Grazie, Ubisoft, grazie.

Playing Assassin’s Creed II, all I can think of is thanking Ubisoft, for making this the game I expected to play the first time. For making this a joyous exploration of renaissance Italy and a centuries-old conspiracy, and not a repetitive slog through the dirt of the Jerusalem. For making this a game that recognizes the flaws of the original game, and not only corrects them, but significantly improves the overall package. For making Assassin’s Creed II a game that deserves to be listed not just amongst the best of the year, but among the very best of this generation.

In the first Assassin’s Creed, you played as Altair, a highly skilled assassin of the Middle Eastern Hashshashin tribe, who must undertake a series of nine assassinations, while uncovering a deadly conspiracy involving the Templar Knights. It was a beautiful game with wonderfully smooth controls, but the assassinations were repetitive, and the game offered little to occupy you outside of the core missions. Flash forward hundred years to the tale of Ezio Auditore, a rough around the edges young noble in Renaissance Florence. Following betrayal and family tragedy, Ezio, who knows nothing of the assassin’s blood that courses through his veins, sets out to avenge his family’s name. As the game progresses, Ezio learns new skills and techniques, becoming a more effective and deadly assassin.

Framing these historic tales is the modern day story of hapless and hoodied bartender Desmond Miles, a descendant of Altair and Ezio, who is reliving these adventures through the memories in his DNA. His interactions with the fiendish Abstergo corporation in the first game were flat and filled with exposition, but little action or fun. After a somewhat slow start to the game featuring Desmond and Abstergo, the overarching plot moves quickly into the background, letting you settle quickly into the meat of the adventure.

What you will immediately find is that playing as newcomer Ezio is far more satisfying that the artificially handicapped Altair. From a character development perspective, Altair’s need to re-learn his skills and abilities felt like a cheat by designers to fit their narrative. In contrast, Ezio’s growth is much more organic and story-driven. That is just one of the many significant improvements made over the original Assassin’s Creed.

That’s not to say that their weren’t good elements carried over to the sequel. The game’s impressive graphics and architecture present a vivid recreation of Renaissance Italy, which you can truly appreciate (along with a robust draw distance) from atop one of the 66 viewpoints in the game.

Bringing these cities to life is a character AI that fills the streets with living and reacting beings. My personal favorite was a man plastering the side of a building. He serves no story or quest purpose, he’s just a menial character doing a menial job. But he serves as a testament to the level of detail and polish that Ubisoft has put into the game.

The controls, which let you scale buildings and bound across rooftops, are smooth and fluid, though sometimes there’s a lack of fine control, and you will invariably jump to your death when Ezio jumps off the building, instead of leaping to the next ledge. It’s a generally minor inconvenience, since you do return to life, but it’s frustrating when it happens.

The main story is pushed along by a variety of different missions that take thrughout Italy, including Florence, Tuscany, the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioini and more. There are assassinations of course, but unlike the first outing, these aren’t the only missions Ezio is required to take on to avenge his family, and even the assassinations are more varied and exciting. Sidequests abound, featuring brawling, footraces deliveries and more, which contribute to Ezio’s coin purse and exploration of the cities.

Through your exploration of the historical landmarks in the game, you’ll be informed that some are marked with hidden glyphs, which unlock a secondary set of puzzles and another mystery. If nothing else, it provides a great excuse to clamber around some of the old world’s finest architecture. And the reverence for history is apparent, with historical characters blending with fictional, in a way that you never quite know what is historical fact, and what is made up for the game.

There’s even an odd, but satisfying, Sim-Italian Villa sort of sidequest within the game, as Ezio can use his acquired wealth to improve his uncle’s estate and the village around it, which in turn raises money for Ezio to spend. Its not required, but its a fun diversion and a welcome addition to the game.

And those funds will come in handy, as Assassin’s Creed II provides you with shops that sell a variety of weapon and armour upgrades, medicines, artwork for Villa Auditore and new colour combinations for your assassin’s garb.

With main plot, the sidequests, collectables, two hidden mysteries and sprawling cities to explore and equipment to purchase, it is almost to the point where you can say maybe they even put too much into the game. But I’ll never complain about having too much game.

One of the greatest annoyances in the first title that has been redeemed is collecting. In the first title, there were several different flags to collect, but at the end there was no reward for your efforts, which is a cardinal sin of game design. Instead, the collection sidequests aren’t just for completists, they actually offer something to the game.

One other thing I have a humorous appreciation for is that both Assassin’s Creed games have the greatest justification for invisible walls. Because the game takes place within DNA memories, the game keeps you penned where it wants by saying that areas of the cities you may want to travel to are unavailable memories. Its still invisible walls (and therfore unforgivable), but kudos to Ubisoft for at least making them plausible.

Assassin’s Creed is not a flawless game, but it is in almost every way perfect. Everything that was great about the original has been preserved, and everything that was flawed or underwhelming has been vastly improved. That makes Assassin’s Creed II a must-own title, at the top of the Game of the Year nominees list, and a gaming experience that absolutely should not be missed.

A review copy was provided to GamerPops.