I don't agree with your analysis of Ezio being bent on vengeance overnight. It's not very clear in the game but he actually spends two years at his uncle's villa in training before he assassinates Vieri and just before he decides to do so, he tells his uncle he's not sure about staying in Italy and plans to leave for Spain with his mother and sister. Then, seeing his uncle pissed off at him for not taking up his father's duty, he decides to embrace the life of an Assassin.

What i really liked about Assassins Creed 2 were the glyphs, they gave AC2 that mysterious/conspiracy theme which involved all these real persons and events in our history and it was just creepy....and then came the ending with the precursor and i guess all of us were sitting there like:" Wait what?"

Something I love about the climbing ability you unlock in AC2 is that it's something you need to actually perform yourself, as a player. It requires timing and extra button presses, and most importantly you can fail it, you can miss the ledge you're aiming for. Not that it's particularly hard to pull off of course, but by making it something the player has actually do themselves, in combination with the fact that Ezio has to unlock it too, I feel it creates a good connection between the player and Ezio - because we both feel as if we've learned a new skill. Very good design imo.

Assassin's Creed 2 was one of my favorite games of all time growing up. My God, the atmosphere and soundtrack itself was heavenly. Strolling through the villa with the beautiful shades of grey was masterfully done.

I remember getting this for christmas and the next day playing nonstop that was the first time i got "wow time just flew by and I forgot to eat" experience

The most important game Ubisoft made and they fired the guy who made it.

“It’s a good life we live brother, may it never change. “ -And May it never change us. *Chills.* Legendary game.

actually in assassin's creed II Ezio's first choice after reaching the villa, is to move on further to keep his family safe, he's talked into inheriting his fathers assassin involvement by Mario, so this whole thing saying he had no point of self reflection is wrong

Shame assassin's creed lost its way after the ezio story. Black flag is brilliant and origins is pretty good but it feels like they are milking the game series out right now. Nothing beats Altair and Ezio

AC2 was godly. That opening with ezios bro and the ezio family theme playing in the background helped me out of a dark place

Looking back now I find the simplicity of the first 4 games to be really charming. Although AC2 is simple, I never felt anything was missing, I never felt it was an incomplete game or, on the other hand, an overly complicated game. Sure I enjoy the RPG of Origins but the simplicity of AC2 felt more comfortable and satisfying. Maybe I am too old and miss the simple times of days gone by.

The music and in Brotherhood was awesome!

God, I forgot how weird facial animation used to be. We've come a long way.

When you pulled up AC2's cinematic trailer at the end, the nostalgia hit so hard! I remember watching that trailer over and over! ...and over!

Nothing ever truly compares to the original Assassin's Creed games. They were remarkable for their times and helped evolve the open world genre into what we know it now as today. I actually only ever played AC2 after I had gone through AC1 and Brotherhood. I was immediately a fan after playing through 1 but I didn't really have the cash to spend on games back then until I finally had some to spend on Brotherhood which I loved. Going through AC2 afterwards as I was gearing up for the launch of AC Revelations felt amazing. Even though it lacked many things I loved from Brotherhood, I got to play through Ezio's first chapter and I just imagined how incredible this game was following the heels of AC1. I loved everything about the game even though it could prove to be clunky at times. It was an incredible feat that pushed the franchise forward. Looking back now, it's very bittersweet. I still love the franchise but I can't say that any of the newer games really bring me the same feeling that the Ezio trilogy did. He's not even my favorite assassin but playing through his entire story from birth, to the young and immature boy, to the master assassin he'd end up becoming, to the movie that showed his ultimate death fills me with a variety of emotions. I hope that a newer Assassin's Creed game or saga can bring me to those levels of emotion again. There were stories I was captivated by such as Edward's in Black Flag, and I was still interested in Arno's story in Unity despite how the rest of the game left me feeling. I do see little glints of greatness in different things with each Assassin's Creed game moving onward from 2 which shows, to me anyways, that the franchise has the capability to be another feat like AC2 - they just have to find that in themselves again.

To me, the music in Assassin's Creed 2 always had this feeling of mistery and secrecy. Then you add the secret creepy puzzles and the ending and it all fits so well.

I've replayed it recently due to Ezio collection for PS4 and it's still one of the best.

AC2 is one of the top 2-3 video games i have ever played. I loved it so much not just as a video game but as a experience in general.

