Assassin's Creed II had some interesting characteristics that made it stand out and it still does from the rest of the series. The amount of NPCs in it is not alot when compared to AC Unity, however due to very narrow streets, you got the feeling of crowded spaces even with like 3 NPCs in your way.
The 2 different running speeds you have in the game also matter when chasing people. The "slower running", done by just walking with right trigger pressed, allows you to move faster but not enough to catch someone, if you hold the A button you sprint which allows you to climb, reach targets however if you bump into people you fall down and this slows you considerably. Just running + shoving is a possibility on the ground, but that still is slower than sprinting. What this essentially means is that the rooftops were the fast travel method of ACII, this was also possible because of the narrow streets and close buildings, you could get anywhere faster via sprinting in the rooftops. Chasing those random NPCs in the rooftops was great.
Since Brotherhood, they have kept making buildings very far apart, which makes rooftop travel worse, and in ACB they allowed you to ride the horses in towns. Solves the issue of traveling fast but climbing/running was simply more enjoyable.
Navigation has been made a secondary or even tertiary part of the series as time passed, while it originally made the IP stand out from the rest, as in "you can climb nearly everything: the game", that was AssCreed. They have only been making climbing more and more trivial, and flat out bad due to building placement, and sometimes building design makes it annoying to walk on top of buildings.
When I heard they were adding a grappling hook and carriages to Syndicate, I realized it was an admission of failure. Now climbing would be the slowest form of travel, and to make way for carriages they would need even bigger, wider streets.
Also, they ruined the rooftop versus ground level running by making you automatically shove pedestrians when running in AC3. With wide streets there's plenty of room to go without any NPCs blocking your way anyway, so they aren't a hindrance anymore.
There's also another thing that I noticed from II, it has 3 height levels, ground, rooftop, and also there are tons of platforms around buildings like pic related, allowing you to choose which path to take. This seems absent of later games.
In short, navigation was a cornerstone of the series and after 2 it got shoved aside constantly, until it just bacame a thing you do, and not the stand out element it once was.
Played 1-4 of the AC games.
Brotherhood > 2 > Revelations > 3 > 4 > 1
Brotherhood felt the best to me because I loved the city and the assassins were always to fun to call in for assistance plus it was basically 2 with more stuff added to it.
AC4 is the best one imo.
>>342045776
It wasn't 2, the climbing as a whole was worse due to buildings being far apart. Assassinations were also way worse, "just go kill this dude that killed whores", in 2 they have better context. Brotherhood just added a ton of fluff like the assassin management shit.
There are other issues, like why are we supposed to renovate those buildings in Rome? It made sense that Ezio would help his uncle in II but in Brotherhood it just seems forced, "because that's what he does". Same for collecting feathers, they had a context in II, in ACB it's just there because reasons. Also full sync was a mistake.
>>342044430
Huh
I never thought about this OP. I always liked 2 the best but could never properly explain why outside ofnliking the story
Good stuff
>>342046169
These are all valid points.
However I feel like there's also a lot of valid points that point to 1 being better than 2, most notably the fact that it went from a game about assassinations to a generic action-adventure game, even though it did add much needed variety.
The first three games are honestly so similar in quality that I go back and forth on which one is best.
>>342046068
eh I thought it was a bit overrated, the shanties were sweet but the boat combat just got repetitive over time, I wasn't particularly a fan of the new side activities like bell diving and whaling.
Oh I also forgotsomething about ACII, the assassination side missions were really well done, especially compared to what would they turn them into. They were like mini story assassinations in a way.
You had some small perimeter of guards and a target in the middle, shit like that, while in AC3 they would make assassination side missions just kill a random guard in town, what a mess.
>>342046068
You have a shit opinion.
>>342044430
Doesn't change AC2's shit ending.
>hurr i'm a better person now and won't kill for revenge
>forgets that he is an assassin there to kill people to better the world, rendering him a selfish idiot that makes above point moot
I want to play that game again, but it takes a real long time til we get to venice (which i absolutely loved) and tried at some point to play it again but only got through the first couple of hours which is just a really loooong intro and since ive lost that save game i dont think i could go through it again...
>>342047668
I thought that was okay, he already had the apple and the guy was no longer a threat.
>>342044430
>Why assassins creed 2 succeeded
You can't add a third hidden blade.
Also, Renaissance Italy is a great setting. No one wanted to play as some faggot chud.
I've recently been replaying II and am finally finishing Brotherhood and Revelations.
The atmosphere of all three games are amazing. III falls just a little short of the same level, but is still much closer than IV and every game that followed it.
IV itself was barely an AC game - more like a glitchy pirate game with a ton of tailing missions added on.
Rogue was great as a concept but still had simplified combat and traversal while also being too short. On the plus side, it had much better missions than IV.
Unity was shit. A bad copy of Ezio's story, only in France. Arno is barely a character.
Syndicate attempts actual to have characters, but does so poorly. As OP stated, the traversal is absolutely terrible. The combat is also the worst in the series.
another thing that i loved was your choice of weapons. my favorite was the dagger, such a shame it disappeared from later games...
>>342048304
Where IV would be better off as a new pirate IP, Unity as Syndicate would've made great detective IP's. The most fun I had in both games was during the murder mysteries.
>>342048278
They could have added shoe blades
>>342048723
There are dagger-like weapons in Syndicate. Too bad the combat is so neutered.I still play sometimes. I pretend the game is a full 3D AC China while running around The Thames as Evie in Shao Jun's outfit, wielding the orange dragon cane-sword.
>>342048880
Started replaying Assassins creed 2 through xbone backwards compat
Holy fuck I remember AC2 as my favorite but I dont remember it being this good!
Combat is actually decent and you can get rekt if you don't block or time things wrong or even counter at the wrong time
Not to mention character development holy fuck I haven't seen this shit since forever
Its good to relive this game
I hope revelations and brotherhood become backwards compatible soon!
>>342049412
downloaded the whole fuckin thing and after a couple of hours completely dropped it, uninstalled and deleted it.on the other hand, i love unity, my second playthrough. i know its flawed but i love the french revolution
>>342049801
>Xbone
Jesus Christ, anon. Why would you do that?
>>342050186
The best thing about AC II, Brotherhood, and Unity is that you can change the dialog language to get fully immersed.
I just want an AC set in ancient China or feudal Japan! It's NOT FUCKING FAIR. FUCK YOU UBISOFT REEEEEEEEEEEEE
>>342050186
I don't blame you. Aside from The Dreadful Crimes and this oneultra-comfytavern, I think it's tied with IV as the worst AC.
I loved 2 and 4 the most.
>>342050487
Modern Ubisoft would fuck it up.I'm mad too
>>342050570
4 is fucking terrible.
inb4 "muh pirates"
>>342044430
>Why Assassin's Creed II suceeded
- atmosphere which is further propelled by jesper kyd's score
- templar puzzles and backstory was still interesting
- modern plot hadn't gone to shit yet
- took a setting which was ripe for video games and exploited it perfectly
- collecathons actually had rewards whereas ac1 they were just sort of there
AC2 did everything a sequel should
turn the original up to 11
>better characters
>more weapons and skills
>best soundtrack in the series
>long interest story instead of repeating the same 3 fucking missions over and over
>better level design
series went downhill from there, you stick with it because you want Ezio's Storyline and then we saw the nosedive the series took after Ezio's was over, AC4 was a great change of pace with a major focus on piracy but all the shit parts of AC still remained sadly.
>>342045776
Honestly this.
I would like to at least try Rogue but as far as I saw it seems a snow version of 4.
>>342050512
>>342050787
i just remember sailing in AC4 and not much more. it was comfy as fuck. i dont even remember the missions except the last one'ish where you have to enter the havana just before dawn, thats something like under martial law and must be completely stealthy. it was a shit AC game, but great game.
>>342050512
AC Unity would have been amazing if it hadn't been the for shit, generic as fuck story with the predictable as fuck ending. Arno being a complete waste of space also didn't help.
>>342050990
I found it to be better than 4. it's way shorter, but on foot missions are better, naval combat is the same and story had this gray area of assassins/templars not being a so good vs evil thing. It's interesting but only worth it for very cheap.
>>342050870
III had a fantastic atmosphere as well. I think it really just fell short in the soundtrack, the modern story (obviously), and those nonsensical full sync objectives.
Having to play as young Connor for like an hour didn't help either.
>>342050990
It's much better.
>>342050990
It's mostly the same but superior albeit slightly. If you haven't tried 4 then Rogue is the way to go. Best game in the series.
>>342051045
Sailing and killing people in the jungle were the only fun things to do in the game.
Even boarding other ships was dragged down by the awful movement system and wonky auto lock-on.
>>342048880
What about knee blades.
>>342051180
side missions with their historical background are funner than the shit story of AC Unity except the mission where you track Robespierre but maybe thats just me because i like history and there is indeed a mystery about what exactly went on that night.
>>342051241
>those nonsensical full sync objectives
i think those were the major reason that i dropped AC3. they made no sense anymore. before AC3 they were optional difficulty but made sense kinda like: ok, Ezio was a real badass and did this memory like this, are you as badass as him?
also, im guessing everybody ITT plays with the minimum HUD, right?
