“Self expression is vital to understanding and enjoying life.”

Trading in the scholars, beggars, and knights of the Holy Land circa the Third Crusade for the bards, courtesans and plague doctors of Renaissance Italy, Assassin’s Creed II improves upon its predecessor in almost every respect. Once again accessing his genetic memories with the aid of future science, modern-day bartender Desmond Miles inhabits a distant ancestor named Ezio Auditore, a charismatic socialite who inherits the mantle of assassin when his father and brothers are framed for treason and publicly executed.

Though I found the first game’s high concept, mystical undertones, and stylish free-running sufficient to justify a playthrough, the general consensus was that Assassin’s Creed didn’t have enough meat on its bones, and/or that it didn’t quite understand how to combine its best elements in a satisfying way. I won’t argue with either of those notions. Thankfully, the second game has taken those constructive criticisms to heart and appropriately addressed the shortcomings without jeopardizing the core experience that made the original game so intriguing in the first place. The ability to climb anything and go anywhere, often at a dead sprint, remains the game’s primary selling point. The free-flowing traversal is definitely more fluid and intuitive here, but Ezio retains the basic movements of Altaïr, with a few logical additions to his arsenal, tactics, and skillset (I mean, it would have been criminal to not include a second hidden blade for double stealth kills, right?).

There are other additions, such as a local economy and a notoriety system and armor upgrades and a generous helping of platforming segments, but the game really sets itself apart with its well-paced story, its lush environments, and its solid campaign design. Where the original game was handicapped not only by its repetitive structure but by the tedium of the required quests in between the grandiose assassination missions (eavesdrop, pickpocket, interrogate), Assassin’s Creed II is positively humming with its storytelling and design.

The narrative is still a Dan-Brown-off-the-rails cheeseburger but I don’t need stories in games to change my life, I need them to chaperone me from one section of gameplay to the next. In that respect, the story serves its purpose admirably, even if it loses some of the gravity that the first game initially promised.

If Assassin’s Creed was a glorified tech demo masquerading as a historical fiction epic, its sequel is the real deal, offering a complete and compelling experience.