Man this game gives me so many nostalgic feelings. It's sad to see the franchise going the wrong direction with Odesey with this "chose your characher" "dialoge choses". It doesn't make sense to me. AC is a game where you follow a modern day protaganonist that enters the animus. Not this garbage they are making today!! Anywas great video as always Luke, keep up the good content!

Ezio was pretty much a renaissance Batman.

One of my favorite KZfaqrs talking about one of my favorite games :D

One thing they never directly tell you is that the training mission at Monterigionni (the one you can rush through in a few minutes) takes place over the course of 2 years. You can see it in the memory list in the menu.

I miss having to do things when I free run. I would love to have to hit x to jump across ledges and, hold on with a specific button and the like.

From a gameplay perspective ACII is clearly much simpler and by todays standards lacking, but it’s still a lot of fun, simply because the game design still works and even though it‘s pretty simple, everything you do in the game is enjoyable. The biggest two things that make ACII a classic and still arguably the best AC game are the atmosphere and the storytelling. Never again did Ubisoft manage to create such a dense and catching atmosphere which directly is linked to the other point, the storytelling. Sure the story itself seems quite straight forward but what makes the difference and what Ubisoft is struggling with ever since Black Flag especially is the way they tell the story. Ubisoft is in my opinion really good in creating great characters. But never ever did the characters work so good within a story as in ACII. Also with this Story they took their time for Ezios character establishment. The opening section is rather slow but what happens is that even bevor anything Assassin‘s Creed type of thing comes into play, you already like the character and you understand him and how he reacts. You have a backstory and his loss has impact on the player. I like all the protagonists of the franchise (yeah even Connor has great potential) but more often than not they simply didn’t take the time to introduce the properly before greater events hit and they kind of get caught up in them. With Edward you start of as he is already out their seeking his fortune, instead of first showing how much this drives him, even making him leave his love behind. The Frye twins seem to have a very different view on the Brotherhood and what their role should be, that would have been an amazing story to see them train with their father and getting to know how they tick. With Bayek they did a fairly good job but again the opening of the game is freaking horrible from a narrative standpoint. You have no connection to the character or the world but you already fight someone you don’t know after a cutscene in which you saw Bayek giving someone you don’t know at this point a weird look. They should have started with the Khemu flashback or even better some Aya Bayek scene or introducing Bayeks role as Medjay. They could have shown you the world slowly and make sure you feel the drama in his first murder for vengeance. The scenes are great looking at them for themselves but Ubi has a real problem building the narrative drama. They did an awesome job in ACII and never reached these heights ever since. Still I liked Origins especially since Bayek did in the end get some Backstory and the quests offered some more insights to how he‘s ticking and how people see him. There is hoping Ubisoft concentrates even more on storytelling with Odyssey but we will see.

Honestly I just loved the story of the first 5 games, 1, all three of Ezios, and the 3rd. Mom used to get them just so she could watch us play them. We all loved the story so damn much. It reminds me of loving a book series with such an epic world and incredible characters...and then the add on series kills them all off and destroys the world in the first chapters. Like a feeling of nastalgia and regret.

I remember years ago, sitting in my living room, playing the shit out of this masterpiece of a game. Ah, those were sure the days! :) The atmosphere of nostalgia is one you can't beat.

Didn't Ezio do that sloppy assassination, where he just walked in and confronted and killed the guy in front of many people!? A very messy assassinisation one might think. Also he had to leave Florence after that and to change his whole life, also taking the responsebility for his sister and mother, thats why he even wanted to head for spain to start a new life. Which brings me to another point of yours, Ezio didn't change over night, yes at first he was revengefull but he had is immidiat revenge and then he had to take the responsebility and had to think further ahead. So he went for his uncle which took him on, trained him and let Ezio and his mother and sister live at his villa for some years. After those Ezio still wanted to leave for spain but he thought about all what he had learned, he changed in those years and he realized what he had to do so he went for the way to become a fully grown assassin, to uncover what was behind the murder of his father and brothers. That wasn't a sudden change, it was built up as good as it was possible without taking to much time and become boring. As we did see in another AC game and we all know how well this one got received, so AC2 did it right I would say and didn't miss those points.

Have you played Kingdom Come: Deliverance? If not, you should. Character progression is done so well there.