3 was really the turning point (for the worst) of the franchise. they took what sounded like a decent premise and instead of sending you into the game they force you through a god damn 5 sequence tutorial.
>>342051459
>Rogue
>best game in the series
I liked Rogue too. In fact, I think it's VASTLY superior to Black Flag; however, nothing has beaten II and Brotherhood yet.
>>342051745_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________WHERE'S CHARLES LEE?
>>342051686
>also, im guessing everybody ITT plays with the minimum HUD, right?
No. Maybe after I finish the story.
I have only played Black Flag and III and I though they were ok.
might play Syndicate when it goes on sale
>>342051984
Ugh. Do you only play on a ps4/xbone?
>>342052093
No?
>>342049801
I played AC2 multiple times, not even sure if it was 2 or 3 times.
The game had its flaws like being too easy, but it gave me a sense of wonder, adventure that I haven't felt in a while.
really hope the old ass creeds go up for summer sale.
I hated Syndicate, although in a weird way I found it to be a more satisfying Batman game than Arkham "Fuck This Car" Knight.
I really wish Black Flag was its own IP
>>342052142
Why haven't you played the Ezio trilogy yet?
I asked about the console because Syndicate is fucking terrible.
>>342051951
why not? its so fucking immersive that way. im replaying Unity now and i love not even having a minimap. you really start looking around you, try to recognize the various districts of the city and once in a while go to a rooftop and look for landmarks in order to see where you are and where you want to go. ok you miss a couple of collectibles here and there but i play those games for the atmosphere and not necessarily to 100% them.in Unity if you press down the right stick i think it hides the HUD so you dont need to go back in the menu to change it
>>342052424
Is Arkham Knight worth it just to roleplay as the Christian Bale and Michael Keaton Batmans?
>>342052562
I like to see if I'm heading towards an important icon/event before triggering it.
>>342044430
You here to look at the book?
>>342046068
It was the least asscreed of the asscreed games.
Instead it was just arcade ship combat with some running & jumping side quests.
Only shitters think 4 is the best.
>>342052696
Not really. Too much screen clutter with prompts popping up every second. Batmobile got turned in to a shitty tank and the keatonmobile can only be used in 'racing mode', and I'll personally never get used to batman just up and flying from one end of the city to the other.
>REE HES GLIDING
It's just dumb. I wish the game never went for that open world thing. Predator modes are nice though.
>>342052696
The Christian Bale outfit is literally the best one in the game.
Should i get IV on ps4 or ps3 cheaper?
>>342053202
>>342053302
Shit. I'll probably get the "GOTY" version after it gets a price drop or two.
>>342053534
Get neither. IV is terrible.
>>342053302
i like the first one he puts on before putting on his armored one. or the arkham asylum one.
>>342052696
nope. its only worth it to finish the story and being raped by the framerate/frametime if youre into that sort of thing.
>>342053534
PS3 had a lot of framedrops
>>342053702
Was the PS3 version as glitchy as the PS4 one?
>>342053702
To Arkham Knights credit, it's the only game I've ever seen actually put out enough content to justify a season pass.
It's shit, but god damn does it have a lot of corn packed in.
>>342053781
i dont know, rented the PS3 version but then thought to try my luck with the PC version. its not unplayable, it just has those framedrops from time to time...
>>342046068
yes, this is the answer, I don't care what anyone says. I played em all but 4 had by far the best atmosphere.
>>342046068
I just recently replayed AC2 and had a really enjoyable experience, though I only collected 51 of the feathers and said fuck the chests this time, but I still had an itch for an AC game, so I started Black Flag. I liked the boats at first, but the combat was so repetitive I stopped playing because I didn't want to travel by boat any longer.
Does it get better?
One thing that AC2 had that they lack in recent games is ambient music.
Those songs of AC2 were fucking amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpzm0BoY334
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYWJoCghfHU
Jesper Kyd also stopped working on the series.
>>342053930
ill agree with you on that one.
>>342054023
You have bad taste.
>>342054024
No. You should've gotten Freedom Cry or Rogue both are way better.
>>342050218
Xbox isn't a bad choice if you just want into the console generation. It's the cheapest entry (even cheaper than the Wii U) and backwards compatibility helps if you want to play catchup with some games before the sequels like Mirrors Edge and Deus Ex.
I'm on the fence about consoles but I'd definitely consider Xbox One if I were jumping in.
Unity was the best Assassins Creed after Black Flag and Rogue
>>342054137
if i ever go to rome ill put on the soundtrack in my MP3 and roam around.
https://youtu.be/Tsno9RSI_hE
>>342054314
Freedom Cry has a more fitting plot and character and mich better mission variety. It's much shorter than IV, but quality > quantity.
