ASSASSIN'S CREED II: DISCOVERY (DS)
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Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Griptonite Games. Released: November 2009. Genre: 2D Platformer. Posted 8th July 2013. By Tom Clare © 2013 |
For portable gamers tired of being handed kid-brother versions of home console hits, Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery will come as something of a treat. Realising that trying to recreate the elaborate, bustling open-world facades of the HD games on more modest hardware specs would be tantamount to gaming suicide, talented developer Griptonite (who were later responsible for the almost indecently addictive DS port of Bejeweled 3) opted instead to mould a fast-paced, 2D platformer. Capturing the distinctive look and iconography of the series, the gameplay itself bares more than a passing similarity to Prince of Persia Classic, and it’s pretty damn good too.
Discovery is set fifteen years after the beginning of the Assassin’s Creed II arc, and sees central protagonist and all-round assassin good-guy Ezio Auditore travelling to Spain to investigate the disappearance of members of his brethren. It’s set against the backdrop of another sinister Templar plot, thought to be orchestrated once again by Rodrigo Borgias, with levels crafted as short, lively affairs lasting anywhere between thirty seconds and ten minutes.
Perhaps inevitably, the locales aren’t as evocative or immersive as their home console equivalents, but Discovery is still an enjoyable play. It carries across a good sprinkling of the series’ trademark features without ever feeling like they’ve been shoehorned in as a box-ticking exercise. You’ve got the kind of wall-climbing, ledge-leaping, guard-slaying acrobatic action the series has become renowned for, but it has all been neatly streamlined and compacted into a quick, satisfying and accessible gameplay experience. You can grasp the basic idea within a minute or two, but finding the best routes and the most potent tactics will require much practice, so the game’s sub-title of Discovery comes to feel an entirely appropriate one.
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Ezio controls great, proving very responsive in his movements and jumps whilst stealth kills and their transitions are also pleasantly smooth. Recognisable facets of the AC universe are drip-fed to the player, and are well-integrated. Hanging off the top part of a ledge will allow you to pull a hapless guard over should he wander close enough, whilst hanging bars can be used to swing between walls, which in themselves offer a myriad of different routes through a level, as taking the ground route may be more direct than the rooftops, but it’s also more likely to be populated with guards. Hay bails and barrels grant Ezio quick hiding spots to dive into, whilst throwing-knives prove a handy addition to Ezio’s arsenal later on and though not all of these features are necessarily uber-essential, they all fit snugly.
It’s a class product, and impressively-constructed given the hardware Griptonite were having to accommodate. The lead character looks suitably dynamic, replete with excellent, silky-smooth animations, whilst the backgrounds act as a veritable trove of wonderful little details. Rarely distracting and indeed sometimes easy to overlook entirely, there’s plenty of activity and goings-on in the distance. A particularly good one is a palace interior, as whenever the camera zooms in for a stealth takedown, you’ll see scenes of anarchy and people legging it up flights of stairs, or get a closer look at paintings or bookcases that line the walls. The distinct, brilliant-white menus are as sleek as ever too – it’s just a shame some of the secondary characters look a little crummy.
Admittedly, the story fails to conjure a yarn worthy of its impressive lineage – you won’t remember the humdrum goings-on or the characters themselves, though the voicing is pretty good – but it’s just enough to keep things ticking-over between the quick-fire levels. And there are plenty of ‘em; more than thirty in total, comprising of conventional ‘reach the exit’ stages; some tense stealth segments where Ezio can only afford to be spotted a trio of times, and some raucously-enjoyable ‘chase’ sections, invariably seeing you guide the assassin over rooftops whilst being pelted with arrows.
It’s a class product, and impressively-constructed given the hardware Griptonite were having to accommodate. The lead character looks suitably dynamic, replete with excellent, silky-smooth animations, whilst the backgrounds act as a veritable trove of wonderful little details. Rarely distracting and indeed sometimes easy to overlook entirely, there’s plenty of activity and goings-on in the distance. A particularly good one is a palace interior, as whenever the camera zooms in for a stealth takedown, you’ll see scenes of anarchy and people legging it up flights of stairs, or get a closer look at paintings or bookcases that line the walls. The distinct, brilliant-white menus are as sleek as ever too – it’s just a shame some of the secondary characters look a little crummy.
Admittedly, the story fails to conjure a yarn worthy of its impressive lineage – you won’t remember the humdrum goings-on or the characters themselves, though the voicing is pretty good – but it’s just enough to keep things ticking-over between the quick-fire levels. And there are plenty of ‘em; more than thirty in total, comprising of conventional ‘reach the exit’ stages; some tense stealth segments where Ezio can only afford to be spotted a trio of times, and some raucously-enjoyable ‘chase’ sections, invariably seeing you guide the assassin over rooftops whilst being pelted with arrows.
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Though not always pin-sharp, there's plenty of little details to admire
Discovery will really appeal to the perfectionists, who can go back over levels trying to attain “100% Synch”, which typically involves taking little damage, assassinating a predetermined number of guards, and completing the stage quickly. It’s marvellous when it all comes together, and the combat, which has been criticised for its simplicity in the HD games, seems more fitting on a handheld, with the onus being on counterattacking and the deft timing of blocks. It’s quick and to-the-point, but demands skill too.
There is the odd foible, such as the A.I. guards going a bit bonkers whenever they are alerted to your presence, often throwing themselves clean off ledges Lemmings-style in their attempts to reach you. The quality of the levels is appreciable, though it’s very much a dip-in, dip-out experience, as despite the incentive of increasing your scores and the prospect of tackling Hard mode, its one you’ll likely play for days, rather than weeks or months.
Still, developers deserve credit when they take a different approach. Discovery doesn’t fall into the same trap that befalls many handheld spin-offs, as though it can’t match the main Assassin's Creed games for scope, grandeur or immersion, it rarely loses sight of where its successes lie – playability and enjoyment. So whilst it isn’t perfect, Griptonite’s 2D adventure–sprinkled platformer is a real gamer's game.
There is the odd foible, such as the A.I. guards going a bit bonkers whenever they are alerted to your presence, often throwing themselves clean off ledges Lemmings-style in their attempts to reach you. The quality of the levels is appreciable, though it’s very much a dip-in, dip-out experience, as despite the incentive of increasing your scores and the prospect of tackling Hard mode, its one you’ll likely play for days, rather than weeks or months.
Still, developers deserve credit when they take a different approach. Discovery doesn’t fall into the same trap that befalls many handheld spin-offs, as though it can’t match the main Assassin's Creed games for scope, grandeur or immersion, it rarely loses sight of where its successes lie – playability and enjoyment. So whilst it isn’t perfect, Griptonite’s 2D adventure–sprinkled platformer is a real gamer's game.
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VERDICT
Visual: 7/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Longevity: 6/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |