Assassin’s Creed 2 EP2: Ezio Auditore, Paper Boy

By Shamus Posted Thursday Sep 22, 2011

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 140 comments


Link (YouTube)

 


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140 thoughts on “Assassin’s Creed 2 EP2: Ezio Auditore, Paper Boy

  1. Raygereio says:

    Shamus & co: Youtube says the video is blocked in my country (The Netherlands) due to a copyright claim from IMG media.

    Some google’ing told me you’ve just become the victim of a scam company who’s abusing youtube’s copyright claim system to spread their advertisements. It appears they’ve been doing with several LP videos.

    Edit: the below link should allow you to watch the video if it’s being blocked in your country. Videoquality is poor though, sorry about that.
    https://youtubeproxy.org/default.aspx?prx=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLSXI67i3Fg

    1. Mersadeon says:

      Good to know it’s a scam – here in germany, so many videos are blocked on youtube for silly reasons that I feared for a moment that spoiler warning might get blocked permanently.

    2. xXDarkWolfXx says:

      Its like that for me in Canada as well

    3. Drexer says:

      Same for Portugal.

      >_>

    4. Wtrmute says:

      It’s blocked in Brazil, as well, and I suspect the rest of South America.

    5. StranaMente says:

      Italy too.
      :-(

    6. Raygereio says:

      To prevent people needlesly posting about the availability in their respective countries:
      The video is blocked everywhere except in the US and UK.

      1. Sumanai says:

        Worked in Finland.

      2. Simon Buchan says:

        Also works in New Zealand.

      3. Raygereio says:

        To prevent people needlesly posting about the availability in their respective countries:
        The copyright nonsense has been resolved and the video has been unblocked.

    7. Tseh says:

      Sweden as well.

      EDIT: And just seconds before I wrote it Raygerieo makes my comment obsolete.

  2. Quanto says:

    I can’t see the video, sadly.
    “This video contains content from IMG Media UK, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.”

    edit: Raygereio was faster ;)

    1. Wolverine says:

      Same here (Czech Republic) :(

    2. acronix says:

      Idem, but I`m from the very far south.

  3. jdaubenb says:

    Blocked in Europe. Great.

    To the Bat proxy-website, Robin!

    1. CTrees says:

      Is it too early to suggest “blocked in Europe!” as the new “video is set to private!” complaint/meme?

      Also, I can watch in the US, neener-neener.

      1. jdaubenb says:

        And I can watch in Europe, through the magical powers of Hide My Ass.
        Only the quality is shit, so I can’t take in all of the stunning beauty of AssCreed72.

  4. Asmodan999 says:

    I can´t see it from Germany.
    “This video contains content from IMG Media UK, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.”

  5. Irridium says:

    Sucks to hear that it’s blocked due to some jackasses.

    But look on the bright side, you’re famous enough to get noticed by these jackasses!

    So there’s that.

  6. Matwisto says:

    I’m blocked too. In Canada.

    1. ACman says:

      I’m blocked too! Australia. Oh well luckily I know how to set firefox’s media headers plugin to see American content.

      http://cynicsunlimited.com/2010/03/28/using-firefox-and-modify-headers-plugin-to-view-blocked-video-streams/

      Up yours blockers of content. Up yours IMG media and your copyright violation scam. Take that Fox, Stop my Dailyshow will you? Take that, and that! What’s that Fox bought rights to Southpark and aren’t letting me see that either? Take this and one of these! >D

      Edit: Aww.. It didn’t work.

    2. SyrusRayne says:

      Yep. Blocked in Canada. Alas.

  7. czhah says:

    First time poster here! It seems that IMG Media UK has targeted your series with their copyright scam thus making it impossible to view (at least outside UK and US). See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZRdAlCeFew to learn more.

  8. Bart says:

    Blocked in Canada too!

  9. Milos says:

    Yeah, fuck you IMG Media. I can’t watch the video, also from Europe.

    1. BaCoN says:

      All of the Commonwealth must suffer beneath the might of IMG!

      Wait, isn’t IMG a modelling company?

