You Be Soft (In the Head)
Installation
I own a very nice, high end, graphics munching PC. Having been at this a while, I knew BEFORE I bought AC2 that I would need to update chipset, graphics, and DirectX. Did that the day before I downloaded the game.
After downloading the black (aka deluxe) version for a whopping $64.99, I did a clean install, shutting down all background programs, unnecessary processes, and killing my virus protection.
AC2 installed quickly and fired up. As I have a constant internet connection I experienced no DRM woes although commisserate with those that did.
Then the problems started. I could get the game started, but it would run for only a few minutes - sometimes up to half an hour - before it crashed and crashed hard. A hard reboot was required to take my computer out of graphics gridlock.
I installed beta drivers, followed all the steps on the Ubisoft boards and the advice offered in the forums here. All to no avail.
After screwing around for about ten days trying this and that I caught a post referencing a fix for Prince of Persia - another Ubi title where the user experienced similar issues. The fix was simple and for those experiencing the same problems after doing all the regular updates I provide the following:
Use ctrl+alt+del to open task manager.
Start the game using the actual .exe file in the game folder.
Use alt+TAB or ctrl+TAB to switch out of the game once it's started.
Click on the Processes tab in Task Manager.
Right Click Assassin's Creed II.exe
Select Set Affinity
Now you can experiment. If you are running a quad-core processor, try eliminating one core, then two (repeating these steps) until the game is stable. On my system all I had to do is uncheck two cores out of four and the game ran stable without issue.
Story
I prefer FPS and RPGs with good story lines. I found the original Assassin's Creed game to come up spades in this department and looked forward to this next episode.
AC2 begins literally where the original left off and adds even more depth to the evolving plot that remains centered on Desmond Miles and the battle for the fate of the free world between Assassin and Templar. The use of Renaissance Italy as a setting for this chapter is brilliant.
My criticisms are centered on the end game, which in AC2 seems much the same cop out as it was in AC1. That is, all these skills we've spend hours perfecting don't matter for much in what is more cinematic than game. More on this below.
It does seem Ubisoft has elected a plainly secular philosophy in this existential tale. Despite the mandatory disclaimer screen "This work of fiction was inspired by historical places and people and was created by a multinational team of many faiths and beliefs" which you can't esc/entr key past - the story seems blatantly secular. I don't have a problem with that although it seems a overly contrived bit of political correctness. Rather than offend one, offend all with equal measure.
And I also noted a leaning in "the truth" segments towards vilifying americans over their european counterparts. Thomas Edison bad guy. Nikolai Tesla good. Whatever. Ubisoft Montreal needs to get over its wannabe euro issues.
Game Play
Going in, you should know this is an Xbox/PS3 port. At least I assume it is as those versions came out first and it sure plays like an Xbox game on the PC meaning the keyboard controls can be a little twitchy. If you were expecting that Ezio (the new Altaiir) would stop jumping up - or worse, off - of things indiscriminately, you'll have to wait I'm guessing for AC3. Of course you can't remap keys. Silly you.
"My business is killing, and business is good." The highlight of AC2 is the planning and recon required to carry off assassinations with skill. AC2 has a lot more content (at least it seems) than AC1, but spends less time on the big kills. I thought this a mistake and a pity. Someone apparently thinks beating up adulterous husbands or racing through the streets is more fun than offing some clown after careful planning and (if I say so myself) brilliant execution.
Doing battle requires you to "focus" on a target which puts you into a slo-mo mode for some reason. AC1 had the same thing. If another NPC hits you your focus will shift to that person. AC1 did this as well. It doesn't make any sense and makes doing battle against a number of foes a bit confusing. AC2 allows you to atrack without being "focused", and this will greatly help your ability to move to targets and take them out. It is also excellent for killing innocent bystanders who with lame AI don't get out of the fray.
Like the original, game play is very linear. There are side quests, but once you've done one of a given type they're all pretty much the same. The most frustrating part of the game is the inability to save. If you haven't completed a given memory segment you can revisit it, but once complete it's over and you move on regardless if the outcome (usually an assassination) came off the way you wanted. If it was messy you cannot redo. Frankly I think this is just ridiculous. What is Ubisoft thinking?
In the black version you get the Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities DLC included. I thought the Battle of Forli was pretty lame. It was my understanding that both of these DLC were originally intended to be part of the game and then for one reason or another Ubi pulled them from the release. They could've kept the Battle of Forli - it was not congruous with the story and as I had completed all the side quests when I passed through on the way to Venice I thought the return to basically run and fetch was a waste of time.
Bonfire of the Vanities however, was brilliant. The very difficult assassinations required were why I bought AC2 in the first place and BotV served them up in style. My only regret is I can't go back and just do the assassinations in this add-on because of the stupid lack of a save game system.
Graphics
As good if not better than the original. Excellent. Audio is awesome as well. I found it amusing when taking on a mob of NPCs that they utter the same thing as if talking to each other even when you've whittled them down to a lone survivor.
All in All
Great story. Great graphics. Terrible implentation.