This game is just plain fun to play. They made some significant improvements over the original AC game- the maps are much more detailed and easy to use, switching weapons is simple and intuitive, and the open- world aspect grants a lot of flexibility in how you want to play the game. For those who go for 100% synch, the ease of using the DNA menu to revisit memories is great, and you also have easy access to guild challenges and the Truth puzzles. The story itself is engaging, the main character, Ezio, is very likable, and there is a lot of variety in the gameplay. Puzzles, races, assassination contracts, guild assignments and challenges... A lot to like in this game. Many of the details of the game are just done very well. A good example is the horses- the way they move and turn feels realistic- would the game be worse if the horses looked clunky? Probably not. But the attention to detail with something as mundane as the horses is indicative of just how well the graphics of the game look and feel.



No lie, I used a few YouTube videos to solve tough assassination approaches, one of the tombs, and a couple truth puzzles. So for those who like really challenging gameplay, that is here too (and for those of us who really aren't gonna spend more than a half hour trying to figure out how to approach target X without getting detected, YouTube has several video walkthrough options, so only fiddle with it as long as u are still enjoying the attempt!)



AC2 also has good replay value- there are so many missions and contracts and challenges and puzzles that the game was still fun on replay less than a year after I played it the first time. This game is fun in much the same way as Prince of Persia the Forgotten Sands is fun- but AC2 takes it to another level (PoP is a bit one-dimensional, still an awesome game, but not as much going on for sure).