Assassin's Creed 2

[h1][b] FUCK UBISOFT THEY BRICKED THE GAME!!! [/b][/h1] I was playing this game just the night before they bricked it and now i can't even complete the story. I am fucking softlocked mid story and i can't even start a new game. [h1][b] DO NOT BUY THIS GAME[/b][/h1]

Due to recent DRM changes, the game is unplayable now. It won't start up the story mode -- Steam itself no longer gives you the CD Key to try and register it on Ubisoft Connect, mind you. If you do buy this game, you'll waste your money, be stuck with the "Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection" bug and be stuck with an unplayable game in your library, since ubisoft itself said there are no plans to update the title and fix it. Ironically, only those who legally acquired the game are forbidden from playing on Steam. If you download a cracked version, it works with no problems whatsoever. What a joke. Update 22/06/2025 - The DRM issue has been resolved, but I'll still keep my original complaint as a reminder if it happens again. It's why Assassin's Creed II took a plunge on recent reviews on june 2025, too. IF there are no problems in the future, this is easily one of the greatest games you can play. As much as there's some lore you would be missing if you didn't start with Assassin's Creed I (which to this day has no subtitles, I believe?), this game is a huge upgrade from the previous title and presents arguably the favorite assassin of the fanbase, Ezio Auditore. Get comfortable with Ezio, because you're going to know his live very well through this game, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed Revelations, which a lot of old fans (and myself included) argue is the best trillogy in the series to this day.

This game had an issue launching the story mode, but recently got fixed. All time classic with great gameplay and story. Please Ubisoft, don't take our games away again.

How the fuck am I supposed to have an activation code for an online purchase? I can't play the game at all. Once again, piracy is a better option for a ubisoft game.

Ubisoft broke the game with an update. You cannot launch the game anymore. They deactivated the always-online registration servers for AC2 and splinter cell. All you see is an error message: !!!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!!! Don t buy ANY ubisoft games in the future. These guys are very close to criminal.

"Requiescat in pace." If the original Assassin’s Creed was a promising sketch, then Assassin’s Creed II is the masterpiece painting. It takes everything that worked in the first game, fills in the missing pieces, and refines the experience into one of the most beloved action-adventure titles of its generation. Set during the vibrant and dangerous period of the Italian Renaissance, the story follows Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a nobleman-turned-assassin after a devastating family betrayal. Ezio isn’t just a protagonist — he’s a character arc incarnate, evolving from a brash, arrogant youth to a cunning and wise Assassin bent on justice, not vengeance. His journey spans decades, cities, and conspiracies, involving historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and Rodrigo Borgia, woven seamlessly into a narrative about loyalty, loss, and legacy. Ezio's charm, relatability, and development make him not just the heart of this game, but arguably the heart of the entire franchise. Assassin’s Creed II introduces a world of depth and variety that the first game sorely lacked. With sprawling, beautifully recreated cities like Florence, Venice, and Tuscany, the game offers rich, vertical playgrounds for parkour, stealth, and exploration. The mission variety is a huge step forward: stealth assassinations, rooftop chases, hidden tombs, escort quests, and Leonardo’s flying machine missions all help keep the pacing fresh. There’s also a day-night cycle, adding ambiance and strategic options. The addition of a currency system brings in gear upgrades, weapon purchases, and even estate management — giving players a reason to engage with side content beyond story progression. Combat, while still simple, is tighter and more fluid than before, introducing new weapons, counters, and tools like smoke bombs and poison blades. For a 2009 title, Assassin’s Creed II is visually stunning. The attention to architectural detail, Renaissance artwork, and the natural beauty of Italy give the world a timeless quality. Animations are smoother than the original, and crowd density brings each city to life. Jesper Kyd’s haunting and elegant soundtrack is unforgettable — from the serene melancholy of “Ezio’s Family” to the pulse-raising battle themes. Voice acting is excellent, with Roger Craig Smith bringing Ezio to life with depth and flair. Assassin’s Creed II didn’t just fix the first game’s flaws — it became the template for every successful AC game that followed. Its blend of historical fiction, character growth, and open-world exploration hit a sweet spot that fans still praise today. Even over a decade later, Ezio’s debut adventure remains deeply playable, emotionally resonant, and mechanically solid. Whether you’re new to the series or a returning fan, this is an essential chapter that never loses its charm. Recommended For: Fans of story-driven adventures, Renaissance history buffs, and anyone craving a refined mix of stealth, action, and open-world exploration. Avoid If: You need ultra-modern graphics or expect deep RPG elements (those came later in the series). Assassin’s Creed II is a genre-defining sequel that balances style, substance, and storytelling in a way few games have managed since. Ezio Auditore’s journey is not just iconic — it’s unforgettable. Rating: 8/10

