— In our family, to solve problems, we don’t beat people.

Certainly! In our family we kill them.

film "Justified Cruelty"

We bring to your attention walkthrough of the game Assassin's Creed 2, courtesy of "Best Computer Games" magazine.

When your native Florence suddenly finds itself in the hands of mysterious conspirators and fate deals a cruel blow - who will punish the insidious traitors and those who stand behind them? Just yesterday, young Ezio Auditore di Firenze, a rake and womanizer, carefreely climbed the roofs and maiden balconies. Now he is out for blood. But even having become a master of secret assassination, Ezio will not immediately believe that the founder of his family was the legendary assassin - Altair ibn La-Ahad.

Altair, as we remember, galloped along the roofs of eastern cities, sneaked into the crowd and secretly bloodletted the figures of the era of the Crusades. Three hundred years later, Ezio Auditore did about the same thing. And another five hundred years ago, in 2012, our old friend Desmond Miles is being held captive by the Templars and playing with his newly acquired paranormal abilities. The poor guy was never given a chance to rest: some two hours after the finale of Assassin's Creed, Lucy bursts into the cell and steals our hero from the clutches of Abstergo. Now Desmond will no longer dive into the depths of his genetic memory to search for the Templars powerful artifacts. He will do this for the benefit of the assassins.

In the story, we will see the laboratory in which Desmond is researching the life of yet another of his ancestors only a couple of times, and even then only briefly. It's just there for framing. So we can say that further - only the Renaissance, the fifteenth century, Italy; noisy cities and mountain roads, killers and victims, crowds of onlookers and vigilant guards, chases and fights.

Our Ezio will cause quite a stir in those places.

Insidious crime on the roof

It's good when a sequel to a game series surpasses the original. It’s doubly good when something clearly swan-like emerges from a sometimes cute, but at the same time rather ugly duckling.

When Assassin's Creed came out two years ago, the players had mixed feelings. Yes, Altair was off his knees, the world was beautiful and convincing, and the plot ideas of the writers turned out to be at least original. But, if you think about it, decent missions could be counted on one hand - and the rest of the game was filled with boring, unclear and repetitive tasks.

Now we know for sure that the developers at Ubisoft Montreal know how to fix their own mistakes. 450 people worked on the second part, three quarters of whom worked on the original. But how the game has changed! When they say that compared to Assassin's Creed 2, the first part looks like a technical demo, this is not an exaggeration. The game universe expanded in breadth and depth, and it literally shows how carefully the developers tried to strengthen the successful elements of the first part and eliminate the unsuccessful ones.

In some ways this reached a little to the point of absurdity. Remember, for example, boring plot dialogues? In the second part, many conversations were joined to action. Talking to Leonardo da Vinci while walking through the squares of Venice is good and healthy. But having started a dialogue during a fight, even not a particularly serious one, you will inevitably find yourself in a dilemma: hit the tinsel without listening to the plot information, or hang your ears, missing blows from the left and right.

Hidden in the crowd

In correcting the “plot issue,” the developers chose the path that Rockstar had already successfully taken. Borrowing successful ideas benefited the assassins. Even in the first part of Assassin's Creed, the “ears” of Grand Theft Auto were visible. The new game, without much exaggeration, can be called “GTA in the Renaissance.” Except that the signature satire is not enough. Everything else is there.

A huge world opens up in parts. Icons of tasks on the map and mini-map are generously scattered here and there: races on rooftops, delivery of correspondence, orders for assassinations - and side missions can be distinguished at first glance from those that move the plot.

Instead of police there are guards. For petty hooliganism they will hit you in the face a couple of times, and for serious offenses they are ready to chase the troublemaker through the streets and on the rooftops - they just won’t go into the water (and this is very useful, since Ezio, unlike Altair, can still swim learned). The yellow circle of the “wanted area” on the mini-map is a direct borrowing from GTA IV. If you break out of it for a few seconds and at the same time do not find yourself in the direct line of sight of the “policemen,” they lose the trail. True, there are no “wanted stars”, but there is a “fame” parameter - the higher it is, the further you need to go around the guards so that they do not suspect something is wrong. You can reduce fame in different ways: bribe heralds, kill the necessary officials. The easiest way, however, is to tear down the “Guards Are Wanting” posters from the walls. They appear automatically - and for some reason not at the height of human growth, but often at the very top, where only pigeons can read them.

All tasks are preceded by scenes on the engine, and it is difficult to find fault with them. The actors demonstrate convincing accents and pepper the English speech with Italian words and expressions. The characters themselves are also pleasing: it’s easy to recognize not only historical figures like Lorenzo de’ Medici, Machiavelli or Savonarola highlighted in the portraits, but even Leonardo da Vinci, whom Ubisoft artists “rejuvenated” by copying from a famous self-portrait. And Leonardo’s embarrassment and fussiness in the presence of the handsome Ezio look much more natural than the cutesy antics of Bernie Crane from GTA IV.

I'll get off the Venice Bridge - the water is waist-deep

I remember that the mayor of New York spoke disapprovingly about the same GTA IV: they say they are doing anti-advertising to the city. He, of course, was wrong: Rockstar copied their Liberty City from the city patriotically, with love and attention to detail. The mayors of Venice and Florence (who they have now - isn’t it the Medici?) are silent for some reason. Don’t they still know that there is a game in the world that has done more for tourism in their cities than all the advertising brochures combined?

Assassin's Creed 2 is a real hymn to Florence, all of Tuscany and Venice. I will not say anything about the realistic reproduction of the life of Italian cities of the Renaissance, but their architecture was copied at the highest level. The visits of Ubisoft developers to these cities were not in vain: narrow streets, bridges and the canals create an amazing atmosphere of presence, and the sights are recognizable at first glance: the Florentine Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Piazzetta San Marco in Venice - now you don’t need to be a “Spiderman”, to climb to your heart's content on the walls and roofs of famous palaces.

And while Ezio climbs from ledge to ledge, onlookers below stare and talk in a mixture of English and Italian. "Is he crazy?" - “Is the path on foot forbidden to him, the path of a worthy person?” - “Is this even allowed, to climb walls like this?”

Townspeople often get in the way of the hero, but without them, virtual cities, fortresses, estates, monasteries and small villages would be deserted and dead. There is nothing wrong with the realism of their behavior. Merchants, nobles, peasants, monks, beggars, thieves, street girls - they wander about their business, sit on benches or talk, gathering in groups. Guards patrol the streets in groups or stand guard guarding streets and entrances.

The developers carefully thought out the behavior of city residents in the event of a violation of public order. The townspeople are timid, but curious - they try to keep their distance from fights, but are in no hurry to run away, and they begin to call the guards only in cases of clearly criminal cases. They very rarely rush into a fight with the main character, but city thieves are always ready to steal the wallet from the unwary Ezio, so if someone is running towards the hero, clearly intending to push him, “hit first, Freddy.”

Making your way through a crowd in an attempt to escape or catch up with someone is a thankless task. Mouse controls, however, allow you to maneuver while running, avoiding any crowds of people. But the city loaders clearly have some kind of conspiracy of their own: with identical boxes in their hands, they walk so as to be in Ezio’s way, and at the slightest collision they will drop the box and cause a scandal. However, the worst of all are the bards. At the most crucial moments, they impudently stand in the way of the hero and, strumming their lutes, hum mocking couplets, counting on a handful of coins. This is how a bard lives, lives - and gets hit in the forehead.

"...The poison had no effect"

Things are a bit strange with the combat system and controls. It is, of course, a console game, but in many ways it is familiar: anyone who has played GTA IV will get the hang of it. Many will find the separate keys for hitting with the right hand, left, foot and head, and in addition to them, the “high profile” modifier, mysterious. It's pretty easy to remember that "forward" and "high profile" are running. It's harder to grasp that the "head" is interacting with NPCs, and the "left hand" is interacting with the mechanisms. Then more and more crazy combinations of “wings, legs and tails” begin for various actions, strikes and fighting techniques.

The keys can be reassigned, but here, as they say, there is a nuance: if you hang them around the keyboard to suit your taste, pressing some combinations will require you to break your fingers. The developers guess about the existence of a second button and a wheel on the mouse, but do not attach any significance to this fact.

Such an original control system does not interfere with movement along the streets and rooftops. Ezio is an independent guy, with his head on his shoulders. If you hold down the three-key combination “free run” (“forward” + “high profile” + “leg”), our hero will choose his own path along the cornices, beams and roofs. The player can only lazily choose the approximate direction. It is possible to drop Ezio from the roof onto the pavement by “free running”, but it is quite difficult. In this regard, the developers even went a little overboard: even from a height of one meter, our free runner doesn’t want to jump right away, he hesitates for a long time and wants to hang by his hands first.

True, if, out of habit, he bursts into the crowd with the “free run” combination pressed, Ezio automatically begins to pick out change in the pockets of ordinary people. This is fraught with troubles, but not very big ones.

Our hero also knows the basic skills of a steeplejack, and here the player also only sets the general direction. Only very advanced techniques require separate key combinations, but they are also easy to learn if desired. The only thing that sets the heat in the spirit of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time are the last three of the six puzzles, with the help of which Ezio gets himself Altair’s old suit. By the standards of the game, they are insanely complex: in them you not only have to quickly, in a limited time, jump across platforms, risking falling over, but also somehow cope with the quirks of the camera, which changes the entire coordinate system on the fly. One of these puzzles even forces you to learn a new key combination on the go - and this is definitely not the best place to practice.

To complete the game it is not necessary to go into these six dungeons, so theoretically it can be assumed that in this strange way the developers deliberately made a valuable reward difficult to obtain. However, this is precisely an imbalance, since there are similar problems with the unreasonably prohibitive complexity of seemingly ordinary tasks in the plot - especially in the thirteenth “Savonarol” chapter, which was not originally in the console version of the game.

Sword in the eye

If the main principles of running across the roofs are easy to remember on the go, then combat is more difficult to master - but only because it is redundant. In general, of course, it’s not appropriate for an assassin to play d’Artagnan. He must sneak up, deliver a fatal blow and escape. And he does this. Jumping from the roof, he thrusts secret pop-up blades into the victim’s neck. Hanging on the edge of the roof, he carefully plunges the knife into the admiring landscape of a guard, and then throws him from a height. Hiding in a haystack, stabs a passing guard with a blade, and then drags his body into the same haystack.

If, for example, you need to rob a guarded chest or go through a checkpoint, it is best to hire street girls (they will distract you with conversation), thieves (they will anger you and lure you out) or fighters (they will distract you with a sword in the eye) for a modest reward. Well, if the guards go into conflict, it is more profitable to run away than to fight. Health, tea, is not official - and now it is not restored on its own, forcing Ezio to run to pharmacists for medicines and potions, listening to friendly advice about weekly bloodletting.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of situations in the game when you need to kill a lot of people in battle. And this is where the redundancy begins. The developers wanted the battles in the game to be beautiful, spectacular, and cinematic. The idea was a complete success for them. Ezio doesn't drop chandeliers on his enemies. Dodges, parries and killing blows with ever-effective camera angles - it's all there. But there is much more. Our hero can fight with paired secret blades, swords, daggers, hammers, fists, brass knuckles - even brooms, fishing rods and lutes! His arsenal includes slow-acting poison, smoke bombs, throwing knives and even coins to scatter on the streets, attracting the attention of passersby and thereby slowing down the guards. He can grab an enemy and slam him with his hand, foot or head, throw him into a counter or into an enemy. He can throw dust and debris from the ground into the enemy's eyes, dodge a blow, try to go behind his back - and even take away a weapon.

