Renaissance Italy Sets the Stage for Another Assassin

Nov. 30, 2009 — -- Despite some mixed results (and reviews) for 2007's "Assassin's Creed," the game's sequel, appropriately named "Assassin's Creed II," may turn into pure gold for the game's developer, Ubisoft.

Fifteenth century Italy may not be the first place you'd expect a video game to take place. But the wizards at Ubisoft tell such an intriguing story, offer game play to match and have wrapped it all in such a beautiful bow, you may wonder why more games aren't set against the backdrop of the Renaissance.

The basic premise of the "Assassin's Creed" universe is this: by using a machine called the Animus, one can access the memories of ancestors hidden deep in their DNA and live out those memories.

In the first game, the main character, Desmond Miles, is kidnapped and forced into the Animus in order to relive the memories of an ancient ancestor in the Middle East during the Third Crusade (12th century).

During that adventure, Miles uncovers an epic and centuries old struggle between a group of assassins, of which his ancestor is a part, and an opposing force called the Knights Templar.

Now, Miles, (aka "you"), is at it again, but this time, voluntarily, and as a new character named Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a 15th century nobleman living in Florence, Italy, toward the end of the Italian Renaissance.

An altercation with members of a rival family sets the stage for the events that turn da Firenze's world upside down and thrusts the player back in the role of the assassin.

At the heart of this intricate and exquisitely executed story, is a classic revenge fantasy. Bad guys kill off your loved ones and now it's time to take out the trash.

It's a nice touch that you happen to be a member of a long line of professional assassins who leap from rooftop to rooftop, can blend into crowds and have an arsenal of weapons to choose from, as it makes exacting revenge so much easier.