Assassin's Creed II

"Truth is Written in Blood"

- Giovanni Auditore

Assassin's Creed II is a sandbox-style action-adventure video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 17, 2009 (US), November 19, 2009 (AU) and November 20, 2009 (Worldwide) on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PC version may be released on a variety of dates in Q1 2010, including March 16, February 15, and January 15. A special version of the game will also be released on the Nintendo DS.

Plot
The game starts literally seconds after Assassin's Creed ends. Desmond is staring at the hidden blood message on the wall when Lucy returns, blood on her shirt, and tells him that they only have a matter of time before Abstergo finds out what she's done. Desmond re-enters the Animus and briefly experiences the birth of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, while Lucy makes a copy of the Animus' memory. The two then proceed to escape Abstergo, to one of the Assassins' hideouts. After being introduced to fellow modern Assassins Shaun and Rebecca, Lucy explains that with their numbers dwindling, they require Desmond to assist them by becoming an Assassin. In order to do so, Lucy intends to train Desmond by exploiting the Animus' bleeding effect, by absorbing years of experience within days. The Assassins have copied and created their own version of the Animus, labeled the Animus 2.0, and Desmond proceeds to enter Ezio's memories.

Ezio's life takes place in the late 15th century in Italy during the Renaissance, approximately 300 years after Altaïr's time. In 1476, young Ezio is currently living the life of a noble in Florence. He gets into a fight with Vieri Pazzi, the son of a prominent family, who insults his parents. After being reprimanded by his elder brother, Frederico, and his father, Giovanni, Ezio performs some tasks for his family, such as delivering a message for his father, and carrying some paintings with Leonardo da Vinci. His father and another man, Uberto Alberti, are seen discussing secret matters that seem urgent.

Eventually, guards raid the Auditore home and arrest Ezio's father, Giovanni, his older brother, Frederico, and his younger brother, Petruccio. His mother and sister go into hiding with their servant Anetta. After meeting his father, Ezio retrieves several items hidden in his home, which include an Assassin's outfit, a broken hidden blade, and several documents. Ezio delivers the letter containing evidence of the Auditore's innocence to Uberto, who promises to defend them at their hearing, but claims to have received no such thing on that day, and the three Auditores are hanged. Swearing vengeance, Ezio meets Paula of the Courtesans, who is taking care of his mother, Maria, and sister, Claudia. Ezio is taught the elements of stealth, and meets with Leonardo da Vinci, who decrypts one of Ezio's documents and uses it to repair his hidden blade. Ezio then proceeds to assassinate Uberto.

Now a wanted criminal, Ezio flees Florence with Maria and Claudia, heading to his family villa in the Tuscan countryside. While fending off an attack by Vieri Pazzi, he meets his uncle Mario and his mercenaries, who assist him. At the villa, Mario tells Ezio of his Assassin heritage, who had thought his father was simply a banker. Ezio is incredulous, and states his intention to flee to Spain, but Mario implores him to stay and fight the Pazzi and Templars, and trains him how to fight, while encouraging him to become an assassin.

After assassinating Vieri Pazzi, Ezio learns of additional conspirators involved in his father and brothers' deaths. Mario introduces Ezio to various items in the villa, one being a set of armor belonging to Altaïr. He is also shown several pages of the Codex, one of which was what Leonardo had decrypted. Written by Altaïr, the Codex is a set of memoirs describing his experiences and thoughts after retrieving the Apple of Eden, and also contains designs and sketches of several things, such as a miniature firearm, and a new type of metal. Over the next decade, Ezio assassinates many of the conspirators, with the assistance of several new allies, and Leonardo's developments, based on the designs from the Codex.

Eventually, Desmond is pulled out of the Animus, as Lucy calls it a day. She tests the retention of Desmond's skills, and notes a great amount of progress, although Desmond is suffering from minor detrimental effects, such as brief hallucinations of the past. Desmond appears to black out and has an extended, vivid hallucination or dream of Altaïr pursuing Maria, a Templar who Altaïr had spared, and proceeding to romance her. As it so happens, Desmond is unable to follow Altair once he leaves Maria, which reveals that Maria is now pregnant with his child. Afterwards, Desmond wakes up, feeling confused.

Returning back into the Animus, Ezio continues his pursuit. Once nearly all of the conspirators are dead, only Rodrigo Borgia still remains, and was the center of the conspiracy. Ezio learns that Rodrigo has retrieved the Apple of Eden from Cyprus, and his men are delivering it to him. With all of Ezio's past allies suddenly appearing, they aid Ezio in reclaiming the Apple of Eden, but Rodrigo flees. After the battle, Ezio learns that all of his allies are Assassins, and were all guiding him throughout his life. Although Rodrigo had called himself a prophet, the Assassins state that Ezio may be the prophet described in the Codex. Letting go of the idea of revenge, Ezio is officially inducted as an Assassin.

