A few years ago I had decided I was going to get into Assassin's Creed. But then I decided not to. I believe part of it was because of Unity's disastrous start.

Before I changed my mind I planned to get every main game. Unlike last time, I have now gotten a lot more into buying my games digitally, and I've gotten a lot more into stealth games as of late(Hitman & Deus Ex).

In short, I'm going through with it this time.

I know that some of the games aren't as good as some the others, but that's okay with me. So I intend to start with AC1. But after that, I'm unsure what I should do. Cause I know the Ezio Trilogy was released in a collection recently, but its reviews list as okay.

So should I get the three games individually or get the collection?

 

If you can get them cheaper than the collection, just get them individually. I got Assassin's Creed 1, 2, and 3 a few years back for $10 or less each, and I felt they were a great value for that price. Plus the upgrades on the Ezio trilogy aren't really that great, from what I hear.

That being said, the Ezio games all feel very similar as far as gameplay goes, and I don't think the gameplay was perfected yet at that point in the series. My favorite gameplay so far has been in 3 and 4, honestly- a lot of the animations in previous games felt a bit less natural. I think once you get into Unity and Syndicate, though, a lot of extra stuff is there that makes the experience a bit too easy and a bit too videogame-y, since they have those silhouettes of the last place you were seen and the mobility (jumping, ziplines, etc) just feels way too floaty and overpowered. Once again, all my opinion, though.

 

The Enzo Trilogy had the best storyline imo, but 3 and Black Flag had the most in depth gameplay.

Honestly, AC1 was the worst game. The repetitive gameplay is painful.

 

Unless it was a straight up bad game, I don't mind it. The recent spinoffs were much worse, from what I've read.

Besides, if I play this first, then almost everything afterward should feel a lot more fun.  

 

III and IV were my favorites. I was introduced to the series with Revelations, albeit only by watching someone else play.

III was for me during the time period immediately before starting college, so I kinda learned how to interact with society on my own without parents through Connor, as he has to learn American society himself, whether it was carrying out my own transactions or just speaking with people in general. Connor also has to learn that things aren't black and white in the real world, and that you can't expect to go through life the straight and narrow way and everything will turn out okay, which is a really important lesson for anyone to learn, especially me since I was about to join the real world. The importance of community was also fun to explore with the Homestead subplot (see below) and your own league of Assassins you can summon to help you take on enemies.

IV didn't quite have the emotional resonance with me, but I still enjoyed the story of a man who tries to live a hedonistic life like in the movies, only to learn how unsatisfying it is and how many people he hurts along the way to get what he wants. His first mate Adewale is a real gem too, and for a time when he was separated from Edward, I actually was genuinely hurt and worried about him.

Gameplay is a lot of fun in both. III lets you climb and run through the woods of the American frontier, fighting wild animals like bears and wolves and elk. Hunting is also fun, if too easy since there's a solid strategy to do so and few other ways. Fighting Redcoats and later Patriots in the streets and roofs of Boston is also fun. And I loved the Homestead subplot where you build up a community of friends on your homestead. Connor being forced to round up some pigs was priceless ("The things I do for this place!").

IV admittedly takes home the prize for gameplay. Despite the moral of the story, piracy is a whole lot of fun. Ramming ships, fighting swells during a storm, hand to hand fights while boarding a ship, taking a fort, and fighting the legendary ships is a blast. The scenery is gorgeous too. I was used to a more city-esque setting so I was hesitant about a tropical locale, but man it's amazing to look at the gorgeous scenery of the Caribbean, from the water to the jungles to the beach.

I am actually interested in the modern day plot, and the big twist at the end of III solidified it. But it's just... I dunno. It's so much. You have to keep tabs on a massive sea of stuff for this overarching plot, and the main games aren't really devoting that much focus on it anymore.

 

Alright, I've started my playthrough of AC1, I'm enjoying it so far. I'm still getting a handle on the various gameplay aspects, but I'm doing better then I thought I would.

 

The important thing to remember about AC1 is that it's more or less an open beta for the engine used in AC2. Pretty much every single aspect of the gameplay is going to be revised and improved after the first game.

