Assassin’s Creed 2 – Part 2-1

With the death of one failson banker under our belt, our work as an Assassin has truly begun. But before we can take on our next target, we need to grow acclimated to our new life.

Technically, the “standard Ubisoft open world formula” started with the original Assassin’s Creed game, since that one had hundreds of flags scattered across the map to collect as a side activity. However, that was entirely superfluous and easy to ignore. And for that reason, most people didn’t bother.

I would posit that it truly got off the ground with this game, and its direct sequels which would use the same structure. As you can see, Assassin’s Creed 2 is much more overt about presenting its optional and collectible content to players in the story missions, and tying them into the overall narrative. Everything we do has some connection, either to Ezio or to Desmond.

• The Codex Pages were part of Ezio’s family legacy, and collecting them means resolving his father’s unfinished business.
• Naturally, as the landlord of Monterggioni, we want to improve and restore the place for both ourselves and the tenants.
• The Assassin Seals are again tied to Ezio’s family legacy, and that of the Assassin Order he’s now part of.
• The Eagle Feathers are a memento of the younger brother he lost, and a gift to his mother in the hopes that she’ll recover.
• And while the last collectible (which we haven’t done one of yet) isn’t important to Ezio, it is important to Desmond and the Scooby Gang.

This was the secret sauce that tied the whole room together: Making the side content part of the story, and giving the player tangible rewards in turn for engaging with it. I wonder also posit that much of this content (which the exception of the Eagle Feathers) was also executed far better here than it would be in later Ubisoft games (even beyond Assassin’s Creed), when the formula began to grow stale and stagnant.