I remember spending countless hours just exploring Rome in Brotherhood. I could spend an entire session just walking around and Immersing my self into the world. At that point I had done all that was to do, seen every place there was to see, climb every building from every angle possible and tried to do so even in the most impossible places. I was immersed in it! I didn't play Ezio, I WAS Ezio while playing that game. I've learned the map of Rome in this game and from memory, I could go to any place without any help, just by looking around and measuring distances from the Big Places like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Castel Sant'Angelo, etc. and get everywhere. Turned out that this was useful during my real life visit in Rome, as I was able to quickly memorise a map of the city and during the whole tour I only once checked it to see where the Pizzeria that my friend wanted to go to was. In Venice, I and my friend had to travel in dark alleys because we had some really bad Sunburns and we were headed to McDonald's and I've seen the map of the city once for like few seconds and we get there before our other friends who didn't have such problems. At one point my friend Mateo said "Man, we are lost. We should ask for guidance..." to which I looked around and said "what do you mean lost? The Mac's right there. *pointing at the McDonald's we were headed to*". His response was something like "HOW?! WTF?!?!". Thanks to Brotherhood I've not only had a great time, but I actually learned practical skill :D

AC 2 is really godly in terms of story, I mean it takes 20 years chronologically for your character to finish the game. The soundtrack is godly. Also the collectibles and gameplay were really revolutionary at that time. Such a shame they fired their best guy who made their best game.

The big problem with the early games is Desmond Miles. They really didn't do anything with him. Ubi heard people are unhappy with him and killed him off, instead of making him the main playable character for a whole game, where he's hallucinating the Animus UI as an explanation for why you're seeing it.

I loved everything to do with The Truth segments, it elevated the rest of the game, the entire design of it, from using Eagle Vision to find the mural or whatever, then solving some really fun puzzles that usually involve some real world events, pictures or letters that really sold the idea that Assassins and Templars have been battling in the shadows throughout history and made you more involved in their conflict as well as make you go "Wow what if it really was so?" And to top it all off there was the mystery of those split second clips they revealed at the end and when you finally solved all of them you got a glimpse of the twist the game was headed towards with the First Civilization. It also made it way easier to digest and put you in an attitude of looking forward to finding out more. Brilliant design. Also the tombs were awesome to explore, also a brilliant change of pace and they helped unlock some cool armor. Also Venice at night with that soundtrack, at least the way I remember it from then, it took till Witcher 3 for locales dripping with that much atmosphere.

Assassins Creed 2 and Mafia 2 had the biggest impact on me growing up. The storytelling, the music, the gameplay. These are,by far, the best games EVER made. Of course there are some new games like The Witcher 3 and God Of War, but just that nostalgic connection makes them great....(and also I don't have a PS4,and I don't like heavy RPG games like those 2)

The first one made me fall in love with AC.. and I still like it more than AC 2 just because of the location and time.. it has always fitted the games the best...

Hey i played it too first on my mac book pro! It lagged quite a bit but i still enjoyed myself lots and lots