  10. 4th Dimension says:

    IMG Media your suffering and pain shall bring great JOY to our PEOPLES children. YOUR liver is ours for this transgression!

    So they have blocked entire Europe. Well that’s it, those Brits have sipped their last tea, we are nuking London, who is with me!

  11. X2-Eliah says:

    This video contains content from IMG Media UK, who has blocked it in your country on copyright

    Getting this in Sweden. WTF?

  12. Katen says:

    Confirmed for being blocked in Canada. Spoiler Warning can now use it for advertisement: See Spoiler Warning! So good, it’s Banned in Canada! And Europe!

  13. Jakale says:

    Now I feel kinda left out for being able to watch the video.
    Those semi quicktime events both bug and impress me. On the one hand missing them does nothing to impede the progression of the scene, so I’m not forced to be on constant alert just so I’m not forced into getting frustrated with their scene.
    On the other hand, you miss out on seeing whatever would have happened if you assume you can just relax and watch, and after a long bout of running and hiding across half the city I’d like to rest a bit. Plus the icons show up just long enough for you to notice and struggle to figure out where the button they want is, but not so long that an unprepared person can press that button.

    1. BaCoN says:

      I take it you’re American?

    2. Zekiel says:

      Yes I entirely agree with this. Even after I’d got use to the existence of QTE in the game, they came infrequently enough that I’d forget about them. Then one would turn up, I’d look down at my controller to try and remember which button it was telling me to press, and by the time I did the chance had passed. I didn’t hug Leonardo :-(

      1. Aldowyn says:

        The 360 is actually pretty intuitive, if you’re used to a controller. Especially since it has that handy button guide in the top right. Which it STILL does on the PC, despite those buttons not existing.

        I love lazy PC ports (Mass Effect – definition of a good PC port. Of course, it came out after the 360 version, so…)

  14. Rayen says:

    ummm… wow my comment seems rather unimportant now, what with the european friends not being able to watch…

    Umm… can i just say the ending right before a fight is kinda annoying. I’m not sure if the game is just syncing up that way or what but yeah, if it can be avoided in the future… I felt it should’ve ended right you got the quest from the sister… just saying…

    But yeah WTF europe? why you no let people watch?! D=<

  15. Daemian Lucifer says:

    Two solutions for everyone who cant see the video:
    Download it here
    or
    Block your country with this.

    1. nerdpride says:

      In Soviet Union, you block country!

      But seriously, I don’t understand how that option works. The countries have an agreement with youtube regarding some IPs? Or is it based in the provider?

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        I think it is ip based.So youtube reads your ip and decides whether to let you watch it or not.If you mask your ip,then you cant be blocked.

  16. SlowShootinPete says:

    Why so lack of closing credits, bro?

    1. Rayen says:

      because of excessive opening credits.

      … bro…

      1. SlowShootinPete says:

        I’m so used to the credits being at the end, it’s jarring.

        1. PAK says:

          The entire Mass Effect 2 season had the credits front-loaded the same way. Josh has never boxed himself into a single format in that regard. Since the ME2 run was the first season I watched extensively, this actually feels back to normal for me.

  17. Entropy says:

    I can see it in the UK.

    1. Shatterer says:

      Wait, so IMG media UK blocked it in every European country, except the UK?

      1. Jack DeCoeur says:

        Seems to be the case. I can watch in the UK as well. Some kind of annoying irony at work here I feel. Hopefully this’ll get sorted and people’ll be able to watch soon.

      2. Naota says:

        Also Canada, and seemingly everywhere else on the planet. Shamus should use this whole affair to do some reverse-advertising of his own by posting that update regarding Youtube’s terrible guilty-until-proven-innocent-thrice-over copyright system.

  18. Vlad says:

    Joining the blocked crowd from Belgium.

  19. RTBones says:

    Having not played the game, its nice to see the good job they’ve done on the scenery.

    For those who have never been, here’s the inspiration.

  20. zackrid says:

    Also in Sweden it’s blocked by IMG Media.

  21. BaCoN says:

    After some googling about IMG and their tyranny

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZRdAlCeFew

    A solution, of sorts? But man, what the hell.

