But an amazing open world with a game in it as good as Assassin’s Creed II doesn’t necessarily need a good story. This gloriously interactive, breathing marvel is leaps and bounds ahead of other videogames, and it’s yet another instance of the geniuses at Ubisoft Montreal schooling the rest of the industry. Until someone else out there can take me to a place as grand as Venice, I shall think of Assassin’s Creed II whenever I hear Arthur C. Clarke’s axiom that any sufficiently awesome videogame is indistinguishable from magic.
— Assassin’s Creed II Review > Xbox 360 | Crispy Gamer