I remember playing through AC3 in a haze the first time around. I ignored all the side missions and objectives and focused on the main campaign, but the longer I played the more bored and frustrated I got. There was so much goddamn hand-holding and gameplay restrictions, it honestly felt like the game either resented the need for human input or was terrified of me screwing up its precious narrative. Talk to a guy. Go to the objective marker. Watch a cutscene. Do the ridiculously simple things it tells you to do. Watch another cutscene. Every once in a while they'd throw in other game mechanics that got used once, maybe twice, and then never came up again.
I remember the first AC, where they'd give me a huge city to explore, and I had to actually do the exploring myself to find the clues, then had to decide my own plan of attack on the assassination target. I actually felt like I was in control of events. AC3 never did that, it just herded me from one shooting gallery/chase scene to the next.
In terms of story, it was just plodding and anticlimactic. In AC1, the methodical elimination of all the targets leading up the twist ending had some building action with a satisfying climax. In AC2 and Brotherhood, there was a clear villain and a sense of progress towards a goal ultimately culminating in victory. In AC3 I was never really sure of who my enemy was. Yes, the Templars were there, but the whole Assassin/Templar conflict felt completely drowned out and sidelined by the Revolutionary War story. First the Templars backed the British. Then they swapped to backing the Colonists, maybe? Then we were teaming up with them to hunt down a traitor Templar, but after that we were enemies again. The battle with Kenway felt like it should have been the climactic Final Boss Fight, and everything just felt tacked on and pointless after it.
The final chase/confrontation actually shocked me at how poorly paced and set up it was. The chase through the burning boat itself was essentially pointless, and the final battle was two exhausted, wounded men clumsily finishing it off at a barroom table. In a cutscene.
The only things I actually liked in AC3 were the naval missions, and the homestead story. It might have been a little sappy and simplistic, but I liked how it added some life and character. Watching the everyday struggles of this little town was actually more interesting and emotionally engaging for me than the game's central story.
And for some reason, I seem to be the only person who actually enjoyed playing the Desmond missions. I get how people think he's a bland boring character (and I kind of agree, he is) but I was just more interested in the modern day version of the Templar/Assassin struggle. I wanted to see stealth and intrigue action in the modern day, and I actually knew and cared about the Desmond crew after watching them over several games. I knew what the stakes were and what the threat was, and I wanted to see them succeed.
I remember the first AC, where they'd give me a huge city to explore, and I had to actually do the exploring myself to find the clues, then had to decide my own plan of attack on the assassination target. I actually felt like I was in control of events. AC3 never did that, it just herded me from one shooting gallery/chase scene to the next.
In terms of story, it was just plodding and anticlimactic. In AC1, the methodical elimination of all the targets leading up the twist ending had some building action with a satisfying climax. In AC2 and Brotherhood, there was a clear villain and a sense of progress towards a goal ultimately culminating in victory. In AC3 I was never really sure of who my enemy was. Yes, the Templars were there, but the whole Assassin/Templar conflict felt completely drowned out and sidelined by the Revolutionary War story. First the Templars backed the British. Then they swapped to backing the Colonists, maybe? Then we were teaming up with them to hunt down a traitor Templar, but after that we were enemies again. The battle with Kenway felt like it should have been the climactic Final Boss Fight, and everything just felt tacked on and pointless after it.
The final chase/confrontation actually shocked me at how poorly paced and set up it was. The chase through the burning boat itself was essentially pointless, and the final battle was two exhausted, wounded men clumsily finishing it off at a barroom table. In a cutscene.
The only things I actually liked in AC3 were the naval missions, and the homestead story. It might have been a little sappy and simplistic, but I liked how it added some life and character. Watching the everyday struggles of this little town was actually more interesting and emotionally engaging for me than the game's central story.
And for some reason, I seem to be the only person who actually enjoyed playing the Desmond missions. I get how people think he's a bland boring character (and I kind of agree, he is) but I was just more interested in the modern day version of the Templar/Assassin struggle. I wanted to see stealth and intrigue action in the modern day, and I actually knew and cared about the Desmond crew after watching them over several games. I knew what the stakes were and what the threat was, and I wanted to see them succeed.
