There, I said it.

While the last Assassin’s Creed was a disappointment, its successor is a triumph of immersive entertainment, taking the gamer through the highs and lows of life in renaissance Italy, crammed with action at every turn and (prepare yourself) it has a thrilling plot.

Truly, Assassin’s Creed 2 is un brillante gioco al computer, as our hero, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, would say.

Set in the 1400s, Assassin’s Creed 2 continues the parallel storyline started in the previous game, detailing the secret war between the order of Assassins and the power-hungry Templars, who are now hiding behind the front of Abstergo Industries – a multinational company. In the modern day, our eponymous hero, Desmond Miles, escapes from Abstergo and joins the Assassins, who stick him in an Animus machine (a tool which allows the user to relive the lives of one’s ancestors through DNA), and allows him to play the life story of Desmond’s ancestor Ezio, an Italian nobleman, in order for him to learn the Assassin’s art.

So, while playing as Desmond playing as Ezio, the gamer is plunged into Ezio’s world, as he has to face off against the Templars and take his revenge on the betrayers of his family, while unravelling a mystery as old as time itself.

Despite what you might think, the two parallel storylines are clearly separated and make sense. The two even collide in some ways, as a previous test subject (who was tortured at Abstergo before Desmond) has left clues in Ezio’s memories for you to find, which in turn unlock the truth of both conspiracies – it’s a multi-layered plot which I found to be completely engrossing, unlike the last game’s plot, which was bland and disappointing.

I’m not going to say much more, other than to say to find a game plot of such depth is a rare thing indeed.

Ezio’s world is one of great change. At the time of the renaissance, Italy was moving into an age of technology and commerce, when great inventors like Leonardo da Vinci (who acts as one of Ezio’s mentors in Florence) were expanding their minds.

Into this new world comes Ezio, now an Assassin, and he has free run all over Italy to chase down the conspirators.

Locations on offer include the massive city-state of Florence, Venice’s network of waterways, the huge open countryside of Italy (complete with bandits) and the Auditore family’s city retreat, Monteriggioni, which Ezio can upgrade with his hard earned money in a side quest and restore to its former glory, as well as a money-maker and a great place to stock up on the tools of the trade.

And speaking of tools, unlike his predecessor, Altair, Ezio can have more than four weapons. A huge number of swords, maces, axes, throwing knives, smoke bombs and even a small pistol are up for grabs, provided you have the money. Ezio can also eventually wield two of the Assassin’s hidden blades, allowing him to off two enemies at once in a stylish attack, which is even better if executed from a rooftop.

And there is a lot of assassinating to be done. While the main campaign is engrossing enough, many side jobs are available to Ezio, ranging from assassination contracts to courier work, races, collecting any one of a number of different chests, eagle feathers or pages of ancient knowledge (which in turn open up even more of the plot) – the opportunities seem endless.

There’s even an opportunity to commission a painting to decorate your villa, or dye your robes, or you could go hunting for the tombs of legendary Assassins to unlock even more armour or weapon choices. Basically, unlike the previous title, you aren’t likely to get bored with Assassin’s Creed 2.

The gameplay is smooth and simple to grasp. As with his predecessor, Ezio is as skilled at climbing as a cat, and can climb, swing and jump his way across the rooftop with ease. Combat is also simple, but this time round Ezio can disarm his enemies and use their own weapons against them – a useful tactic when your enemy is a massive brute armed with a war hammer.

Ezio is capable of taking on ten or more enemies at once, and though the combat controls can take a bit of getting used to, once you’ve mastered them, countering, disarming and taunting enemies becomes second nature, and the game all the more enjoyable for it.

Alternatively, if fighting would not suit the assassination, Ezio can hire thieves, mercenaries or a small bunch of courtesans (ladies of the night to you or I) and task them with distracting the guards. Or you could blend in with the crowds and strike suddenly as you pass. Or you could poison one guard, watch him go nuts- distracting the enemy- do the deed and disappear, how you complete the missions is up to you, and it’s this freedom which is so engrossing.

Speaking of freedom, though the controls for getting about are simple, with the free-running aspect still playing well, the controls can occasionally be very unforgiving, particularity during a frantic escape or in the middle of a particularly difficult climbing section – one slip up, one joystick push in the wrong direction, and it’s a plummet to the streets of Venice and a swift restart, but with practice, getting about is not a problem.

Graphically the PS3 version of Assassin’s Creed 2 is superb. The game makes full use of the PS3’s hardware to produce a living, breathing environment with no slowdown and excellent texturing close-up.

The cutscenes are also well animated, though there is the occasional lip-synching problem, but this is a marginal issue

The sound is also well thought out. The musical score ranges from Italian harp to surprisingly good mixes of rock music and orchestral score, and it flows and rises with the action on screen.

The voice acting is also excellent. Ezio’s character is well rounded and believable, and listening him go from noisy teenager to stonehearted Assassin is another high point for the game.