This game is the GOAT. This is the game that made millions of us auto-buy AC titles for years to come. I played it on old steam accounts and consoles besides what shows here. It still holds up and is worth playing, by the way. But screw Ubisoft and their greed. They've spat in our faces for years. They personify bloat and beurocracy. They single handedly created open-world fatigue. They intentionally started making us suffer, hoping people would buy XP boosts to get through the slog quicker. They deserve what has come of them and will continue to come. I have played nearly every single title in the franchise but stopped halfway through ValHalla and swore I was done. And I was. I'll never buy a game from Ubisoft again. They're gunna keep finding out.

TL;DR: Redownloaded the game myself to check if single player mode got shutdown due to server issue. I didn't get any error and my game and or the server seems to work fine. However, if this is an issue other reviewers are still facing, buy at your own risk. I kept seeing a bunch of reviews saying the game server got shut down so the single player mode is locked off and the game you bought is essentially taken away by Ubisoft and (allegedly) they have responded to this issue by saying "we wont be doing anything to resolve it" But I also dont see anyone else outside of steam review talking about this issue because if it is the case, it would be as big of problem as the Crew 1. So I decided to redownload my version of the game to check, and my version worked fine. All of my saves since I last played is still intact along with DLC content. So I can't tell for sure if this is a new issue for newer purchaser or if this issue occurs randomly or the Ubisoft team decided to get off their butt and fixed it already when I checked. But regardless, please buy at your own risk.

do NOT buy this game, Ubisoft in a classic stroke of genius decided to tie the ability to play this 15 year old singleplayer game to their barely functional streaming service. Said service is currently experiencing brain aneurysms meaning you wont be able to play the game you payed for. Ignoring Ubisofts hobby of enshittifying everything, this game is still very good, but if you want to play it you will have to take after Edward Kenway.

You have to be crazy not to love this game, but even crazier to buy this now because the templars have made this game UNPLAYABLE. You cannot START THE GAME.

This game is now broken and won't start, and Ubisoft has stated that they have no intention of fixing it. Do not buy. For that matter, I wouldn't recommend buying any of their products due to their shady, anti-consumer practices.

ever since the uplay update its bricked the game for many people with the error "Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection" very disappointing as this is one of my favorite games and now others cant experience it, the best way forward is to find a fanmade patch or just pirate the damn thing. dont let these capitalist losers steal our joy

I heard the game was great, shame I won't find out since I can not play it because it just shows game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection and just throws me out >:( Edit: The issue has as of now been fixed and the game is ruining well

The game is unplayable for single player, you'll just get a connection error. Avoid all games from Ubisoft.

Ubisoft. You can eat shit. BUYER BEWARE. Ubisoft is literally selling software that worked a week ago. Now, all of the sudden after a small Ubisoft connect update... You cannot play this game without being logged in. Steam needs to take action and de-list this game.

Ubisoft have killed the game. It's officially unplayable. Also, yasuke is still NOT a Samurai.

