finished single player got 100% completion
I like
- naval warfare aspect, mixes things up a bit to avoid boredom. biggest challenge in game is sinking the 4 legendary ships
- didn't notice any bugs, which is welcome relief compared to AC3 which had too many imo (at least when I played it at launch)
- crafting system is more useful and improved
- hunting still present in game, but you only need to kill a couple of each animal type which avoids the grind hunting was in AC3. so it's adds variety without it becoming a chore
- big world with lots to explore
- loved the buried treasures with maps
- story and exploration will keep you busy for a while. compared to most current games that are dusted in a rainy afternoon this is a welcome change
- additional free PS3 content -> Aveline missions are OK, free bonus so can't complain
I didn't like
- free run is still "uncontrollable" especially on ships you seem to always jump on something you didn't want to. would have been nice to have a button for free run and one for just running
- cities are a bit of a disappointment, small and free running on roofs is more trivial than it used to be
- easy to avoid stealth and just rush and kill everything. esp with no more wanted signs, you escape LOS and you are in the clear
- AI just the same as before (weak, brute, agile types), would have been nice to see some innovation here
- weak storyline, characters not engaging, which is a shame because the pirate world has potential just wasn't tapped very well. much prefer the Ezio storyline from AC2
- ship upgrades were good, but main character upgrades a bit trivial except for crafting bigger ammo pouches and increased health basically. would have liked to see a little more substance in character abilities/upgrades - weapons/outfit upgrades are pretty useless tbh (except 1 special outfit, but won't give any spoilers).
- multiplayer is rubbish. I don't think adversarial is well suited for this type of game, esp since combat is so simplified. maybe some special coop missions could work, but wolfpack mode is crap in my book. was hoping to see some naval combat in multi but I didn't find any.
- present day Animus parts were lame, boring, and not relevant. was never my favourite aspect of the game in the series, but this by far the weakest iteration.
- would have liked to see more missions where you need to solve some puzzles - a bit like old school tomb raider
I had fun and enjoyed the game. if you like AC series, then this is worth getting. it's good, but not as great as AC2 series imo, but a net improvement over AC3
score 8/10
