When I first played this after it came out, I did not like it. It was my least favorite in the series up to then, and a big contribution to the reasons why I stopped. The only parts I actually liked were the modern day stuff.
Replaying it now, many years later, I see it. I see the charm, and the pull. The gameplay is rather smooth, with a very interesting and intriguing story. The visuals are vibrant and attractive, especially opposed to the predecessor's dull and grey tone. Most of all, it has characters that I actually sort of care about. Everything here makes a good game. A great one, maybe.
The game makes it very clear that Edward is a good lad because his quartermaster is a black man, and his later quartermaster is a woman, which is fucking cool as shit.
And when the story hits, it definitely hits. I probably wouldn't cave for a 7/10 if it weren't for the last hour. Ending is an all-timer.
And Matt Ryan is great.
I couldn't appreciate it as a kid, but the sense of progression you get from upgrading your ship and expanding your crew is great. At first. Then it just sort of becomes a thing you're almost forced to do unless you want to die or if you just have nothing else to do with your days.
The traversal is on the same branch as Assassin's Creed 3 (bad), but it's heavily improved and has much better environments for it (very good).
The combat can get pretty weird and unresponsive sometimes, both on sea and land.
But I really like the Uncharted-esque meshing.
I think I've grown. I can accept this as a great installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise, even though it's the first one after Desmond, and he—and his relationship to the characters—was sort of the whole reason why the series worked and was so effective for me.
Replaying it now, many years later, I see it. I see the charm, and the pull. The gameplay is rather smooth, with a very interesting and intriguing story. The visuals are vibrant and attractive, especially opposed to the predecessor's dull and grey tone. Most of all, it has characters that I actually sort of care about. Everything here makes a good game. A great one, maybe.
The game makes it very clear that Edward is a good lad because his quartermaster is a black man, and his later quartermaster is a woman, which is fucking cool as shit.
And when the story hits, it definitely hits. I probably wouldn't cave for a 7/10 if it weren't for the last hour. Ending is an all-timer.
And Matt Ryan is great.
I couldn't appreciate it as a kid, but the sense of progression you get from upgrading your ship and expanding your crew is great. At first. Then it just sort of becomes a thing you're almost forced to do unless you want to die or if you just have nothing else to do with your days.
The traversal is on the same branch as Assassin's Creed 3 (bad), but it's heavily improved and has much better environments for it (very good).
The combat can get pretty weird and unresponsive sometimes, both on sea and land.
But I really like the Uncharted-esque meshing.
I think I've grown. I can accept this as a great installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise, even though it's the first one after Desmond, and he—and his relationship to the characters—was sort of the whole reason why the series worked and was so effective for me.