PauseBreak: ‘Assassin’s Creed 2’ is what a sequel should be

When I hear the word "assassin," I think of a man clad in a black suit with a sniper rifle toppling governments or, on occasion, a ninja.

However, Ubisoft Entertainment has changed how I think with "Assassin’s Creed 2."

Now I think of a man in a white cloak jumping all over buildings, hunting down his foes and ending it quickly in what is typically an epic fashion.

"Assassin’s Creed 2" has players take on the role of Desmond Miles, a modern day descendant of the assassins of old.

While the last game involved Desmond living through his ancestor Altair’s memories to help the Templars, this game starts off with his escape from the evil Templar-controlled Abstergo company and joining assassins to stop them.

Again, Desmond lives through an ancestor’s memories, but instead of Altair, players take on the role of Ezio Auditore, an Italian man during the Renaissance.

Ezio has yet to become an assassin, so when he starts his training after his family’s brutal murder, Desmond learns his skills so that he may use them in the present day.

This game also features several prominent characters of the time, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli.

The main villain is also a character from history, Rodrigo Borgia, also known as Pope Alexander VI.

That’s right, you have to fight the Pope in this game.

The gameplay itself is a solid redesign from that in the first "Assassin’s Creed."

Players still climb around cities and jump into bales of hay from high churches, inexplicably surviving, always looking for the fastest route to the target.

The mission system has been revamped entirely.

In the first game, Altair had to do the same missions to collect intel before he could assassinate his target, which was boring and repetitive.

Here, Ezio performs several types of missions before each assassination, but they vary in style from each other.

For one mission, players have to pickpocket women’s ribbons to win a contest.

For another, Ezio must drive a horse-drawn carriage and protect Da Vinci and his works from bandits.

No two missions are alike.

The weapons that Ezio gets are pretty amazing, too.

Starting with a regular sword, Ezio can upgrade to a hammer or scimitar if he wants.

He can also disarm his opponents in combat and take their weapons, allowing him access to spears and axes.

Also, Da Vinci will upgrade Ezio’s official assassin weapon, the hidden blade, over time, allowing him to poison his opponents or, for the final upgrade, shoot them with a hidden pistol.

"Assassin’s Creed 2" also has an impressive story.

Players get to watch as Ezio goes from a spoiled child to a moderately mature adult who wants to do the right thing.

However, this game very much feels like the middle of a series.

Playing and beating this game is like watching "The Empire Strikes Back:" it’s a great thing on its own, but you need to watch "A New Hope" and "Return of the Jedi" to get the whole story.

Hopefully, Ubisoft will release the next installment soon.

"Assassin’s Creed 2" is available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 now and is expected to be released for PC in March 2010.

People who love Parkour or the Renaissance won’t be disappointed with this game.

Grade: A