Assassin's Creed II - Game of the Year Edition (Europe)
PlayStation 3
🇮🇹🇵🇱🇷🇺
Reviewed in 2010
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✪ Reviewed on July 18, 2023
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AC II Game of the Year Edition includes all DLC (Battle of Forlì, Bonfire of the Vanities). The most complete version of a masterpiece, Ezio Auditore in the full Italian Renaissance.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player18+
Description
Game of the Year edition of Assassin's Creed II bundling the base game with the Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities expansions. Published by Ubisoft, released in 2010 across Europe, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. Ezio Auditore's vendetta in Renaissance Italy, Florence, Venice, Forli and Tuscany to explore, dual hidden blades, Leonardo's machines, Monteriggioni villa economy and additional narrative missions.
Assassin's Creed II - Game of the Year Edition review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
Historical recreations of astonishing breadth, from the rooftops of Florence to the sunlit Caribbean: each era lives again with a dizzying care for detail. The architectural coherence and worked-over light turn History into a sumptuous playground. This visual ambition, vast and polished, defines the historical open world.
Signed by Jesper Kyd, the music blends ambient pads, ethereal choirs and Renaissance sonorities to dress Ezio's Italy. The sublime "Ezio's Family", of a poignant melancholy, became an instant anthem. This refined, atmospheric sonic identity ranks among the finest of the saga.
Witness to the murder of his family, a young Renaissance Florentine embraces the way of the Assassins to slake his revenge. Blending real history, Templar conspiracy and apprenticeship, the tale lends its hero a striking humanity. This vibrant fresco, carried by an unforgettable Ezio, redefined the narrative ambition of the series.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Scaling the rooftops of Florence and Venice, planning your assassinations and diving into a gripping plot at the heart of the Renaissance: this entry lays the foundations of a formula turned cult. The fluidity of the parkour and the joy of free movement grab you from the very first steps. Rich, immersive and superbly made, a peak of historical open-world adventure.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Scaling cathedrals and rooftops to unlock viewpoints, melting into the crowd, then striking with a hidden blade sets up a loop of urban freedom that always nudges toward the next objective. Contracts, chests and feathers to collect keep the exploration rolling. A few tailing missions wear thin, but the elegance of the parkour and the density of Renaissance Italy hold you for the long haul.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
The most complete edition of the second entry, this Game of the Year version folds the additional DNA sequences in alongside the original campaign. To the game's puzzles, feathers and contracts it adds fresh missions that further pad out the Renaissance journey. This all-in-one makes it the ideal way to experience everything, which props up its standing.
The Game of the Year reissue of Assassin's Creed II, folding the add-on content into a game already seen as the saga's peak. Printed widely as the reference version, it stays common and cheap. Its slight edge over the standard edition is this complete content out of the box, making it the players' preferred cut without creating any collectible scarcity.
Is Assassin's Creed II - Game of the Year Edition still worth playing in 2026?
This Game of the Year edition delivers the Renaissance masterpiece with its add-on content folded in, including the Battle of Forlì and the Bonfire of the Vanities that fill a few gaps in the story. It is quite simply the best way to experience AC II today, with no need to hunt the expansions elsewhere. The game itself has aged beautifully, carried by Florence, Venice and Ezio's rise. For anyone wishing to discover or revisit one of the PS3's peaks in its most complete form, the choice is a natural one.