🗡️ “From Revenge to Renaissance – A Legendary Journey Begins” 🌟 Rating: 9/10 Assassin’s Creed II is where the franchise truly found its soul. This isn’t just a game—it’s a beautiful, thrilling, and emotional leap into the past, with a story that lingers, characters that matter, and a world that begs to be explored. 🏛️ Story & Setting: Step into the boots of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a charming noble-turned-assassin on a path of vengeance and discovery in Renaissance Italy. From the canals of Venice to the rooftops of Florence, the historical setting is breathtaking, rich in detail, and alive with culture, politics, and danger. Ezio’s journey isn’t just personal—it’s epic. His story of loss, legacy, and justice turns him into one of gaming’s most beloved protagonists. This is how legends are born. 🗡️ Gameplay: Climbing towers, leaping from rooftops, blending in with crowds, or striking from the shadows—AC2 refines everything the first game introduced. New tools like smoke bombs, hidden blades (yes, dual!), and even Leonardo da Vinci’s gadgets add depth to the already satisfying stealth-action formula. 🧠 Missions & Exploration: Side missions, hidden tombs, cryptic puzzles, and assassination contracts—Assassin’s Creed II is packed with variety. You’ll uncover secrets, upgrade your gear, invest in cities, and slowly build Ezio’s legend from reckless youth to master assassin. 🎶 Soundtrack & Atmosphere: Jesper Kyd’s musical score is iconic—emotional, sweeping, and immersive. Combined with stunning visuals and authentic architecture, the game makes every moment feel like you’re living history. 💡 Conclusion: Assassin’s Creed II isn’t just a sequel—it’s a milestone in gaming. With its perfect balance of story, gameplay, and world design, it delivers an experience that still stands tall over a decade later. This is where the Creed became eternal.

A serious improvement over AC1, and for some this era of AC games are the pinnacle of the series. I'm somewhere in the middle. I wish Ubisoft would bring the Ezio collection to Steam as it's just a layup for sales but hey, what do I know?

The Name Ezio Auditore da Firenze hold so much emotions. its a journey of a young and naive man to a master of all assassins. The young boy grew up to be a great man and we saw all of it. To this day the story feels as engaging as it did years ago

[u][b]DO NOT BUY THIS! [/b][/u] UPDATE: they fixed it, but just shows the way Ubisoft works, f them. [strike]At this moment - June 2025 - you cannot play this game! You can start it, go to main menu but when you select to start the campaign, it errors out because Ubisoft bricked the game's DRM, so you can only exit the game. [/strike]

A fantastic game that turned into the first part of a fantastic trilogy. Now rendered completely unusable for any PC players by Ubisoft, who can't help but mess with games that have been out for 15 years. This is a fully bricked game. Steam charging any price for this right now is unethical.

Ubisoft broke it. You literally can't play it. Been this way and they'll not fix it. Literally a scam its still up.

One of the best assassins creed games out there. However due to Ubisoft bricking their own game I have to downvote this. But all in all I love the game

Assassins Creed at its best, a true masterpiece but unfortunately Ubisoft isnt what it use to be an had gone downhill.

This was one of my favorites of the series, if not my favorite. And now, it is unplayable. While I don't think they really care, I have zero intent to buy another Ubisoft game until they do something about this. I never took part in the multiplayer component of the game, and now due to the DRM it is completely unplayable.

when you try to play message game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection comes up and nothing happens. Lots of other people have this issue - the game is broken and nobody at Ubisoft does anything about it - they take your money and information and give you a totally broken game - this is called theft

game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection

Game is no longer playable Error "!!!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!!!" UPDATE ::: This has been corrected, game now playable

[h1] BEFORE YOU BUY YOU MUST KNOW [/h1] Ubisoft took down the servers so you can't play this game, just sail the 7 seas instead if you want to replay this game

I launch the game, and am immediately annoyed by the expected UPLAY launcher, oh well... select offline mode and play the game. Seconds to minutes later (sometimes I don't even make it to the main menu) my game crashes and a UPLAY error appears telling me that "Your account has been accessed from another location and this may impact your game"... I'M NOT LOGGED IN. Don't support Ubisoft, they milk everything they can from a good IP, while letting the games that made it good rot. The game runs fine, I know this because occasionally I make it past the menu and intro. The problem is the launcher that force closes it when it realizes Ubisofts needs aren't met. At this point they've sold me a title to tell me I can't play it without logging in while at the same time steam displays a warning on the store page that "Multiplayer and online features are no longer available for this product." So why log in? Ubisoft, if this is business to you... then I'll get more pleasure out of watching you go bankrupt than playing your titles. Nostalgia sells, but clearly not enough to satisfy the greed of Ubisoft.