I share your opinion on how AC2 presented the shift in Ezio's mindset. The moment where his uncle has to call him back from his first target is key to his development and shows how impulsive, enraged and ultimately controlled by his anger he is. However Ezio's shows several times that he is not really sure how to handle the situation after leaving Florence. His sisters ask several times how things will go an, also his uncle and he always responds with "i don't know". In addition, he is about to leave his uncle's villa early to start his crusade of vengance but once again, his uncle calls him back until he eventually decides to put rational and planned actions over his thirst for revenge. In the end you are right, this had immense potential, as it is a key point in the early story of Ezio (early story meaning AC2 in general as the AC:B and AC:R show significant changes to how Ezio behaves and acts as a person). Regarding the gameplay: AC:2 climbing system was slow. However it kinda had to, so climbing to the rooftops wouldn't always be the fastest way. This way you get to see the city. In AC:3, fast travel was unlocked everywhere in a huge world but in the end I had to admit, that I didn't feel like I explored it. Many missions just teleported you to where you had to go. End mission -> Fast travel to next -> start mission. Especially since I skipped Unity (for shutting down Multiplayer. I will never ever forgive you THAT Ubisoft!) and played Syndicate, I felt REALLY astonished about how you can climb anything at insane speed. This destroys a very important barrier in my opinion. Going on rooftops is the fastest way. Every. Single. Time. For an even worse case watch 17:26. You can literally jump 4+ meters high and hold on to virtually every wall. Earlier parts had actual things you could hold on to (like misplaced stones, wood bars or windows) and many walls you just couldn't climb. We are not Batman in these games, so don't give those powers to us (especially Syndicate where you literally fly across rooftops. Excuse me, what the fuck Ubisoft?!). As you said, AC:2 was ahead of its time, just a very good game. Nowadays (taking Origins as it's the last AC title I gave 3 hour before dumping it) I feel like you could exchange the title with any generic Action RPG title and it would still fit. Especially as they just killed the entire Desmond and Abstergo arc. Like ARE YOU SERIOUS UBISOFT?!??! This is the core motivation to even bother living through ancestors memories. Without it, it's just nonsense. And I don't buy this (excuse me) crap about an entertainment system they came up with in AC:4 after they figured that killing their fucking main character was not the brightest idea. In Origins they explain "Animus Abilities" without even touching what the Animus is or why it exists. Besides that, Subject 16 and all the mysteries about Abstergo and the Animus (which was mysterious in itself, like learning abilites by living through memories) are just gone. All the details, stories and little things you know about as a fan are gone. Once again. Dont freaking kill your main character. Bad. Idea. I haven't seriously touched Assassins Creed for a long time. I played through Syndicate kinda serious and received it with a "meh, alright game, nothing too good, if you expect a full blown Assassins Creed title". I am seriously afraid to play newer titles, as I feel like they can seriously taint the memories (yes, I also played through AC2 recently doing 100% on Subject 16 and Tombs, still feeling this game is superior to many which followed it) and I want my favorite game series besides Metroid Prime to remain in good memory. Thanks for reading and awesome video wrapping up several good points about this game!

I replay this game often because it’s special, at a time when a game that was open world and could tell a very compelling story was amazing. The music, the ambience, it all felt real and personal.

I love your ultimate critique videos. I am looking forward to the long awaited persona 5 ultimate critique video (hopefully) Edit: I really do think Gravity rush 1 or 2 deserves a critique video too. They are underatted gems and deserve some attention. Just an idea to put out there

Hi! Another well made video. I particularly like your tone: calm, clear, articulate. Well done! I'd like to know what you think of AC1. Despite the redundancy of the side missions and the annoying collectables, it still is one of my favourite games.

Great analysis. I think one of the aspects that made this game so incredible was it's soundtrack. Most people just don't understand how pertinent a soundtrack is to tying in the set, setting, and atmosphere of a video game.

Jesper Kyds soundtrack in the Ezio series is some of his best work.

The point you made about the stamina system isa thing I'd like in the game in some iteration. I mean, if the character is not a preestablished Assassin, and needs to learn the ropes, then how come they can climb like spiderman already. Altair was a trained Assassin, as well as Evie and Jacob, and Shay, and Arno. With Ezio, we had to learn some new things, but we saw he grew up climbing buildings with his brother, so that's good. With Edward, when he climbs that temple in Havanna, Stede Bonnet makes a remark how he can do it, and he replies like it was from the life at see, and every finger is like a fishhook. Well, ok, we can buy it, but still he does it too well. Bayek was a medjay before. I don't know how much he needed to climb anything, since he was like the highest authority in peacekeeping, he could go in anywhere. But I guess he climbed rocks around Siwa, maybe that's enough? But now we get to Alexios/Kassandra. When and why did they learn to climb like that? Seems a little too much. Or the Spear bossts this ability as well? Anyway, I hope the next game will have some kind of introduction to the order, and learning stuff, and we can see our character improve over time with free running, and not just born like this.

Might be too big in an order but I would really enjoy a video from you summarizing the entire AC franchise and how they've lost touch and year after year failed to raise the bar from ACII.

simply put, this is a game about our history. the beautiful architecture of Europa, such as the Colosseum. the clothing... and great story telling for such a game. literally being an assassin running along rooftops and sword fighting, it's just too damn good. there's not a bad word i can say towards this game. best soundtrack. and it was a nice laugh when Mario came along. lol

About "the bridge ",paola the head of prostitutes in Florence told ezio he will get killed going in guns blazing, she tough him how to "blend in" and some other skills and later while training with his uncle ezio is making an interesting dialogue about the brotherhood and his family. ...the training although it seems it lasts for a days it actually lasts for months and during that time is that ezio realises that he must stay and help

Yes ! Been waiting for this :) All hail Ezio!

