Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (2009). Play Free Online

Summary

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery packs a surprisingly rich Assassin's Creed experience into a handheld side‑scroller. Built on a 2.5D engine, the game lets you swing, climb, and roll through Italy and Spain while wielding hidden blades, a sword, and throwing knives. Missions come in three flavors – open‑ended, timed chase, and strict stealth – each demanding a different approach to navigation, combat, or evasion. The DSi model even lets you photograph yourself for the in‑game wanted posters, adding a quirky personal touch.

Combat retains the series' signature chain attacks and clash battles, but the 2‑D layout streamlines combos, and new “Animus hacks” unlock skins, movement boosts, or perk tweaks once enough synchronization points are earned. Hidden rooms, Renaissance maps, and collectible art pieces sprinkle extra objectives throughout the memories, while challenge rooms in the Animus corridor test specific skills.

Critics received it warmly, with IGN and GameZone scoring it 8/10 and GameSpot giving a 7/10, highlighting its faithful core mechanics and fun level design. Some felt the controls were a bit fiddly and the missions could be repetitive, but most agreed the title shines as a portable companion to the main console game.

Storyline

In Assassin's Creed II: Discovery, Ezio Auditore is pulled from his hunt for the Apple of Eden to aid a new mission in Venice. Antonio de Magianis sends him to meet Luis de Santángel, a representative of Christopher Columbus, who fears an assassination plot tied to the Templar grandmaster Rodrigo Borgia. After thwarting the attempt on Columbus, Ezio retrieves a crucial atlas of navigation routes and learns the Spanish Assassin Brotherhood has been decimated by Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada.

Traveling to Barcelona, Ezio discovers the local headquarters overrun by Inquisition forces and allies with Raphael Sánchez, who reveals the capture of many Assassins. Ezio eliminates Gaspar Martínez, rescues imprisoned members, and follows a list to Zaragoza, where he saves the remaining Assassins from execution ordered by the calificador Pedro Liorente and Torquemada.

In Granada, Ezio reunites with Luis, now an Assassin at court, and uncovers a Templar scheme to keep King Muhammad XI captive to prolong the siege of the Alhambra. He frees the king, sabotages further arrests, and repeatedly saves Columbus from Templar assassins, ultimately ensuring the explorer’s voyage proceeds under Queen Isabella’s patronage.

Edited by Maya Carter