Understandably, mainstream review sites have come under fire for inflating scores on what were pre-determined to be AAA titles, Kane and Lynch namely. This sort of pay for play model is absolutely a scourge on the gaming community. So, when Assassin's Creed II came along, I was justifiably skeptical at best of the excellent reviews it was receiving. Especially after being burned so hard by the first one. It was a mess of a game, which greatly polarized the gaming community on its merits.

I was a detractor for sure, I wanted to love the game, it had a great premise and mechanics, but it was a souless empty affair. That was not the first time I had been burned by Ubisoft, Prince of Persia was also a rinse, repeat affair. That’s twice you have burned me, shame on me. I am a glutton for punishment though, so it was with great trepidation that I picked up Assassin's Creed II, for which I immediately had buyer’s remorse, but GameStop, having my store credit until Mass Effect 2 comes out, was too much for me to take.

In short, Ubisoft has redeemed themselves ten fold with AC2. Hyperbole seemed to be in a surplus regarding this game, as an every day gamer, who occasionally writes about about his experiences, I am here to echo the accolades AC2 has been receiving. AC2 is everything the first should have been, in almost every conceivable way. Enough with the verbal backwashing of Ubisoft though.

There are definitely issues to be had with AC2, namely the controls. The fluidity of controlling Ezio is 90% of the time a sight to behold. When it comes time for fast and accurate control of him though; the game is marred with seemingly inaccurate leaps, then missing an important jump, which can get frustrating the second and third time. It requires that you take an extra second and a half to line up that jump perfectly. Some might chalk that up to user error, which is a valid argument, however I have not been incorrect in my inputs every single time and I angrily ask the television "Really!?” to which I sadly received no response.

This fact of life is mitigated a bit by very welcome checkpoints. Which leads into mission structure. AC2 has completely removed the innane investigations and pickpocketing of the first and replaced them with missions that have bearing on the story which greatly reduces the feeling of "Ugh, what is the POINT of this!?” In addition, there is added depth with city management. It feels like a streamlined version of Fable 2's property management, opting for a list of your properties and which renovation level they are at, of which there are typically three levels of upgrades. All of which add value to the city that in turn puts more money in your pocket on a 20 minute basis. In scouring reviews on making an informed purchasing decision, I was lead to believe that you could raise taxes on shops etc., please note that you cannot. While being a bit of a disappointment, its execution is still pleasurable.

One of the numerous pleasing aspects is that the story of Ezio's revenge takes place over several years which lends itself to a feeling of approaching epic. While never quite attaining that level, it does not detract from the experience at any rate. On the other hand, what AC2 does nail is the sense of progression, through abilities and unraveling the power players at work, the ride is well worth it.

To wrap all of this up, as this is getting a bit long. If you had any sort of hope (or hype) for the first Assassin's Creed and was burned in a fiery fit of monotony, the sequel quells that burning rage with fixing everything that was wrong with the first and then progressing past that into new territory. Assassin’s Creed II is one of the easiest recommendations that I can make so far this year. To which, the two people who I have heavily recommended it to are both enjoying the hell out of it.