"Ezio! So good to see you. Just try not to yell at me or nearly get me killed this time."
The side characters of Assassin's Creed 2 are a mixed bag - mostly a mixture of unlikable and unimportant, but there are a few exceptions in there. I'm only going to talk about the ones who actually have some depth or scenes involving them.
The Family
Giovanni Auditore: Ezio's father. He's not in the game enough to get a good handle on him, but honestly, I liked Giovanni. It might have to do with the fact that I love, love his design. He's extremely distinct looking, and his face is incredibly expressive. He's to permissive with Ezio (again, not apparently characterized as a flaw), but he's likable enough to do the job of being a tragic murder victim.
Maria Auditore: Ezio's mother. She is mostly a non-character. She's somewhat characterized as a strong, intelligent woman, but she turns mute and traumatized after the events of the game. It's kind of silly that she remains this way for 10 years, but hey, at least someone in the Auditore family noticed the tragedy.
Claudia Auditore: Ezio's sister. Spoiled, bitchy, completely unlikable. No sooner have her father and brothers been murdered then she has begun to whine about wanting to go home. She is forced to manage the Villa's books, and she reacts to it by whining and threatening to embezzle any money that Ezio doesn't pick up in time. You can tell she's really torn up about the loss of her father and brothers. Notably, she never speaks again, so there's not much room for her to develop.
Mario Auditore: Ezio's uncle, Giovanni's brother. Despite having a great (if predictable) metajoke for his introduction, Mario never really gels as a character. He seems to be cast as the brash but likable uncle, but it never really lands. It doesn't help that he starts talking about fixing up his house the day after his brother was killed. It really doesn't help that he yells at Ezio when Ezio dare suggest not involving himself in more assassinations.
The Magical Prostitutes
Paola and Sister Teodora are magical prostitutes - an offensive and overdone stereotype that involves working women who are deeply in tune with the ebb and flow of the city, guiding heroic men with mysterious knowledge. Paola, on her own, I liked well enough. And I could swallow her role as a prostitute as being incidental, given the role of courtesans in the world.
Having two is inexcusable. I think even Stephen King would draw the line at having two magical negros in one of his books (but I am willing to be proven wrong).
Sister Teodora is particularly ridiculous. The woman is a nun/prostitute/assassin who runs a sex cult while having deep ties to both the underworld crime rings and the upper strata of Venician politics. If Teodora was a GURPS character, she would have to be mute, missing all of her limbs, and colorblind to justify her build points.
The Thieves
Rosa: Rosa seems like she is trying to be a tough, independent woman, but she just comes across as unlikable and somewhat eratic. After being shot in the leg, she is rescued by Ezio (naturally) and gives pretty clear directions on who she needs to see and where. She fights, she leads Ezio to a boat, and she gives orders all the while. Suddenly, when she's on the operating table, she starts demanding that the man patching her up do things the way she thinks they should be done. When he tries to reason with her, she shouts and cusses until he complies with her rash decision. It's not long after she's patched up that she turns into a flirty high school girl around Ezio.
Antonio: Antonio must be the king of sweet talking, because after a talking to Ezio for under a minute, Antonio has convinced the assassin to start murdering for him. Antonio, as mentioned before, takes over the house of the person Ezio kills. Then, suddenly, Ezio wants to murder another tyrant that isn't in Antonio's way, and Antonio flatly says it is impossible and refuses to help. Notably, Antonio is part of the Assassin's Order.
The Best Friend
Leonardo da Vinci is exceptional because he's the only character that I actually genuinely liked through and through. It helps that his face is very well modeled to look exceptionally kind. I felt pity for him, though, because he seems embroiled in an abusive friendship with Ezio.
As I said before, Ezio uses Leonard for his brain power, all the while putting the young painter in danger. After both times that Ezio brings Leonardo into peril, Leonardo thanks Ezio for saving his life. When Ezio bitches that the flying machine isn't perfect, Leonardo takes it out himself.
Two things struck me as strange about Leonardo:
1) Leonardo knows everyone. Even after moving to Venice as a respected painter, he has the perfect contacts for Ezio among the whores and thieves of the city. He also knows any and every noble by name. It seems like a case of writing by convenience, that Leonardo should always know who Ezio needs to see next.
2) Leonardo makes Ezio's assasination weapons without a second thought. He casually brushes off seeing men murdered in front of him, then he guides Ezio on how to hide a body. It's worth noting that, historically, Leonardo da Vinci destroyed and sabotaged his own inventions to prevent them from being used for war. It seemed like something of a disservice to me to have him instructing Ezio on how to kill.
The Big Bad
Rodrigo Borgia is the main bad guy for AC2. This guy might as well have been a Sith Lord for all the depth and complexity he has. He even wears a black hood around and murders his underlings for failing. Seriously, guys. That trope isn't shocking anymore. If you have one opportunity to show your villain in action and you choose to show him killing a failed underling, you should just flash the words "HE IS EVIL" on the screen instead.
"Let the hate for tired villain stereotypes flow through you!"
There are more characters, some of whom I liked and others that I didn't, but this page is long enough already. Let's talk a little bit about gameplay intruding on the story and wrap this up.
On to AC2: Gameplay vs. Setting...
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