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Assassin's Creed II - The |OT|
- Thread starter Costanza
- Start date
beelzebozo
Jealous Bastard
i'll preface this by saying that i love ASSASSIN'S CREED as a concept, but it should tell the developers something that many are citing the more focused POP style sections as their favorite part of the game.
Primethius
Banned
Hmmm...
looks so badass. If only I could keep it for the rest of the game.
the golden mask + Altair's costume
Is there any way to get location names on your map? I ask for two reasons:
1) In the beginning I didn't understand the concept of the glyphs so I didn't get the first two. It took forever finding them after the fact. I pretty much went back to every large structure and ran around in eagle vision until I stumbled upon them.
2) I have no idea where to go to try out those CE areas.
Do I pretty much have to memorize location names or is there a list other than the location database with doesn't really help?
1) In the beginning I didn't understand the concept of the glyphs so I didn't get the first two. It took forever finding them after the fact. I pretty much went back to every large structure and ran around in eagle vision until I stumbled upon them.
2) I have no idea where to go to try out those CE areas.
Do I pretty much have to memorize location names or is there a list other than the location database with doesn't really help?
beelzebozo said:
Doesn't tell much. If it was a platformer or more abstractly based on platformer then they would want realistic cities to roam in.
Thing is, what distinguish itself from the rest, you notice it. This psy principle also applys when you look at a bunch of different gameplays in a game too. Most people will love that standouts, whatever it is, as long as its well done.
.
infinityBCRT
Member
Agreed. Just because something is fun in short bursts doesn't mean it will be fun over a long stretch of time.Ranger X said:
beelzebozo
Jealous Bastard
Ranger X said:
well of course it's going to get noticed if it's an expertly done section that is unlike the rest of the game. i was just wanting to point out that this is a developer who's quite good at making games that are NOT free-roaming; though i do enjoy AC quite a lot, a part of me--the part that really doesn't shy away from proselytizing about linear and highly directed gaming experiences--sort of weeps that the team is too busy to make something more like SOT.
infinityBCRT
Member
Ubi Montreal didn't develop those parts-- it was done by Ubisoft Shanghai.beelzebozo said:
beelzebozo
Jealous Bastard
infinityBCRT said:
:lol
comment retracted. i look pretty silly.
Yeah I noticed that. The eye icons were completely transparent though. Does that mean I found those already?Ranger X said:
What I really meant was like if I learn from the database I missed something at "Villa Landmark Church #335" how the fuck do I find that place again? I don't memorize all the location names when they first pop up.
Solid warrior
Banned
It took me a lot of time to get used to the new blending move. @_@
beelzebozo said:
AC2 seems to balance it nicely between the two. The first 2 or 3 hours up until Ezio becomes a full-fledged assassin are very highly directed and story-driven, as they are mainly used to get the player accustomed to the controls, the various mechanics (many of them new), the characters and the storyline itself. While some feels it drags on too long (and it is rather lengthy), the beginning of the game is very effective at getting the player to both empathize with and really like Ezio as a character, which is something that never happened with Altair (he was cool, but had almost no real personality of his own and you never became attached to him).
It's also just awesome to see Ezio turn from arrogant yet loveable aristocrat to vengeful assassin of death.
Afterwards, it sets you free, but then you still have those linear PoP-like dungeon sections that help to reign it in some.
Solid warrior
Banned
Yeah, well, you can do it easily both AC1 & AC2. but I think it's easier in AC1 since you have to press a button for blending and that requires zero skill IMO. but now it's automatically done when you blend in a group of people. but it takes time to learn how to follow a group slowly while blending. I screwed up twice which resulted in triggering the guards nearby. :lolRanger X said:
Agent White
Member
I'm so jealous of you guys. So much for release date delivery. 
darkpaladinmfc
Member
Can someone who hated Assassin's Creed give me their impressions on this one?
Living in Florence myself, i'm pretty tempted by this game :lol , but having other priorities(Uncharted 2, NSMBW and Muramasa, mainly)i think i'll wait till 2010, for a pricedrop.
Also, i hated AC1 for a lot of reason, but from what you're saying, this is pretty much another thing.
Also, i hated AC1 for a lot of reason, but from what you're saying, this is pretty much another thing.
beelzebozo
Jealous Bastard
Zeliard said:
that sounds fantastic. excellent post, man.
Zeliard said:
I agree, Ezio's transformation was handled really well and definitely creates more of an attachment to his character. I finished my first assassination last night and I dont remember any part in AC1 where I genuinely felt as satisfied after killing my target. Also the flow of the game feels so much more natural compared to the first which helps immerse you in the story a little more and makes you feel a part of something instead of a casual observer.
SuperSonic1305
Member
I haven't started this game yet but is there any more hints to the next game taking place in Japan? I just finished AC1 for the first time and had I known nothing about AC2 i'd guess in a second that AC2 would have been Japan. There are so many hints toward it with the symbols. It seems like a no brainer that AC3 would take place in the Sengoku period.
