Worthwhile rental, not much more
posted by NavyGamer (PAYSON, AZ) Jan 31, 2010
Member since Nov 2009
5
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Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery is a handheld spinoff of the highly successful Assassin’s Creed II console game. Ezio Auditore, the hero of ACII and a high-flying assassin, returns as the hero. The game’s story takes place in the late fifteenth-century, just before the end of the console game. Ezio is recruited by his Thieves’ Guild ally Antonio to settle some scores with the megalomaniacal Rodrigo Borgia and his Templars in Spain, who are masquerading as the Inquisition and oppressing Assassin clans there. It’s up to Ezio to do what he can to put a dent in the Templars’ plans and protect his distant kin.
The game is pretty short. It won’t take you more than 8-10 hours to beat this game the first time around, but it’s also very difficult to play it for more than half an hour at a time. It’s fun in short bursts, but the novelty of the game soon fades into monotony (especially during stealth sequences) and there isn’t much to hold your interest. The story and mission objectives are pretty cut and dry most of the time, with none of the atmospheric quality that made Assassin’s Creed a smash hit three years ago. There’s a little bit of replay value to be had with the “Animus Hacks” that upgrade Ezio and make him faster and more resistant to damage. These are bought with “sync points” claimed by tearing down wanted posters and finishing missions as quickly and healthily as possible.
Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery is definitely good for a rental or a gift to a diehard fan of the console series. Jennifer and I had a quick bit of fun with the game. It was the frustrating stealth missions that clash with the game’s overall design that drove her crazy. For me, it was that the game suffered from “eggnog effect”. It’s good for a while, but it’s not immersive or innovative. After about twenty minutes of formulaic “run here, do this, come back” gameplay it got really stale, much like the taste of eggnog after it’s been sitting in your fridge for the entire holiday season.
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