  22. therandombear says:

    blocked in Norway aswell =(

  23. 4th Dimension says:

    You can access it over: http://hidemyass.com/

    Only problem is that it seriosly limits the quality of the image. Sound is OK.

    1. X2-Eliah says:

      Yeah, this worked. Thank you :)

  24. Daemian Lucifer says:

    16:32 Why did you just say penis out of the blue?

    Also,bad platforming?Really Josh?A game with the best platforming gameplay since ever,and you think its bad?

    1. Zukhramm says:

      Assassin’s Creed has platforming?

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        What else would you call jumping from roof to roof?

        1. James says:

          Parkor, i actually really enjoyed the platforming, except when it threw me off a building to my death

          1. Thomas says:

            Personally I don’t tend to call it platforming when it just consists of you telling your character where to go and the game taking you there.

            I don’t even know what to call it? Light problem solving? Being able to point the stick in the direction of the jutting out ledge? Working out those shutters with cracks are unclimable, as opposed to those shutters with slightly wider cracks and window frames?

            I mean with Assassins Creed the only problem you face is when the game decides you wanted to climb that chimney stack or leap onto object B when you really didn’t want to>

            Heck the design principle behind the whole game is to let the game play itself for you. Which is appropriate. It’s like they designed the game for Desmond and not you

            1. Daemian Lucifer says:

              When you put it like that,shooters arent shooters then because you just point where you want to shoot and the character shoots the gun for you.Strategies arent strategies because you just tell your guys where to go,and they pick a path on their own.

              And do we need a character so dumb that if you miss a keystroke by a fraction of a second,he wont jump from a ledge but rather plummet to his death?

            2. Raygereio says:

              Personally I don't tend to call it platforming when it just consists of you telling your character where to go and the game taking you there.

              I’m really curious as to what you would consider a real platformer then.

              1. Zukhramm says:

                Mario is a good example.

              2. Khizan says:

                Mario. Most any of his games, but Super Mario 64 is the first thing I think of when I’m looking for a “real” 3d platforming game. Tomb Raider would be another. Pretty much any game with a jump button that requires me to do careful precision jumping.

                Let’s say I’m trying to quickly run across a set of rooftops, then leap up to the next level. They’re all in a straight line.

                Mario 64: I run forward while timing my jumps and ensuring that I don’t fall short or overshoot my goal. I may have to use specific long jumps or high jumps or the like.

                AC2: I hold my run button and push forward on the stick. I either make it or I don’t.

                That’s the big difference to me. AC2 has some things like the advanced wall jump, but for the most part, your jumping is “hold forward and run at the edge”, and the most difficult part of the jumps is fighting the camera into the right angle, which is made even harder because of one of the stupidest things about the game, which is that some jumps give you a specific fixed camera angle ONLY when the timer is running. Want to practice the bungled jump a few times? Hahaha no, go back to the start of this obstacle.

                AC2 is a lot of fun, and the roof-running is the best feature. But it’s not a “real” platformer.

                1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                  Instead of pushing the button repeatedly you just hold it down,and it makes it not a platformer?Sorry,but thats ridiculous.That means that any game where you keeping the button pressed results in constant jumping is not a platformer either(and there are platformers like those).I could also argue that tomb raider isnt real platformer either because it doesnt have actual platforms suspended in mid air like mario.

                  That also means that warcraft 3 isnt a real rts because it has autocasting,and rise of nations isnt an rts because after a bit of idling workers automatically go to the nearest resource gathering building.

                  1. Khizan says:

                    Instead of actually working at the jumps and honing your skills, you move the stick in a direction and your dude jumps from chimney to chimney, swings around a corner on a planter, leaps flagpole to flagpole, grabs onto the balcony, climbs up, dashes across it, bounces across another few flagpoles and lands on the scaffolding you need to be at. Your total input was “hold sprint and forward.”

                    If WCIII was played by holding down a button that automatically handled build order, unit orders, movement, micro, and all the other elements that make up an RTS and essentially played that entire part of the game for you, then yes. It would not be a real RTS.