The more I think about it, the more I am annoyed that I bought the PS3 version. I really need to stop listening to GAF. I think I am turning into an anal graphics whore. The constant tearing in the PS3 version is really quite bad. A lot worse than guys like Ranger X and the dude who worked on the game lead me to believe.
Played for about four hours.
-Cutscenes are PLENTIFUL and look much much much worse than gameplay. You'll even "lol ps2 haha" for most of every cutscene. Peoples long flowing hair is relegated to one stiff polygon. Faces are Halo 3/ODST worthy. Incredible amounts of screen tearing in the cutscenes, but I haven't found any during GAMEPLAY.
+ the gameplay is TREMENDOUSLY improved over AC1. Everything is looser (in a good way, AC1 was really stiff)
+the graphics during GAMEPLAY are among the best on consoles when the IQ isn't shitting it's pants. You have texture pop-in, and entire object pop-in.:banghead: Luckily, the IQ doesn't shit it's pants all the time. I've noticed major gafs probably 5 times in 3 hrs playtime (which is 25 minutes of gameplay. this game is on some MGS4 shit with the cutscenes).
-The cutscenes in this game are the worst I've ever seen. It bears repeating. I'm not saying they're the worst ever, I don't play bad games so I guess I don't see bad cutscenes.:what: This shit is terrible.
-Voice acting is HORRIBLE. Worse than the cutscene quality.
+There is a shop system and enemies drop loot, so you have better reason to fight baddies and explore.
+fighting baddies is the exact same thing. get 10 guys in a circle and they attack you ONE AT A TIME. Batman AA really makes this system look archaic. But if you judge it in a vacuum, it's not bad. If you liked AC1 combat you'll have no problem with AC2.
Reports are you can pull 20-30 hours out of this with sidequest, and so far the sidequest have all been different. No more mission xerox that AC1 had. With the RPG-ish shop system (weapons, armor, health stuff, etc) and the length of the game, it makes a strong run at being worth $60.
But the cutscenes. Just plain horrible. Drops this game from a strong 8.75 to a 7.00. I have a feeling that I won't bother to care to finish it because the story actively sucks that bad, and is presented ever worse.
MAIN GRIP -> the first two hours are worse than any Zelda chicken hunting game intro. you'll have no fun at all. more cutscenes than MGS4, and far far far worse. even if you hated MGS4 you'll hate these cutscenes worse. they are sooooooooo bad. soo bad. i'd rather listen to dane cook talk about his dick than bear these fuckers. they're sooooo bad.
A tale of two products here folks. I'd rent it for the scenery at least. If you can find something else to do during the bull, the killing and looting is really great. Every thing else is worse than the shittest shit ever shat. Did I mention how bad the cutscenes, acting and script are?
Oh yeah, I liked AC1 enough to blind buy it on launch day for $60 and felt pretty damn good about it at the time, I played through the warts. I even rebought for $10 on Steam. But, I never finished either copy. :|
-Cutscenes are PLENTIFUL and look much much much worse than gameplay. You'll even "lol ps2 haha" for most of every cutscene. Peoples long flowing hair is relegated to one stiff polygon. Faces are Halo 3/ODST worthy. Incredible amounts of screen tearing in the cutscenes, but I haven't found any during GAMEPLAY.
+ the gameplay is TREMENDOUSLY improved over AC1. Everything is looser (in a good way, AC1 was really stiff)
+the graphics during GAMEPLAY are among the best on consoles when the IQ isn't shitting it's pants. You have texture pop-in, and entire object pop-in.:banghead: Luckily, the IQ doesn't shit it's pants all the time. I've noticed major gafs probably 5 times in 3 hrs playtime (which is 25 minutes of gameplay. this game is on some MGS4 shit with the cutscenes).
-The cutscenes in this game are the worst I've ever seen. It bears repeating. I'm not saying they're the worst ever, I don't play bad games so I guess I don't see bad cutscenes.:what: This shit is terrible.
-Voice acting is HORRIBLE. Worse than the cutscene quality.
+There is a shop system and enemies drop loot, so you have better reason to fight baddies and explore.
+fighting baddies is the exact same thing. get 10 guys in a circle and they attack you ONE AT A TIME. Batman AA really makes this system look archaic. But if you judge it in a vacuum, it's not bad. If you liked AC1 combat you'll have no problem with AC2.
Reports are you can pull 20-30 hours out of this with sidequest, and so far the sidequest have all been different. No more mission xerox that AC1 had. With the RPG-ish shop system (weapons, armor, health stuff, etc) and the length of the game, it makes a strong run at being worth $60.
But the cutscenes. Just plain horrible. Drops this game from a strong 8.75 to a 7.00. I have a feeling that I won't bother to care to finish it because the story actively sucks that bad, and is presented ever worse.
