A side-scrolling platform take on Assassin’s Creed that’s not going to be for everybody. It controls pretty nicely, though there are enough different things to do that in these early days I’m having a little trouble remembering what I can do when, it looks fairly pretty for a game with 3D models, there are collectables, achievements and multiple paths through levels and it seems to have a decent amount of content.

Assassin's Creed II Discovery

The combat's fun, but often you're told not to be seen.

I started it up for a quick go this lunchtime and found it very hard to pull myself away, but you might want to be cautious. Ask yourself a question:

Do you mind trial and error in your platform games?

Assassin's Creed II Discovery

Stealth kills haven't got old yet.

If you do, you may want to steer clear. Even in these, presumably simple, early levels, there’s a lot of learning to do. You’ll fall, you’ll die, you’ll run into guards you didn’t know were there. Worst of all, for some, there are an awful lot of leaps of faith. (Though, to be fair, they seem to be needed to take the best routes in a level, fall down and you’ll be inconvenienced, but not killed. So far, at least.) The general rule is to jump at the end of every rooftop when you’re running, stop and have a look around if you’re sneaking. Doesn’t work every time, though.

Assassin's Creed II Discovery

You're graded after each level. I didn't do very well here.

For my part, I’ve never minded having to learn games. I get knocked down, I get back up again and hope I’ve remembered where the problem was. It feeds the “one more go” factor and grabs me and won’t let go.

I like this game. Whether or not it’s worth the premium price tag I don’t yet know, but first impressions are good. It’s going to divide people, though, I’m sure.