PC Gameplay has a 6 page preview of Assasins Creed 2.

[DefJam101]

When I finished Assassin's Creed,

How the fuck did you finish that game?

Other than simulating the experience of being a homicidal parkour practitioner the game was so fucking boring. Even climbing buildings, jumping off them, and cushioning your fall with old Islamic women got boring once you figured out how shallow the control system was.

 

[DefJam101]

Exploring them was the biggest draw of the otherwise extremely mediocre game.

They certainly looked nice, but there were very few attention-grabbing areas or landmarks to check out. After you saw one street filled with shuffling plebs you'd seen them all. All that was left was to climb a building, sit on it, see another building that was kind of tall, say, "I want to go over there, now," jump down, and start climbing again.

There needs to be small interesting details in order for the cities to have life. You can capture the 'feel' of a city through aesthetics but none of that matters when you've saved the same peasant lady from oppressive guards 15 times in a row. Unique shops, characters, sporting events, conflicts, and quests are what AC needs IMHO.

 

[Trash]

Exploring them was the biggest draw of the otherwise extremely mediocre game.

They certainly looked nice, but there were very few attention-grabbing areas or landmarks to check out. After you saw one street filled with shuffling plebs you'd seen them all. All that was left was to climb a building, sit on it, see another building that was kind of tall, say, "I want to go over there, now," jump down, and start climbing again.

There needs to be small interesting details in order for the cities to have life. You can capture the 'feel' of a city through aesthetics but none of that matters when you've saved the same peasant lady from oppressive guards 15 times in a row. Unique shops, characters, sporting events, conflicts, and quests are what AC needs IMHO.

Amen. I just thought the look and feel of the cities seemed realistic and engaging. Doesn't mean that much from the standpoint of a gamer though. I really don't think AC2 will be a huge step forward, though it does seem to have the makings of a solid sequell.

 

[DefJam101]

I wish AC was more open to mods (see: open to mods at all). It would be so bloody amazing.

Why do PC developers ignore this obvious advantage over consoles? Do they think it helps their sales? Do they get a hard-on for hard-coding shit? Oh noes! The communist gaming liberals are going to fuxxor our artistic vision!

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

I guess Bethsda are the only "smart" devs in that regard... You can mod their games just enough to make them less shitty and then they take are the glory for making a "successful" game which is played for years and years and years.

Heh.

 

[Chefe]

Really, I'd like to just walk around and check out the sights and architecture, climb on a few buildings, and enjoy the atmosphere. I hope AC is a lot less "gamey" than the first. They really threw away the great potential they had with the first one's location.

Honestly the look and feel of the old cities in AC1 was done supurb. The old city of Acre and Jeruzalem really are like AC1 portrayed them. Exploring them was the biggest draw of the otherwise extremely mediocre game. I don't think AC2 will be a great game, but I sure do hope they'll manage to convey the looks and feel of the cities again.

The black man said it best:

Exploring them was the biggest draw of the otherwise extremely mediocre game.

They certainly looked nice, but there were very few attention-grabbing areas or landmarks to check out. After you saw one street filled with shuffling plebs you'd seen them all. All that was left was to climb a building, sit on it, see another building that was kind of tall, say, "I want to go over there, now," jump down, and start climbing again.

There needs to be small interesting details in order for the cities to have life. You can capture the 'feel' of a city through aesthetics but none of that matters when you've saved the same peasant lady from oppressive guards 15 times in a row. Unique shops, characters, sporting events, conflicts, and quests are what AC needs IMHO.

I would like to add (to Trash, with this) that I was amazed when I first entered them and walked around. The crowds and bustle was extremely well done. But there were no shops to visit (atmosphere!), landmarks, interesting unique characters, and the rest of the stuff that makes cities worth exploring. I thought the cities in Daggerfall were pretty amazing too when I first picked up that game, but of course I eventually came to the realization that all shops were identical and the street folk only had two templates.

The biggest kicker for me was the fact that this wasn't real. No, I'm not talking about because it's a video game. You're hooked up to the animus, or whatever it's called, machine and are merely reliving past experiences. It's essentially a meaningless dream, you cannot influence the world, and it cannot touch you. You're not really walking the streets of Jerusalem. You're hooked up to a brain scanner in some science lab.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Unless he declares them shit and then plays them like he did with GTA 4. Then they are suddenly fun. Skyway just bitches for bitching sake's.

Except I always liked GTA 4 (as in "GTA series is the only console thing I can stomach"). Try harder.

You liked GTA4? What the hell is wrong with you? The boredom factor in that brown turd makes Oblivion look like a masterpiece.

GO BACK TO YOUR WIVES AND CHILDREN

*blows up police cars*

YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE HERE

*fires at policemen hurrying to take cover*

I GOT PLANS FOR THIS MONEY

*throws grenade near their cover*

 

[MetalCraze]

Unless he declares them shit and then plays them like he did with GTA 4. Then they are suddenly fun. Skyway just bitches for bitching sake's.

Except I always liked GTA 4 (as in "GTA series is the only console thing I can stomach"). Try harder.

You liked GTA4? What the hell is wrong with you? The boredom factor in that brown turd makes Oblivion look like a masterpiece.

Yeah, though I think most of the quests were awful (and story and characters are too bland), some of them were quite good - like the bank robbery which was akin to hollywood action movies of '90s, the chase on bikes in subway, flying the chopper with a junkie tries to shoot down another chopper with a RPG, basically all other crazy action movie stuff that is there since GTA VC + sandbox world.
I also think that GTA4 is worse than any console GTA besides 3rd. Then again I also liked it because there are no games of the similar genre that are really better, Mafia is a much different beast, as it is centered around story and characters while the gameworld is quite lifeless.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I AIN'T GOT FUNNYBALLS

 

[Chefe]

Unless he declares them shit and then plays them like he did with GTA 4. Then they are suddenly fun. Skyway just bitches for bitching sake's.

Except I always liked GTA 4 (as in "GTA series is the only console thing I can stomach"). Try harder.

You liked GTA4? What the hell is wrong with you? The boredom factor in that brown turd makes Oblivion look like a masterpiece.

Yeah, though I think most of the quests were awful (and story and characters are too bland), some of them were quite good - like the bank robbery which was akin to hollywood action movies of '90s, the chase on bikes in subway, flying the chopper with a junkie tries to shoot down another chopper with a RPG, basically all other crazy action movie stuff that is there since GTA VC + sandbox world.
I also think that GTA4 is worse than any console GTA besides 3rd. Then again I also liked it because there are no games of the similar genre that are really better, Mafia is a much different beast, as it is centered around story and characters while the gameworld is quite lifeless.

Have you tried Saint's Row? I hear it's quite arcadey but at least doesn't feel like you're wading through shit.

Also

HEEEEY NIKO!

 

[Konjad]

I like Assassin's Creed very much, it's fun arcade game (even if most of the missiont are copy/paste) so I'm looking forward to AC2.