Here's the thing: I enjoyed the first one, but thought it could be improved upon. One of the problems with that game is that I found it more entertaining to explore the world using Crusade-era parkour jumping and climbing techniques than what the core of the gameplay was meant to be. I could never get tired of punching a random civilian or guard and then taking off running, pushing past the footsoldiers and knocking the archers down from the rooftops. What the game wanted me to do was pick pockets, eavesdrop on conversations, and interrogate certain people who my assassin character then killed after listening to what they had to say (which felt entirely unnecessary and made me feel guilty). Then, of course, was the implausibility of the gameplay, of the hiding in haystacks and jumping from hundreds of feet up and landing perfectly safely in those same haystacks; the idiocy of the guards chasing me, who could run, jump, and climb as easily as I could but who wouldn't think to look in this arbitrarily placed hiding spot on the rooftops when trying to find me; and many, many other things. It felt quite silly, but at the same time it was quite fun.
Of course I did eventually beat the game, and my motivation for that was story. Altair was, of course, an idiot; his dialogue was poorly written and poorly voiced, and I wondered how a professional assassin could be so stupid and gullible. But the overall story intrigued me greatly. Lots of philosophical and literary references, the most prominent of which --- "Nothing is true; everything is permitted" --- is from one of my favorite books, The Brothers Karamazov. Unfortunately they never really discuss the idea in any kind of depth, but it was a cool and rather uppity reference, and I appreciated that. The story --- that of an ancient feud between two orders, the Assassins and the Templars, and spanning several centuries --- ended on a terrific cliffhanger, so of course I needed to play the next one to find out exactly what the heck is going on here. So in that game disc went.
The problem I have (one of multiple, actually) is that there's too much gameplay. Too many additions to the game that prevent the story from advancing. They've practically included Farmville with the potential to expand your real estate and an in-game economy. They've added armor and the need to occasionally repair it (which costs money) and you have to go to doctors to be healed (which also costs money) and then they've added the possibility of a dozen or more different kinds of weapons our main character can use. Just too many features that I don't particularly care about, features that consequently get in the way of the storytelling and slow it down to a discouraging pace.
They also changed the interface and map system, which isn't terrible, but I believe it was unnecessary. I still haven't gotten used to it.
Another problem I have is the graphical upgrade. It was exactly the same thing that happened with Kingdom Hearts 2. Sure, it looks great now, but it doesn't look or feel like the same game. It feels too clean and polished. I just don't feel like a bad-A assassin like I used to as Altair. This affects the overall feeling I get from playing the game. Running and climbing and jumping aren't nearly as fun as they used to be, partly because of the graphical change, and partly because even before our main character Ezio becomes an assassin he can do it all with ease. In the very beginning he has a footrace with his brother up to the top of a very tall church, before he learns any of the assassin stuff. It cheapens the assassin aspect of the game, and makes it not as fun. I much preferred the art direction and visual style of the first game. This one feels more like a cartoon.
But this all works out, because Nyssa really likes the game, doing all the sidequests and playing with the Farmville stuff and all of the stuff that I don't like having to do. This allows me to just pay attention to the story, which I hope turns out to be as fantastic as the hints and clues and mysteries suggest it will be. So everybody wins. Yay?
-Neal
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