                    It would not be a real RTS because the game would be automatically handling all the RTS elements for you.

                    Just like how AC2 is not a real platformer because the game automatically handles the vast majority of the platforming elements for you.

                    That’s not necessarily a bad thing; in this case(AC2), I think it’s a good thing. The game would be far less fun if you had to manually make every little jump and mistiming a button would ruin your epic rooftop run.

                    I’m not saying the game is bad, un-fun, or that the lack of real platforming makes it an easy mode scrubtastic game for people who are bad at video games.

                    I’m just saying that it’s not a real platformer. Because it’s not.

                    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                      But warcraft 3 does a huge number of things for you automatically.You just click with your mouse to somewhere,and your units go there,automatically searching for the best route,attacking enemies they encounter there,use their spells,etc.Compare that to older rts games where you had to specifically click the attack button,and then click on the target,or your units would just stand there doing nothing.Or where you had to click the move button,and then on the location.

                      Its called improved gameplay.Platformers arent immune to improvement of gameplay,just like neither one game is.Just because asscreed has improved the platforming part of its gameplay doesnt mean its any less of a platformer than tomb raider.You still are choosing the correct path,when to jump,which building to climb,you only dont fall to your death because your character was too stupid to jump because you were half a second too slow.

                      I know you arent saying anything about the quality of the game.I also know that asscreed isnt really just a platformer,because it has swordplay,stealth and other elements.But,to say that it has no real platforming in it simply because you dont push the button,but rather hold it is ridiculous.

                      But let me ask you this:Do you think that console fps games arent real fps games because they have target assist?

                    2. Raygereio says:

                      A platformer at it’s essence is a game where you have to go from point A to point B and/or clear obstacles via jumping.
                      Do you do this in the AC games? Yes. Therefore the AC games have platforming elements.

                      How precise, forgiving and/or userfriendly the controls are have absolutely nothing to do with in what genre the actual gameplay falls in.

                    3. Aldowyn says:

                      Assassin’s Creed isn’t a PURE platformer. IMO, it’s the best game in recent memory at putting platforming aspects (more than aspects. It’s half the game) in a game that’s not about platforming.

                      Besides, how would you tell your character EXACTLY how to climb? And AC doesn’t correct your jump MUCH, it’s still prettty easy to jump to your death.

                    4. Alexander The 1st says:

                      Ubisoft platformers are…unique, in that they don’t try and make the path you’re supposed to go uniquely indentifiable from the rest of the level. When you add in extra control, it can be harder to figure out where you need to go.

                      I think Yahtzee said it best in…I think his first AC review; probably mis-quoting as “The game gives you more control over how you jump off from a high point, which means even MORE ways to fall hilariously to your death.” He also says at one point (IIRC, one of the PoP games – and again, mis-quoting) “Ubisoft’s fetish with making their level design look exactly the same as the regular landscape means that it becomes harder to tell the difference between a rock jutting out of the wall that you’re supposed to leap to and catch, and the rock jutting out of the wall that’s just there to look pretty.”

                      It’s still a pure platformer, and you still have the freedom to go about how you platform, but they require a minor amount of “We’re going to assume you meant to jump here and not into that pit of doom because, from a character standpoint, Ezio wouldn’t jump into a pit of doom.”

                      That last point is important – I remember a friend of mine talking about The Force Unleashed, with the quick-time events – he was saying that while maybe they should be there, Starkiller should still succeed even if you fail – just have him do something else. At least, I think it was this game – I remember him referring to it being Vader as the PC, and the idea was “Vader wouldn’t make a mistake like that – clearly he meant to do this thing that you meant to do but the controls implied you were doing something stupid, and Darth Vader (In his super-suit, we’re excluding Anakin here) wouldn’t mess up – you must’ve meant to input those controls to do this move.”

                  2. Zukhramm says:

                    And a shooter is a game in which you shoot things. Which means World of Warcraft is a shooter when you play as a hunter.

                    (Replied to the wrong post, sorry.)

                    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                      Except you arent shooting,you are using an ability.One ability of one class even.

