AC2 (PC) Screenshots

[Art Blade]

Thanks :) I know you have a packed calendar, tight schedule for games, hehe  ;D

It is incredible. I have spent like 35 hours and have only like 50% of the game so far. Well, I'm playing sequence 10 I believe. Massive!

[spaceboy]

I never did finish all the side assassinations and races and courier jobs etc.  I'm kind of waiting to go back to it and have that stuff available without starting a new game, though I do have an early save game as well.  Yeah - it's a good busy to have though.  It's nice to spoil myself on such great games lately  ??? don't tell the wife  ;)  just kidding, she doesn't care - I think  :-\

[Art Blade]

Hehe :)

You know, of all the characters that play a role in AC2, who really existed, I visited one of the "villas" of one of those families, the Borgia, which originally were Spaniards. I walked around in El Palacio de los Borgia in Valencia, Spain, that's where they originated from. I learned a little bit about their history during a guided tour; later I read a lot about them, too. It was amazing. You wouldn't believe how rich they were, and how influential... they even had a family member elected Pope in 1492 (Rodrigo Borgia, aka Papa Alejandro VI) :) Try wikipedia, many characters of the game who really existed do have very interesting entries :)

[spaceboy]

yes, there are alot of interesting facts they have put into regarding the buildings, areas, and people.  Then there are the glyphs which have truth mixed with speculation and outright conspiracy theory to suit the idea of the series.  But more importantly than the content of these theories I am interested to hear what you think of them from a puzzle standpoint.  The early ones I got on ok, but eventually had to consult the web for a few (particularly the circular puzzles, and a few matching number/symbol puzzles). 

I think you may have more of a knack for that stuff than I do Art, and I'm interested to hear how you do with them.  Finding them on buildings was not so tough, just the puzzles.  Oh and I did consult the web to find every feather  :-[ at the end.

[Art Blade]

I have already considered to consult the web for those darn feathers, when I don't have anything else to do (end game) -- Remembering AC1 (collecting flags), I know I'd be looking eternally for the last few of them  ;D

Regarding those puzzles, well, I don't know if they will get more difficult later on, right now I have only solved like 5 of those (didn't really look out for those glyphs). The ones you mentioned, respectively all of those I solved, I found quite simple. I remember looking for apples in the pictures, later for basket balls (apple of eden), then sharp weapons in pics, then turning circles was quite easy because I have a rather visually working mind. Maybe because of that I found it relatively easy. The only one I didn't quite get was in one of the photos of 18hundred-something, where you saw rows of soldiers, what the heck it was. Even when I found it by systematically clicking imaginary squares the size of the cursor field, I didn't see what I was supposed to recognise.

[Art Blade]

Here some "merc action" -- thugs I hired to finish off some guards. The ones I hired have white V-shaped arrows hovering above their heads. To the left, that treasure, is a message I received just then from my villa, it tells me I should go recollect my money. The next payment will be sacked by "my" sister who had told me she'd grab every florine that exceeds the maximum capacity of that chest (within the next twenty minutes, that is).

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[Art Blade]

I've meant a couple of times to take a pic the moment I chuck myself off a church tower. Now here it is :) Observe Ezio and his shadow (both marked yellow) ;D

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[Art Blade]

Found out something that amuses me: I hired four groups of thugs and sent them after guard patrols. You can see about three (victorious) groups right now, the last one is fighting outside of the borders of that pic. Quite some ruckus, then  ;D

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[Art Blade]

So you can see what everyone is talking about, "codex pages" and the "codex wall"

A) regular view (you see random documents)
B) eagle vision (you see a world map)

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[Art Blade]

Apparently the episodes that came as DLC for the consoles are incorporated into the PC game as "restored memories" which are inverted symbols (exclamation mark and assassin logo are black on white ground). If that is correct, then the following pic should show part of the Battle of Forlì

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[spaceboy]

I like the idea of hiring multiple groups of thugs to start a huge fight!

The glyph puzzles got much harder in my opinion, but you may not find the same problem.

here are some good links for both feathers and glyphs:

feathers:  http://www.thehiddenblade.com/feathers

glyphs: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/assassins-creed-ii-glyphs-and-statuettes-guide/a-20091120161944695091/p-5

[Art Blade]

Thank you very much for those helpful links, space  :) I'll check them when I need them  :-X

Right now, I'm more occupied with this immense story. Since the PC version has all sequences of the DLC in the right order, it seems to take forever! I'm at 55.6% of the memories synchronised (game progress) and 783 people killed, 321 with hidden blades. Still haven't been defeated  :) Also, I could drown a small village in coins, 650+k florines. I wish I had a villa that produced money every 20 minutes  ;D

Here is a moment at the end of a mission (that's when the area dissolves into a 3D grid). It shows a special move that is hard to capture, so I take what I get: Stabbing through the eyes  :)

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[PZ]

Apparently the episodes that came as DLC for the consoles are incorporated into the PC game as "restored memories" which are inverted symbols (exclamation mark and assassin logo are black on white ground). If that is correct, then the following pic should show part of the Battle of Forlì

What great screen shots!  You are correct - although I can't clearly see the two standing on the parapet, one is definitely Catarina, and the other is either Ezio or Machiavelli.  I like the way that the game plays with the "repaired memories".

