Assassin's Creed II: completed!

It took a while, but Sequence 13 was excellent and had me wanting more, so I played through the rest of the game.

After the build up I was disappointed to find that I wasn't able to explore Rome, but instead was constrained to a set tunnel to reach the pope. Assassinating him was easy - skirting along the rafters then diving from above - except of course it wasn't that straightforward. Lots of back and forwards, followed by a fist fight which was rigged so I couldn't best him before he'd finished his dialogue.

Then long cut scenes meeting god(s), credits, fights in the modern day, and a flimsy excuse as to why I can go back and collect anything I may have missed. I may well go back for the feathers, but I'll use a map if I do.

Great game, but with the DLC included it probably went on a tad too long. Had I skipped straight to Rome after the Spaniard had run off, I'd probably have appreciated it more. Having said that, Sequence 13 was excellent and varied, so I'm glad I got to play it ...

Assassin's Creed II: unexpected additional content

It took a long time to become a proper assassin - even though I had killed many people, most of the time deliberately, it wasn't until the end of Sequence 11 that I was admitted into the group, at the top of a Venetian tower.  We all jumped off afterwards.

Venice is a pretty spectacular setting and has been used for a large portion of the game.  I don't think it's entirely geographically accurate - the bridge next to which I proposed to Justine wasn't there, for a start - but you get the same sense of getting lost with canals and paths intersecting constantly.  In real life, it's generally frowned on to jump into the canal and swim across, or climb buildings to jump across the rooftops.

Everything seemed to be building to a climax at the end of Sequence 11.  I found out where to go to meet the Spaniard, and what he was going to be collecting.  I infiltrated the guard house and carried the big important box to meet him.  My compatriots met me and there was a big fight, as you'd expect at the end of the game.

Then the Spaniard ran off.  I'd rescued the Apple of Eden, but hadn't killed the man who provided my motive in the first place.

The game didn't end there.  According to the achievements list and various reviews, there were then two "missing memories" (downloadable content) - Sequences 12 and 13 - which I'd skip over and then I'd finish the game with Sequence 14.  Not so; the game continued with me in Forli trying to infiltrate and defend the town.  I seem to have the DLC already.  I'm sure that I don't have a game of the year edition of the game, but it's possible I suppose that wherever I bought it from gave me the wrong disc ...

Anyway, Forli is defended, and I'm off to start Sequence 13 in Florence.