Rogue is shorter too, but not nearly as short. It has a much better story. The naval combat is practically the same.
>>342054212
>>342054389
It's factually inferior to the PS4, though.
>>342054652
No, because the game is bad.
>play brotherhood multiplayer
>use your abilities and change 3 guys into your character appearance
>stay in the corner and wait for other assasins
>they just run to my crowd and kill random npc
>kill assassins because they revealed themself
>kill like 10 assassins in the row just staying in the same position
good times
>>342054686
Yeah but that's irrelevant. Yeah PS4 is the better console performance wise but they both play (mostly) the same games.
So like I said, if you just want into the new generation for the cheapest price possible, Xbox is an option.
I don't get the squabbling between PS4/Xbox, they're both console peasants anyway.
All I care about is which tool accomplishes the task in the most economic way.
>>342054780
Fact. Pirates are cooler than gay Italians
>>342054945
>Yeah but that's irrelevant
Except that it's not.
>>342054137
>the ost was so good ubisoft opens their AC presentation every year with "ezio's family"
>tfw I tear up everytime when I remember all that wild ride
>>342055146
>pirates
>not gay
>>342055179
How isn't it?
>>342055192
Pissed me off so much when that started playing at E3 this year, only to "reveal" some movie bullshit.
>>342055192
>in every presentation with Ezio they show Brotherhood robes when 2's robes are way better
That actually triggers me, it's like they want to erase 2 from existence somehow.
>>342055369
Why would you not pay a little more, if you could, for a better product?
>>342055146
just thought id mention it but i really love the character Charles Vane because of his voice actor Ralph Ineson.
>>342044430
>Why Assassin's Creed II
But Brotherhood was better
>>342055498
AC2's are way better. Also, am i the only one that did whatever he could to avoid putting on an armor on ezio since you cant take it off once put on?
>>342055610
Both are great.
>>342055713
I did the same once I replayed it, avoided any armor to keep it clean. But I think you need to put boots in one of the tutorial missions that makes you purchase something from the store, so I went with boots.
>>342055523
Because the games play more or less the same and I'm not looking to jump into this generation for the long haul.
There's only a handful of games worth playing. If I were serious about gaming this generation I'd get a PS4, but I'm not, so I'll probably just get Xbox.
>>342055779
Oh I agree, but Brotherhood was more fun and memorable for me. On a technical standpoint I couldn't say because it's been far too long.
>>342055871
I just wear the Armor of Altair in II and Brotherhood.
>>342056025
That's just a waste of money, though.
>>342056040
>favorite thing from Brotherhood:
walking towards guards and watching your apprentices take them down and you keep walking like a badass.
>in AC2:
Venice. it was just so beautiful...
>>342055498
completely agree the brotherhood robes were fucken shit compared to the glory of 2s
>>342056384
This. I immediately switch to >>342056063 and sometimes the Brutus armor
>>342056509
loved the dagger so much. Also, something missing from newer assassin's creed games, guards used to get scared run away from a fight when you were too good.
https://youtu.be/gLyiXHoNs18
>>342056163
Why? I'm a poor bastard anyway. Way I see it, if I get a PS4 I'm spending more money for a console that would do the same thing.
Why is everyone praising Rogue? That shit rustle's my jimmies so hard, the story is so fucking retarded I can barely get through it.
And 4 is good, but highly overrated.
2 > Brotherhood > Revelations > 1 > 3 > 4
>>342057121
4 is overrated, but Rogue is an improvement over it, especially the on foot missions, despite being quite short. I also enjoyed the story way more.
>>342057285
I just thought the whole reason for his betrayal was very contrived and nonsensical. The VA didn't help it either, I felt no emotional impact.
>>342057563
me too, thought by the end of the game we would be revealed a secondary hidden reason behind whatshisname's motivation to betray the assassins.
>>342057563
it was a way of doing it without making assassins into mustache twirling villains the whole careless angle I suppose, but it was still better than the "let's see the figures of piracy" that 4 had, plus Edward doesn't even care about anything besides money
>>342044430
I agree 2 was the best AC game, not only because it had the best story but because it was the one that improved the most when compared to the previous game.
3 was the worst one, I don't understand what they were thinking when they put so many fucking guards on rooftops, like, shit dude there are more guards on the roofs than on the streets, it completely ruined being able to travel around town by jumping from roof to roof because there were faggots with rifles everywhere.
The camera angle in 3 was weird as fuck too, your character occupied about a third of the screen and you couldn't see what was in front of you un less you were running or something else.