And each technique has its own key combination; if you wish, you can make a real ballet out of the fight. Moreover, the enemies, no matter how many there are, always attack one at a time - at most, someone else will try to strike from behind.

Or you can practically not bother with anything at all and not think about techniques, fortunately in battle the good old faceroll, also known as “rolling your face on the keyboard,” works great. Ezio, as I mentioned above, is smart and independent, and the player only needs to remember two moves: a block with a counterattack for normal enemies and a disarming move for wielders of hammers. Simple and angry.

Your own amusement park

You can only take away weapons from enemies in battle temporarily - you won’t be able to collect them this way. For blades, armor, as well as larger pouches for knives and poison, you need to go to stores, where the modest assortment improves slightly as the game progresses.

Ezio can earn money for purchases in different ways. Complete story quests. Do side quests. Opening ownerless chests. Catch thieves and enemy envoys (one blow to the neck is enough for them to give up everything they have). Finally, you can go among the people and take up the craft of a pickpocket!

But you don't have to do all this. The money, which by the end of the game will have nowhere to go, will be given by our family rural estate of Monteriggioni. A magnificent estate with fortified walls, a small town inside and a two-story palazzo. At first, the estate is in a neglected state - walls overgrown with vines, deserted streets, primitive shops. But once you invest several tens of thousands in the estate, rebuild the infrastructure - from a bank to a brothel - Monteriggioni not only begins to generate income from tourism, but generally becomes a crowded and very nice place.

Only the palace is an exception. It is luxurious, but uncomfortable and too gloomy. And the attic, where portraits of every character we killed appear on the walls, looks like it came out of some Silent Hill. I also don’t want to appear again on the second floor, where Ezio’s mother, uncontacted after mental trauma, prays quietly. But on the ground floor you can choose the weapons you bought and take the accumulated money from the chest. The more invested in Monteriggioni, the faster the chest fills. Very soon any sense in making money in any other way disappears.

And in the next room on the wall hang the found pieces of the code of assassins, written three hundred years ago by Altair. To complete the plot, you will have to find and steal all thirty parchments.

Yesterday the Templars were strangled, strangled...

Even in the first part of Assassin's Creed, the developers successfully applied a fail-safe recipe for designing conspiracy theories: take equal parts of real historical characters and actual events - and come up with a conspiracy for them. Both the well-known Dan Brown and Umberto Eco (not only the Italian) dabbled in this method , but also a professor at the universities of Florence).

The fifteenth century is rich in interesting historical characters: Medici, Borgia, Machiavelli, Leonardo, Pazzi, Savonarola. We take the nice ones as assassins (the sight of Nicolo Machiavelli diving like a swallow from a tower into a haystack - this, I tell you, is worth a lot), we declare the unsympathetic ones to be evil Templars. The developers even managed to bring real events of those times under the theory of the eternal confrontation between these two secret organizations. The conspiracy of Francesco Pazzi and the assassination attempt on the Medici, sermons, the rise and death of Girolamo Savonarola, the “papal” career and the poisoning of Rodrigo Borgia - all this is presented through the prism of the conspiracy and the magical effect of the powerful artifacts of the “Shards of Eden”.

Unless Leonardo Da Vinci is not a member of secret organizations, but deciphers Altair’s notes for Ezio solely out of sympathy for the young killer. Altair's vague but convincing prophecies are the merit of the screenwriters, and the drawings stylized under the medieval canon are the merit of the artists. But that's not all. As the story progresses, Ezio accumulates a huge number of letters, in which much can also be gleaned about the lives and involvement in conspiracies of other Renaissance figures who do not appear in the game. In order not to get confused in characters, places and other realities, you can explore the game encyclopedia, which is updated as you go. In it, even the Templar conspiracy is clearly presented - you can see which of them is in charge and who is in the wings, whose identity has been clarified and whom Ezio has already managed to kill.

If this is not enough, you can use the “eagle gaze”, which Altair also dabbled in at one time. But in those days, a special vision mode was useful only for reconnaissance, in order to immediately understand who is a friend and who is an enemy. Here, with his help, Ezio finds twenty symbols on the walls of houses left by his less fortunate predecessor. Having discovered each of these symbols and listened to the voice recording left by “subject 16”, the player must solve one or more simple, but quite DanBrown-esque puzzles - find a common element in famous paintings, put together a picture from pieces, discover a hidden element in a photograph. Having found and “decoded” all twenty hidden symbols, the player is rewarded piece by piece with a small video in which the legend of the Fall appears from an unexpected side.

Because the developers were not too lazy to put so many hints, allegories and secrets into the game, they can be forgiven for a lot - even the extremely stupid final battle with the main villain. What is more important is what happens next: Ezio, and with him Desmond Miles and the assassins, will finally learn the secret of the origin of the “Wrecks of Eden”, which the Templars of all eras are chasing. What secrets remain for the last part of the trilogy? What time and place of action awaits us in it?

If the impression of Assassin's Creed 2 had not been spoiled by vile copy protection, the game would have been almost an ideal example of what the Ubisoft developers are capable of, who seriously decided to correct the mistakes of the turbulent past. The Renaissance era, the beauty of Italian cities and the turbulent political life of those times Italian speech and the magical, bewitching music of Jesper Kyd opens up for us. But the main thing is, as usual, freedom to run along the roofs and climb walls, jump from heights into the hay and clean out chests, sneak up on the victim in the night and strike. Ezio is more agile and faster than anyone else, he cannot be stopped, for he is the new legendary assassin.

Ubisoft's decision looked wild from the very beginning. So that the Internet is always required? So that the game is constantly in touch with the servers, constantly checking its authenticity? So that she begins to consider an honest buyer a pirate whenever the connection is lost? This sounds crazier than anything that has come up before in the field of copy protection. The DRM bogeymen of the past are nervously smoking on the sidelines: all these StarForce, limited installations, system bindings and weekly checks that Electronic Arts was going to introduce into Spore.

Even from a pragmatic market point of view, the idea was clearly a failure. What kind of buyer would like it if the game constantly demands proof that you are not a camel? Everyone understands that such an offensive idea will push even the most honest players into the open arms of a filibuster!

Didn't push. Camel-protected games turned out to be a tough nut to crack. Now, when these lines are being written, the pirates have not yet dealt with either Assassin's Creed or Silent Hunter 5. How is that? Ubisoft specialists have shown Jesuitical cunning. The main principle of the new protection is almost ingenious: not the entire game goes on sale, but only the client one a part that is incomplete without a server. Hacking the usual protection can be extremely difficult, and history knows examples of computer games that survived many days after release. But what should pirates do if they don’t even have a full game?

If Assassin's Creed does get hacked, then there will be few people willing to sit on an Internet leash for their own sixty dollars. However, we safely assume that Ubisoft's new protection will last long enough - so long that a drop in sales due to piracy will be possible do not take into account.

However, such protection still has a weak spot, and a very vulnerable one at that. Immediately after the launch of the publisher’s authentication server, they began to be subject to DoS attacks of varying intensity, which is why players were sometimes unable to access them for many hours. The hackers’ reasons are quite Karandyshev’s: “So don’t let anyone get you!” The servers are overwhelmed with requests, the game crashes and stops. Naturally, the publisher will take the heat for this, and it’s well-deserved: if Ubisoft continues to fail to protect its customers from hackers, such protection will be worthless. The publisher's reputation is already at serious risk.

Basic Concepts

Guards! Guards!

The relationship between secret killers and guards has always been difficult. That’s why let’s immediately try to find out what our Ezio Auditore can expect from the guards and how to avoid it.

So, let’s imagine an ordinary situation: the city guard catches our hero doing a compromising activity (for example, stabbing anyone with a knife) or sees a character who is very similar in description to the orientation received. What happens?

First, the guards will develop and begin to grow suspicious. The player will see this intense mental process as arrows above their heads filling with yellow. At the same time, the guards will begin to express their suspicions out loud, or even call out to Ezio.

Remember that when a guard is thinking about such matters, it is contraindicated to run, jump and break the law, otherwise suspicions will quickly turn into confidence. The hero should, on the contrary, walk away at a leisurely or fast pace, blend in with the crowd, or otherwise disappear from view before he gets into trouble.

On a note: if, for example, the situation is unambiguous - for example, a guard sees Ezio running away from or fighting with other guards, then the suspicion phase is skipped.

If the arrow above the guards' heads turns completely yellow, they go to investigate, loudly calling out to the intruder and drawing their weapons. In this case, it usually makes sense not to pretend to be a rag, but to urgently run and hide, because the arrow above the heads of the guards will begin to fill in red. As soon as it turns completely red, the guards will rush to attack. Here the hero has to either accept the fight or try to escape.

In general, guards, if not provoked, are peaceful people. If they have not received an orientation on Ezio, he can sprint literally in front of their noses and quickly walk through a group of patrolmen, casually pushing them apart with his shoulder. You never know, the person is in a hurry. But if he accidentally drops some matron while running, the guards’ fists will itch.

However, you should not sit like an eagle on some beam in front of the guards, climb a wall, or generally be above ground level. They don't like it. They will call out to the impudent person a couple of times, and then they will take out stones and begin to accurately shoot down the “crow” that refuses to land on its own.

It’s good that the guards can’t see very well what’s going on above the second floor. They simply won’t notice Ezio standing on the edge of the roof. And it’s none of their business. Guarding roofs is the prerogative of archers.

Archers are the worst thing for the newly minted Carlsons. They don't like it when someone else is walking on the roof, and they move from the calling stage to the shooting stage very quickly. This is what they suffer from, since it is easier for a killer to poke an archer with a knife than to walk around him on the rooftops.

However, as soon as you jump from a roof, hang on the edge, or even hide behind a pipe, archers often lose interest in the intruder.

In addition to archers and guards patrolling the streets, there are also those who block the streets, guard valuables or entrances to apartments where money is kept. They do not like to be approached close to them and carefully guard their personal area. They will emphatically push away the impudent person. If you try to pass through a “checkpoint” or enter a protected area, they will immediately enter into battle.

What should Ezio do if the guards are chasing him?

You can interrupt everyone and leave whistling. However, this is a long and unhealthy process. To break away from the guards, you need to disappear from their sight for a few seconds. At the same time, a yellow circle appears on the mini-map, marking the search area. Get out of it and the chase will stop.

A fail-safe option: play Chapaev. Our hero now swims perfectly, and the guards never go into the water. Sail away - and the job is done.

There are other ways to hide: for example, diving into a pile of straw, hay or leaves. In this case, it is necessary for the guards to lag behind at least a little. If you climb into the fragrant hay in front of their eyes, they will not appreciate this strange act.

Wells and canvas shelters on the roofs of houses are also suitable for games of hide and seek. All shelters glow in the "eagle's eye" mode.

