Assassin's Creed 2 is exactly what the first should have been and more, it improves on everything the first game was criticized for.
Starting literally seconds after the first, AC 2 starts with Desmond staring at the writing on the wall of his room at Abstergo when Lucy enters inciting they leave. On their way out they're attacked, Desmond and Lucy must fight their way out. After leaving Abstergo they arrive in a warehouse were Desmond is introduced to two new characters. Finally after a quick intro to the characters, Desmond enters the Animus 2.0. You can call me lazy but I won't get into the rest of the story because it's crazy, let me just say it raises more question then answers.
Gameplay in AC 2 is split into three different styles Combat, Exploration and Assassinations. Combat is still very much the same as the first but this is a good thing, have counter attack right from the start is a bit crazy because besides a few fights you can win any fight by holding the right trigger and waiting to press X. Besides that the combat is amazing, the addition of unarmed combat is great and having a ton of different weapon choices is also awesome. The Exploration in AC 2 is much better then AC, Ezio seem like a much better climber then Altair because he climbs faster and smoother. Assassin's Creed had amazing climbing animation and AC 2 is pretty much the same but it feels smoother and cleaner, Ezio never looks like a robot. AC 2's collectibles are much better then the first, instead of pointless flags the game has Glyph, 100 Feathers and 8 Statuettes with all of which giving you something. What's a game with Assassin in the title without Assassinations and AC 2 has some fairly good, if not repetitive, assassinations. Assassination's feel a bit weird, some are great and others are boring. Overall gameplay is great, many issues were addressed, AI are smarter, Mission are less repetitive and is overall a much better game, gameplay wise.
The presentation of Assassin Creed 2 is undoubtedly the best part, the cities alone showcases this games power with the city streets filled with pedestrian who react to everything you do. Besides Ezio and a few other characters, most of the character's facial feel flat, also the blood look bad. The games original score is amazing, although I didn't like the races side missions, I would play them just to hear to epic music.
Assassin's Creed 2 is a great game with a few issues, the game is fun but a bit repetitive and the overall game is pretty short, but if you want a good weekend game this is it, Remember "Nothing is true, Everything is Permitted."