The original Assassin’s Creed was a like a delicious ice cream cone that, unfortunately, was too much ice cream and not enough cone to keep it from making a mess. The opening hours were beautiful; conducting investigations was a bunch of fun, and exploring the levels and, eventually, finding ways to commit assassinations were wildly enjoyable. But then the game started repeating its own tricks, and, ultimately, the investigations all merged into a tired dirge of repetition, and the assassinations became the only element free of the infinite, Groundhog Day-like tedium. The concept was brilliant, the world was meticulously crafted, and Altair carried an overwhelming amount of style – but repeating the same tasks over and over did not a good game make.
Which is why I asked if the structure of AC2 was going to differ from the original adventure. I was told there would be no formalized investigation, and that every assassination, from the beginning until the end, would be entirely unique. Ubisoft learned from the criticism of original title, and they aren’t looking to repeat the same mistakes.
From there, the structure of our demo mirrored what was shown at Sony’s press conference, with a few deliberate differences. The developer provided us with a look at the NPS reactions by ruining the fun of several people at the renaissance festival, and opted to execute the random NPC in ways that differed from the other demo (for example, he simply murdered the guard in the tower, rather than throwing him off the balcony.
We were also given a few additional details. There is an economic system this time around, providing you with the opportunity to purchase a few upgrade s(presumably weapons). There are also new types of guards, not unlike the investigation guard that can see you in areas that used to be safe, such as haystacks.
As previously mentioned, the game will feature connectivety with the newly announced Assassin’s Creed: Bloonlines for PSP, providing the PS3 version with content not found in the 360 counterpart. For a complete breakdown of our impromptu interview, listen to the audio Steven McGehee recorded.