                    2. Zukhramm says:

                      That is my point.

                    3. Thomas says:

                      I’m replying to this part just because the reply button doesn’t seem to be there on all posts.

                      @Raygereio. You are even more right than you think you are. Assassins Creed is a game with platforming elements and thus not a platformer, in the same way that Shooters have RPG elements and aren’t RPGs.

                      There are very very few points in the game where you are tested for your platforming ability.

                      The key difference between Assassins Creed and a platformer is that a platformer is a game that provides challenges by testing your jumping ability. Assassins Creed almost never does that, the best thing it does is test your ability to spot bits of wall you can jump to. Therefore it’s more light puzzling than a platformer.

                      Heck by the definitions of platformer you guys have been using FFX-2 and FFXIII is a platformer. You move around obstacles using the jump button. And to be honest there is only slightly more autonomy in jumping in Assassins Creed

                      Assassins Creed would be a platformer is there was often a skill check on the timing, speed and direction of the jump button and that takes up less than a 1% of your game time as things stand. Instead the usual test, as I’ve said, is recognising the direction to press the analogue stick.

                      I’d say it’s an exploratory game with combat and platforming elements. The closest the game gets to a platformer is during the seals and I would happily describe them as platforming levels. Just not the game as one

                    4. Raygereio says:

                      You are even more right than you think you are.

                      It’s amazing how often this is the case and yet it happens not nearly often enough for my liking.

          2. Eärlindor says:

            I’m inclined to agree with James and Daemian here. I really enjoy the platforming in these games. Though I do agree the annoyance it can be at times, like when I accidentally twitch the stick the game will throw me to my death, though IIRC that was more of a problem in AC1. One button serving multiple functions depending on your environment can be pretty annoying as well (though that also ties into the game throwing you off the wall). It’s not perfect, I admit, but overall, I really enjoy it.

        2. Simon Buchan says:

          I’ve seen this style called (environment) traversal gameplay. Platforming is deciding what to execute when in order to pass a challenge the game presents you. Traversal is finding a way from one point to another given a set of tools. In this sense, the Assassin Seal stages in this game, and in Brotherhood the Romulus dungeons and the Animus training are very much platforming. In contrast, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was entirely platforming, and Mirror’s Edge was mostly platforming, though it did actually have a minor traversal element especially with “Runner’s vision” turned off, or you were actively looking for the alternate paths.

          1. Aldowyn says:

            I really loved the Assassin Seal stages, actually. They WERE more puzzle than what most people consider a true platformer, but there were definitely reaction and precision parts involved too.

    2. Entropy says:

      I believe he was basically calling his brother a dick.

  25. Wolverine says:

    Keepvid does not work for me :(
    Question: Could some American download it with it or jDownloader or whatever and upload it on Rapidshare or whatever?
    Pretty please?

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      Try this.It worked for me.Sure,it has some ads,but you can disable it after you watch the video.

    2. Moriarty says:

      http://hidemyass.com/ is another free proxy side, altough it is down from time to time as well. I just keep a couple of them bookmarked, so I can switch to another one if need be.

  26. Airsoftslayer93 says:

    I just loved the start of this game, even though the race bugged when i first played it, such a good setting… the atmosphere was just perfect.

    1. Aldowyn says:

      Obviously you mean the beginning with Ezio, not Desmond.

  27. Peter H. Coffin says:

    Time for your musical friend to lay the smack down again? It sounds like from some websearches that their justification is people usually using unlicensed tunes for their show themes, and … you’re licensed.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      I remember Spoony saying once that he switched from youtube because of numerous problems with licensing,one of which was with his opening theme,which he had the permission from the authors for.So yes,youtube is a stupid,stupid place.

      1. Drexer says:

        It’s not unfortunately. They’re just complying with the law. Stupid, irresponsible law.

        It’s just that because they’re the bigger fish, the scammers flock mainly to their videos.

        1. Daemian Lucifer says:

          I dont mind them doing things by the book,I mind them doing nothing afterwards.If you make something that is in accordance to the law,and have all the permissions,yet the youtube removes your video and asks you to follow procedures to prove them wrong,then they should follow through and see who is right in the end,instead of leaving videos in a limbo where they are half there and half removed.