Be careful, the criminal is armed

If Ezio does dirty tricks, sooner or later he will become a well-known figure in the city. It's bad for the killer. The degree of fame increases with unseemly actions, painting the indicator red. If the indicator is filled to the end, our hero is wanted: armed, dangerous and known to every guard. Firefighters are looking for him, the police are looking for him... in general, an awkward situation.

Fortunately, there are three ways to return to anonymity - one is easier than the other, and the third is completely difficult. Three types of indicators appear on the map and minimap as soon as the hero's fame begins to increase.

• 75% fame removes the murder of an official involved in our case. The problem is that the official is actively resisting, running away, calling the guards... However, if he was caught, why not?
• 50% fame removes the herald's bribery. Approach him, hand over 500 florins (huge money, by the way), and lo and behold, he has just denounced a serial killer, and then he quickly moves on to foreign policy problems. And although there is no longer any need to catch the heralds, the disadvantage of the method is obvious: a toad.
• 25% fame Ezio loses if he tears off the "Wanted Dead or Alive" poster pinned to the wall with an arrow. This is the easiest way because there are a lot of posters around and it is not difficult to get to them.

This is interesting: Science is still finding it difficult to solve the mystery: why are posters often hung under the roofs of houses, on balconies - where they cannot be seen from the ground?

In some story points and dungeons, Ezio's fame automatically becomes one hundred percent, and nothing can be done with it until the mission is completed.

Eaglets learn to look

“Eagle Eye” is an amazing skill inherited by Ezio Auditore from Altair. With its help, you can easily find a victim among passers-by, detect disguised guards, assess the balance of forces at a glance, see possible shelters, and during a pursuit, even “smell” the trail of a fleeing enemy.

But besides this, Ezio also uses his “eagle gaze” to discover twenty symbols embedded in the memory of the “Animus” by the mysterious “Subject 16”. In normal vision mode they are also visible, but they are difficult to notice. The fact that there is such a symbol in the area and is worth looking for on the walls of houses will be indicated by the eye icon next to the name of the area in which Ezio finds himself.

Each symbol gives a small voice recording, several simple puzzles that add atmosphere to the game, and as a reward - a fragment of a “memory” video that reveals the secret of the original events that gave rise to the legend of the Fall of Adam and Eve.

“Coffee, coffee... What coffee?”

It is not difficult to put Ezio's financial affairs in order. Firstly, florins are given to him in large quantities for completed missions. Secondly, very quickly the Auditore estate begins to generate such income that there is no point in not only robberies, but even in pursuing the thieves who cut off the killer’s wallet.

But let’s take it in order and for the sake of order, let’s clarify in what ways Ezio gets money:

• Marauding, collecting finances from fallen enemies. As has already been said, there is no need to engage in such dirty deeds, and the guards will not turn a blind eye to looting.
• Pickpocketing. Wandering through the crowd, pushing them aside and cutting off wallets at the same time, is funny at first. The rich discover the loss quickly, the poor a little more slowly. But there is absolutely no income from this activity, and the fame of the “Baghdad thief” grows in direct proportion to the number of thefts. In general, rummaging through pockets for small change is unworthy of our hero.
• Stealing from chests. The chests stand either unattended on balconies or guarded by one or more guards. It seems like it’s not too lazy to rummage through them, but in the second half of the game, the profit from tourism at Villa Auditore will be tens of times greater than the possible profit from robbery. However, if you already bought a treasure map in a store and the chests “appeared” on the map, you can clear them of valuables.
• Earnings from completed tasks. Both story missions and all side missions count. The profit from them is very good, especially since we don’t have much of a choice if we beat the game anyway.
• Robbery of thieves and couriers. Borgia couriers are easy to recognize. They rush down the street towards Ezio, recognize him, shout in horror in Italian something like “Your madre!” and, after cartoonishly slipping their feet, they take to their heels. If you catch up with them and knock them, they will share money, and a lot of it. We do not recommend killing - your fame will increase greatly. It’s about the same with thieves, only they also try to push Ezio while running, easing his finances. It's even easier to catch up with a thief than a courier. Having been hit in the neck and not having accomplished the feat, the thief will give up the wallet and all the florins that he has with him.

For your information: sometimes the guards rush after the thieves fleeing from Ezio. They don't mind if our hero runs next to them, but aggression towards the thief will switch the guard's attention to Ezio. And if, in the confusion, you inadvertently slap the guard himself...

In a chase with elements of urban obstacles, you must be careful when jumping from roof to roof. If, for example, you jumped onto a ledge, and at that moment the person being pursued is climbing up it, then Ezio will not be able to stay on the edge and will simply fall like a sack onto the pavement.

It is important: If it’s easy to deal with thieves with your fist, then in a couple of places in the plot it will be impossible to do without the ability to knock a character down with a jump.

• The easiest way to earn money is investing in the Monteriggioni estate. The profit will flow very quickly - Ezio will only have to regularly visit the estate and take money from the chest before it overflows. I advise you to immediately invest money in infrastructure at first - the value of the estate will increase, and tourists will start leaving more money. And the chest will become deeper.

How will we spend the money? Let's get a look.

• Doctors for a fee they will heal us if Ezio’s health was damaged in battle or due to an unfortunate fall. They will also supply you with potions - very effective - and poisons for blades.
• Blacksmiths They will sell new weapons and armor (the range grows as the story progresses). They will also help you reload your secret pistol and replenish your supplies of smoke bombs and throwing knives.
• Tailors they will sell additional “pockets” for knives and potions, and also repaint the suit if Ezio suddenly wants to change his image.
• Gallery owners will sell excellent paintings by Renaissance masters. Investing in paintings will increase the value of the estate and the profit from it. You can admire these paintings on the second floor of your “palazzo”.
• Heralds for five hundred florins they will kindly convince the people that Ezio is a nice fellow and should not be wanted for murder.
• Tickets fast travel stations will instantly deliver our hero to the desired city at reasonable rates.
• For one hundred and fifty coins you can buy courtesan services. They will flirt for us with whoever we point our finger at. Groups will agree to help us for the same amount thieves And mercenary warriors.
• Finally, florins of ten pieces can be throw in the streets, delighting the simpletons and slowing down the pursuit (the beret-clad guards, by the way, are not averse to picking up a couple of coins themselves). By throwing florins you can get rid of the bard's unnecessary attention. You can hide in the crowd that has gathered for the ringing of coins. If Ezio wants something strange, then with coins scattered on the ground he can “buy” himself a broom from a passing janitor, so that he can use it to fight off the guards.

Our hero's main expense item is new weapons and armor. But if you immediately start putting the estate in order, then from the middle of the game the hundreds of thousands of florins that have accumulated will simply have nowhere to go - even if you shout “Enough!”

“The eagles are flying!”

The map and mini-map in the game are made so that they are easy to read at a glance. You won’t have to think long about the meaning of the pictograms, and as a last resort, the developers have saved a detailed explanation of each.

Not all icons appear on the mini-map (there are too many of them), but only the most important ones. Story mission icons are always visible. If Ezio is near the starting points of side quests, they will also appear. If his anonymity is violated, pictograms of leaflets “The guards are looking for them” are immediately detected. A transition to another area is usually visible at the edges of the map, and arrows indicate fast travel stations.

However, the card does not open immediately. Initially, it is masked by the “fog of war”, which can be dispersed for each individual area. You need to climb to the very top of the high tower (marked on the mini-map), shoo the eagle from its perch (Shoo! Shoo!), sit there yourself and perform “synchronization” - that is, examine the surroundings.

It’s not necessary to do this everywhere, but synchronization opens up new opportunities on the map, and this activity is something you can’t beat when you’re down, fortunately Ezio knows how to climb towers. And the view from the towers is also beautiful. It is very easy to descend from these “key points” back to the sinful earth. Jump - and we are already below. Under each synchronization point, someone kindly placed a cart with a pile of hay. Don't try this at home.

For your information: if Ezio jumps not onto soft hay, but onto hard pavement, then up to a certain height the blow, which could remove part of his health, can be mitigated by pressing the “Forward” key and thereby forcing the hero to roll.

The poles on the towers are not the only places from which you can safely and beautifully jump into the hay. Pigeons will help us find places convenient for jumping! For some reason, these cunning birds settle in precisely such places and leave heaps of droppings there. Although who knows - maybe the townspeople specially place carts with hay in the places where killers who slipped on manure most often fly onto the pavement...

Besides saving time, leaps of faith have two other uses. Firstly, they allow you to correctly encrypt yourself from being chased. Secondly, with their help you can penetrate into forbidden territory in order to get closer to the victim. The guards on duty below do not notice the assassin who has collapsed into the hay. Who knows what's falling from the sky? Move on, there's nothing to see here! Six o'clock and everything is calm!

Movement

An assassin went from point A to point B

Movement in the game is both simple and complex. It's very easy to learn how to move Ezio's carcass from place to place tolerably. But there are plenty of cunning tricks and non-obvious rules.

Step

We will move at a pace only when it is necessary to attract attention to ourselves as little as possible. There are two types of steps in the game: normal and accelerated. The first one is good for camouflage in a crowd, the second one is good for surveillance or escort missions.

If, while walking wide, he also uses his left hand, Ezio will begin to carefully push away the crowd. Usually no one is indignant, not even the guards. But working with your hand still does not relieve you from the need to maneuver.

Run

Running in itself is not punishable. If the guards weren't looking for Ezio, they wouldn't even care if he jumped around them. The problem is that while running it is very easy to run into passers-by or the same guards, and for this you won’t get a pat on the head.

However, by quickly maneuvering with the mouse, Ezio will easily avoid crowds of people even while running. And this is good, because the “push” technique is not a panacea - the hero will still stumble, or even fall to the ground.

Sprinting is even more dangerous in this sense. The good news is that sprinting is ideal for running away from someone or catching up with someone. Our hero cannot get tired or out of breath, so even during normal movements from place to place there is no reason not to use sprint. The main thing is not to collide with people.

And here it’s worth saying a few affectionate things about the movers and bards.

Loaders walk the streets with large boxes in their hands. If they drop this box (and they drop it under any outside influence), they begin to be loudly indignant, run after Ezio and attract unnecessary attention. But this is not the worst thing. What's worse is that the movers don't look where they're going - they usually turn their heads somewhere to the side and count the crows. But despite all this, they suspiciously often set a course for a collision with Ezio, calculating the lead no worse than torpedo computers.

You can’t strangle the loaders, but you have to do something with them! Fortunately, their weakness is precisely their targeting accuracy. If you are running down the street and a loader is looming ahead, assume that he is headed for a collision and change your trajectory to ensure you miss him. Still, loaders do not have homing properties. Unlike bards.

Bards are evil incarnate. Alone or in groups, they love to jump out in front of Ezio and beg for thalers, singing silly doggerels to the accompaniment of their lutes. If the assassin runs, he will easily go around the bards and leave them behind, and if he collides, he will at least knock the lute out of their hands and scare them.

But these bad people love to pop up in plot points when Ezio must follow someone unnoticed. You won't be able to get around the bard - he will jump forward again and block the path. It is easy to neutralize the scoundrel by throwing money on the ground in front of him. But where is the moral satisfaction? Take out your weapon and the singer will get the hint. Or hit him, and the bard will also disappear, although he will begin to lament pitifully.

