Assassin’s Creed was a double-edged sword to many people — myself included. For all the thrilling executions, there were repetitive missions. For all the breathtaking scenery, there were annoying beggars getting in your way. For all the complex machinations, there were repetitive missions. And for all the nonstop action and adventure, there were repetitive missions. Assassin’s Creed II is a sequel in every way imaginable. Luckily, it isn’t a film, so that is a very good thing.

Assassin’s Creed II departs from the bland, one-trick homicidal pony that was protagonist Altair. You will play as our lovable unlucky protagonist Desmond again, but his (boring) segments are few and far between this time around. No, you’ll be reliving much more interesting memories while playing as Desmond’s ancestor, Ezio Auditore de Firenze. Ezio is four times the name and four times the personality that Altair was. He’s tough, agile and always gets the job done. He’s pretty good outside the bedroom, too.

Anyway, Ezio gets his own backstory and a family to boot. They even get killed by the Templars! How is that for character development, Altair? Ezio vows to get revenge on those that killed his loved ones. Luckily, his father turned out to be an assassin, and so Ezio has plenty of tools to aid in his revenge. The coolest of these being that Ezio gets retractable knives on both hands. So, he is also literally twice the assassin Altair was.

For the most part, gameplay strongly resembles that of its predecessor: you’ll run, jump, climb, walk the tightrope and dive off buildings with ease. The control scheme is carried over from the first game and remains as tight and fluid as ever. The combat got carried over as well, and it is as clunky and awkward as it was before. You block and let your enemy wale on you until you get the chance to insta-kill counter. It slows the action as much as it did in the first game and is probably the biggest flaw. Now, on to more compliments before I get assassinated!

Some of the new elements include the ability to cloak in any crowd of people, change the color of your clothes, swim, perform a double backstab and collect revenue from your headquarters. These are very useful, kinda neat, incredibly useful, situational and confusing in that order. An economy system is introduced in Assassin’s Creed II and allows Ezio to pimp his home using money he gets, which increases the “allowance” he can collect. You start slow, but fairly quickly into the game, you’ll get more cash than you could ever hope to use. The best armor in Assassin’s Creed II is free, and everything else is dirt cheap so essentially you’ll have endless medicine and ammo.

The most noticeable improvement from the last game is the overhaul of the mission structure. Rather than doing the same three or four tedious errands to gather intel on the target, Ezio finds himself in all kinds of adventures on the road to Murdertown. The missions vary from silently sneaking into a castle to dispatching archers from a rooftop to — I kid you not — a game of capture the flag. Each task you’re asked to do has some connection to helping Ezio find and “handle” his targets. Along the way, you’ll meet interesting people, seduce attractive women and share a manly hug with Leonardo da Vinci. In short, good times to be had.

Overall, the visuals in Assassin’s Creed II do an exemplary job of making you feel as though you are in late 15th century Italy. The cities you’ll visit (including Venice and Florence) are sprawling, and the buildings are intricately detailed. The inhabitants are as fun to mess with as they were before and again react realistically to the things you do or the mayhem you cause. The scenery isn’t without its defects, however. The textures get noticeably gritty at times, and the close-ups during conversations only enhance the focus on the average-looking character models.

This time around, replacing the infamously tenacious beggar women of the first game are bards. These guys sing to you and blow your cover quickly in the process. You’ll grow to hate them intensely, and the game will get harder by placing three or four of them near an objective. However, a delicious knuckle sandwich usually handles them effectively enough without drawing too much attention to you. Everybody hates minstrels after all.

New equipment is made available by bringing assassin blueprints to everyone’s favorite Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci. He’ll build equipment for you and train you in its function. Thankfully, all of the equipment is gained as part of the story, so there’s no chance of missing out. Ezio’s tricks include the previously mentioned double stabby combo, smoke bombs, poison blades, throwing knives and a gun. The gun is obtained close to the end of the game, so it really only makes it unfair for your enemies around the time you’ve mastered them anyway. Still, you’d think blasting a swordsman in the face from a mile away would be against the assassin’s code of ethics or something.

The story is well-crafted, and you’ll see Desmond develop alongside his great (great great great) grandpa Ezio. Desmond’s sections are mostly for developing this plot Ubisoft seems to slowly want to bring to the present day and the inevitable game solely featuring Desmond. The Assassin’s Creed II doesn’t end with any more closure than the first one did, and — without spoiling — it’s suffice to say there will be an Assassin’s Creed III . Heck, we’ll probably barely hit the Civil War by Assassin’s Creed VI at this rate. That could be a very good thing, however, if every game in the series gets as exponentially better than the previous as this one did. It is an improvement in every way on a game that was already great. It gets a buy from me, and I’m not just saying that because of that suspicious shadowy figure outside.