This is the terrible ending I've been hearing about? (SPOILERS)

I did not mean to imply there needed to be a final boss battle. Climax =/= boss battle. As I pointed out in my ME3 example, I consider the final mission on Earth the build-up, leading right up to when you kill the Reaper with the missiles. Then the rush down to the beacon, the slow dramatic walk to the heart of the Citadel, and the confrontation with The Illusive Man to be the climax. There is no boss battle here, in fact arguable the last "boss battle" or really hard combat segment took place in the build-up. The reason this is the climax is because all of the adrenaline from the build-up is still pumping through your veins, you know you're approaching the end, you have no idea what is coming, the sequence is exciting at first then drawn out and dramatic, you're having a desperate conversation with a desperate man with a gun. It's not a boss battle, but the situation is explosive.

That does not happen in this game. You said you consider the conversation with Juno the climax and I just don't know what to tell you about that. If you really think that, then as another user said, I truly think you are just too easy to please. There was very little to no emotion in that scene even given the impending doom of the planet. Minerva shows up and expresses some emotion, even though there's no danger - they're computer programs. They can't hurt each other, they can't do anything to really threaten you or each other. They only have words, and their emotion is lackluster at best. If this is the climax, what was the build-up?

I definitely don't want you to get away with saying they've never tried to explain anything. Ever since the beginning they've explained how the Animus works, they've tried to delve into how the First Civ technology works, they've even spent a good amount of dialogue in AC3 having Juno explain to you scifi ways they tried to save the planet. They have definitely given players explanations as to how these things work. What do you expect? Intricate schematics on how to build your own? Don't be ridiculous. The problem with them not explaining the end is that they posit all these ways it could happen, then never even begin to tell you why Desmond needs to die, what that pedestal did, and how Juno protected the Earth. They don't even try, not even a little. All we have is speculation.

Even in ME3, the space magic that people hated so much, IS thoroughly explained to you before you make your choice. And mind you, this happens in the resolution.

Now I want to make something explicitly clear, TC. I agree with you on ME3. I loved the ending, even before the EC - though many complaints were valid, and EC made it even better and more clear. But I'm NOT with you on AC3. I really hope this expresses how objective I'm trying to be. I've played BOTH series from start, day 1, own all the games (still). I'm not just fanboying here.

EDIT: I forgot to address your argument that "this is just like the last three games, I didn't hear complaints then."

But that's the complaint now.

Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc etc, think of any serious series of literature or books that are all part of the same canon. VERY RARELY does an entire book or movie END with a cliffhanger. Very rarely. More likely than not, they all wrap themselves up very nicely while complimenting each other as a whole.

Assassin's Creed, to date, is arguably all one movie. All about Desmond. From AC1, to AC3, and everything in between, whether people want to acknowledge the present plot or not, they've all been about Desmond. Now they ended that.... with a cliffhanger. There is absolutely no closure whatsoever. It has the stench of milking the franchise at the expense of quality. Stories must end, all stories.
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