Another way to get the bard to fall behind is to "ground" him against the wall so that he can't jump out in front of you. For some reason they don’t think of jumping out from the other side.

Swimming

Falling into the water is the easiest way to shake the pursuit off your tail. However, not the most convenient way to travel in general. However, from time to time, plot and need will drive Ezio into the canals of Venice.

If a guard notices you from the shore, you can dive and swim to the side underwater.

Overcoming obstacles

There is nothing easier than driving Ezio onto the roof. Click “Forward” + “High Profile” + “Legs” - and alga! Select by eye the trajectory along which you will chase the hero, and direct him with the mouse where you want. You will simply be surprised at how easily the assassin flutters between balconies, logs, ledges, boxes, cornices and chimneys.

He runs across rooftops just as easily - although, if you look closely, you can notice some paranoia about cliffs. It is very difficult for Ezio to jump down from them if there is no roof. But this is even convenient - the hero won’t just ask again: “Bwana, do you really want me to jump into this huge scary abyss?”

When Ezio climbs along the wall, clinging to protruding bricks and all sorts of other irregularities, it is recommended not to touch the “Feet” key unnecessarily, so that the hero does not inadvertently try to jump into the abyss by pushing off from the wall. This happened. In any case, there are no hopeless situations: our assassin can be driven onto any tower - except that you have to look for a suitable path of uneven ground.

Sometimes you need to jump from a wall - for example, if the path up leads between two walls. To do this, hold down “Profile” + “Legs” and do not additionally direct the hero in any way. It happens that you need to jump from a wall to a beam on the left or right. Then you will have to direct it by pressing the desired pointer key.

To make the hero hang on the edge of the roof in his hands, press “Left hand” (unarmed). Ezio climbs down from the edge of the roof and hangs. One more press and he releases the curtain rod. If you fly far, we quickly grab the ledge located below with the same “hand”. This way you can descend from a height very quickly. Trying to grab a ledge with your Left Hand always makes sense if Ezio has been knocked down from a height by a stone or arrow. The same rules apply to beams: climb - “Up”, go down and hang - “Left hand”, jump - “High profile” + “Leg”.

In Venice, the hero will learn the “jump climbing” technique. The new method looks sophisticated, but in reality it is simple: Ezio, hanging on an uneven wall or cornice, makes a regular jump, but upwards (“Up” + “Profile” + “Legs”). This way he can climb onto a ledge higher than usual. True, in order for him to grab it while jumping, he must release all the keys and quickly press “Left Hand”. If you don't have time, nothing bad will happen. You can try again.

For your information: if Ezio is climbing the stairs, escaping from being chased, sometimes it makes sense to kick the one who is climbing after him, so that it would be discouraging to chase after a good person.

If I had a horse...

There is nothing easier than stealing a horse. Outside the gates of each city and estate, they are placed to choose from - of any color and configuration. I sat down and drove off. Controlling a horse is exactly the same as controlling a character: if the peasants don’t get under your feet, there’s no point in not going into a gallop. You can steer using both the keyboard and the mouse.

The best part is that the guards don’t care about the thief. Where does he go from the submarine? If he wants to enter the city, Volens-Nolens will leave his horse outside the gate. If you jump off while moving, Ezio will comically slide down the crouched horse's croup and land near the tail.

The horses jump over small obstacles and fences, but the clearly rough terrain puzzles them. You can fight on horseback, but the game only offers this once at the very end. However, if you position your horse correctly or approach it from the right direction, it can kick your enemies. If the new owner has problems, the horse itself will take a couple of steps towards him so that he can quickly jump on it and give it a go.

And if you really really want to show off your style, you can jump from a height straight into the saddle.

Theoretically, on horseback you can get from any place to any place relatively quickly, as long as not within the city walls - the horse flatly refuses to go there. In practice, it is more convenient to buy tickets at fast travel stations. They can deliver to the city center and other areas if desired.

"I'll kill you boatman!"

If you haven’t felt like a gondolier for a long time and want to bring back forgotten sensations, the entire Venice boat fleet is at your service. Standing behind the pole, Ezio can quickly and safely take a shortcut through the canals. But the controls are very inconvenient and resemble a bicycle from GTA: San Andreas - in order to move forward, you need to quickly move the pole.

If you wish, you can steal a boat from another gondolier; fortunately, on the water, the guards are not able to do anything to you.

Murders

I'm a cloud-cloud-cloud

Disguise is an important part of an assassin's life. There are various ways to ensure that Ezio is not noticed, and other townspeople play a very prominent role in this matter.

Take passers-by, for example. If the hero carefully “fits in” with a walking group of three or more people, he will be invisible to the guards. You can determine the moment of “invisibility” by Ezio’s loss of color and by the sparkles under his feet. If you stand with or walk with the group, the guards will hardly see Ezio at point-blank range. The same state of “invisibility” can be achieved by sitting on a bench next to other tired travelers.

But what to do if you need to get closer to the victim, and passers-by are walking in the other direction? You can move carefully from group to group. We have a few seconds to do this before the guards notice the hero. But if Ezio hesitates, the guards' suspicions will quickly grow.

In battle, in front of your enemies, trying to blend in with the crowd is useless. After a secret murder, Ezio will also not be able to immediately “fit in” with the group, since passers-by will panic and run away at the sight of the corpse.

Advice: benches do not always provide the most convenient angles for examining the surroundings, so it is sometimes worth turning on the “situational camera” and first-person view.

Courtesans- better than an assassin's girlfriend. And although in the story Ezio will have both the opportunity and the desire to evaluate their professional qualities, in this game they are used a little differently than in GTA. A group of courtesans, hired for fifteen hundred florins, surround Ezio, giving him a mobile “cocoon of stealth.” Even if a guard starts to be interested in the documents, a girl from the group will quickly distract him. Sometimes they lag behind flirting with the guards for no reason, but usually they quickly catch up with the group. They can be ordered to stand still or follow the hero - depending on the situation.

However, most often you will use hired courtesans as a distraction. For example, there are sentries standing there, guarding the scroll of Altair's codex, and are bored. We need to cheer them up! And then an assassin taxis around the corner, points his hand at the law enforcement officers, and a group of courtesans launches a flirtatious attack on the poor sentries. The guards step aside for a pleasant conversation with the giggling ladies, and for about half a minute the passage to the scroll or along the street is free. The technique always works, except for the rarest plot cases. After a conversation with the guards, the courtesans consider their task completed and disperse.

group thieves you can also hire for the same one and a half hundred coins.

For your information: you cannot gather half the city into your retinue: only one team of mercenaries can accompany Ezio. They hired others and released these.

Thieves will not be able to make the hero invisible. But they perfectly accompany him across the rooftops and distract the attention of any archer who is stunned by the sudden crowdedness in the territory under his control. Even if the thieves are a little behind, don’t be afraid - they will quickly catch up with the hero. They can also be ordered to stop. Roofs are their home, it’s not for nothing that they often laze there.

This is interesting: and once I saw a group of thieves taunting an archer standing on the roof opposite. What is characteristic is that the arrows flying in and sticking into different parts of their body did not spoil the fun at all. We should make nails out of these people!

Thieves remove sentries no less effectively than courtesans - except that it is less pleasant for the guards themselves. They jump on unsuspecting guards, pretend that they want to rob, and immediately run away, luring them with them. The path through the guarded street or to the treasures is free! The guard can chase the thieves for a very long time. And of course, having executed the command “Fast!”, the thieves go about their business.

Mercenaries They don't run on rooftops. They stand on the streets, demonstratively waving axes and waiting for someone to hire them. In general, they are also suitable for distracting the guards. After all, if you're being poked with sharp objects, it's hard to remain indifferent. But they can also be used in battle to bind the enemy. It's sad to fight alone, but it's more fun to fight with a team. In addition, hitting in the back is both more pleasant and safer.

“What about the test?”

Money, rubbish, disguise, horses - all this is decay and vanity. An assassin lives for secret murders and achieves self-realization in them. And here the hero’s opportunities open up simply enormous.

Most often, a hidden blade (later a pair of blades) is used to kill. Here an assassin walks in the crowd, passes by the victim, and after some moment she falls, passers-by do not understand anything, and Ezio is already moving away to blend into the crowd a little further away. The main thing is to use the aim key in the process, otherwise you might inadvertently kill a peaceful citizen. Developers don’t like useless cruelty and can even punish you with forced “desynchronization” and loading from the previous checkpoint.

If you don’t just press the “Right Hand” key at the right moment, but together with the “High Profile”, Ezio will commit the murder effectively, reliably, but in front of everyone. Not our method, but it can be done this way.

Sometimes it happens that there is no crowd around, but the guard you are about to kill is already worried. If you close the distance very quickly and strike, he may not have time to switch to combat mode. This can and should be used at the beginning of the battle to reduce the number of enemies. So, archers on rooftops often stand and stare at the cityscape, giving them the opportunity to sneak up on them from behind. But if you run up to them, although they will hear Ezio, they will hardly have time to react.

Killing from the air is very reliable and convenient. If Ezio is a level higher than the victim, he can kill him with a jump on the scruff of the neck. When he has two blades, it will be possible to get rid of two guards at once if they are next to each other.

A murder from behind the edge of a wall would honor any secret agent. Just imagine, an archer is standing at the edge of the wall, smoking - and an assassin is hiding right under him. A quick blow with a blade, a grab for clothing - and the archer disappears into the darkness. Others don't notice unless they're standing nearby. You can, however, by pressing “High Profile” in the process of killing, jump out onto the wall.

If nothing in the crowd prevented Ezio from reaching his target, then a bench would not hurt either. We sit on it for the time being, wait for the victim to pass by, and then - chik! - and she is already in heaven.

If you want to pretend to be a Little Dead Girl, you can hide in a well, strike from there and throw the victim down.

Heaps of hay also provide very rich opportunities. Not only can they strike a victim passing by, but they can also immediately hide a body.

Finally, aesthetes can try to stab the victim with the help of his own bodyguard. Carefully poke him with a poisonous blade, and when he loses his mind and starts swinging his sword left and right, the one he was guarding may also get hit.

Enemies

Often the game presents situations where the main character cannot escape from the guards, but on the contrary, must fight his way somewhere or protect someone. There is nothing to be done here - you have to stack the guards or enemy fighters in stacks.

And since enemies sometimes prefer very different techniques, let's start the conversation with their types.

Dodger

We will be introduced to this specific type of guard from the very beginning of the game. It differs from the usual one in agility, speed and agility. Only dodgers are able to catch up with Ezio, who is sprinting, and hit him in the back in order to knock him down. While other guards stand below and throw stones, the dodgers easily jump along the beams and roofs.

How to protect yourself from them? You can run quickly over rough terrain and hope that even the agile one will fall behind. You can wait until he breaks away from the main group, quickly turn around, finish with him - and calmly run on. Even a short exchange of blows will leave the trickster tired and out of breath - he will need several seconds to regain his strength.

Finally, since the trickster is running on the rooftops, why not push him off the edge? Even if he does not fall very high, you will gain time.

