Despite being over a decade old, Assassin’s Creed 2 is still considered one of the biggest high-points of Ubisoft’s influential series. Originally, the game received plenty of praise for how it improved and deepened the mechanics of the original game. Plus, its story and characters were amazing also.
Yet, both the series and gaming in general, has changed a lot since those days. And looking back all these years later, the cracks of the once incredible game start to show. Although, the title is not as dated as you would expect of a 2009 game. So, overall, is Assassin’s Creed 2 still great? To answer that question, here are its positives and negatives.
10 Holds up: Enemy Types
Templar guards come in a few different shapes and sizes in Assassin’s Creed 2. There are Brutes, Seekers, Agiles, and regular guards. All require different moves and strategies to take down. For example, seekers are hard to strike or counter, so you need to take their spear off of them to make them vulnerable.
This adds a layer of variation to the combat that even some of the subsequent games don’t include. It breathes some life into what could otherwise be a dated combat system.
9 Aged Poorly: Side Activities
Newer entries in the Assassin’s Creed series like Valhalla have some great side content. In contrast, everything aside from the tombs and main memories in Assassin’s Creed 2 is pretty dull.
Yes, there are assassination missions, beat up quests, races, and courier assignments, but none of them are particularly exciting or memorable. And there’s no real incentive to do any of it besides earning a few more coins.
8 Holds Up: Pacing
Revenge plots in video games can be tricky. Having the protagonist take multiple real-world hours to track down the one who’s wronged them usually requires a lot of filler.
However, Ezio’s goal to exact vengeance for his family’s deaths works well because he doesn’t really know whose behind it. He initially kills the people most closely responsible, but the conspiracy keeps going deeper. Meanwhile, he’s learning about the Assassin and Templar conflict. It all builds up perfectly.
7 Aged Poorly: Weapons
While there are many things to miss about the Desmond era of games, the weapons aren’t one of them. In AC2, Every sword and dagger in the game only differs in attributes. There are no special bonuses or unique traits about any of the blades.
It means sword fights can get repetitive after a while, with only the enemies providing any variation. Blunt weapons do help switch things up, yet there aren’t many of those in the game, and the ones that are there aren’t particularly impressive.
6 Holds Up: Stealth
Assassin’s Creed 2 can’t claim to have the most fluid stealth system of all time; it’s certainly unique, though. Sneaking around in most games requires you to crouch in tall grass or hide around corners. In this Ubisoft game, it’s more about blending in with people or using hiding spots. And while this doesn’t sound like a big difference, it is in practice.
Having to find and walk within crowds means you need to be perpetually in motion, and the stationary hiding spots aren’t always around. You can also use Ezio’s parkour skills to hide from your enemies, which adds a bit of vertical stealth to the proceedings.
5 Aged Poorly: Bonfire Of The Vanities
There are two DLC missions for Ezio’s debut adventure, The Battle of Forli and Bonfire of The Vanities. The latter isn’t too great. Using the historical event for a mission is a nice idea, and the Assassin’s Creed twist of having Girolamo Savonarola use the Apple of Eden is clever too.
Although, from a gameplay standpoint, it’s a let-down. The entire mission consists of you having to take down Savonarola’s nine lieutenants. However, each assassination is nondescript; they don’t involve any cool set pieces or sequences. It’s simply about getting to each one and killing them. Thankfully, the series has had some better DLC missions since.
4 Holds Up: Ending
At the end of Ezio’s adventure, he is met by Minerva, who speaks through the Italian Assassin to communicate with Desmond Miles. She gives a warning that the world will end in the near future.
It’s the series’ first real mention of the Isu, and in the initial playthrough, it’s as interesting as it is confusing. Now, with the knowledge of what it’s setting up, the scene actually doesn’t just hold up but is better than it originally was over ten years ago.
3 Aged Poorly: Final Boss Fight
Before Minerva’s appearance, Ezio has a fistfight with one of the cruelest templars ever, Rodrigo Borgia. As the villain is the Pope at the time, it’s all a little surreal.
However, the fight itself doesn’t match the craziness of the situation. Hand to hand combat in Assassin’s Creed 2 is limiting and lacks fluidity. Thus, the whole battle feels a little anti-climactic after waiting hours upon hours to get your hands on the evil antagonist.
2 Holds Up: The Protagonist
By this point, the series has had many protagonists. Yet, Ezio is still among the most popular. Not only is he one of the franchise’s best assassins, but he’s witty and charming too. And it’s hard not to like the guy.
Plus, his development through the game is compelling as he goes from a cocky young noble to a genuine badass. Most importantly, though, he remains entertaining despite his transformation.
1 Aged Poorly: Desmond Sections
In the most recent Assassin’s Creed games, Layla Hassan serves as the present-day protagonist. And the female Assassin is quickly catching up to Desmond in terms of popularity. A big reason why is that she actually does things, unlike Desmond in AC2.
Besides the opening of the game, he is a bit-part player. In fact, there’s only a couple of times we actually see him, and those moments aren’t memorable. If he’s not going to do anything significant, there’s no point in him being in the game at all.
NEXT: Assassin’s Creed: 5 Ways The First Game Holds Up (& 5 Ways It’s Aged Poorly)
