-High production value with flaws -Too many puzzles, jumping and stealth -Dark and offensive story
I have cut 1000 words of praise to the advanced technology from which this game is made. All I can say is that the production value in this one is extremely high so every dollar that you pay the developers is no doubt justified. (Have no idea of low production value? Think about Left 4 Dead! No story, no open world, simple physics – but a best seller! Damn.) The AI, the graphics, the sounds, environment detail, realism and the story - they are all terrific. The campaign is long enough – a good sign in contrast to the trend of shorter and less memorable campaigns of some new games.
Perhaps you can criticize the game is not in 3D if not… 4D. But please don't, we are still in the 21st century and not everyone can be like Ezio who was using guns during the Renaissance. If I must pick something to bash, I'd first start with the controls. It is like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Too many things are interactive (not totally bad for sure) and it becomes hard to execute accurate maneuvers.
The icon display is totally messed up. When it comes to quick time event (Resident Evil 4 style cutscene events), you'd want to see exactly which buttons to smash. But Ubisoft is so generous to give us lovely "body icons". During the course of the game, I gradually learnt to translate body icons in my mind but it still takes half a second more than it would if they had just used button icons. I hope the use of body icons will be no more in the next game. Never should they spread outside Assassin's Creed too, I pray. The body icons may yet reflect the high production value that I paid respect to earlier but I am sorry - they backfire.
I noticed that platform jumping, puzzles and stealth have taken more important roles in Assassin's Creed 2 and I am warning Ubisoft about these.
Assassin's Creed is not Tomb Raider. Yet I am troubled that there are quite some time trials of platform jumping and races which are harsh. Some buildings drive you nuts to climb. In Venice, buildings become more inaccessible requiring climb grab (story based) but Ubisoft doesn't give a tip (voice of Lucy or Ezio) wasting gamers' time worldwide. All damn Ubisoft. Puzzles have always been my nemesis. They are hard but once beaten – have no replay value. Defeats are frustrating whereas successes aren't quite as fulfilling. "The Truth" puzzles are very insensible and I'd be wasting precious time to deal with the twisted logic behind myself. Simply put, puzzles are cheap.
Although Assassin's Creed 2 is helpful to add treasure maps, feather collection rises as the next nuisance. No one on Earth is twisted enough to explore the game world in search of them single-handedly. Many of us would have to resort to online guides. Why don't they do us a favor putting in a "feather map"? After all, the purpose of such collectables merely encourages us to visit various locations and admire the level of detail of the gaming world. There is no need to make things tough.
Assassin's Creed is not Splinter Cell. I hate that failure to be stealthy makes you "desynchronized' (i.e. game over). What the hell? Who cares whether it is quiet or loud as long as the target is dead? Even if I were exposed, my combat skills should ensure the target's horrible death - if not for the damnable "desynchronization" in the way.
What Assassin's Creed should learn from is the Hitman series. They are both assassination brands. Hitman allows you to have multiple ways of killing your target. You can go in hard and loud and bear the consequence of an all-out battle. You can go in quietly if you like to be a ghost. I'd prefer a straight fight to sneaking around (as Han Solo said). Isn't "free will" the very thing Ezio was fighting for in the story? Desynchronization's boundage makes an oxymoron out of it.
The philosophy of Assassin's Creed is disturbing. Christianity is branded as a false and oppressive faith. I'm a believer and this theme is unsettling to me. Why? It's just a video game! Some might laugh. I'm serious. Assassin's Creed isn't Doom 3. We don't have a base on Mars yet. Assassin's Creed, in contrast, constantly throws history at you and I'd say it's trying to "make-believe". The game's narrative isn't to be taken lightly.
Sometimes it really offends me when the game suddenly asserts Christianity as a fraud in the middle of historic facts. Just like how a data file mentions a conquest to obtain a holy coffin containing the body of Christ and Altair's notes say that the illusion of hell bounds people to the greatest lie ever and Jesus is no God but a master manipulator.
I dearly hope the development team's creativity hasn't been misused by Satan the Devil…