In battle, dodgers are not very strong - they don’t have much armor, and increased evasiveness will not protect them much. In addition, they are somewhat more cowardly than other types of guards. One way or another, they pose few problems in a fight.

The same cannot be said about strongmen.

Strongman

Huge, clumsy, clad in armor from head to toe, the strongmen are visible from afar. It is almost impossible to put them to flight, and with their presence they encourage other guards. The strongman is not able to give chase, but in battle he is the most dangerous of all, since he usually carries a two-handed weapon and loves crushing blows, which are very difficult to counter.

They do not get tired in battle, and fighting against them with small swords is useless. Only a two-hander can be effective against a two-hander. The only exception is a pair of hidden blades.

It can take a long time to pick a strongman, but there are ways to make your life easier. For example, try to go behind people's backs. Or jump up onto a hill where he cannot reach, and from there jump onto the guard with blades drawn.

Another good technique against a strongman is disarming. The situation on the battlefield changes dramatically when he loses his two-handed weapon, and Ezio acquires this weapon.

Seeker

Seekers will appear towards the end of the game and can be identified by their spears or halberds. They were nicknamed so for their ability to look into suspicious haystacks or wells where Ezio might be hiding. If the hero is being pursued by a group of guards led by a seeker, it will be more difficult to take cover. However, the searchers ignore the benches.

In battle, they are dangerous because they can knock Ezio down with a sweeping blow from a spear. Getting close to them can also be difficult, but they are perfectly amenable to disarming. And if Ezio is armed with a two-handed sword, he can try to break the enemy’s spear with a crushing blow.

Weapons and equipment

Ezio will not immediately receive his impressive arsenal of bladed, chemical and firearms. You will have to start small - namely, with fist fights.

Fists

Ezio will use his fists when he has nothing else at hand, or when the assignment requires him to beat the enemy, but leave him alive. In this case, however, even fists will not always save you - they can quite easily kill you. Therefore, in those cases when you need to detain someone running away, but not accidentally kill him, you will have to get smart and use the “knock him down” technique instead of fists.

Getting into a fist fight is also a good way to capture enemy weapons. In addition, only without a weapon in his hands will Ezio be able to pour sand and debris into the enemy's eyes.

Advice: At the first opportunity, buy metal heels for your fists at the blacksmith shop. The damage will increase, but the pocket will not be pulled back.

Hidden Blades

Knives and daggers. Ezio can only carry one small bladed weapon.

They are not very useful in battle. Of course, daggers are fast, but their length is not enough for full-fledged fencing - it is better to use hidden blades.

Medium melee weapon

This is how you can answer all the claims of strongmen. True, first you will have to take this weapon away from them, since an assassin cannot carry a two-handed weapon with him.

The low speed will prevent you from quickly parrying blows, but the damage compensates for this. In addition, two-handed weapons have a special blow - crushing. Enemies cannot parry it. Moreover, if the enemy tries to parry with a spear or halberd, the shaft may break.

For your information: You can continue the fight with a piece of the weapon. But it doesn't always make sense.

To use a crushing blow, you need to hold down the “Right Hand” key and then release it. The force of the blow depends on how long the “swing” is sustained. The only bad thing is that at this moment the character is vulnerable and any blow from the side can “thwart” the use of a special skill.

For your information: special skills are learned for money at the training ground of the Monteriggioni estate. There you can study different archetypes of enemies in battle and practice combat techniques.

Polearm weapon

Spears and halberds are another type of weapon that allows you to fight on equal terms with those who swing them. Ezio also cannot carry a spear, so he will have to obtain a polearm in battle.

This type of weapon also has its own special technique - a sweeping blow that knocks enemies down. It also “charges” and can also be interrupted by a blow.

For your information: If an enemy is knocked down and lying on the ground, he can be killed with one hit. The same can be done with an enemy who is engaged in combat and has turned his back to Ezio. That is why it is very useful to take mercenaries with you “to work.”

Throwing knives

I wouldn't say they're great for fighting. Their usual use is to eat sentries, most often archers on roofs. For ordinary soldiers, one knife is required, for those who have been devoured - two. It is only important to throw the knife not anyhow, but by first pressing the “Aim” key. In addition, knives tend to run out. In general, this weapon is situational, although for those who like to throw, there is also a special skill for knives - throwing several pieces at once with a fan.

This skill is used according to the same rules as a crushing blow. We hold down the key, then release it. We make sure that at the moment of “charging” no one pokes us with a sword.

The supply of knives is replenished at the blacksmiths. Tailors may sell extra pockets for storing knives.

Poison Blade

This weapon can be described as “not sewing on a mare’s tail.” It's funny to see how the enemy, stabbed on the sly, first sways, then begins to swing his sword in a daze, and then falls. But in battle it’s not easy to come up with a use for poison, and in the everyday life of an assassin, too. If the enemy lets you get close enough to inject him with poison, why not poke him with a regular hidden blade? Unless we want to cause chaos and confusion in the area.

This is interesting: which is typical, the body of a character who has died from poison does not bother passers-by as much as the body of someone killed with a bladed weapon.

The poison is replenished at the doctors. Tailors can sell extra poison pockets.

Smoke bombs

In combat, smoke bombs, in general, can also be used: throw them at your feet and, going around the enemy from behind, poke him with a knife. But one subtle point gets in the way: once caught in the clouds of smoke, Ezio himself experiences considerable discomfort and almost loses his combat effectiveness.

Smoke bombs are purchased from blacksmiths.

Gun

The six-shooter hidden on the forearm is a magnificent weapon, if only a little anachronistic. However, you should not assume that it can be used to conduct firefights with guards. The scope of its application is greatly limited by the short range of destruction (twenty meters) and the need to take aim for several seconds before each shot.

We can say that a pistol is a weapon for the lazy. Only it gives the assassin the opportunity to eliminate the victim without any special tricks from a distance that allows him to avoid unnecessary attention from bodyguards. You can also use a pistol to remove a guard who is in a visible place without giving yourself away.

The guards are not familiar with such weapons, so before the first shot they will not worry about seeing how Ezio takes aim. True, if she is already looking for him, she will become interested - not in the pistol, but in the hero himself. However, it is possible to use a pistol to weaken an enemy unit before a battle.

You can also use a pistol to scare someone - some frail, timid, lonely guard. To do this, you need to aim, but not shoot. True, it is difficult to say why this may be needed.

In a hot battle, you can shoot at the enemy point-blank, but don’t expect much effect. But no one will let you aim anyway.

You can only reload a pistol at blacksmiths.

Armor

It makes sense to buy improved four-piece armor (bracers, shoulders, breastplate, leggings) as soon as it appears on sale from blacksmiths. Like the scrolls Leonardo solved, armor increases the character’s health. From time to time, the armor has to be repaired by blacksmiths - if this is not done, it will “break” and will not provide the necessary increase in health.

The exception is the Altair armor, which Ezio will receive for visiting six dungeons. It does not deteriorate in battle and is also better than any other armor in the game.

Capes

Ezio's capes are very unique equipment. At first at the hero's disposal standard cape, which does not have any beneficial effects. But by completing story missions and collecting collectible feathers, our hero will eventually acquire three more.

Medici Cape Lorenzo de Medici will be given to us for special merits. Put it on and you can do any outrages in Florence and the surrounding area. The guards, of course, will try to kill you on occasion, but the hero’s fame will not grow - he will remain incognito.

Venetian cape, which we will receive closer to the finale, acts in a similar way, but “works” only in the Venice area.

Auditore's Cape(it is the most difficult to get - you need to collect all one hundred collectible feathers, which are here instead of flags from the original game) acts in a very unusual way. If Ezio puts it on, then his fame immediately becomes one hundred percent and the guards chase him everywhere. But as soon as he throws off this cape, his fame disappears.

Fighting techniques

The combat in the game looks something like this: enemies surround Ezio as best they can and attack him one at a time. He rushes from one enemy to another, beats them, covers himself with his own blade, delivers counterattacks and makes sure that he is not hit from behind. From time to time he manages to break through the defense of some weak enemy, and the camera shows a spectacular fatality. If the guard is too dexterous and strong, he has to lose his health gradually.

Now - a detailed story about each combat technique.

Entering and exiting combat

The "Aim" key, which focuses Ezio's attention on one specific enemy, is exclusively a console feature. In the general case, you don’t have to use it, but cut down everyone in a row - whomever God sends. But sometimes you can’t do without it - when shooting a pistol, when throwing a knife... And also when trying to escape.

So that Ezio does not jump between enemies, but tries to leave the battlefield, you need to remove the sight by pressing the same key and quickly run away.

Capture

If you grab an enemy, you can do a lot of interesting things with him: knock him with your foot, hand or head, throw him towards other enemies, knocking them down, or even throw him onto some counter, which will collapse and is guaranteed to kill him. Finally, he can be thrown off the roof.

Advice: Try not to fight while near the edge of a roof or balcony. If you have to fight, always try to keep the enemy between you and the edge.

You can only grab an enemy when Ezio has his hands free. And you shouldn’t expect that the hero will be able to reliably grab anyone - this doesn’t work against strong and agile enemies.

For your information: The easiest way to determine the strength of an enemy is by looking at his headdress. The weakest wear berets, the strong wear helmets, and the elite guards wear helmets with all sorts of bells and whistles.

Hit

With a fist, a blade or a broom - a blow, it is a blow. Pressed the “Right Hand” button and tried to reach the enemy. As they say, there is a time to pat heads and there is a time to hit them.

Combination

If Ezio hits the enemy evenly, delivering the next blow at the same moment as the previous one, he can thereby perform a sequence of blows - a combination. Effect: The enemy bends and retreats. Even if he parries all the blows, his health still drops.

Block

If you press not just the “Right Hand” key, but in addition to it “High Profile”, Ezio will not hit, but will stand in the block, trying to reflect the enemy’s blows. It is important to know that to do this you need to be facing the enemy, and not your back, so if some emboldened guard swings from behind, turn around to him. This can be done instantly.

Block is a very important technique in the game. It not only protects Ezio's health, but also allows him to counterattack.

Counterattack

Immediately after parrying an enemy blow, respond with your own. This is a counterattack, the best combat technique in the game. With its help, you can break through the enemy’s defense and instantly kill him without wasting time on “cutting down” his health. Make it a habit to counterattack at every opportunity. This is terribly useful. Wherever the blow comes from, block and immediately counterattack.

A counterattack will work as an opportunity to instantly finish off the guard - it depends on his strength and skills. That is why in battle it makes sense to attack the weakest guards first - they are easier to deal with. And in order to kill a strong enemy, you can first try to “cut off” part of his health.

If the enemy is in no hurry to strike, there are techniques for this case too.

Call

"Tanking" technique - Ezio loudly taunts the enemy, challenging him to fight. In this way, you can unsettle the guard, force him to leave the block and try to attack. And that’s all we need for counterattacks.

Sand Throw

An interesting skill that allows you to slightly disorient the enemy and reduce his defensive abilities. We picked up dust from the ground, threw it in the guard's face - and walked around him from the side while he rubbed his eyes.

This technique can only be used when Ezio's hands are free. We hold down the “Right Hand” and release it at the right moment.