Ubisoft has bricked the game. It is no longer playable. In the future I will never purchase a Ubisoft game ever again because they cannot be trusted.

The game is bricked. Ubisoft confirmed in their email that they won't do anything about it. Don't buy this game. Don't support Ubisoft. Let it die. Also, Yasuke was not a samurai.

a better, and more fun, game than 1. i normally like to talk more about my thoughts on games i played, but i tapped out and don't really ever intend on finishing it, mostly played it as a curiosity after playing older ubisoft games. mostly writing a review to point out that the game still is tied to ubisoft's ecosystem and might require some messing around to get it to launch. buyer's beware? but any and all issues encountered is with their (garbage) ecosystem and not the game itself, it still runs fine to this day. you have completed a uplay action for reading this review.

The fact that I can no longer play the game completely, no story mode no online nothing, I get the online but THE STORY MODE TOO, REALLY???? This is downright scummy on all fucking levels. Ubisoft is dead to me after what they just did. Do not buy anything from this company anymore. Force them to fix their shit or go bankrupt.

DO NOT BUY THIS - I purchased this last year and was planning to play it but now the entire game is unavailable for anyone to play on steam at least.

can't play it because of shittysoft. !!!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!!! error happens when clicking story mode because of recent shittysoft connect launcher update Edit: Game is fixed now but i still do not recommend buying a ubisoft game as this may happen again

what is the point of having the game on steam if it wont even let me play this game, this game is so amazing i use to play it on my ps3. when i selected story mode i got this !!!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!!! as shown with the link below i would love to play the game https://imgur.com/a/dtfDcLI

This game was designed for controller support, and even still has the command layout in game to support controller input, but this port does not support controller usage. DO NOT GET THIS GAME OR ITS DLC FOR STEAM!!!

!!!game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection!!! So fill to me the parting glass...

Ubisoft DRM Makes it impossible to start the story mode due to error code

You are entitled paying Ubisoft some money to receive the following message from them before the game closes: game.startup.awaitingfirstosiconnection Scammer is scamming.

Game no longer works. Gives error - "!!!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!!!", when trying to start the single player campaign (despite good internet and up-to-date Steam and Uplay) And the game doesnt even start if offline

Assassin’s Creed II gave me something no other game has — closure. A few hours in, and I felt my childhood dream come true. The rooftops of Florence, Ezio’s journey, the music, the freedom — everything I imagined as a kid but could never play back then. Now, years later, I finally lived it. And it healed something small but important inside me. Grazie, Ezio.

This is a SCAM. The online doesn't work, the single player isnt even playable unless you connect to the DRM that is no longer available to connect to. The fact Ubisoft is able to sell a product that no longer exists is a SCAM. DO NOT BUY.

I'm getting this error "!!!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!!!" . GAME IS UNPLAYABLE do not waste your money. Giving them 1 more week to fix then asking for a refund.

Launcher issues like a bunch of other people. Outdated nonsense. I guess the only way to play it is the original console and game disc??? Bullshit!!!

Ubisoft this is theft. I paid for this game and you go and turn off the SINGLE PLAYER STORY. WTF. Piracy isnt theft if buying isnt owning. Edit: 12 of june. They have fixed the issue with the server connection but it's still crap. A 15 year old game should not need to connect to servers to play single player and should not have updates only for the sake of anti cheat software. My above statement stands

While I do love this game, it has recently become unplayable because of ubisoft's closure of the game servers.

LOVE the game. However after downloading, Story mode won't start. Error is : !!Game.Startup.AwaitingFirstOsiConnection!! DO NOT BUY until this is resolved

the game is broken, first I was receiving the error: !!!Game.Startup.Awaiting.FirstOsiConnection!!! when opening the story mode and now I am even unable to even open the game most of the time becuz ubisoft connect software fucks me in the ass and says "There was a problem authenticating the ownership of this product" (I am using the latest ubisoft connect btw which their developer recommends to exactly avoid having this issue, lol)