The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

The accents sound NOTHING like actual Italians (unless you play the game in Italian like I did with Eagle's Bruise), but this was a pretty accurate review. However I don't think .3 points should be taken off for glitches, especially when most of them occur on the PS3 version of the game, not the 360 one.

I own the PS3 version and never experienced any bad glitches. Also, I think you're being a bit too praise-y, there's still a lot for AC:Britherhood and AC3 to build upon.

this was a review of the first 2 games, not the next ones.

i play it on 360 and there are still several glitches. it mostly has to do with free running, or that "guard multiplier" glitch (that still goes on for some, including me). it's not perfect, just like everything else. so that's why it was still 9.7

The guard multiplier glitch is hilarious, not annoying! As for free-running glitches I've yet to experience any of those.

some free running glitches have Ezio falling limp after hitting an edge, then falling again all the way to the ground...i don't know how to explain it. i wish i could show you. lol
just little things that don't really have an effect on the game too much.

That happens to me all of the time. It's not a glitch, that's exactly what would happen if you landed too close to an edge. Personally, I don't think the physics in this game are nearly accurate enough, but the fact that this happens adds to the sense of realism that the game tries to give you. So I'm actually glad this happens, and it also makes you rethink your strategy.

no, i wasn't talking about that type of thing. at one point, i was in venice, and i had dozens of guards chasing me on the roofs. i leaped off the edge (with a running start) and was at the perfect length to grab onto something on the other building, like a window. I pressed the grab button so i could achieve this, but as soon as Ezio touched a grab point, his entire body went ragdoll and fell straight down. he hit a window ledge below him and stood up. AGAIN, he went limp and fell all the way down to the ground, taking enough damage to kill him. i don't understand this glitch. it's happened several times to me.

The point still stands that, in my opinion, AC2 isn't worthy of a 9.7/10 grade, especially when the only points taken off were for barely present glitches. What about the hideously easy escapes? What about the disjointed story?

yeah, the easy escapes also downgraded the score. thanks for reminding me. lol
i enjoyed the story altogether, but i think the next game should begin with more of a bang with the new Assassin, unlike Ezio's "Beat-em-up Gang War" starter mission and "Family Chores."

I think it's something what makes you being pulled into the story. We know nothing about Altair's past. You get more feeling. If you see Ezio spending time with the family, it becomes more important to the story when his life falls into little pieces and he had to rebuild it. Ezio is just a little more 'human' then Altair.
Pretty good review btw Joey!

yeah, that makes a little more sense, being "pulled" into his personal life. one thing i'd love to see in the next AC is beginning the game as Desmond and freerunning through a modern city on his way back to an Assassin hideout, while being chased by Templars. that's how i'd like the next one to begin with a "Bang."

Exactly! Just like leaving the Animus from time to time to play as Desmond, train and fight, like before the Acre dream. BuUt of course not too much. It shouldn't be a Splinter Cell rip-off.

i don't know the Splinter Cell reference, but i agree that Desmond's "bleeding effect" should take its course in the third game, since it will most likely be having Desmond as the character most playable. the producer who was marketing it repeatedly said that Desmond was in the second game to train to be the "Ultimate Assassin."
the bleeding effect should fit in as Desmond being the first person ever to control this side-effect of the Animus sessions. this way, he can tap into ancient memories and figure out where and how to achieve different puzzles and strategies, as if he's experienced everything before.

That's pretty much how I think AC3 will go. Playing as Desmond for a bit over half the game, and using the bleeding effect at select story points [and at will after the game] to revisit a specific ancestor.