Disarming

Another technique that can be used when Ezio has nothing in his hands. It makes it very convenient to snatch weapons from heavily armored guards.

To do this, wait for the enemy to strike, and at the same moment strike yourself (“Right Hand”). If you did everything correctly, there is a chance to get hold of - albeit temporarily - an excellent weapon.

Evasion

A good way to protect against heavy weapons. When an enemy swings, it often makes sense to press the Legs key while in High Profile. Ezio jumps back from the blow. If you also hold down the Right Hand key, Ezio will dodge blows. You can correct the hero's position using the index keys.

Now you know everything you need to live, work and fight in Renaissance Italy. Next stop - playing through the game's story!

WALKTHROUGH

The story missions of Assassin's Creed 2, in general, are not very difficult. Only in the second half of the game do battles begin to play a big role, they are long and sometimes somewhat tedious. So try not to get involved in battle where it can be avoided - swing your blades even more you'll have time.

However, there are a couple of problems with the plot. Firstly, with chapters 12 and 13, the developers slightly changed their sense of proportion - as a result, at the very end of the game, the plot sags greatly, and the gameplay slides into tediousness. The reason for this is trivial: these two chapters were not originally included in the console version of Assassin's Creed 2, they were added later, and apparently someone did not keep track of them during development.

The second problem, which was already mentioned in the review, is several strangely unbalanced tasks and gameplay moments that are so difficult (and suddenly difficult) that they can seriously spoil the impression of the game. We will dwell on them in more detail in our walkthrough and tell you how to overcome them with “little loss.”

Let's get started!

The escape

Desmond Miles sat in his cell, looked at the otherworldly inscriptions on the walls, and did not touch anyone. And then, out of nowhere, Lucy comes running and arranges for us to escape from Abstergo, capturing not only the hero, but also valuable data from the local Animus.

During our short dive into genetic memory, we will learn the concept of how different parts of the body operate. Baby Ezio will have to move his arms, legs and head on his father's orders. Only after this the birth of a new Auditor will be considered valid.

Back in 2012, follow Lucy, do what she says. Take a look, if you wish, at the surroundings with an eagle's eye. The only more or less serious fight will occur at the very end of the mission - in the garage. Although there are many guards, they all seem to be overwhelmed by themselves - it will be very easy to hit them with tinsel.

After a trip in the trunk to a secret hideout, you will meet the local cell of assassins - the nimble techie girl Rebecca and the irritable intellectual Sean. Look around your next house carefully and talk to Lucy and your new acquaintances - the next time you will see them very soon. The time has come to travel back six hundred years, to the Renaissance, to reveal the secret of the “Shards of Eden” and learn the craft from our ancestors.

1. Blissful ignorance

Boys are always boys. It's time to reacquaint yourself with gaming concepts, old and new. Follow the instructions on the screen and punch the young Pazzi. Then pick out their pockets. Money will be needed for treatment.

You should have seen a different guy. Follow your brother - he will lead you to the doctor. He will cure Ezio, but the scar on his lips from the thrown stone will remain with our hero for life.

Brothers' rivalry. And here are the first lessons in the skill of overcoming obstacles. If you don't make mistakes, it won't be difficult to overtake your brother on the way to the roof - not on the first, but on the second try.

On a note: for now, your enemy is not the guards, but groups of Vieri de Pazzi “militants” on the streets. Keep an eye on them using Eagle Eyes.

Nightcap. Jump into the hay, find the window to the lady's room and climb into it. When cordial communication with Christina Vespucci leads to trouble, run away from the guards across the rooftops.

Messenger. Regular mail task. Pazzi militants are on duty on the streets, so move along the rooftops.

Payback for treason. Ezio's battle sister seeks revenge. Her young man turned out to be such a rake. Grab the scoundrel by the chest and hit him in the face.

The Mystery of Petruchio. The younger brother Ezio demands to find three feathers on the roofs for some purpose known only to him. Time for the task is limited, so don't hesitate. The feathers are marked on the map and can be easily seen from afar.

Family friend. Here we will meet Leonardo da Vinci. There are no particular difficulties in carrying loads.

Special delivery. Another postal task in which it is recommended to cover distances on rooftops. If you want, practice quickly descending to ground level. If you jump, do not forget to roll so that your health does not suffer.

This is interesting: During many scenes with dialogues, the camera can be turned slightly, choosing an angle.

Prisoner. Almost all the men of the Ezio family went to prison, and the hero himself is also wanted. It is unreasonable to demand a meeting in general, so we will have to climb to the very top of the tallest tower of the Palazzo Vecchio. The approaches are guarded by archers. You have two options: either avoid them intensively, or eliminate them one by one. Before jumping to the ground, synchronize on the roof of the tower.

Inheritance. Eagle Eye will help Ezio find the secret door. Finally we have a more or less decent killer outfit! As you leave the room, get ready for battle. After repelling the first attack, climb onto the roofs and run along them to Uberto Alberti. Pay attention to the strange character behind him.

Last Hero. Listen to the thief and run away, avoiding collisions with the guards. Get away from them and hide somewhere until they stop looking for you.

2. Escape plans

Disguise. The courtesans and their mistress Paola will give Ezio a young fighter's course in hiding in a crowd. Take them where you need to go, make sure you understand the basic rules. You will need them very soon. Stealing, on the contrary, only harms us, so immediately forget the acquired skills and get rid of the habit of maneuvering in the crowd in “free running” mode.

Ace in the hole. Since Ezio is wanted, getting to Leonardo da Vinci's house will not be easy. Fortunately, the city crowds will help the hero hide. When Leonardo, a great joker, repairs the mechanism of the secret blade, kill the guard with your newfound weapon so that the genius does not get spied. Take the body to the workshop “to other bodies.”

Judge, jury, executioner. To get to the traitor Uberto Alberti, you will need to go through a guarded entrance, mingling with the crowd. If desired, you can hire a group of courtesans to accompany you. Approaching Uberto, quickly deliver a fatal blow and escape from the guards vertically up the boxes, and then away along the roofs.

To the bottom. Another training task. Ezio needs to get rid of his status as a wanted criminal and become “unknown” again. To do this, we have three ways, which we have already talked about in the guide.

Arrivederci. It is not safe for the Auditore family to be in Florence, so Ezio must get his mother and sister out of the city. The main thing is don't get lost. To overcome the post at the city gates, use the services of courtesans.

3. Rest in peace

Help on the road. But here there is already a battle ahead. Fortunately, we won’t have to fight off the ambush alone - Mario came to our aid from the Auditore estate. The main thing is to distract everyone who decides to attack your mother and sister.

Home Sweet Home. Finally you can relax. Villa Auditore is a wonderful place, except for the gloomy second floor of the mansion. Mario will teach you how to use local shops.

Repetition is the mother of learning. Training task. Talk to Mario and he will teach you the basics of combat and then test you. You can repeat already covered materials as much as you like.

What's happening. A fast horse will rush Ezio to San Gimignano, into the Tuscan countryside. Find Mario and his squad. Your task is to penetrate the wall into the city and open the gate from the inside. Remove the archers and run to the gate, killing everyone who tries to stop you. Open the gate and join the battle. On Mario's orders, go through the city with fire and sword, destroying the guards you meet. When Vieri's men enter the battle, do not get carried away with the battle, but climb the tower where Vieri himself is hiding and finish him off.

New plans. Using the game menu, find and read the letter in the database. After this, find the pieces of the Codex marked on the map. Talk to Claudia - she is now an accountant and is always ready to show all the figures on the estate. The architect drawn in the room next to her is a living menu for purchasing improvements for Monteriggioni. There is only one rule: buy everything you have enough money for. The sooner the price of a villa rises, the more money will trickle into your chest.

When Mario shows Ezio Altair's suit, locked with six locks, Assassin shrines will begin to appear on the map. To get six keys and get the legendary armor, you will have to solve puzzles and fight. However, this is not necessary to complete the story.

4. The Pazzi Conspiracy

Practice what you preach. And again - a visit to Leonardo. He will decipher the pages with the Codex and reveal the second secret blade, and Ezio will learn to kill while jumping or from cover.

Fox hunting. And in this task you will be taught how to stop fugitives, and skipping the lesson is highly not recommended. The rule, in general, is one: when Ezio is very close to the person being pursued, press the “right hand” key, and, if you are lucky, the hero will jump and knock him down. Why you can’t just slap him in the face is unclear.

See you. It turns out that we were lured by the local king of thieves, the Fox. Run after him across the rooftops. When a marker appears on the map, follow it.

The Mystery of the Novella. The first Tomb of the Assassins is a must. Fortunately, there is nothing serious about it. You just need to overcome several obstacles, which Ezio already knows how to do, then collapse into the hay, kill one guard and run after the second, trying not to lag behind (however, this is not very important, since the guard will wait for you if something happens).

When you come across a locked door, use the beam above it to get to the opening mechanism. Do something about the guards who came out in response to the noise. There's another chase ahead. Move in a parallel course, avoiding barriers. Do something with the last group of guards again. All that remains is to clean out the chests and take the first key.

Wolf in sheep's clothing. And here is the historical assassination attempt on the Medici. We cannot prevent it, but we can protect Lorenzo by kicking in the ass everyone who decides to attack him. When the attackers run out, lead Lorenzo Medici home, trying to avoid street fights (this, however, cannot always be done).

Goodbye Francesco. Francesco Pazzi must die. To get to him, you must first get rid of the archers. When the victim starts running, run after him, ignoring anyone who tries to stop you.

5. Unwinding the holds

Four bars. Here you don't need to do anything at all. Talk to Lorenzo Medici on the bridge - he will thank you for saving him.

Biting blade. And Leonardo da Vinci, in turn, will teach you how to use a poisonous blade and tell you where to replenish your poison supplies. Drive to your villa Monteriggioni.

Evasion maneuvers. Talk to Mario again and learn defensive techniques - dodging and avoiding blows. Remember how to take away weapons from enemies - this technique can be very useful in the future.

On a note: There's a little twist in the plot here. The next four missions can be completed in any order.

Herald. The task is quite difficult and a little boring. Antonio Maffei - our “client” - screams apocalyptic prophecies on the roof of the highest tower. It is guarded by archers. Ezio’s task is to use the towers standing around and the ropes stretched between them to reach him and kill him. Finding a path along the walls is quite easy, although it is long and quite winding. You can't expose your back to archers. All of them must be neutralized.

This is a bug: Pay close attention to Antonio's screams. If they stop, it means that a bug has overtaken you and Antonio is no longer on the roof. There is nothing you can do here - just load the mission from the beginning.

Behind closed doors. The task is very similar to what it was before: you need to get behind the walls of the fortress and open the gates to friendly fighters. Only this time the enemies are seriously pressing, and you can fight them off for a long time. Try not to drag out battles, use your partners to distract enemies, and hit them in the back yourself. Jump through the roof of the house onto the wall, from there into the courtyard. Having dispersed the oncoming enemies, run to the gate from the inside and open it. All that remains is to kill the victim running somewhere nearby in his pajamas.