Oh, I know it's not perfect, but it's such a good package: MC, story and that glorious soundtrack!!! Even those annoying feathers that I gather everytime...

AC2 was in the days when the series had a clear sense of direction. Not only that, Ezio was such a compelling character, he had an entire trilogy. Every character after has been sub-par (apart from Edward). They need to focus less on complicating gameplay to the point where the franchise is unrecognisable, and more time developing a strong character that can hold the series for a few years. Part of the reason the series isnt as good is because every instalment has a new character. We arent as invested because we know we arent going to see that character again.

My favorite game ever. It's just beautiful. I wish Ubisoft would make this enviorment feel so alive. I used to love just to wander around and look at how people lived back then. And the story.... the was something else. Best story on AC ever. And the soundtrack was just phenomonal.

Ezio and desmonds story was the peak of this franchise ..i miss those days ..I remember finishing 2 and just ready for the next one already as the credits rolled

My fav is still Revelations but the gathering of intel (complete with actual, hand drawn intel mind you) from the first AC I will never forget. I actually felt like an assassin preparing for the job, it was amazing. Also, the Director's Cut has an amazing behind the scenes manual that outlines the sheer bootstrap guesswork most of the design of the first AC really was. I'm not surprised that the second was the best one, with the idea still fresh yet so much learned by the original small team. Great series, love the world(s).

Honestly, the music is what made the early AC games so special for me. Especially 2 and Brotherhood. That "Tour of Venice" theme is just pure nostalgia, heartache and beauty. When I hear it I feel like a 90 year old man remeniscing over the past, regretting things, joyfully remembering other things, and feeling almost overwhelming nostalgia. ACO had a good main theme and "investigation" themes, but it didn't go far enough with what it had. We need Jesper Kyd back! Thank God he's apparently working on Darksiders 3 (he did the OST for DrkS2), so we get some Jesper Kyd goodness.

0:05 you sure remember past relationships differently than I do

Him going overboard with how he enacted revenge was kinda there. His first assassanation had him shouting to all the witnesses his name so they know why this happens. He also hung one of the first conspiractors corpses from a tower naked dripping with blood for the men fighting below to see. I always appreciated this bit and im disappointed you didnt see it. I felt even after becoming an assassin he still had to grow up alot. When he started closing the peoples eyes he killed and started saying "Requicsant en pace" (thats probably spelled wrong) it resonated with me. he was doing what he had to do for the greater good as an assassin, not just his own revenge, and he had respect for the lives he had to end now even though there was no other way for them but to be killed.

still the best game of the series

i remember when i played the game rarely touched the street, very unique feeling it presented and Italy, was just amazing.

We need a whole Ezio trilogy remake, damn i enjoyed these games.

Hold a moment. Ezio DOES have a conflict in game about his decision whether to avenge his father and brothers or to simply leave with his mother and sister. He actually chose to leave at first. Uncle Mario over time convinces Ezio to take up the mantle of Assassin in revenge. And while Arno also has his life changed overnight, his story is not that of revenge, but of redemption. That becoming an Assassin and putting a stop to the plot of his father figures killers would be his means of redeeming himself after he feels guilt in his part in the murder (not getting the message to the father figure in time)