          1. Zukhramm says:

            But if you do make the counter claim and succeed they do restore your video.

            1. Daemian Lucifer says:

              Maybe sometimes.They didnt do it for me,nor did they do it for LittleKuriboh,and numerous others.

              1. Cordance says:

                You tube just needs a service where you can list the copy writes used with in the video and reasons for use. AKA fair play review use, owned license etc. However you tube takes the lazy easy way out which is their call and busyness model cant blame them to much but it does leave room for better people to move in.

    2. Jabrwock says:

      So they’re copyright trolls? The US has notice and takedown, but there are penalties for falsely claiming you own the rights to the media you’re filing a takedown notice for.

      How does it work in the UK?

  28. RariowunIrskand says:

    I almost feel good that so many people got the video blocked. At least I know now that it’s not that the world hates Spain.

    So yeah, that sucks. Also, Shamus said in the previous video “If we run into issues with DRM, we stop with this”. I know this isn’t DRM, but it’s still copyright jerkassness. I hope you don’t stop though, I’m looking forward to more of this.

  29. HeroOfHyla says:

    I like how when you mentioned how much more colorful this game was than the first one, every single thing on screen was a shade of brown or red.

    1. Otters34 says:

      Well, most of Assassin’s Creed was greyish, so this is an improvement over that. But yeah, everywhere in the game has two filters: blue for night, gold for day. Except DLC-Land(Romagna), which is all-grey and very gloomy for it. But that place is a water-logged swamp on the coast so there is some justification.

      1. Entropy says:

        And Monteriggoni is pretty dank until you renovate it a lot.

  30. Actually that trapezoidal building thing isn’t that uncommon even in modern architecture. Grid street plans that allow for nice rectangular buildings are almost unique to the U.S.

  31. Eärlindor says:

    I never understood the hate for combat in this game. What would be the point? The control scheme is already complicated. In a game like AC (basically kinda what Josh said), I think it is what it needs to be.

    On another note: I love the environments in these games. I love running and climbing across buildings, and I particularly enjoy climbing the tallest towers I can find and jumping off them. For AC1, it was the cathedral in Acre. In AC2… I -think- the tallest tower is the cathedral in this very episode?

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      I think venice has much taller towers than this cathedral.Im not sure though.

      1. Aldowyn says:

        Yeah, that’s not even that high I don’t think. You go WAY up there for a couple.

        The combat isn’t about the basics, it’s about all the fancy stuff you have to do later on, like combos and counters and dodges and disarms and… you get my point.

    2. Pete says:

      I dont know about the majority of the internet, but in my case I found the combat, above all things, FUN. I mean okay yeah you can mash one button and it works just fine, but you can also block and counter-attack, run away and then stab the guards climbing after you the second they climb up to the roof, or just take their sword away and stab them with it.

      Anyway, back to actually watching the video. Bet all this gets pointed out in the next two minutes?

      1. Eärlindor says:

        Yes, I agree! There’s all kinds of crazy fun stuff you can do, and the additions in Brotherhood are better.

        I do remember with distaste how very difficult it was to pull off a combo in AC1, and I ended up using nothing but counters (which is still a healthy chunk of my playing style, probably because of that). I was so glad they fixed that when AC2 came around.

      2. Khizan says:

        My only problem was that the counter attacks are so much more effective than regular attacks that I find the best way to fight is to just sit there and wait for them to swing.

        If I’m completely surrounded, then sure, it’s time to start swinging at people and comboing and target switching rapidly to generate space and keep them back. But 3-4 people? If you can’t land the way, way, way, way too easy assassinations with the wrist knife, then it’s counter, counter, counter.

        Ok, that’s another problem I had, actually. Walk up to guards, double assassinate with the wrist blades, double assassinate another pair, single assassinate the last one. This isn’t even stealthy, this is walking right up to the door they’re guarding and mashing the button with full animations and everything.

