Honestly, I remember being really disappointed in AC3 when I first played it back in 2012. I remember disliking Connor a lot and finding Colonial America pretty bland.

It's been a decade, and yes Colonial America is probably the blandest setting AC has ever had. But Connor is a good protagonist stuck in a bland story.

Replaying this, I really do like Connor. I think he has a great character arc, but the story Ubi told in 3 doesn't allow him much room to shine.

Unlike Ezio, Connor doesn't really have any Allies that he can play off of. The allies that are in the game are around for a sequence or two and than they're no longer in the story.

Ezio had a ton of recurring characters that allowed you to see who he was outside of his mission.

The gameplay itself is a bit clunky. Neither the frontier or the two cities really allow Connor to show off his free-running skills.

The homestead missions are good. They're short and easy, but help add to Connor's character.

Also, as much as I love Haythem. I feel like the fact that it takes close to 6 sequences to play as adult Connor is also another reason why his story doesn't shine like it should. We get 3 sequences of Haytham. 2 of young Connor, and the young Connor sequences would have been better if they showcased more of Connor's relationship to his tribe rather than being glorified tutorials after already going through the Haythem tutorials.

Overall, I think AC3 is a lot better than I thought it was when I first played it. It's an interesting game, but flawed in its execution.

Also, Daniel Cross deserved a better ending.