While I agree with many of your points described in your analysis, I think that you missed a couple of things, on why AC2 had so much success and why it is the standard to which every game in the franchise is compared to. First of all, a sequel is always compared to the predecessor and AC1 had faults (such as repetition, strange storytelling) that AC2 blew out of the water. In a sense, it raised the bar, built where it lacked and enhanced on what was good. It didn't change the formula as much as it fully integrated it in a cohesive and organic way. The base gameplay stayed the same, it was the way it was presented that evolved. AC1 had a "corridor like" structure, get to tower, get to intel, do disturbance, kill the target, back to Al Mualim. AC2 shook things up, every city had its story arc, with its secondary character and activities and not one was the same. Which brings me to my second point. The worldbuilding and ambiance in regard to the plot. AC2 integrates its plot of Templar/Assassin in a very cool way, it is not shoved into our face, it lingers in the background while real world events are integrated in a satisfying manner. The conspiracy of AC2 worked to get the papal seat, the endgame was about that, while Ezio wanted to kill them all. No bullshit about pieces of Eden, that was for the Desmond plot (which is a secondary one in the main experience). In the meanwhile, Ezio (the player) experiences Renaissance Italy for what it is, because the main plot is for 90% of the time, about that. The opposite example is AC:Unity which was set in one of the most important moments of history and used it as a backdrop for the Templar/Assassin conflict and a love story. On a more plot focused point : This problem grows to gargantuan proportions because the writers don't know what they want to do with their "present" plot, which is the main meat of the Templar/Assassin conflict. Which results in utter boredom at it. AC2 inserted itself in a continuity both in "past" and "present" plots and in their respective world (which ended with Brotherhood because of the change of writers midway through the game), which is why the plot feels so cohesive in its structure and thus a compelling experience for the player. Something every AC game lacks thus far. Without a fault, every AC game that twists its "past" narrative for the Templar/Assassin/Piece of Eden plot, fails to be memorable. (The reason of it lies in the fact that is hard to write a good story about ancient beings and shit, which is why they are better treated in the shadows or background of the story and pulled out at the end of it) Anyway. Third point, AC2 knew what kind of game it was. AC2 is an action-adventure game, it is not an RPG, and I think that the lackluster results of the last game are due in part because of this. When I look at a game like Origin, heh, I don't see an AC game. I see a strange RPG trying to be something it isn't. It's a strange evolution, which alienates many in the audience. Last E3, people lost their shit at Ghost of Tsushima, it is this kind of game every AC fan waits for. (meanwhile This is the direction the AC games should have followed. AC2 is a solid game, it is right there with games like MGS, it ages and yet is still a standard because it is great at what it does. Gameplay and graphic may age, but not the way they work. And a game is more than that, it is an amalgam of components from the soundtrack to storytelling. And AC2, is solid in every compartment of its delivery and is coherent to boot. (Now it may look like I shit on the new games but I'm not, I can see why some like them, I began to lose taste in the series when it became disjointed in its writing (Revelations), I enjoy them here and there, but not to the extent I used to, and this made me reflect on why the beginning of the franchise is still to this day regarded as the standard, and this problem isn't exclusive to AC, it exists in other franchises like Halo, for reasons that are eerily similar.)

I'm playing through 2 (and brotherhood and revelations afterwards) right now for the first time and I gotta say, after the last few AC games this game is a well needed breath of fresh air.

I always thought it was weird how in odyssey you were introduced to a world where nobody had made any progress against the cult of kosmos until you showed up

In the game Ezio actually wants to get out of Italy and revenge was at all on his mind. It is mario who conveniences him to take revenge on for his family.

That segment at the end with the music and the trailer was kind of hilarious. I felt like I was watching a romantic comedy about an Italian noble who fell in love with a courtesan. They looked so genuinely happy. XD

I'm playing through it right now on PS4. Haven't played it in over 10 years. I am VERY surprised at how well everything held up. The graffics, the world, the story, all of it. I genuinely think the world feels lived in and exciting and it's an absolute joy to play. I actually like how the armor/weapons system is a little more simplistic. One of my main complaints of the newer games is that they feel so bloated with skill trees that it's overwhelming. AC2 feels just right. I love it just as much as it did in 2009.

Why do you say crap like “at the time of the release this part of the game was...” seriously dude I’ve played through almost all the assassins creed games, and this one is still amazing to this day. Comparing it to games now is so ridiculous, you say this about other games too and it makes no sense. You don’t compare this game to what is standards now, you compare the game to what the standards are period. Seriously, you don’t look at games properly.

I am still blown away about how good Unity looks...even today! I really love that game just because of this fantastic realistic city

I can play this game 100 times and will never get fed up of the story or the experience that it provides. One of the best gaming experiences ever. Can't say that about Origins or Odessey, even though we've come so far in terms of technological advancements or game mechanics. AC2 was different and will always be one of the greatest of the series.

breath of the wild put a good use of stamina bar in climbing. They can take inspiration from that game

AC2 will always have a special place in my heart...….I played ac1 loved it...went away on operational deployment AC2 came out I came back home ..bought a new 55 inch hd tv bout the game a gaming chair and 100% the game in a weekend....I loved ever minute...the gameplay was awesome the story was awesome...when Juno looked at the camera and spoke directly to desmond through Ezio it blew my mind...the little clipped videos of Adam and eve....it was all amazing....just talking about it made me just open up steam and bought it.

