Assassin's Creed 2

[Naysonymous]

How long is it before I get a blade? So far I have been posting letters and punching unfaithful boyfriends. I have been introduced to Da Vinci and my old man has been arrested, so now I have to climb some fucking tower. I just want to cut somebody!

[Joyrex-J9]

The combat is a mess

I sadly have to agree with this.

I used the same tactic for 99% of the game (sword + hold RT, then press X to counter) anything else simply didn't work. It was never explained the advantages of the small weapons (were there any advantages?!) poison was a total joke, as was that terrible "pistol".

Ubisoft obviously struggle with combat systems in their games, just look at the last Prince of Persian game for an example of how bad it can be.

But somehow the bad combat didn't really spoil this game, at least not for me. Probably because it was fairly secondary to the experience

[catinthehat]

I just finished Sequence #7. Am I really only half way through, or do the missions get shorter towards the end?

[Joyrex-J9]

I just finished Sequence #7. Am I really only half way through, or do the missions get shorter towards the end?

Sequences #12 & #13 don't happen at all

The last few are short too.

I think my sync percentage was in the low sixties when I finished it.

[catinthehat]

Sequences #12 & #13 don't happen at all

The last few are short too.

I think my sync percentage was in the low sixties when I finished it.

Sweet, cheers. I'm really enjoying it, but I've been spending so much time on all the side missions and things that I'm starting to wish I'd focussed more on the main story. I'll try to whizz through a few sequences tonight and aim for the finish.

Also, when you leave Forli for Venice,

there's a sultry woman who gives you the pass to Venice. Can you go back and meet her? I had a quick look around Forli again last night, but couldn't find her anywhere.

[Joyrex-J9]

Also, when you leave Forli for Venice,

there's a sultry woman who gives you the pass to Venice. Can you go back and meet her? I had a quick look around Forli again last night, but couldn't find her anywhere.

Ha good point

she doesn't feature in the game beyond that point, seems odd as they'd started to set her up as proper character. Maybe it got cut

[Teeohbee.]

Ha good point

she doesn't feature in the game beyond that point, seems odd as they'd started to set her up as proper character. Maybe it got cut

She's involved in one of the DLC supposed to be coming in the next few months. Which explores her role in defending Forli I think

[catinthehat]

She's involved in one of the DLC supposed to be coming in the next few months. Which explores her role in defending Forli I think

Defending Forli from me, as I try to make my way into her pants. The little slut.

[stefcha]

I sadly have to agree with this.

I used the same tactic for 99% of the game (sword + hold RT, then press X to counter) anything else simply didn't work. It was never explained the advantages of the small weapons (were there any advantages?!) poison was a total joke, as was that terrible "pistol".

The small weapons were faster, the clue is in the stats - usually a flurry of chained attacks with a faster weapon does for most grunts so I often used a fast powerful knife 'til I got a decent fast sword later on. As for other stuff not working, the dodge was a bit crap but the rest of the stuff you just had to wear the enemy down a couple of notches on the heath first to grab them and slit their throat (there were a couple I couldn't get the timing right on the counters), or steal their weapon and then kill them. As for poison, that was ace, I used it in loads of assassinations!

I think my sync percentage was in the low sixties when I finished it.

I take it that was a result of pretty much just following the storyline through without much deviation?

edit: Also, I just saw the historian bloke from the game on the telly at some TV awards nonsense of a show, I thought he looked familiar. Weird they modelled it on him rather than just using his voice, though.

[Monkeyboy]

So is this any better than the first one?

[stefcha]

Yes, although when it boils down to it it's the same game but a bit more rounded and fulfilling. A bit more varied, but still the same sort of thing.

[Mr. O]

I'm on the last tomb and those fucking cunting wall jumps are doing my head in - nine times out of ten he jumps backwards into the water fucking it all up.

This did my head in

I like the game but the control system seems to have a mind of it's own at times, made worst when your up against a time constraint. I've never played a game where I go from enjoyment to intense frustration so many times in each sitting.

[Teeohbee.]

edit: Also, I just saw the historian bloke from the game on the telly at some TV awards nonsense of a show, I thought he looked familiar. Weird they modelled it on him rather than just using his voice, though.

That's Danny Wallace. Shame his voice in the game sounds a bit compressed and lispy.

[The Sarge]

First DLC pack is out - Jan 28

http://twitter.com/Ubisoft/statuses/8070305663/

320msp, €3.99

[stefcha]

320? Decent price but it's going to leave me with a really irritating amount of points left over!

[Swallow]

I don't get people who complain about the combat. Of course it's going to be repetitive if you use the same weapon and tactic over and over again. What happened to experimenting and playing around with your options for fun? I grew to like and admire the game's combat as I worked through it.

[squirtle]

The combat is just a case of using the right move for each type of enemy. Counter the standard blokes, dodge or steal the weapon from the brutes and pole axe guys, and just keep twatting the guys in between to wear them down.

