You've got to give it to Ubisoft Montreal; they know how to make a sequel. That isn’t new, news if you’re a fan of the ‘Prince of Persia: Sands of Time trilogy’, it is however reassuring that in today’s world of cheap knock offs and carbon copy’s that there are those out there that can take a great game and make a greater one. The story follows on from the end of the first one, with Desmond trapped in his Cell at Abstergo Industries. From his time spent reliving his genetic memories as Altaïr a ‘bleeding effect’ has imbued him Eagle Vision and you begin with the sight of strange writings on the walls. Lucy Stillman, the assistant from the first game, arrives to break you out but not before putting you on the Animus to give you a new memory, the birth of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. After a daring escape you meet two other members of the modern day Assassins guild and their enhanced version of the Animus, the Animus 2.0. Lucy explains that you are needed as an assassin and that they intend to harness the ‘bleeding effect’ to train Desmond. You follow the life of Ezio and his path to being an assassin, the catalyst for Ezio’s path comes when his family is betrayed and execution of his father and brothers fills him with the desire for vengeance.

I think what makes the story work so well is that the Animus is to Desmond what you console is to you. By nesting the game inside a game it helps echo our reality and aids in the suspension of disbelief, involving you in to the story in much the same way as Desmond is involved with Ezio or Altaïr. Indeed one of my favourite parts in the game involves a character breaking the forth wall, which is risky at best and usually is left for comedy but this is so seamlessly executed that it made me sit up and pay attention. We have all been indoctrinated in philosophical argument of ‘prove your not a brain in a jar’ with movies like the ‘Matrix’, ‘eXistenZ’ and ‘The Thirteenth Floor’. Through clever story telling Ubisoft uses this not as a plot hook but as tool to help you humanise their characters and draw you in for more.

The path to uncover the conspirators leads Ezio through several locations in ancient Italy. All the locations are well themed and the urban sprawls are reminiscent of the first game. The labyrinthine streets below are bustling with life whilst the open expanses of rooftops allow quick speedy travel. Free running is a cornerstone in this game and though it takes a little getting used to I was soon able to cross the city without falling off a building.

The stealth aspect of this game works quite well, doing certain things will raise your notoriety whilst pulling down wanted posters and bribing heralds will lower it. Attract too much attention and the guards will keep an eye out for you and attack if you get to close or if they see you being dodgy. When you are incognito the guards hardly notice you and you can walk around freely. If you have attracted too much attention and you need to lose the guards the first step is to break line of site with the guards and then to disappear, hiding inside a well, blending into the crowds and the traditional dive into the haystack. I enjoyed the combat a little too much and didn’t worry about notoriety unless I had to tail someone or break in somewhere, in which case I would bribe a herald (-$500) then pick his pockets (+$504) do this twice an you get an achievement, much faster than picking 150 to 200 pockets to make up the cash .

Ezio has a lot of great new tricks in fighting, smoke bombs, poisoned blades, throwing dirt in the eyes and my personal favourite, disarming enemies and killing them with their own weapon. With good timing there is no number of enemies that can defeat you and I found that it was much easier to disarm, dodge or counter your foes. The targeting system is a little clumsy which can prove troublesome if you have to run down your mark but ultimately it works well enough to stop you killing innocents.

Read the full review on GameGuide.