One thing that AC2 has engrained in me is the side-to-side style of looting a box. It's burnt into my memory.

In the last month i've played and beaten both Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 (yes, i somehow skipped the whole series when it came out) at 4k@60fps on PC :) And i must say - they both hold up today really well! Especially second chapter - it's brilliant, i'd recommend it to anybody!

Never played this game until about a year ago, and it’s in my top 5 favorite games. The lore is brilliant. The parkour is by far one of the best traversal systems in gaming, as long as you understand the mechanics. The world design is fantastic. The soundtrack is soooooooooooooooo fire.

Does anyone else notice how graphics in video games today are just as good as in the videogame trailers 10 years ago?

I love these flashback videos and would loooooove a review of all the Bioshock games like you’re doing for Arkham right now!

Very well made and a really good breakdown of the story. Though I didn't watch the video till the end lol but I loved the effort put into this video 👍👍

I want a game in Jerusalem at around year 20

Let me say this first, this is a great video and its about time someone looked at AC2 through a critical eye so kudos to you. I do have some things to add, while staying on the rapid change of Ezio you diddnt mention how at the end of AC2 Ezio is bloodthirsty and ready to kill Rodrigo ("i thought i was beyond this") and even readies his blade and says his little prayer and its only cause Rodrigo stops him he didn't complete his task and then all of a sudden in the Vault Ezio rapidly changes and decides not to kill Rodrigo and there is no indication of Ezios feelings change it just happens in seconds. For the story you did not mention how the Templars especially Rodrigo were portrayed as typical power hungry bad guys instead of the bringers of peace through order that they were in the original AC and even to some extent in AC3 and Rogue. In the first AC you questioned your own actions as Altair because when the Templars confessed their true intentions you could understand their point of view and maybe even agree with them for example hording food to ration to people when the war took its toll or making mentally sick people healthy again, but in AC2 its nope i just want the power in the vault to become a god. There is no maybe the Templars are right in AC2 its just bad guys being bad and only looking for personal gain. Gameplay wise you said how you enjoyed unlocking the wall jump mechanic but failed to mention that it was the ONLY traversal mechanic unlocked and it was only required for ONE mission so ultimately it didnt add anything substantial. Now if they went further with the design of Venice it already had taller buildings and made the wall jump a requirement for some of those buildings then it would be fantastic. I do agree on a progression of some kind would be good for AC as a franchise considering the more RPG structure its going for and personally i would like to see a "Skyrim" style of progression getting better doing so the more you parkour the faster and more efficient you will become and the same could be done for combat and stealth, so if you wanna be a a true assassin well better get practicing in Stealth and Assassination maybe a little Ranged too and you could tailor your assassin to how you would play. AC3 actually did something interesting with its Parkour by having Haytham move more like a traditional assassin it felt so good when you actually got to play as Connor and were able to climb trees and had all new animations and "anchor" points made Connor more efficient at parkour and it felt better to play as him because the gameplay changes made it smother and flow much better. AC2 gameplay is outdated by today's standards but i still have fun and enjoy it when i replay it (even though i always forget to switch to my hidden blades to assassinate cause its not automatic like in later games) which says a lot for a game that's 10 years old. As i said at the start this is a fantastic video and i do agree with most of it i just wanted to add my some things i thought you missed or didn't cover and i know this is a long comment so thank you to anyone interested enough to read the whole thing. And if anyone has anything to add to my comment please feel free too, discussion about the games we love is always fun.

My favourite game of all time! And, of course, best AC game by a large margin. People easy forget.

The only thing you couldn t climb in ac w before the climbing thing unlocked is a tower in venice

Nothing beats the core goal and ending they were going for back then. They lost that very essence of making a good ac game

after years of being told this game was a master piece 10/10 best game ever. when i played it i was left disappointed. i got what i felt was a 6/10. a great sequel to the first game but a game that just felt good. which after expecting a masterpiece is just disappointing.

This game blew my mind! One of the most realistic depictions of a city in any game.

