice, Italy. Interior graphics look extremely life-like and even secondary characters like peasants, priests, and doctors have had individual attention paid to each and every one of them so that it looks as if every single character in the game is different from the others, as it would be in real life. It is clear that the game developers have spend a lot of time on the graphics and it really shows.

Replay Value

Assassins Creed II has a single story line and no interchangeable difficulty. The game is pretty fun up until the point you beat it. For some, it is entertaining enough to just go back into Desmond’s memories and assassinate as many guards as possible, but other than that when the game is beaten your done with it.

Narrative

Finally the developers at Ubisoft realized that the linear storyline is not any fun. Thankfully, Assassins Creed II features a storyline with a little bit of wiggle room in it. We all know that Assassins Creed I featured an extremely linear storyline; as the main character you just went from one assassination to the next until you beat the game. Thankfully in the sequel, one is able to do more than just kill people; you can buy weapons, upgrade your villa, and complete quests that have absolutely nothing to do with the main quest. This ultimately makes the game more fun and allows the player to take a break from what can be the monotony of the main quest. Also, Assassins Creed II features a new main character, Ezio Auditore and new locations which thicken the plot and ultimately make the game more diverse and enjoyable.

Ease of use

If you’ve played the Assassins Creed I you have no need to worry about the controls. Assassins Creed II features the exact same controls, and even if you have never played the series before, in game instructions are given telling you how to use the controls, and the controls themselves are not very complicated to begin with.

Social Playability

This game is one player. Does that mean that it is not fun to play with friends? Not necessarily. Although you cannot play with anyone else, the abilities of the main character can make the game fun to watch, and Ezio dies enough so that if you are playing with friends you can always switch off every death.

Overall Grade: B+

Assassins Creed II is a relatively entertaining game that features great graphics and a solid audio backing. It is pretty fun to play until beaten, and for those who are fans of the Assassins Creed series the game will only please. All new features are definite benefits over the features of the first game, and the game is interactive and varied enough to keep even a relatively advanced video game player entertained for awhile.

Replay Value

Parents, I will be honest. Rent this game for your kids do not buy it. Like the first Assassins Creed, the game can be beaten in a weekend, and with the absence of difficulty levels or multiplayer, it is a one and done deal. Sure, the game is fun, but after you play it once and beat it, there is a 90% chance that you will never touch it again.

Social Playability

The game is only one player, but it can be entertaining to watch. It is a decent game to share among siblings, for some brothers and sisters may like to watch, and there is always the possibility that siblings can take turns playing after the deaths of the main character. However, if you are looking for a game for your kids to play with their friends, do not get this one.

Objectionable Content

• Violence- this game is extremely violent. It features lots of blood and lots of killing. I think the name should make it obvious enough; it is a game about assassination. From a nerdy point of view many of the killing sequences are awesome, but I would most defiantly not recommend this game for any video game player under the age of 16 or 17 at the least.
• Sexually Suggestive- unlike the first game, Assassins Creed II is pretty sexually suggestive. There are prostitutes on the streets that you can hire out, and there is even a cut scene which features a certain amount of interaction in which you press buttons on the controller to kiss a girl, undress her, and ultimately make love to her. Again, with content such as this I would not recommend this game for anyone under the age of 17.
• Gender Stereotyping- Like many video games, Assassins Creed II features a male protagonist who is ripped and buff and does lots of killing and action. However, there are secondary characters in the game who are women and do not fill the classical video game stereotype of being weak, helpless, and overly sexualized. In relation to other games, I have found Assassins Creed II to be relatively balanced in terms of gender stereotyping.
• Language- as with any game rated M, there is a fair amount of language. The “F” word is thrown around a few times not to mention other expletives that are common in foul language. There is also a lot of bad language in Italian for the game takes place in Italy and many of the character “speak” Italian, so for those whom it concerns there are Italian swears as well.

Addictiveness

there is no real need to worry about your child getting addicted to Assassins Creed II. Sure, he or she might play it for a few hours straight, but as soon as the game is beaten, it will probably never be touched again.

Final Notes for Parents

Assassins Creed II features plenty of objectionable content and should not be played by children under the age of 16 or 17. The game is easy enough to be beaten in a weekend, and the absence of difficulty levels or multiplayer means that the game has a relatively low replay value. Rent the game for your kids for the weekend; it will save you the $60 that you would have spent on a game that would be played for a few days and then never touched again.

Academic Perspective

Assassins Creed II will likely involve feelings of presence (i.e., perceptions of non-mediation) for it incorporates very realistic graphics and pretty interactive interface. The narrative of the game is quite in depth and can make game players very involved for it has plenty of plot twists and cliff hangers to keep you playing until you find out what exactly happens to the main character. The game certainly could increase aggression for it features very violent content that definitely raises levels of arousal (such as increases in heart rate or galvanic skin response) and possibly contributes to cognitive priming (i.e., activating of related thoughts). In addition, the game involves lots of sexuality including the ability to hire prostitutes and interactive sex scenes, suggesting a high level of sexuality in society and also the predominance of heterosexuality. To me this is one of the most interesting aspects of the game for it is clear that only the heterosexual perspective of sexuality is dealt with in this game and all other perspectives are ignored or unacknowledged.