Honestly, I don't understand the hate for Assassin's Creed III. It's easily the best game since II. The story does start slow, but it's not bad. It just makes the story greater. Everything about AC III just feels like an improvement on past titles. The side stuff is fun, although I think they might have went overboard. The gameplay is so much better and fluid. Desmond's parts are the most interesting in the series, and so on. As a stand alone game, it's really amazing. The beginning might have been too slow for someone who has played the previous games, but I can appreciate the story and the way they told it. It was all necessary and worked out for the best.
Your opinion is respected mate, but let me give my two-cents on the subject. The story tried to tackle several things, but ended up being bland. The premise is essentially Connor is told by Minerva(?) to kill these templars and goes about doing that. Sound familiar to another boring game? At the same time, the developers tried to incorporate other elements such as Connor's Revenge, the Revolutionary War and the rebuilding of the brotherhood, but they all ended up failing. Connor's revenge was turned into a plot twist that made him look like a brainwashed idiot. The war deteriorated from the main story beginning with sequence 8 (till it became mute). And the brotherhood was left to be side content (Brotherhood and Revelations did follow a similar pattern in this regard, but it was much less obvious).
Really my biggest gripe with the story were the numerous timeskips. I thought it was just the writer's either being lazy or rushed. I especially disliked the huge gap between Haytham and Connor's transition as it created plot holes that weren't explained and thus left to speculation.
I liked most of the side content too (except the Frontiersman missions and several of the Liberation ones). The naval missions were cool, but again they weren't "assassin-like" at all. I really enjoyed the Desmond sequences, but that just made me more disappointed with ACIII as I would've preferred a modern-setting with Desmond as the final entry in his saga over playing as Connor.
My interest in the Assassin's Creed series actually declined when I was playing Revelations. There was nothing new added to the game play, just like how nothing new was added in the other installments. And I agree with you wholeheartedly, the very fact that the secret brotherhood basically became an exposed army, it just became bleh. They weren't really hiding within the shadows anymore. They were just running around willy-nilly trying to get a piece at the Templar Order... and that Den Defense mini-game was the worst part of the game. I.HATED.IT. Only reason why I finished that game was due to Ezio being one of my favorite video game characters of all time.
As for AC3, I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take what they did with it. I just gave up on that game.
I don't see your complaint about the lack of innovation b/c, aside from combat and more fluid animation, there was nothing really needed to "innovate" from the ACII formula.
But your spot on on everything else
Skyrim - the combat is so clunky that everything else is NOT worthwhile.
Did you like Oblivion?
Majora's Mask. I want to enjoy the game, but I just can't stand it.
My problem with Majora's Mask is the same problem I have with Pikmin and that's the time limit. I don't like being rushed when I play a game.
You have two https, so the link is kind of messed up.
But yes, from what I've heard, TOR is garbage, and even has a nickname "TORtanic"
Lol, TORtanic.
