First, AC3 feels least like Assassin’s Creed game. From the overly specific full synchronization mission objectives to the walk-between-cutscenes missions, the player is stripped of the sandbox style of play. The game forces you to play a predetermined style, which rids of the fun. In fact, the entire game plays out like you are more of a soldier than an Assassin.
Connor is the least strong of the AC characters and I actually found him quite annoying. The game is rather shallow in that it does not delve at all into the Creed or Brotherhood, but only that it exists and is there to stop the Templars.
The game lacks any polish. First, the game suffers from poor mechanics. Fluidity and consistency are the biggest problems. While there is the random ledge grabbing and haphazard horse controls, the combat is the biggest misstep. I use to love the combat, but in AC3 it is tiresome. The counters work like half the time. The gunplay ruins any flow. I died so many cheap deaths because of the odd mechanics. Second, there are more glitches in bugs in this game than in any other game I’ve played, which is sad for a blockbuster franchise like AC.
Next, the extras do not tie into the game whatsoever. I completed the game without doing any extras. I did not find them fun and rather unnecessary unlike previous installments where I did everything. They were not explained well. Also, I did not see weapon upgrades or costume upgrades.
Other serious complaints are the rather terrible fast-travel between zones, strange menu design, and the insanely long 4 hour tutorial at the beginning of the game.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise is one of my favorites and AC2 is one of my favorite games of all time. I found so much disappointment and squandered potential with AC3.