Even the NPC’s have believable characters as you move through the crowds – knock over an old man and he will raise his fist at you, yelling “Bastardo!” at the top of his lungs- and attracting the attention of the guards- you have to watch how you approach the targets in Assassin’s Creed 2 – everyone could be a troublemaker.

Assassin’s Creed 2 is a massive improvement from its predecessor in every way. There’s more to do, a decent plot, dozens of targets to plan and assassinate, better graphics, voice acting and environments- it’s a brilliant game in all respects. Though the controls can be a little frustrating, once you learn the nuances of the system the game that keeps on giving, and if you spend some time finding every hidden glyph, riddle, feather, mission and jewellery box, it’s extremely fulfilling as well.

Stick it on your Christmas list.

Over the course of the dozen-hour campaign, it might feel like the game is taunting you: “Just try to get bored. I dare you.” But that’s a challenge you won’t mind coming up short on.

Among Thieves builds upon the basic framework of the original Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, but no stone has been left unturned in dramatically improving the overall experience for the sequel, so much so that it almost seems like a completely new series. Nathan Drake, smartass fortune hunter/explorer, again takes center stage in the sequel, which tracks his quest to discover what happened to Marco Polo’s missing fleet back in the 13th century (and profit from whatever treasure is found). Don’t sweat it if you fail to keep track of every minute piece of the narrative puzzle — it’s largely there to escort Drake and his compatriots from location to location, providing context to whatever jaw-dropping action sequence waits around the next corner.

Like the original, Uncharted 2 wears its influences on its sleeve: it’s a stop-and-pop, cover-based third-person shooter like Gears of War, while also granting players the ability to briskly scale and explore each environment a la Tomb Raider. But it’s the combination of the two, plus puzzle solving and contextual melee attacks, that really makes Uncharted a unique experience. Whether you’re emptying clips amidst a frantic firefight (a regular occurrence), climbing street signs and ledges to reach some vertical destination, or performing a stealth melee kill on some unsuspecting foe, each aspect comfortably fits and feels like an integral and important part of a singular experience, not just separate styles of gameplay shoehorned into a template.

What makes Among Thieves such a remarkably improved experience over the original is a renewed dedication to stylized, cinematic action. The developers at Naughty Dog have clearly studied scads of awesome action films, and packed the game full of the kinds of moments that would have you cheering at your local movie theater.

Where Uncharted 2 breaks from the competition is that it never loses sight of the fact that it’s not a movie — it’s an interactive experience, which means you should be in the driver’s seat as much as possible. Sure, the campaign has its fair share of cut-scenes, but they’re largely narrative, conversational segues that lend context to the action. Whether it’s shooting down a helicopter while on a moving train, running along a bridge as it crumbles beneath your feet, or hoisting a wounded companion as soldiers and tanks swarm from all angles, the game simply refuses to allow for more than a very occasional dull moment. Of course, you’ll have to suspend disbelief to a rather large degree. That Drake manages to slay hundreds of foes without consequence and simultaneously be the most agile man in existence is sort of mind-numbing if you think too hard about it, so here’s a tip — don’t. Just enjoy the ride.

It doesn’t hurt that Uncharted 2 is perhaps the prettiest game to see release on a home console to date. From sensational vistas to war-torn, dilapidated cities, each environment has been meticulously crafted using superb modeling and texture work. But while the set pieces are certainly stunning, it’s the animations — character and otherwise — that really deliver the illusion of near-photorealism. Extensive motion-capture work results in totally convincing interactions, both in the game and the real-time cut-scenes, and sharply delivered dialogue from Drake voice actor Nolan North and his co-stars further cements the game’s impressive presentational prowess.

That Uncharted 2 also contains a fully featured online multiplayer component is sort of baffling, though only in the sense that it’s hard to expect anything more beyond the brilliant single-player campaign. Though structured a bit along the lines of recent Call of Duty iterations — with an extensive leveling system and the ability to purchase perks and bonus items — Uncharted 2’s multiplayer approach is wholly unique, as the previously detailed mixture of disparate gameplay elements results in a fast-paced, fluid experience that emphasizes both skilled gunplay and environmental navigation.

Many players will likely flock to the various 10-player game modes, including traditional team deathmatch, multi-round Elimination battles, and various objective-based modes that let teams work together to claim treasure or protect turf. For my money, though, your time may be best spent in the non-narrative co-op mini-campaigns. Though only three total players can participate in co-op, these brief, thrilling adventures pit you against aggressive A.I. enemies in locales from the campaign, forcing you to work together to eliminate adversaries and make your way towards the final goal. Regardless of your play preference, the multiplayer interface is flexible and feature-rich, and I experienced zero lag or visual slowdown, even in full matches (though I did encounter the occasional connection issue).

If it seems like I’m just raving on and on about the game, that’s because I am: it’s hard to find significant fault within this beautiful, thrilling, genre-defining experience. Sure, you might hit the occasional glitch or have grips with the cover system, but these are very minor nitpicks compared to what Naughty Dog has accomplished with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. It’s one of the most incredible action experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying, and capitalizes on the potential of the PlayStation 3 hardware in a previously unseen manner.