Go out and play. To kill Bernardo Barnocelli, you don't need to use any special tricks, even if the developers say otherwise. Climb onto the roof next to the green area on the map, make sure you can see Bernardo and his bodyguards (Eagle Eye will help). All that remains is to seize the moment, make a few jumps, run into the “client” and stick something sharp into him.

It is not the cassock that makes a person a monk. And then the developers, as if reading our thoughts, decided to complicate the task: the victim, having discovered the killer, will quickly escape, failing our mission. The action takes place in a monastery, Stefano da Bagnone hides among the monks and keeps guards disguised as monks nearby. But getting to it is not so difficult if you use the roof.

Jump into the pile of leaves on the cart (no one around, of course, cares), wait for Stefano to pass next to you, and quickly kill him. Don't forget to escape under the cover of a couple of smoke bombs and then tear down some posters in the city.

With such friends. This is a fun mission. You need to not only kill Jacopo De'Pazzi, but also follow him to find out who else is involved in the conspiracy. Having found the target with the help of the Eagle's Eye, sit on his tail. You need to not arouse his suspicion, but at the same time not miss him for long out of sight. If he suddenly passes next to the patrol guards, it is better to make a detour away from harm. On the ruins of the amphitheater, find the observation point indicated by the developers and watch how unkindly the conspirators treat Jacopo.

After the scene, quickly press the key shown to you to free yourself from the capture, and run away from the guards. There will be a lot of them, and you still need to finish off Jacopo, since the conspirators seem to be unable to complete anything. It is best to rush into a feigned flight, lure the guards away, and make a detour yourself, return to the “client”, give him a “control blow”, and then run - in a real way - through the fields and vegetable gardens.

6. Rocky road

Drive. Talk to Lorenzo Medici and receive a cape, under the protection of which you can do any dirty tricks in Florence without increasing your wanted level. Go to Leonardo's workshop. Business is calling us to Venice.

Roman holidays. To get to Venice, you first need to overcome the long and dangerous Apennine Mountains. The easiest way to do this is on a horse, but at the beginning of the journey, very conveniently, we meet Leonardo da Vinci, who is also going to Venice. He has a flat tire, and after some minor repairs, Ezio will join Leonardo. And everything would have been fine, but on the road, of course, we were ambushed.

This is the first and only GTA-style chase game of its kind. And in addition, it is very difficult, since breaking or turning over the cart is a piece of cake. Maneuver on a narrow mountain road, trying not to crash into boulders, fall into the abyss or fall into puddles of burning oil. Take care of the cart at all costs. Shake off the “boarding party” with sharp turns. If the attacker gets to Ezio, he will have to be reset “manually”.

The easiest part of the path is covering the retreating Leonardo. This is just a fight, and besides, Ezio can hide from the knight on the roof of the house.

On a note: Then it will be possible, if desired, to visit the long road in the Apennine Mountains again. There is nothing there except landscapes and rare chests of valuables found here and there. But no matter how useless this area was for us, the developers did not take it away from us, and that’s good.

Boarding ends. A training mission in which Ezio will play Grandfather Masai and meet Caterina Sforza, an interesting historical character. You will meet the rescued girl towards the end of the game under very dramatic circumstances.

For a long time we were in the shoes of Ezio Auditore di Firenze. It's good to be back with Desmond for once. However, you will have to practice, one way or another, jumping and all sorts of acrobatics. Definitely, Desmond gained the abilities of his ancestor through the “leakage effect”! To show Lucy your skills, turn on the alarm - two buttons below and two buttons under the very roof of the hangar.

It seems that the “leak” also has side effects that cause hallucinations in our hero, as well as very vivid and colorful dreams.

Looks like we're back with Ezio again. But no, it’s clearly not the Renaissance era around us, and the hero looks somehow too... antediluvian. Is it really Altair? He is! A certain mysterious character runs away from him, demonstrating good acrobatic abilities. Who could it be? Hurry up, give chase!

Most likely, the main problem for you will be the balcony on the tower, which console owners have complained about. There is a way to climb onto the “elusive” beam, although it is not obvious: you need to sit like an eagle on the side railing of the balcony, turn to face the beam, and then jump onto it.

After a juicy excursion into the genealogy of Desmond Miles, we return to Animus 2.0 and, by extension, to the Renaissance.

7. Merchant of Venice

Greetings. Oh, this wonderful Venice! It’s so good that even the developers couldn’t resist taking a little tour. But don't relax and when Leonardo tries to hug Ezio, hug him back by pressing the right button. Everyone has their own shortcomings.

The scar will remain. Another fun mission. A thief named Rose, who stole our wallet earlier in the mission, got into big trouble. She will be wounded, and our hero, like a true knight, will rush to her aid. Protect it from the guards, “tank” the enemies at any cost. When Rose falls to the ground, we will have to drag her to the gondola, where she will be picked up by a comrade in the class struggle.

Now Ezio needs to cover this gondolier and Rosa, accompanying the boat by jumping along the wall and “taking off” the archers along the way. The boat is not moving very fast, so we have time for active actions. At the end of the journey, having handed Rose over to your comrades, do not relax. You have to assist in a difficult operation.

Bricks. Our new acquaintance is the strange revolutionary thief Antonio. Talk to him and receive a task to kill three traitors. Again, a small plot twist.

The escape. A thief named Hugo will meet you on the roof of the cathedral and explain the disposition. We need to free three groups of comrades from cells. In short: kill the guards, free the prisoners and bring them to Hugo. It is advisable to then fiercely defend them, but the task is counted even if only one prisoner from each group survived.

They greet you by their clothes. Hugo again, but this time - at the docks. He will ask you to empty three chests with a fresh batch of uniforms for the guards. To do this, you will have to distract the guards guarding them. Then you will need to steal the gondola and bring it to the designated place.

House cleaning. Antonio has found traitors in his ranks, and they must be punished. Find them and punish them. One can be thrown unnoticed from a ship into the water, another can be jumped on top by a cheerful jaguar, and a third can be knocked off the roof with a stick.

Repetition is the mother of learning. Take Rosa's lesson on steeplejacking using jumping techniques seriously. It makes it possible to climb walls, even if the hero cannot reach the next ledge. Without it, you will not complete the game, and even where the distance between the ledges in the wall allows you to avoid jumping, the new technique will greatly speed up movement and make Ezio’s life easier.

Faster than fast. And this is the test that Rosa will give us to find out how well Ezio is now jumping on walls.

Everything has to happen. During a conversation with Antonio, be prepared to press the correct key so that Ezio correctly completes the Italian proverb for the interlocutor.

To reach the objective, first kill five archers. Then check in with Antonio and clear the barrier of guards - the easiest way to do this is to hire a group of thieves. Climb onto the roof (this is where recent lessons will come in handy), find Emilio and kill him.

8. The need for invention is cunning

Birds of a feather. Regular surveillance. I think the phrase “follow the white rabbit” fully describes its passage. If Ezio is not confident in his abilities, courtesans are always at his service. They will also help you get through the guard posts.

If it doesn't work out the first time... Explore the palace with Rosa and Antonio for possible places of infiltration. The first two viewpoints will be easy to reach, but to the third you will have to climb the tower. Then go to the next point, where, using boxes, cranes and other convenient things, climb onto the roof of the palace.

Advice: leave Antonio behind first, climb higher and only then call him to you. Crowding when conquering peaks is unacceptable. It's a shame to accidentally push your partner from a height and thereby fail the mission.

Those who don't take risks don't drink champagne. Once the hero rides Leonardo's flying machine, you don't need to do anything. No matter how good a pilot Ezio is, his mouth will still be full of earth. However, if you want to fly longer, keep in mind that the up and down keys are inverted, like in flight simulators.

A good start is half the battle. It is impossible to fly to the palace in a winged car - it is too far away. However, Leonardo had a brilliant idea. No, you can't attach a motor to the car. He decided to use rising air currents to support the machine. They can be organized using four large fires. The guards, naturally, will try to prevent the violation of fire safety. But that's up to Ezio. Use Eagle Vision, find the guards marked for death in the four indicated places and kill them.

Rarely flying passenger. An easy and fun mission. They will tell you that you can kill archers on the roofs, but there is no need to do this: just zigzag towards the palace, flying low over the fires to rise higher.

Having reached the palace, go around the courtyard along the roof (be careful - archers, they must be killed quietly) and go down the stairs to the window. Now all that remains is to catch up and kill Grimaldi, escape from the guards through an inconspicuous exit in the corner - and disappear into the big city.

9. Carnival

Meanwhile, the famous carnival began in Venice. Acrobats, fire-swallowers, musicians, dancing, luxurious clothes - and masks, masks, masks all around. During the carnival, Ezio's wanted level will not increase.

Knowledge is power. Go to Leonardo with a stack of Codex sheets under your arm and sign for the pistol. How many tasks will he make easier? How many headaches can be avoided with its help! Practice as usual on stuffed animals.

The girl is in trouble. The conversation with the owner of the brothel is interrupted in the most dramatic way: the maniac has killed one of the courtesans and is running away. Looks like there's a job for Ezio! But here’s the horror - a maniac took a hostage on the street and threatens to kill her if Ezio approaches him. He is determined to use the knife. What to do? Eh, if only there was a gun... Wait - there is a gun!

The nun knows. Another difficult mission. Okay, not that complicated. Return to the brothel and after talking with Sister Theodora, go to the carnival.

Let's run. To get into the closed celebration and get to Marco Barbarigo, you need to win festive competitions and win a mask pass. The first task is a fairly easy race across sixteen key points. If you don’t see where to run next right away, slow down and look around.

Capture the Flag. But this task is very difficult. Technically, its essence is the usual “capture the flag”. But your opponent is very fast and agile. If he is the first to capture three flags in the square and take them to his base, things are bad. To take the flag away from him, just hit him. He can take the flag from Ezio in the same way. If the enemy took the flag first, do not try to catch up with him - it is almost useless. Instead, mark where his base is, meet him there, take the flag and run away.

Tape raid. One of two places in the game where pickpocket skills come in handy. You just need to, checking the map, “steal” as many ribbons as possible from the girls.

You can't make good by deception. Fight. First a fair fist fight. Then, when the bribed guards arrive, you can take out your weapons.

Explosion. Nevertheless, the pass mask was given to the favorite. There is nothing to do, you will have to steal it. Find a bad person using Eagle Eye. To distract the owner of the mask, use courtesans.

With the pass on your face, enter the private party. However, our troubles are not over yet. The subject we robbed bursts into the celebration in a rage, and the guards begin to look for the thief. If Ezio is discovered, the mission will fail. You will have to hide in the crowd very carefully, as the guards disperse groups of people on their way. While maneuvering, wait for the new Doge Marco Barbarigo to appear and kill him with a pistol. Leave the guards through the channels.

10. Force majeure

Unpleasant turn. Find Antonio and he will bring Ezio up to date with the latest events.

Fighter in a cage. To raise mercenaries to revolt, you need to free their leader, the mighty warrior Bartolomeo, from his cage. The algorithm is simple: they killed the guards at the cage, released Bartolomeo, brought him home, making sure that he was alive.

We don’t abandon our own. Bartolomeo is free and his “beloved” is safe. Now we need to free his fighters. The algorithm is the same - they killed the guards, freed the soldiers, helped them kill a new batch of guards.

