Sometimes revisiting old favorites is a good way to deal with gaming burnout, even if it loses a bit of the magic.
I beat AC2 originally back in 2012, while I enjoyed the first game to an extent, the sequel became one of my favorite games and I was so invested in the story I did not want it to end. Obviously much time has went by since then, and the gameplay feels really dated to play in 2023.
The platforming feels clunky at times, and there are moments where the game demands precise and timely platforming that the mechanics do not have the flexibility for. I've have quite a few moments where I held the control stick in the direction I wanted Ezio to go and it did not respond until I went over it a few times. The timed missions are OBSCENELY tight, hell even the opening race needed a handful of attempts (not exactly a good first impression), and some of the stealth missions where detection meant failure demanded you deal with the AI in specific ways or face repeat attempts. The combat, while better than the first game, is still stiff and repetitive (I recall Brotherhood fixing my problems here, let's see how that replay goes).
However, when the platforming and stealth gameplay work, they REALLY work and it reminded me of my 2012 where I went through these games. The Florence assassin tomb, the final mission before my Platinum trophy, was easily a highlight and one of my favorite sequences in the game. The gameplay shines when it gives you freedom to parkour areas with interesting design.
Thankfully, the story and characters held up well, albeit more convoluted than I remembered. Ezio is still an extremely charismatic and entertaining character, perfect for a lead, even if the rest of the characters could go either way (although the scene when you get the reward for collecting all the feathers was WAY more emotional than I expected).
While the game certainly shows its age in a lot of areas, it was nice to revisit this game, and I hope to go through the rest of the series eventually (going to take my time going through the rest of them, since burnout was a factor in my losing interest). Getting the Plat really felt like getting closure after not properly finishing it after all this time.
Going with a strong 7/10.
I beat AC2 originally back in 2012, while I enjoyed the first game to an extent, the sequel became one of my favorite games and I was so invested in the story I did not want it to end. Obviously much time has went by since then, and the gameplay feels really dated to play in 2023.
The platforming feels clunky at times, and there are moments where the game demands precise and timely platforming that the mechanics do not have the flexibility for. I've have quite a few moments where I held the control stick in the direction I wanted Ezio to go and it did not respond until I went over it a few times. The timed missions are OBSCENELY tight, hell even the opening race needed a handful of attempts (not exactly a good first impression), and some of the stealth missions where detection meant failure demanded you deal with the AI in specific ways or face repeat attempts. The combat, while better than the first game, is still stiff and repetitive (I recall Brotherhood fixing my problems here, let's see how that replay goes).
However, when the platforming and stealth gameplay work, they REALLY work and it reminded me of my 2012 where I went through these games. The Florence assassin tomb, the final mission before my Platinum trophy, was easily a highlight and one of my favorite sequences in the game. The gameplay shines when it gives you freedom to parkour areas with interesting design.
Thankfully, the story and characters held up well, albeit more convoluted than I remembered. Ezio is still an extremely charismatic and entertaining character, perfect for a lead, even if the rest of the characters could go either way (although the scene when you get the reward for collecting all the feathers was WAY more emotional than I expected).
While the game certainly shows its age in a lot of areas, it was nice to revisit this game, and I hope to go through the rest of the series eventually (going to take my time going through the rest of them, since burnout was a factor in my losing interest). Getting the Plat really felt like getting closure after not properly finishing it after all this time.
Going with a strong 7/10.