Some sort of problem occurs with the Animus, and several memories are skipped, lapsing forward to the year 1499. With the Apple of Eden, and the completed Codex, they locate the position of the "vault", for which the prophet may find. The location is found to be in Vatican City, where Rodrigo Borgia has now become Pope Alexander VI. As Pope, Rodrigo also possesses the papal staff, another Piece of Eden. Ezio attempts to assassinate Rodrigo, but fails, and Rodrigo attempts to use the staff and the Apple of Eden to open the vault. Ezio intercepts him, sparing his life, and enters the vault instead.

Within the vault, Ezio encounters a hologram in the form of a woman. Ezio asks if they are gods, but she states that they had simply came before. She was once known as "Minerva", though she has had other names such as Merva, while others had Juno and Jupiter, formerly Uni and Tinia. Minerva explains that her brethren had formerly lived alongside humanity, and had evolved them. However, humanity rebelled, and they eventually fell apart, with Minerva still continuing to wonder if they could live together. Ezio says that he is confused, but Minerva tells him to stay quiet; she is actually speaking through him, as he is the prophet. Minerva explains the occurrence of a disaster that destroyed their civilization, and that it will happen again. She directly addresses Desmond, saying that "The rest is up to you". Greatly confused, Ezio questions who Desmond is, but the hologram fades, and the Animus is shut down.

Abstergo has located and attacked their hideout, prompting Shaun and Rebecca to pull Desmond out of the Animus. While the two pack everything, Lucy and Desmond try to buy time, with Desmond receiving an Assassin's hidden blade and using it with great proficiency. Desmond confronts Vidic, but he flees, and the group evacuate to another safehouse. Lucy prepares to review the tapes of Desmond's latest session, noting how the situation has escalated dramatically, and speculating on the possibility of an event such as the Sun's geomagnetic reversal. Rebecca prepares the Animus for Desmond to search for artifacts or clues that may help them.

During Desmond's time in the Animus, he also encounters a series of out-of-place glyphs, located throughout his memories. The glyphs are found to be the same ones drawn on Desmond's bedroom wall in Abstergo, and analysis reveals that they contain computer code, hidden in the Animus. "Subject 16", the Animus user preceding Desmond, had placed the encrypted code as a message, and Lucy had taken this data along with the copy of the Animus' memory. The encrypted code contains a great number of historical artworks, photographs, and messages, past and present, implicating a great number of prominent events and figures with the Templars, and Pieces of Eden. Unlocking all of the glyphs reveals a brief video, labeled with "Subject 16, Session 12, Classified Date B.C.E." A man and woman rush through a garden-like area and a futuristic complex, with a glimpse of other people manufacturing something. On the roof of the complex, the woman holds up the Apple of Eden, and she and the man identify each other as Adam and Eve.

Gameplay
The May 2009 GameInformer article revealed that many new features would be added to the game engine. Ezio will be given two hidden blades, allowing him to eliminate two enemies at once. New weapons, such as spears, axes, halberds, and maces have been revealed as well. In order to obtain the weapons, Ezio must kill a guard wielding the weapon he wants but he drops his new weapon after he has killed one of his enemies. Ezio will have access to many weapons, but some enemies are only weak to certain weapons. The player can also buy and upgrade weapons and items at shops, as an alternative to scavenging them off of fallen foes. The enemies Ezio will face have also been expanded upon, so that now he will be forced to contend with both heavily armored swordsman, lightly armored foes wielding lighter weapons, and halberdiers who will seek to attack him from afar. The cinematic trailer also revealed that not only has Ezio hidden blades in his gauntlets, but also has a gun below his left hidden blade. There will be over 30 weapons in the game.

thumb|300px|right|The latest gameplay video from the Tokyo Game Show

New forms of cover will be introduced, including the ability to hide underneath the water (as long as you have enough oxygen). As it is, Ezio can kill guards via drowning them, and during an interview when the question was brought up, the reply was "the game's not finished yet". Possibly this game will feature the same 'leaps of faith', but rather than jumping into haystacks (which will now include carts of fish, wood and other things), you can also jump into water. This way Ezio will grab his enemies by either jumping out of the haystack or the water to kill them with his hidden blade. This tactic will of course compromise your position to other guards (Known as Seekers) and they will have the ability to check haystacks and other areas by stabbing their weapons into them. Ezio will automatically hide the dead bodies of his victims depending where he himself is hiding. To confuse guards you can use an explosive powder(known as a smoke bomb) that will further cover your tracks. Rather than blending in with scholars as Altaïr did, Ezio will also be able to blend with larger crowds. Climbing has a new feature. Not only is Ezio as fast a climber as Altaïr, but he can leap to a higher position while climbing a certain building. Guards positioned in towers, or other high buildings, can be grabbed and pulled down, so they will fall to their death, as Ezio climbs them.