On a note: In this mission, Ezio will often come across unafraid townspeople. Be extremely careful - if you accidentally kill several, the task will fail.

To battle! And you will have to tinker with this mission. Order your soldiers to stand behind and not get involved in a fight if there are guards looming ahead. Kill the guards in the place where you need to place the soldiers. Whistle for your friends to come over. Repeat.

Two birds with one sword. Climb the tower and sound the signal. Jump and join the battle. You need to find Dante (Eagle Eye) and beat him up a little (it's best to try to disarm him). When he starts running, catch up with him. The guards will try to interfere with you, but you can escape from them along the rooftops. Kill both Dante and Silvio Barbarigo before the time runs out.

11. Alter ego

Everything will come to those who wait. After the conversation with Leonardo, you will have another surveillance. Go around the barriers of guards along the roofs. After the scene, kill the courier and take his clothes.

This is a bug: If before the scene some guard decides to check who it is that is following the courier, after the scene there will be no way to hide, so be careful.

Play. Grab the casket with the “Shard of Eden” and follow the second courier, carefully avoiding any collisions. After the scene there will be a fight with Rodrigo Borgia. He is strong, but neither he nor his guards can do anything against a dozen healing potions, especially since then Bartolomeo, Teodora, Paola, Mario, Lis and for some reason Nicolo Machiavelli will enter the battle on your side.

After the scene, in which a lot of interesting things are revealed, the chapter will end.

12. Attack on Forli

This is where two tedious chapters begin, greatly blurring the ending of Assassin's Creed 2. The road is paved with good intentions, you know where - it would be better, as in the console version, these chapters were skipped. However, there is nothing to do - let's get started!

Warm welcome. We return to Forlì with Katerina and Machiavelli. But bad luck - suddenly it turns out that the town and castle of Forli have been captured by enemies! I think it’s not difficult to guess what Ezio needs to do. Fights, fights and more fights. By boat, enter the city through the secret entrance by diving under the grate. Open the gate.

Bodyguard. Fights, fights, fights. Protect Katerina and Nicolo.

Hold the fort. Fights, fights, fights. Kill enemies on the ground and on rooftops.

This is interesting: When I played through this mission, immediately after its completion, two friendly guards came out of thin air next to Ezio, saw dead enemies, Ezio standing above them, and... well, both had to be killed.

Godfather. Quite an unpleasant mission to free two hostages, children at that, and for a while at that. Katerina’s daughter, tied up, is lying in the yard near the wall of the house outside the gate. Untie her without wasting much time killing the soldiers.

Get on your horse and ride to the lighthouse. Katerina's son is at the top. You won't be able to get around the enemies here, so you'll have to kill them in large numbers very quickly, keeping an eye on the timer. If you try to go around them and climb the tower, you will be hit with a stone or an arrow.

Checkmate. Catch up with Checco, avoiding collisions with the guards covering him if possible, and kill him. Alas, Ezio himself is mortally wounded, and the “Shard of Eden” was taken by a mysterious monk with nine fingers.

An apple from an apple tree. Go to the monastery and kill two guards so that the grateful monk will tell you who to look for in the city. Return to Forli, go to the market and, with the help of the Eagle's Eye, find the monk you need (you can also recognize him by his bald head). He will immediately rush away, and your task is to knock him down while jumping. It is useless to poke your fists in the back - the monk will die (right on the run, yeah), and the mission will be failed.

13. Bonfire of the Vanities

Our mysterious monk is none other than Girolamo Savonarola. "Shard of Eden" explains his sudden rise.

Fiasco in Florence. Make your way to Florence (it has changed a lot under the new government), avoiding the guards if possible. Talk to Machiavelli. He will bring Ezio up to date by telling him what has happened in the city in recent years. While guarding Nicolo, get to Palazzo Pitti.

To overthrow Savonarola's power, nine of his henchmen must be eliminated. He hypnotized some with the “Shard”; others followed him voluntarily. One way or another, if all nine die, the people will free themselves from the power of the artifact and rise up in rebellion. You can kill them in any order.

Still life. To kill an artist, you need to get closer to him along the wall, recognize him with an eagle's eye, and then catch up with him and poke him with something sharp. Here and after each of the nine murders, you will then also have to escape from the guards.

Along the career ladder. Eliminate the advancing guards, catch up with the captain, stick it in and turn it twice.

This is interesting: I didn’t even have to kill him - out of fright, the captain himself fell off the roof, being very far from Ezio. This is about “balance” in additional chapters.

Vertical mobility. Catch up and kill a noble citizen before he reaches Savonarola. Immediately after the start of the mission, turn right and climb out onto the roof using the boxes to get ahead of the victim on the roof.

Last rituals. There is no need to gather a group for this task - tea, not the Borean tundra. Climb the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore - the victim is holed up there. A few guards won't cause big problems.

Port authorities. And now - attention! - you have to do the most nasty mission in the whole game, which clearly shows what happens if you forget to test tasks for balance in the add-on. The situation is this: the victim - the port manager - is holed up on a ship in the port. He's guarded by a dozen guards! Eight of them are on the deck of the ship, in the “forbidden” territory!

But according to Ezio’s instructions, you cannot show yourself, otherwise the task will fail. That is, someone saw you and raised the alarm - ready, load the task from the beginning. For some reason, the developers don’t care that after the death of the port manager, the alarm will be raised one way or another. And from the ship - where would it go? But you still can’t show yourself. This is what the scriptwriters decided, the programmers implemented it, and the testers missed it. In terms of complexity, this mission is only slightly short of the last “helicopter” mission in GTA 4.

But enough of the lyrics. I’ll give you an algorithm that worked (however, not the first time) for me:

• We carefully kill the archer on the roof to the left of the ship.
• With a careful double blow we kill two guards at the stairs leading to the pier. If you're lucky, the guard at the pier won't raise the alarm.
• After waiting until the patrolman on the pier comes close to the gangway, we carefully shoot him with a pistol and hide. If you're lucky, two heavily armed guards will jump out of the ship onto the dock.
• We'll swim to the stern of the ship and hang right next to the side. Let's wait until the patrolman on the port side approaches the stern. Let's throw it into the water.
• We crawl along the stern to the starboard side and throw the patrolman into the water there.
• We crawl out to the left side and throw the patrolman into the water. Don’t even try to repeat the same technique with the patrolman on the starboard side - it won’t work.
• We return to the stern and carefully crawl onto the deck at the helm. We approach the guards standing with their backs to us and with a quick blow we kill both of them at the same time.
• Only after this can you jump on the back of the port master.
• We breathe a sigh of relief. If you beat this mission, the rest of the game will be a cakewalk. More difficult this there will be nothing anymore.

Precision strike. To kill the doctor, mix with the crowd and get close. The guards walk back and forth across the square, but there are a lot of people around and there is somewhere to sit in case of danger.

To the hayloft. The developers want us to hide in the hay, but nothing prevents us from using a pistol. One shot and it's done. You can roll in the hay to make your task easier and eliminate a couple of guards patrolling the area.

Archenemy. There are no problems at all - go to the position along the roofs and kill the leader of the mercenaries with one jump.

Judgment Day. The priest will preach for a while under the protection of guards, and then step aside and go into the courtyards. Kill him there. Eliminate the guards along the way - there will be no problems with them.

All power to the people. When Savonarola wants to use Shard, throw the knife by pressing the desired button. Run after the guard, catch up with him and finally take the long-suffering artifact.

Mob justice. Push the crowd aside and kill Savonarola before the fire breaks out.

After this, Ezio will give an inspirational speech, which, it seems, no one in the crowd understood. In any case, two tedious chapters are over, and before us is the last mission!

14. I came, I saw, I conquered

On Mario's orders, you will have to go through the cities and find all the pieces of the Codex that you do not already have. They are obtained in the usual way: distract the guards with courtesans, enter, open the chest - done.

Mark on the map. When we have all thirty pages of the Codex, we will need to solve an easy puzzle. Turn on Eagle Vision and unfold all the sheets so that the outlines form a schematic map of the world.

Luck. Here we are in Rome, at the Sistine Chapel. Move along the uneven surfaces of the tower to the fortress wall, eliminating the first group of guards. Pull the lever and open the passage to the next section of the wall. Again the battle, again the guards. If the doors are closed, climb the towers. When they offer a horse, sit down and ride along the wall (this is mandatory, since if you pass the “horse” section on foot, there will be desynchronization and you will have to load up). You don't have to hide in the hay, but you can. Height helps against heavily armed guards - play king of the hill to make your life easier.

Advice: when Ezio is knocked off his horse, lure the enemies to his rump so that the horse helps the hero by kicking the guards. It's not that useful, but it's funny.

When Ezio finds himself under the arches of the Sistine Chapel, he will have to slow down: if the hero is discovered, he will have to load up. It will be easy to get through the first room - the monks stand in groups and do not pay attention to the man in the hood, and the guards walk alone. In the second you will have to sweat a little - the guards at the end of the room are most dangerous.

Your reward will be the opportunity to look at the paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Pope Alexander VI, aka Rodrigo Borgia, reads prayers, and it will be very easy to get close to him unnoticed along the ledges and boards. Jump - strike!

This is a bug: if Rodrigo suddenly disappeared at the moment of striking, it’s okay, it happens. Scare a crowd of unarmed bishops for fun, return to the fortress walls and jump from them to load.

Of course, the Pope will not so easily agree to fall from the assassin’s dagger. There is a battle ahead, and a rather difficult one. Fortunately, Ezio will use the same technique against the head Templar that his former boss used against Altair hundreds of years ago. Fight aggressively, don't skimp on healing potions - you won't need them anymore. Take away Rodrigo's health, and Ezio... will receive his second fatal blow to the chest with a blade in recent years.

Nails should be made of this assassin! He nevertheless overcame the pain and followed Rodrigo into the secret dungeon, in which all the secrets should be revealed.

Perhaps, only a mind clouded after a terrible injury can explain the fact that Ezio, with a hole in his chest, suddenly took off all his weapons and decided to arrange a “wall to wall” fight with the Pope. Fortunately, the battle will be easy: it seems that the developers inserted it here only so that the player would have something to occupy his hands during the last dialogue between Ezio and Rodrigo.

When Borgia is finally defeated, Ezio suddenly decides to let him live. After all, someone had to be poisoned by wine in 1503, otherwise there would be a butterfly effect in one single piece of DNA.

In any case, the time has come for the secrets to be revealed, and in the dungeon, Ezio Auditore di Firenze, aka the Chosen One, will meet Minerva, a divine being, a representative of the mysterious race that created the “Shards of Eden” in time immemorial. The conversation will, however, be somewhat one-sided, since the beaming citizen with her monologues practically does not pay attention to Ezio’s questions (“Minerva, who were you talking to just now?” - “Shut up, Donny, you’re not in the subject”).

The developers did not wait for favors from nature and combined the end credits with battle and dialogues so that players would definitely not miss them. However, no matter how smartly Desmond fought with ancient blades, the main villain of our time, Doctor Warren, still escaped from us in Assassin's Creed 3.

This means that you have completed the game. Congratulations!

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