        A third problem would be that Ezio can take way too much punishment and medicine is too powerful. Rather than a stealthy assassin, I feel more like a bruiser forced to play certain missions stealthy because the game’s name is “Assassin’s Creed” and not “Juggernaut’s Story”. I laugh at the missions that require outlandish preparations for stealth, because I know that I could just walk in and take the entire guard garrison in a straight fight.

        So, okay. Three major problems with the combat, but the game is still a lot of fun, and I don’t actually notice most of these problems when I’m playing, because I’m too busy having fun.

        1. Eärlindor says:

          And holy cow!, with Brotherhood, all you have to do is successfully execute one counter move, then pressing the attack button at a steady interval, you can automatically kill everyone surrounding you. Craziness. Though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.

          1. Aldowyn says:

            Assassin’s Creed has been steadily decreasing in difficulty by buffing the HECK out of the protagonist every game.

            And the AI being laughily horrible and only having one dude attack you at once. And with you being invincible during a counter attack, which USUALLY kills the enemy… yeah. Easy.

  32. l23184 says:

    I can’t watch this due to IMG media uk blocking it in my country ://

      1. l23184 says:

        Thanks, that worked :D

  33. Chuck says:

    Wait, history, platforming, sandbox, and not oppressively brown?

    Great, another game I want to get because of Spoiler Warning. This is what happens when you only watch TV ads…

    1. Aldowyn says:

      Assassin’s Creed is one of my favorite series, and certainly one of the more original.

      The story is VERY WTF, though.

  34. Eruanno says:

    Video works in Sweden now! I don’t know what changed but… I’m watching it now. Woo!

  35. Works now, didn’t work five minutes ago… hope it’s solved for all

  36. TheSlider says:

    I can see the video here in France. Was it unblocked or is France an exception ?

    1. Raygereio says:

      Nope; it’s unblocked. Hoorah!

  37. Falcon_47 says:

    IT’S SOLVED!!!

  38. zob says:

    Since we can all watch the video now, I’d like to point out that this game’s soundtrack is kinda awesome.

  39. littlefinger says:

    If we can leave the discussion re: copyright cla(i)ms behind for a second, I’d like to point out the most awesome mood-swing I’ve ever seen in a game, the discussion with your sister:

    “He was going to marry me and I love him and we’ll have beautiful blonde-haired princes and everything would have been perfect …

    BRING ME HIS HEAD!”

    1. Drexer says:

      Didn’t notice that before, but you’re really right… what a tsundere sister…

      1. Aldowyn says:

        I’m pretty sure this is a case of someone not recording all their lines at once and not knowing the context.

        Plus a bit of tsundere.

    2. Daemian Lucifer says:

      If I remember correctly,she is a teen,so thats nothing odd.

      1. Irridium says:

        A rich teen at that.

  40. Drexer says:

    I don’t know if I should admit this, but I ahd the same problem that Josh had with those shoulder-straps… forgot about the damn shift key.

    I guess the context-sensitive jumps really are accurate only relatively to the person. Here for instance every move Josh made was clear to me that it would happen due to his positioning and camera. Camera which by the way I predict will be getting on my nerves quite a lot because Josh doesn’t move it as carefully as I’m used to.

    Gotta say I’m loving the theme of always ending with someone offering you a knuckle sandwich though.

  41. Destrustor says:

    Uh, since it’s in Italy, shouldn’t the ice cream stand be a gelato stand?

  42. Methermeneus says:

    I feel like, as an Italian, I should be insulted by the fact that everyone speaks with a stereotypical Italian accent in spite of the fact that they’re all native speakers speaking to each other, which should translate to English with regional English-language accents (in Florence, British would probably be best), but I find myself too amused to care.

    1. Johan says:

      For the most part I’ve found “speaks with an accent” to be the perfect shorthand for “speaking in their own language.” It just clicks really well in the brain.

      1. Methermeneus says:

        That can be true, but it always seems weird that they would all have accents when they’re all speaking not only the same language, but the same regional dialect/accent. It’s not as bad if they’re as consistent as AC2 has been so far, though. (Although, I don’t get the bits of Italian thrown in. Good for flavor, I suppose, but if they understand each other, the audience ought to understand as well without needing the subtitles.) The really weird examples are things like The Hunt for Red October, in which half the Russians have Russian accents, half have English accents, and Sean Connery has a Sean Connery accent.

