Assassin's Creed II is exactly what the original should have been like. It ticks all the boxes with an engrossing storyline, sumptuous graphics, atmospheric music and sound effects, and intuitive controls. I'm glad I actually gave it ago after feeling so let down with its predecessor, and thoroughly recommend it.

Again you take control of a robed killer, partial to a bit of Parkour - or free running - and just as happy to scale a tall building as to leap from the top. Hone your skills as you progress through the missions, learning how best to dispatch your enemies and retrieve treasures and trinkets. Unlike its previous incarnation, you aren't left disappointed after a few hours of gameplay; there's plenty to do and little monotony here.

You start as the mundane-as-he-sounds Desmond who, along with his scientist buddies, is once again caught up in a bit of memory-based time traveling. The story's a little convoluted but stick with it... he's transported back to the days of 15th century Italy to piece together his fragmented memories and live life through the eyes of Ezio, a decent kind of fella who quickly learns the art of stealth to become an assassin following the brutal murder of his father and brothers.

The action first takes you to Florence but quickly find yourself roaming the country visiting varied environments including Tuscany and Venice - all in all, its a fantastic setting and you really find yourself being drawn into the vast, living, breathing cities. Check out Wikipedia's article if you fancy reading a bit more about the plot intricacies.

While you have plenty of freedom to explore, you're initially confined by the boundaries of your ancestor's memories and have to retrieve information to reveal more of the landscape and the real reason you're back in renaissance Italy. It all works really effectively - far more so than in the first game - and you're certainly not left with the same feeling that you're just walking around the place aimlessly. Scale the truly tall towers and perch atop for a few moments and more of the map is revealed, opening up more shops, stalls, races and assassination missions.

In many ways, this game could be likened to Prototype, which also boasts free-running elements and a pretty structured storymode. Having played them both to death, however, Assassin's Creed II seems to have a little more longevity, greater enjoyment factor and certainly beats it in the looks department.

Besides the actual gameplay, the cut scenes and voice acting are decent too - I normally abhor lengthy cut scenes but found myself listening intently as the plot unfolded. It's a nice touch to have background music and effects in each of the cities too, and the fact that you can hear the banter of passers by and occasional Italian lilt in their accents. Some of the characters you'll encounter are particularity well developed - Leonardo da Vinci seems an extremely nice and helpful guy with his various gadgets!

Money now plays an important factor in this game too, not only because of the inclusion of shops to spend your hard fought cash (on weapons, art, medicines etc...), but also because you now have the ability to renovate your dilapidated villa - a safehouse where you can hone your skills and recuperate between missions. This proves a nice distraction from all the killing and thieving.

The fighting elements have also been much improved and somehow, the multitude of button presses and combinations required to get Ezio about the place don't seem remotely complicated this time round. You can even hire the services of mercenaries, thieves and groups of young ladies (the girls don't fight but flirt with nearby guards, providing a nice diversion!) to help you on your quests. There is a wide range of weaponry and armour available too, all of which add to the enjoyment of dispatching your foes.

There are also the obligatory collecting objectives, be it 100 feathers (!), eight statuettes or hundreds of treasure chests littered about the ancient cities. Surprisingly though, they don't seem to grate as much as in other games and much like the agility orbs in old favourite Crackdown, they actually prove pretty fun to track down. Each of the hidden tombs are enjoyable fare too, largely involving a bit of climbing, running and the slaying of passing guards to find several lost seals.

Achievement and trophy-wise, the game is fairly generous and most are gained through normal story progression. There are plenty of side missions and tasks thrown in for good measure, however, that make the point-whoring a really fun element of the game. Quite whether I can muster enough enthusiasm to track down all those hard-to-reach feathers though is another matter!

Ultimately, this is a really enjoyable romp. It feels extremely polished and looks fantastic. And if ever you needed evidence that developers actually listen to feedback about their previous releases, then this is it.
The Assassin's Creed series has come on in leaps and bounds - and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone.

Can't wait 'til the inevitable sequel...