14 DAY TRIAL // 16:00. Assassin's Creed II is supposed to make right all the misgivings of the original. Ubisoft promises more exploration, smoother combat and plot advancements. I am playing the PlayStation 3 version of the game.
16:01. So, it all begins with a quick recap of the events of the first game. The montage might have used a bit more gameplay shots, just hope players can appreciate the difference between the two titles released two years apart.
16:05. And it all begins with a birth. Nice to see the little one, Ezio, able to move his hands and feet independently so soon after leaving the safety of the maternal womb. He'll make a great Assassin. But Auditore is such an unfortunate name.
16:09. So, after a brief non-playable glimpse of Italy, I get back to the future and have to escape the Abstergo facility. After going through a building that has a surprisingly limited number of guards present, Lucy and Desmond manage to get away and join an Assassin hideout. For a renegade and hunted group, they really have some nice office space.
16:23. Another ton of exposition, delivered a bit flat, and I am ready to go back into the Animus (or is it Baby?) and see what Italy's all about. After Uncharted 2, the character models look really, really ugly.
16:29. First fight’s done. It seems like the two brothers are fond of women and wine, which is quite a change from the austere ways of Altair. I need 200 Florins for a doctor. My brother's tone suggests that the possible health issues might have more to do with the women than with the fight itself. Also, looting those Florins is very tedious, with Ubisoft making me take them from ten guys when they should have simply left them on two or three to make sure I get how to take things from the disabled enemies.
16:33. Apparently, the only way to the doctor is across some rooftops. Of course, no one sees or mentions the Middle Ages free running.
16:44. This first race is hard. Ubisoft has not managed to make just one button press needed for free running and the course it lays out when the race starts is pretty hard. I finally beat my brother by going directly to the church and then sprinting up. And, apparently, I am now heading for the bedroom of a Vespucci.
16:52. Kissing should probably be forbidden in videogames until animation makes a quantum leap ahead. Or at least game developers could find better angles. Now, I'm chased by guards and an angry father. This prelude to the real game is taking quite a bit.
17:00. I wish I would have gotten more action in this first hour but I found out one interesting fact: Italian houses often have gold on the roof. Might come in handy...