        (Seriously, what is that? And don’t say Scottish because he doesn’t sound like any other Scotsman I’ve ever heard either. My favorite phonetic rule is “/s/ –> [ʃ] // Sean Connery” (“is is realized as esh in the context of Sean Connery”))

        1. Johan says:

          Yeah, but the flipside is when everyone speaks crisp and perfect English, there are inevitably people who come out of the woodwork for the game being racist and whitewashing a foreign culture into “all American all the time.”

          1. Aldowyn says:

            Assassin’s Creed 2 is very consistent in when it uses Italian, and it reminds you that they ARE speaking Italian. They do it with curse words (CAZ**), and then with greetings and other easily recognizable phrases.

            One thing the series is REALLY good at is getting the atmosphere of the environment right. Better use of historical environments (shucks, history itself) than any other series I personally have seen.

      2. drlemaster says:

        I saw a couple of episodes of ‘Allo ‘Allo (a fairly unremarkable British comedy set in Nazi-occupied France, vaguely Hogan’s Heroes-ish), and they used accents to signify which language was being spoken. I found this to be vaguely clever, although it fell a bit flat when they tried to use it a a gag on its own.

  43. As absolutely ridiculous the leaps of faith can be, I think it is super satisfying to leap off the tallest buildings. The church viewpoint in Acre from AC1 is my favorite out of the series. like so

    1. Aldowyn says:

      I’m pretty sure there are ones in AC2 higher (there was at least one that was absolutely ridiculous), but that one was SO far higher than anything else… at least in Acre. I think each city had one ridiculously high one, but that was the highest.

  44. Sydney says:

    That crow-looking doctor reminds me of something out of Pathologic.

    Also:

    “A minute is all I need.”
    “Indeed.”

    ICE BURN

  45. noahpocalypse says:

    As far as your criticisms of the combat go:

    Play Brotherhood. The combat in that game is a LOT of fun. Once you perform a combo/counterattack (any special move in general) until you get hit or stop mashing the button, you can pull off the crazy stuff. AC2’s combat was sort of repetitive, but Brotherhood was a surprising amount of fun.

    1. Vect says:

      Then they’ll just complain about how broken it is.

  46. NonEuclideanCat says:

    Man, I really hope Ezio remembered to wear protection, there. Otherwise, he might wind up filling Christina with his assassin’s seed.

    I mean, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m here to see parkour and murder. I don’t want to watch assassins breed.

    1. Vect says:

      Well, they do fill in on the history between her and Ezio in Brotherhood. It doesn’t end well.

      Also, it apparently took Ezio to be in his 50/60’s to actually get around to fathering Desmond’s line. No doubt he’s got plenty of other illegitimate heirs around or he practices protection (or what counts as it in this era).

    2. Zekiel says:

      Groan and double groan!

    3. Methermeneus says:

      Dammit, Rutskarn, look what you’ve started!

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        He is quite an assassins lead.

    4. Alexander The 1st says:

      I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm here to see parkour and murder. I don't want to watch assassins breed.

      So I imagine you don’t want to watch a let’s play of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood then.

      As for Ezio, he makes a living looting people, so we won’t have to worry about child support. There’ll be plenty of assassins feed.

  47. Raynooo says:

    You gotta admit, that shot of Florence with the title floating and Jesper Kyd’s (I think it’s him) music IS a pretty cool intro.

    Also, monuments and overall maps of the cities try to be as faithful as possible (though there is at least a 1:4 scale applied to many thing such as city size, monuments being closer to a 1:2 scale).

  48. Aldowyn says:

    What I really love about this series and what it does best is it’s atmosphere – which the architecture is a HUGE part of. If you look at AC1 and then AC2, the environments FEEL entirely different, and since they are based so heavily on the original (I think they’re actually genuinely based on the layouts of the real city, with some artistic license for gameplay purposes)

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