Assassin’s Creed 2 is a massive leap forward for the franchise, anchored by Ezio Auditore, a fantastic protagonist who undergoes an incredible amount of personal growth throughout his journey. The historical world feels wonderfully authentic, bolstered by a script that blends English and Italian dialogue to add a great cultural flair to the presentation. Ezio is supported by an exceptional cast of highly likeable characters, ranging from the iconic Uncle Mario and historical genius Leonardo da Vinci to the fierce Catarina Sforza. The narrative pacing is also vastly improved compared to the original game, primarily because you are pulled out of the Animus significantly less, allowing the historical story to unfold without frequent, frustrating interruptions. Furthermore, the inclusion of Sequence 12 and 13 provides a decent amount of welcome context for the events bridging the gap near the end of the campaign.
On the gameplay front, the core traversal mechanics feel significantly less rigid, making climbing flow much better as you scale the gorgeous Italian architecture. The game is packed with a decent amount of side content to explore, with the varied and numerous assassination contracts standing out as a major highlight. For those who enjoy a mental challenge, the hidden glyphs scattered across the world provide highly creative puzzles, culminating in a brilliant final puzzle that is wonderfully easy to overthink but immensely rewarding to solve.
Despite these massive improvements, the experience still suffers from occasional mechanical and design frustrations. While freerunning is generally smoother, it can still feel a little awkward at times, occasionally leading to Ezio doing completely unintended things or leaping in the wrong direction. The forced stealth missions requiring absolute non-detection are particularly unfun due to how finicky the detection system can be. On a technical note, needing to resort to a hex-editor just to gain access to the Templar Lairs and bonus weapons is easily one of the most ass-backwards workarounds a player has to deal with. Finally, a specific assassination contract that requires following a thief across the rooftops proves to be incredibly annoying, as the thief seems obsessed with fighting every single soldier on the skyline, repeatedly leading to him getting knocked off the roof and dying.
Overall, Assassin’s Creed 2 is a stellar sequel that masterfully refines the foundations of the series through its charismatic lead, enhanced traversal, and rich historical atmosphere. While finicky stealth detection, occasional parkour mishaps, and frustrating technical hoops for legacy bonus content can disrupt the experience, the exceptional character growth, engaging narrative pacing, and wealth of clever side activities solidify it as a landmark title that holds up incredibly well.