Assassin's Creed 2 writer defends perceived slow start as 'necessary'

I understand that it was a "training" session...so its no big deal to me, its a great fucking game

People complained about this?

Assassin's Creed 2 was awesome, who cares about the 'slow' start?

You figure someone had to be a douchebag and complain about something. Of course, no game is perfect but AC2 is an amazing game, maybe even best of the year..

Wait, what? I LOVED the whole game, adolescence and all. It helped introduce Ezio's family, introduced Leonardo as a good guy, and had a crazy amount of intrigue that would lead any 17th century man to kill. It was absolutely fantastic and I wouldn't shorten it if I could.

People never want to make with the foreplay any more - always straight the penetration (of hidden blade on throat, of course!)

I enjoyed the game very thoroughly, and I liked that I had a bit of back story to explain WHY I was running around town jamming knives into throats.

People hate the beginnings of stories now?

I actually really liked the opening.

Though i do admit it could have used a little more action in it for a game. But this made the story flow much more like a novel. You met the character and learned about him saw how he could simply take the shoes of his father easily and gathered why he was so brash to do things quickly. It really made you understand how the character started and then appreciate it more as he ages and becomes far more calculated as he grew older.

As a game though it could have used either some small cuts or at least some more action to spruce up the walk here see a cut scene gameplay it started as.

The training part was great, there was no clear end, like other games where you get trained and then you go straight into it, the whole process was great and it blended well. So much so that i dont really know where the training ended, the whole game is paced great. Bravo to the team, great sequel and great game, well worth the money.

Anyone know if there is any DLC planned?

What the fuck are people complaining about? The start wasn't slow, it was a training area and a build of the characters. I hated the first game, and although I got over half way through it, could not tell you a thing about Altair. Ezio however had a story, depth, and a character who you saw terrible things happened to and wanted to get revenge.

I haven't played Uncharted 2 yet but of all the games I've played this year it's the best so far. The only thing that really needs fixing is Lucy's face.

I didn't think the beginning was slow at all. But, I never played the first AC, so I needed that period to get used to the controls.

I did, however, think the story started to drag near the end. Seemed like Venice just went on and on...

Oh, and they shoulda made the girl he screwed after the horse race more attractive. Ezio lost points with me when he bagged that hag.

After a couple of minutes into the intro, I thought to myself, "Wow, this reeks of Kingdom Hearts 2."

Don't get me wrong though, both games got really good after the intro... 2 hours later.

Picked it up over the weekend and so far its def in my top 3 as the best games of the year. I understand the slow start bitching but its for the fucking story line and its much more well executed than the first one.

Slow beginnings are only a problem when it comes to immediate replay value. I wanted to replay Persona 3 after I beat it, but the thought of going through the intro again turned me off.

At the very start I thought about how slow it was... And I imagine many other people are those who played the first one, or played the first one in preparation for the second one, so they had a frame of reference.

But the problem is they were comparing the first one to the second one. Which in my eyes is much like Star Wars. A New Hope was great but Empire Strikes Back was greater. In pretty much every way the second one was better than the first and even "tasted" different.

So, sure, the start was slow. But there was a point after Ezio had become an assassin that really gripped me. To hear him talk of murder so... nonchalantly, cold and to the point had me ask the question "Is this the same Ezio from the beginning?"

And then the whole slow start became perspective. No longer a carefree vagabond youth nailing his rival's sister, his life and personality has shifted because of events he got swept up in.

The slow start was necessary and justified. It was important for the story.

I enjoyed the pacing. It was like Ezio Begins. Great building up to the "suit". When I finally put it on, I knew there would be much ass kicking to follow.

If you want to read a review that takes the story as the biggest part of the game, check this out:

http://nukoda.com/reviews/review-assassins-creed-ii/

I'm surprised no one here agreed with the complaint...perhaps you all don't remember the beginning of this game? I'm only an hour or so in, so let me tell you what my experience has been like: (1) I come upon a bug after my brother tells me to race him to the top of a church and proceeds to just stand there, while I climb the church, try to talk to people, beat up prostitutes, and get frustrated until I finally kill myself and voila, he starts climbing. (2) I get continually annoyed by the game asking me to confirm whether I want to accept fetch quests that I cannot avoid to progress in the game (why are they giving me an option when there is no real option????) (3) I am told to avenge my father after becoming an assassin, and the game tells me my objective is to 'follow' his killer. After wandering around for 15 minutes and sitting on various benches, I realize that he's just standing in the middle of a square and that by 'follow' the game really meant 'sneak into the square' and kill him. (4) Why on that same mission am I all of a sudden immediately killed for being detected, when right before that I could simply run and hide and evade the guards? stupid. (5) Why am I just now learning the fight controls 30 minutes into the game after already fighting in several situations? (6) Why does this game have some of the ugliest cutscenes I've seen this generation?

I can tell in the short time I've spent with the game that it's not even close to a game of the year contender. Anyone who says that needs to go play Uncharted 2 and Batman: AA...this isn't even in the same league if you ask me.