MAIN GRIP -> the first two hours are worse than any Zelda chicken hunting game intro. you'll have no fun at all. more cutscenes than MGS4, and far far far worse. even if you hated MGS4 you'll hate these cutscenes worse. they are sooooooooo bad. soo bad. i'd rather listen to dane cook talk about his dick than bear these fuckers. they're sooooo bad.
i love mgs fwiw
A tale of two products here folks. I'd rent it for the scenery at least. If you can find something else to do during the bull, the killing and looting is really great. Every thing else is worse than the shittest shit ever shat. Did I mention how bad the cutscenes, acting and script are?
Oh yeah, I liked AC1 enough to blind buy it on launch day for $60 and felt pretty damn good about it at the time, I played through the warts. I even rebought for $10 on Steam. But, I never finished either copy. :|
Agent Ironside
Member
JB1981 said:
Yeah man, ive been playin the 360 version and have hardly noticed any tearing, I think there was a test earlier that said 5% tearing in the 360 version.
SlasherJPC
Banned
kamspy said:
Man... I feel for you, I really do. You must put most games in the 4-6 scoring review bracket if you feel both the cutscenes and first two hours of gameplay are that horrible compared to other games. I mean I know its your opinion and thats all gravy but wow... again... I feel for ya. I wouldn't want to view games that way it seems you do.
slasher_thrasher21 said:
Eh, I said I only played four hours, so maybe I posted that part out of context. That's my impression from what I've played.
Tell me the first four hours of the game deserve anything higher. In fact, the nearly-9 I fathomed was assuming
the game get's more killy and less fetching eagle feathers in my robustly puffed italian shirt.
There was no robustly puffed italian shirt in any of the bullshots I saw, and no indication I'd have to wear one and do things one does while wearing a robustly puffed italian shirt for the a couple hours.
spoilers for people who might not want the robustly puffed italian shirt playtime spoiled.
JB1981 said:
Why don't you just use the outlets that do the breakdowns. I mean you could have made your decision on the LoT analysis or the IGN AU comparison (both giving the edge to 360) or the inevitable Digital Foundry comparison. Of course, I've tried to tell people this gen 95% of the time multi games just have the edge on 360. Best bet though is the breakdown comparisons every time.
Personally, I'm pretty pleased with this work on the 360. Minimal tearing (which I was most concerned about) to be sure and framerate is just fine. Everything else looks fantastic although I would have liked to seen a little bit better facial work overall in the cut-scenes. Minor stuff though.
SlasherJPC
Banned
kamspy said:
There just setting you up in the game. Once things open up a bit more, etc. Perhaps you'll change your tune.
Macintosh360
Neo Member
Another glowing review, this time from PlanetXbox360.com; link below:
http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_8692/Assassins_Creed_II_-_Review
Quotes:
"By the time I was a couple hours into the game I knew the development team had taken our complaints to heart, and created one of the best games of 2009"
"There are a few moments of frustration but for every one there is ten times the amount of memorable great moments"
http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_8692/Assassins_Creed_II_-_Review
Quotes:
"By the time I was a couple hours into the game I knew the development team had taken our complaints to heart, and created one of the best games of 2009"
"There are a few moments of frustration but for every one there is ten times the amount of memorable great moments"
kamspy said:
I thought it was really awesome that they took it slow. We all know we're going to get the suit and start stabbing fools at some point, getting to know Ezio, his world, his family and the rest built a much more solid foundation for your actions later in the game than in the first.
So far I'm having a really great time. One thing I appreciate (like the first)...no selectable difficulty level! I know that sounds weird, but I'm glad Ubi had the confidence to set it where they wanted and just let everyone play there.
slasher_thrasher21 said:
I'm optimistic, but I enjoy opening with a bang. Even if after the bang you go do some meandering. But this offends both principles. No bang, and far too much meandering for my tastes. Far too much.
But the gameplay is rock solid and that's what's most important.
AkuMifune said:
Maybe I'm rushed because it's from Gamefly. Also, if the cannon was better I think I could better appreciate the back story. I found the writing to be poor and voice acting made me indifferent about the characters. Almost as bad as Prince of Persia, and definitely in the same vein.
brandonh83
Banned
Well, I finally found something I don't like. The races. Dear fucking christ, so annoying. The game controls great, but I don't really think the controls are built for extremely quick and random path running; in general it's fine but when you're trying to rush to the next target and Ezio does something you absolutely did not want him to, it gets pretty annoying.
Re: the hidden messages in glyph photos:
what's the cypher for the message hidden in the civil war photo in glyph 4? here's the message:
65 110 99 105 101 110
116 32 99 105 116 121
44 32 82 97 106 97 115
116 104 97 110 44 32
73 110 100 105 97 44
32 105 114 114 97 100
105 97 116 100 32
98 121 32 80 111 69
65 110 99 105 101 110
116 32 99 105 116 121
44 32 82 97 106 97 115
116 104 97 110 44 32
73 110 100 105 97 44
32 105 114 114 97 100
105 97 116 100 32
98 121 32 80 111 69
ShallNoiseUpon
Member
jiien said:
I think that would be very hard to do. Buildings in the modern world are huge. Unless they went to somewhere like Paris, where the buildings aren't over a certain height, for the most part. Storywise (at least to me) it would make sense to have it be France-based