Ezio took his family to Mario's because he didn't know what to do, he just wanted to get his family somewhere safe so he could decide wether to flee or fight.. at least that's what I thought. Also I find the new style of climbing significantly worse than AC2, they've simplified it so far in the new games, that there is no longer any challenge or control, which makes it really boring after you get tired of the animations. Btw if you wanna have a fun replay next time, only use hidden blades/disarms it makes counters a lot more difficult. Anyway interesting video, thanks for sharing.

To expand on your stamina bar idea they could do something similar to what dying light did where you earn experience by doing the actions related to them parkour xp when you preform free running actions.

I gave you a thumbs up just on the title alone. Now on to watching your video

Brotherhood was my absolute favorite and I freaking loved that game. I never got to play the second, but I saw my cousins play it one day which is how I got into the series. Still, none if the games have been able to top my how much I enjoyed Brotherhood.

I loved forli, and all the minor cities that were included. when I was playing this game the Borgias was on showtime and the pope and his family, the locations were all included. loved this game.

I still think that older games like Assassin's Creed 2 and Hitman Blood Money had a perfect ratio of variety/fun, comparing to modern big maps and skill trees.

yeeess finally i've been waiting for this ^^ tnx luke appreciate this

My favourite has to be Revelations. The setting just seems so unique to me, and how it linked Ezio's and Altaïr's stories together made it click with me. Plus the Hookblade is dope as shit

Your reviews are amazing, detailed, and insightful this is something that I wish I could do as well, but you do it so good that I feel there is no need for me to try haha

I still have no fucking clue why, but the Glyph segments used to and still do scare the everliving shit out of me. Something about the noises, the atmosphere, the creepy dialogue. *shivers*

Something about this setting and the soundtrack were the things that make this so good for me. Also as a player, who started this game series with AC1, it was so damn awesome how much improvement there was. I don't think any of the games after can improve so much. That said, AC Valhalla is something I liked. Actually referencing previous games and interesting characters and quests.

The stamina meter idea could work. Dying Light did it with their parkour system with an unlock of infinite stamina. So I could see it in AC

The assassin's tombs and soundtrack were the best parts of this game. I wish Ubisoft would do a re-make on the new Valhallla engine. Similar to the Demon's Souls remake releasing in November. To have this story and mechanics with next-gen graphics would be incredible.

I know everybody sayed it already but I can't , I simply can't abstain from saying that AC II has the greatest soundack in gaming history !!! It shows how important and the depth the soundtrack gives to a game

Hmmm, stamina bar is a good idea huh? Well, how much sense does it make that I can cross England non stop, but God forbid I hit L3 then I have to slow down every 100 meters. Classic ubisoft not caring

"And i can only imagine we are going to encounter it in AC Odyssey".... Oh my friend.... If u only you knew

16:34 it makes sense though why in Origins, Syndicate, and Odyssey why you have this ability from the start. Because unlike Ezio; The Frye Twins, Bayek, and Alexios/Kassandra are already experienced fighters by the time you start the game. Alexios/Kassandra were raised as Spartans and then started doing mercenary stuff when they were found by Marco. Bayek used to be in the military I believe. And the Frye Twins are already assassins. Also Alexios/Kassandra is closer related to the Isu than all the others

I literally just finished my first playthrough of this game. My first AC game was Brotherhood, so I kind of had an idea of what happened in this game, but I got the first three games plus black flag and I was a bit underwhelmed with this one. Since getting them for Christmas I have played 30 minutes of AC 1 and was bored out of my mind, AC 2 wasn't as complex as the later games so I wasn't as immersed, I think I'm about 50 percent through AC 3 and I have finished Black Flag twice, once at 100% synch. Edward is my favorite of the assassins so far, and I like the idea of following the Kenway line in 3, but the setting of the American Revolution put me off a bit. My biggest issue with the series so far is that everything seems to happen very quickly. In this video you say that Ezio went from goofball to revenge driven overnight but it actually took two years. The series has a habit of time skipping and giving you the year some times but through the training scene I dont remember seeing years, so I was confused. I was shocked when towards the end of the game Ezio says it had been 10 years since his father's and brothers death. I had no idea that so much time has passed. Black flag did better in this department by having a shorter amount of time to chronicle and giving months along with the year. All in all I really like this series with the exception of the first game and any that I haven't played yet, however no series is without its faults and I think it's great to acknowledge those faults to hold further games to higher expectations.