 

AC1 I play for the story alone. I never try to 100% that game.
AC 2 and it's sequels are what really put the series on the map.
AC 3 was... disappointing. It DID introduce new mechanics that other games built on and did WAY better. Like AC 1, I play it for the story... the... uh... modern day portion of the story anyway.
Liberation... I recommend even though it's a side game. Plays like AC 2 and is a much tighter narrative.
Black Flag... OH MY GOD PLAY THIS GAME. It's probably my favorite and my god the ship combat is SO MUCH FUN. Story? What story? I'm TAKING OVER THE SEAS!!!!
Unity... is actually pretty good. I never had any of the major glitches that plagued it and while it's fun, is kinda forgettable.
Syndicate was a blast! Just really fun to play with some refreshing game mechanics. It's really what they wanted Unity to be because THIS feels more in line with what AC 2 and it's sequel games brought to the table.

 

Having played all of the games through Unity, I view Brotherhood as the best one and 3 as the worst. All the Assassin's Creed games have issues with their controls, which is painful at first but you get used to it and if you are like me, you find humor in just how broken they are sometimes. Black Flag is the most unique of them and a wonderful game. I can't wait to get Syndicate for 10 bucks later this year.

 

I have not played all the games but most of the main ones. I played out of order(Revelations, 1, 2, Brotherhood, 3, now on Black Flag).

AC1- Decent but can get repetitive. You should play it however due to the story.

AC2- Better than 1. More stuff to do, story is good, I love how it culminated towards the end.

AC Brotherhood- If you liked 2, you'll love 3. Even more stuff to do. Fun and more in-depth. The culmination towards the end was awesome here too.

AC Revelations- This pretty much uses the same engine as 3. The main part is with Ezio with some Flashback sequences where you play as Altair(during pivotal moments of his life). The Ezio part can get repetitive.

AC3- More somber than the Ezio trilogy, you get the feeling that Connor's life is going to suck and be dysmal whereas with Ezio, there was more hope. There's an interesting twist in the beginning of the game that might catch you off guard and take you by surprise(hopefully noone has spoiled it for you yet). Game mechanics are better but I noticed a glitch(my version is on the PS3) where I can't get to a certain mission(Benedict Arnold I think?). I think the story is more realistic as opposed to idealistic. I did like how Connor was a pretty logical character, he's definitely not a poster boy protagonist.

AC4 Black Flag- Pretty huge world to explore. Better mechanics. It's a refreshing change, your character is of Desmond's lineage but the way he starts out is not how you might expect.

The most enjoyabe AC game I've played so far is Brotherhood. I like all of the ones I played but there's something about Brotherhood that evokes good memories.

 

If there's one thing I wish I could skip over, it's having to ride to each location every time.

And one thing I haven't quite gotten the handle on yet is switching from Low Profile to High Profile. On occasion I forget to hold down the right trigger.

And my free running could use a little work.

 

Did you find the Optimus Prime easter egg yet?

 

Didn't knew there was one.

 

Okay, that one part in where you fight the imposter of Robert. Took me forever to complete. I just kept dying and dying and dying.

Guess I wasn't as good at the sword fighting as I thought, it's almost like the controls got confused at times. But I was eventually able to beat it, thank god.

 

And I've now finished AC1!

Overall I enjoyed it. It was a little repetitive. But not too much for me. I only wish I was able to stealth assassinate more of my targets.

And I've decided I'm going to get the Ezio Trilogy collection. Rather then each game individually. It'll cost me less.

Here's to hoping that it won't be too buggy.

 

A non buggy AC game, now that just isn't fun at all.

I loved the games with Ezio as the main character. Brotherhood is still my favourite along with Black Flag followed closely by Syndicate.

 

I gotta say, I love the collections menu. Very clever.

 

I have every game except the 2d games on the PSN store. I love them all as they all have good parts and bad but mostly good since I bought them all. I enjoy the story and all you can do in the game.

 

Huh, blink and you'll miss it.

I haven't been playing ACII for the last few days, I've been playing through Halo Wars in perpetration for the sequel. But once I'm done with that, I'll jump right back in.

So far, I'm liking this game a lot more. Blending especially is better. And I found that fast walking is the key when it comes to pick pocketing.

I'm part way into the second chapter now.

One the negative side, there seems to be an occasional sound lag. Those drive me mad.

There was a very bad one when I watched Assassin's Creed Lineage. Ruined the whole thing for me. And it would've been nice if the movie had a scrolling bar, cause if press a button it takes you back to the menu and you have to start over at the beginning.