That said, it can't be emphasised enough how satisfying it is to nick a brute's massive axe, wait for them to pick up another sword then counter them and bury the axe into their head. Ace stuff. Also dropping a smoke bomb in the midst of a massive scrap, equipping the secret blades and then assassinating the entire lot as they cough and splutter around. Make good your escape and leave a pile of bodies in your wake. More ace stuff.

[Shoes]

Has it been mentioned how shit the British bloke in the future is? He's goddam awful.

[Sergeant Squid]

I'm really enjoying my (free) copy of this. 99% of the time I just use the double arm blades, cus they're ace, although now that I've unlocked the ability to do so, most of my fights revolve around me going bare handed, taunting and then nicking their weapon before killing them with it. Oh so satisfying. I've done some crazy good kills too; proper 'HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME!' moments that I wish I could have recorded. It's a lot more fun than the original, despite the fact it is clearly exactly the same overall. I've done 3 Assassins' tombs so far and they're good fun, too.

You'd think by now though that the amount of guards I've killed up on rooftops would have either stopped them going up there up made them go up in force. And it's funny you don't hear the heralds going on about crazy rooftop murderers

PS: Dual blades are the best thing ever. EVER.

[Scribblor]

Has it been mentioned how shit the British bloke in the future is? He's goddam awful.

Danny Wallace? Yeah, I have no idea why he's been cast. He can't act. Stick to being Dave Gorman's mate, you prick.

[James Ape]

I don't get people who complain about the combat. Of course it's going to be repetitive if you use the same weapon and tactic over and over again. What happened to experimenting and playing around with your options for fun?

I think one of the big problems is that it lacks any sort of real challenge. At the start i was trying all the different moves, but when i realized that it didn't really make much of a difference other than the amount of time taken to kill the guy, I just stuck to the quickest methods. It was cool to poison guys or disarm them at the start, but it gets as boring as any other method the umpteenth time you see it.

I think the majority of my deaths in this game were from falling(in fact I can only recall one time where I died during a fight). I would have liked this game more than I did if it offered something like a challenge. Demon's Souls does this well, the combat may not be the most gracious to look at, but you do have to be careful about what you are doing as you will be punished if you don't. I never got this feeling during the combat in AC2, which is a shame as i think they have a good game in there, amongst all the fluff, just some of the basics could have done with a little more work.

[Rudderless]

Danny Wallace? Yeah, I have no idea why he's been cast. He can't act. Stick to being Dave Gorman's mate, you prick.

I quite like Danny Wallace, so I was a little disappointed to find out that not only was he rubbish at voice-acting but he was playing a complete twat as well.

[Shoes]

I knew I recognised the voice!

Maybe he got the job for being best mates with Thicky Dyer and Pineapple Head.

[Uncle Mike]

Having read the review up on Eurogamer, I'm pretty glad I traded this in and didn't wait for the DLC. Cynical manoeuvre avoided!

[Smitty]

I think one of the big problems is that it lacks any sort of real challenge. At the start i was trying all the different moves, but when i realized that it didn't really make much of a difference other than the amount of time taken to kill the guy

ALARM BELLS

[Royshan]

I love this game. Problem is that I keep pointedly avoiding the main missions to fanny about in Florence. Think I'm on sequence 5 or something, but just looking for tombs. And those stupid glyph things.

[stefcha]

Having read the review up on Eurogamer, I'm pretty glad I traded this in and didn't wait for the DLC. Cynical manoeuvre avoided!

It does indeed sound like it's not worth bothering with, what a shame. No challenge, not even any achievements, talk about half arsed.

[K]

I'm gonna buck the trend, and say I thought the DLC was pretty good. It's weird because it doesn't feel like most DLC - that is to say, it doesn't feel like an extraneous little extra bit, it feels like you're playing an integral part of the game out of sequence, probably because you are. But if you enjoyed ACII (which I did) then this is basically a little bit more of it, so you'll probably enjoy it (like I did). It costs about two quid, and it lasted me about an hour and a half. Not bad as episodic DLC goes.

Plus, there's a proper WTF moment in one of the cutscenes.

[locke_211]

I'm gonna buck the trend, and say I thought the DLC was pretty good. It's weird because it doesn't feel like most DLC - that is to say, it doesn't feel like an extraneous little extra bit, it feels like you're playing an integral part of the game out of sequence, probably because you are. But if you enjoyed ACII (which I did) then this is basically a little bit more of it, so you'll probably enjoy it (like I did). It costs about two quid, and it lasted me about an hour and a half. Not bad as episodic DLC goes.

Plus, there's a proper WTF moment in one of the cutscenes.

I enjoyed it, but because it was more of the main game, but it is really, really short. But then, it's really, really cheap!

I thought there would be some more secret locations and such - I've got two missing on the dna list, and I think they must be DLC. Plus, will the bits from the various exclusive versions be made available to other players?

[Jarik]

Downloaded the DLC & Its nice to have some more stuff to do in Forli & a bigger role for a character who seemed to have no real purpose in the original, but those massive fights i got into at the start seemed to highlight the problems with the targetting system. Quite often it wasn't clear whether I was locked on or to who, & Ezio would even on occassion attack his allies, which IMO is something he simply shouldn't do by default & would make rescuing them in the middle of a scrap easier.