The mission design in the first game was thought to be too repetitive, so the developers are adding at least 16 new mission types, so missions don't seem to run together. This is a large increase over the number in the original, as there are now over 200 missions in Assassin's Creed II. Missions like eavesdropping or pick pocketing (Ezio can however steal from any citizen and can also be stolen from) have been removed from the list of quests in this game. Yet another new feature is a notoriety system in which Ezio will become recognized as he takes on more quests in each town; higher notoriety will result in civilians and guards becoming increasingly wary of the player's movements.This level of notoriety will be set within each city, so that while the player may be completely unknown in some cities, he may be infamous in others. The player may take on quests to bribe or kill informants and remove wanted posters in order to decrease his notoriety level. Updated is also the quest to collect flags, but also mini-statues and golden coins. But unlike the first game, you will be given bonus features if you succeed in collecting them. Ezio will also be aided by famous Renaissance figures, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli. Caterina Sforza and Lorenzo De' Medici will also make an appearance. Ezio's synchronization bar will fill normally like in the original game, but more major injuries must be treated by street-side doctors. A day and night cycle will also be added.

A big annoyance in the first game was that all enemies could follow you where ever you went, on top of buildings, and sometimes across the entire city, making losing their sight long enough to hide almost impossible. In Assassin's Creed II only a new, lightly armored, more agile, scout like enemy will have the ability to follow you.

Another new feature is Ezio will own his own villa (which, during the time was a fortified town.) It's role will be like that of Masyaf from the first game. Through out the game, Ezio will be able to add and upgrade shops that will give him discounts and place where people will pay Ezio rent (brothel's, etc.). There will be secret places here too that Ezio can access by paying money. Ezio will have his own house where he will have a room full of the portraits of the assassination targets he has killed, a treasure room, an armory to hold his weapons and armor, and a room full of statues of great assassins (one of the statues has been confirmed as Altair, the assassin from the first game) which Ezio can get plaques for. When a plaque has been put on a statue, Ezio will receive a reward a bonus worth on the villa but in order to obtain Altaïr's armor you will need all six seals as Mario said all the guardians must be complete to obtain Altair's armor. (NOTE: Altair's statue does not need a seal)

Assassin's Creed 2 will also have a system mildly similar to the "glitches" from Assassin's Creed in which pressing a button during a cutscene will give you a new vantage point. Assassin's Creed 2 has improved on this in a quick time reminiscent way during cutscenes, as pressing the right button at the right time will produce a reward.

Special Editions
The Black Edition retail price £70:
 * “Master Assassin” upgrade Ezio figurine with black collector box
 * 3 in-game bonus quests, allowing the character to explore the following:
 * Palazzo Medicis in Florence
 * Santa Maria Dei Frari In Venice
 * Arsenal Shipyard Warehouse In Venice
 * "Conspiracy book": A book from the developers, describing development, and the storyline (with extra commentary on the "conspiracy"). 64 pages, hardcover, "leather style".
 * DVD with all videos, behind-the-scene interviews and "e-goodies" about Assassin's Creed II and game soundtrack by Jesper Kyd (British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominee for "2009 Best Original Score in a Game").
 * Black packaging with unique holographic signature

This edition of the game will be made available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. It is confirmed for Europe, as well as Australia and certain Asian nations like South Korea. (However, 360 version will be the only version available.)

The White Edition:
 * Ezio figurine
 * Collectible White Packaging
 * Bonus in-game content

This version is in only available in parts of Europe, as well as Australia.

The Master Assassin Edition:
 * Ezio figurine
 * Artbook: The art of Assassin's Creed
 * Premium Collectable Metal Case
 * Two In-Game Maps: Palazzo Medici and Santa Maria Dei Frari
 * Additional Content DVD with Behind the Scenes of Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II Soundtrack

This edition can be bought in North America.

Several days before the release of Assassin's Creed II, EBGames Australia offered an unlock code for Palazzo Medicis when you preordered the normal edition.

And although you may get confused, the Master Assassin edition, although containing two in game maps, those areas do not contain any bonus missions.

Development


On January 22 2009, it was confirmed by Ubisoft that Assassin's Creed II was in production, but no details were revealed. A promotional video was released by Ubisoft on April 6 showing a map of Italy, some hidden blade designs, and DaVinci's flying machine on a scroll. On the official site after the teaser is viewed a symbol is given to print and show in front of a webcam. Doing this will unlock a picture displayed on the site. 4 of the 5 symbols have been given by Ubisoft, and the other was found by a fan. Later, on April 10, Game Informer magazine released details on the game, as well as pictures of Ezio. There are about 240 team members, some of these members were sent to Italy, traveling through Venice, Florence, Tuscany, and Rome. ScrewAttack also released a video with some of the pictures from the magazine. In early May, Ubisoft has stated that they are putting full emphasis on the game and that 450 team members are now working on the title. 75% of the original developers for the original game are now working on the second.

Trivia

 * After rescuing Ezio from Vieri de Pazzi, Mario identifies himself by saying "It's-a me, Mario!" This is a reference to Nintendo's videogame mascot, Mario, and his first and most famous spoken line.
 * Ezio's Mother, Maria, prays for 20 years during the stay at Mario's Villa.