You've mentioned that you are at sequence 10 - did you complete all of the codex page acquisitions to see the world map on the codex wall?  If so, I've never done that - tried to see the map before arriving at sequence 14.

[Art Blade]

Thank you :) It is catarina and Ezio on that tower.

I think I'm on 11 or 12 now, still related to the Apple. Currently, I have to clean out the city of Florence, remove all captains that are scattered across the city, who are under the influence of that spell. The one I just finished was fun: Kill someone on a guarded boat without getting noticed. And the guy was not exactly unguarded... I finally found an opportunity to use my handgun in a reasonable fashion. That made the job easier :)

Yes, I have all codex pages. Even before that, I was able to identify that puzzle on the wall as being a world map (Africa gave it away).

[PZ]

I just finished getting Altair's armor this morning and then finished sequence 14.  Now, I'm back into 15th century Italy wreaking havoc with side assassination missions and the Templar missions.  I've hardly collected any of the feathers - kind of like FC2, I'm not much into collecting.  I've also not done many of the puzzles either - my favorite thing to do is to battle with guards  ;D

[Art Blade]

Nice :)

If I hadn't got other games in mind to play next, I'd probably take my time and do those side missions (although, Templar missions? I don't think I have any). I collected 33 random feathers, just accidently found them on my way to view points and racing around on rooftops. Those little statues for the villa's garden and secret of grandpa were a matter of minutes, I ran around with eagle view all the time and they glow white in all that dark blue. The glyphs, well, they are relatively easy to find, given you want to. The codex pages are very easy to get, just look on the map and the rest will be given to you during the main mission. So two things I don't spend much time on are glyphs and feathers, the latter one in particular. Oh, well, I did "collect" treasures at the beginning to become rich enough to buy gear to start with, and to investigate considerable amounts in the villa once I got there. That's about it, apart from collecting other people's money I had nicked from their pockets  :)

However, here a tweaked version of Florence at night. It was too dark to enjoy it in the forum's gallery as it was, so forgive me, but you can see a lot more like that.

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[Art Blade]

By the way, it's Sequence 13 already, that Bonfire's mission, where I have to rid that city of 9 lieutenants, one of which was on the ship. Just then, someone singing on that fat dome, got me killed after killing him because those screwed controls actually made me jump off the church missing the haystack. So another death due to the laws of gravity and intuitive, logic and easy steering mechanisms  :D

[Art Blade]

Oh and by the way, I hate those races as much as you do, PZ  :) But I found a cure... the hidden pistol. I've shot many a runner with it, as well as protected targets  ;D

[Art Blade]

Ah, got carried away a little, reading wikipedia's entries about Medici, Savonarola, and other people. Nice trip through history  :)

Girolamo Savonarola's end (in reality, he was first lynched and then burned by the mob, in the game you'll see him burning, too). Well, in this variant, I finished him off with a blade through the neck  ;D And by that, finished sequence 13.

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[Art Blade]

That man can look so cool, if the light is alright  ;)

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[Art Blade]

Alright, I'm through :) Very nice... might be that we'll get to see AC3 some time in the future I reckon.

A goddess... god knows what's next.

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[fragger]

She looks a bit like a TRON character ;D

[Art Blade]

Do you mean Yori?  ;D :-X

[Art Blade]

B) eagle vision (you see a world map)
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Actually I misplaced only one piece: from top left go one to the right and one down (or, one down diagonally) -- that one needs turning and all is good.

[Art Blade]

It's been a while.. but I'm on my second playthrough now. I just solved one particularly nasty Assessin's Tomb quest, San Marco's Secret. During my first through I needed to check a youtube vid to get it done, this time however I managed rather quickly. I didn't really remember how to solve the puzzle but my training from back then and during the current through accumulated, I think, regarding how to climb and jump. I don't have half of the difficulties I had back then, only when the camera view is fixed and at the time I need to jump around corners. That is more a design flaw than lack of ability, especially with a PC and mouse plus keyboard it is a nightmare sometimes.

However, here a glance at what it looks like when you've solved a tomb quest and recollect one of those six seals needed to unlock Altaïr's Armour:

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