First off, I have to say that I love the story, the OVERALL story. The story of Desmond and the Templars and all that crazy crap, it intrigues me greatly. And I enjoy the character of Ezio. He's a suave Italian ladies man with a heart full of bloody vengeance and hatred, what's not to love? I found myself disliking him at first, but only because I missed Altair so much, and then I learned to love him. However, for all that, I was not such a huge fan of the rest of Ezio's story. Assassin's Creed 1 was all about the CREED, about a code of conduct and honor, it was the one thing that separated the Assassins from the Templar. Altair had to learn and grow as a character to overcome the desire for blind rage and bloody vengeance, and in the end he gave up his way of "Kill them all and everything will be solved" and then figured out the overarching problem, and saved the world. In Ezio's time though, there is no such creed. Not once do we hear anything resembling the tenants of the creed, or any sort of code of conduct other than, "Stop the templars". As far as story and fictional worlds go, the Assassin's Creed II is almost a completely different world than the first one.
All that ranting aside, the game is incredibly fun. INCREDIBLY fun. The free-running is more fluid and interesting, the scenery is always beautiful and interesting, the combat is fluid and natural, and the culture is rich and inviting. I'm just going to assume that if you're reading this, you've played Assassin's Creed one, so I'll just cover the changes to that combat system. The ability to steal counter and steal your opponents weapon is phenomenal. There is nothing more enjoyable than walking into a fight with a heavily armored knight, he being armed with a halberd and you being unarmed, then watching with glee as he tries to hit you, you take that monstrous weapon from him, slap him in the face, and then run him through with it. *sigh* so awesome. This also leads into the next point of interest; new weapons. Before where you had the choice of fighting with a long sword or a short sword, you may now fight with a longsword, a dagger (each of which has many different upgrades and variations), a mace, a broadsword, an ax, the hidden blade (or blades) and the ever so awesome spear/halberd. Most importantly, each of these weapons has their own set of counter kills that incredibly entertaining.
The addition of a second hidden blade was a stroke of genius. Nothing says hardcore assassin quite like diving from a rooftop and landing blades first into the spinal columns of TWO unsuspecting guards, dispatching them instantly.
And most importantly, above all of the other marvelous changes, the greatest and best change of them all........swimming!!! I cannot even begin to express my frustration and utter rage when i would accidentally get bumped into the water, or make slight miscalculation in my jumping, and be instantly punished with death! I have almost broken many things in my room in my fury. But behold the light at the end of the tunnel, Assassin's Creed II allows one to freely fall and even swan dive gloriously into the crystal clear water.
And lastly, I'll not spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but the final boss fight left me with an empty and unsatisfied feeling. When I think of final Boss fights, I think of horrible fights of agony and difficulty. I think of legendary feats of skill or strength required to vanquish the foe. Assassin's Creed I did this rather well; a surprising final villain, with a surprising trinket of magic and mystery, making you fight all previous bosses at once, then having to fight that 5 copies of that final villain at once, all the while spewing his blasphemous plans and trying to sway your heart and mind to his cause. II, was not so heroic or legendary, it was lacking. And I'm sure you will all see what I am talking about when you see it, if you have not already.
All in all, I love this game, I spent many hours playing it even after I beat it, unlocked all achievements (except those damn feathers), and found every secret knook and cranny. Its a great sandbox, I highly recommend.
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