Short Summary is an original series in which I write brief reviews of movies, TV shows, video games, books, and more. Spoiler alert, just in case!

Over 10 years, Ubisoft has created and published 10 main entries in the video game series known as Assassin’s Creed, with spin-off games, novels, and a movie made throughout its history. Assassin’s Creed II  was released in 2009, and at the time, it truly kicked the franchise off. Since then, many people have considered it to be one of the best video games ever made.

For me, it was one of the many games my brother bought for his Xbox 360, and I think I ended up playing it more than he ever did. I recently picked up Assassin’s Creed II again after many years, this time on the PS3, only to find that I love it now as much as I loved it then. The graphics aren’t great, the missions get a bit repetitive, and the combat system is downright tortuous (It’s like the game’s developers went to the Hollywood school of “Let’s have each enemy attack our hero one at a time, and slowly too, so the player has a full decade to react!”).

But to this day, I believe that historical fiction has never been better. Assassin’s Creed II is set in Italy at the height of the Renaissance. You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful location and engaging time period to run around and play in to your heart’s content. The main character is Ezio Auditore, and his development and story are both some of the best I’ve ever seen. There’s a reason that he’s regarded as the most popular assassin in the series, and Ubisoft even dedicated two more games and a short film to further explore his life and expand upon his travels.

However, Assassin’s Creed II is where it all begins. Ezio starts out with his family in Florence, and throughout the game, he goes on missions in Venice, Tuscany, and eventually Rome itself. He allies himself with famous figures such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci to learn and achieve many things as the game progresses. Most importantly, though, Ezio is given one of the greatest revenge plots of all time, and his character arc in only one game is astounding to witness. He gets even more in future installments, yet Assassin’s Creed II works just as well on its own as part of the Ezio trilogy.

Ezio’s story goes well beyond a series of successes and failures, good decisions and terrible mistakes; tragedy has befallen him, and he becomes a rather complex character when it comes to dealing with that tragedy. But he’s merely one piece in the game. The larger examination of the Renaissance itself and, ultimately, the bigger picture of the centuries-old fight between the Knights Templar and the Assassin Order really add an amazing sense of scope.

Assassin’s Creed II is an incredible game because of the many different and high-quality levels it operates on. It’s one worth revisiting over and over again. Though I do wish I could experience it for the first time once more, I can only hope that anyone who hasn’t played it before has that experience for themselves.