The rooftops of Venice under your feet, and the whole Renaissance opening up like a playground.

The gut ranking surprises at first: picked on instinct, Assassin's Creed II only beats a third of games, but that rests on a single duel, so do not over read it. Look at the criteria, and everything flips. To take to a desert island, it races ahead of 99% of titles. The art direction does the same, ahead of nearly every game. The 3am fun and the wish to rediscover it sit high, ahead of more than eight games out of ten, with the soundscape and the controller feel close behind. Attachment stays solid, ahead of two thirds of games. This is an almost flawless profile, every line pulling upward. The only wobble is that shy gut choice on very few votes.

In the lineage of great historical open worlds, AC II remains the reference people still cite, the one that set the template.

So, who is it for? For you if you love to climb, to lose yourself in a glorified era and a setting that stays with you. A lot less if the Ubisoft open world formula already wears you out.