Namely, I recently purchased the Ezio Trilogy on the Xbox sale. Played through AC2 (very good still, surprisingly), ACB (very great, actually), and now I'm starting ACR. First, I know that this was right around the time of AC fatigue. I had it at the moment myself. However, for whatever reason, maybe it's my extended staycation, I've been enjoying the shit out of these old games and their old mechanics (outside of the occasional cat-terrifying outbursts when the fucker jumps randomly in the wrong direction). Anyway, I've played through every proper AC game but Revelations and Unity (and I guess Rogue, which I think may be a proper one now? Not sure...got it too on this sale). So, yes, just started. Still fine with the controls, actually really loving all of the atmosphere changes and seeing Ezio grow so quickly has been, quite frankly, a delight. Having said that, how should I approach this game? Firstly, is it really worth playing? At it's start, it feels like it has enough polish that it totally is. Secondly, how important is this bomb shit that they are foisting on me, because man, the tutorials are like, Rockstar level bad and I feel overwhelmed at the moment. Thirdly, I know from my limited memory of my previous experience that tower defense is a thing here...now, I LIKE tower defense, but I vaguely remember HATING this tower defense...is that fair? Fourthly, how much should I stray from the main path? Going back to AC2 and ACB, I was surprised how much the side shit held up and how much I enjoyed it, but I did the first Desmond sequence first person thing in this and man...I don't know if I can do any more than that.

All opinions welcome. I will likely finish the game either way, but I guess I just want to know if I should just mainline it or if there is some good stuff there on the sidelines of it all, and maybe the game was just the victim of too much AC (or maybe even too much Ezio) in too short of a time period.

Thanks everyone!

Hope my memory still serves, it's been 6 years or so.

1. Well, it seems you're on a roll with AC games so I think it's worth playing for you. Byzantium/Constantinople is very cool and gave me flashbacks to AC1 (Arabic architecture) Had you gotten tired of the repetitious nature of the AC games, I would not have recommended it. It holds its own, but it is very much the same.
2. Bombs, IIRC, can be useful, its just like knifes/guns now. A secondary weapon to alter your play style. I remember using it quite a bit when I wanted to change up how I fought/ambushed dudes. I don't remember being frustrated by the bomb system.
3. Yeah the tower defense is very simple (and is mandatory I think). I remember doing just what was necessary. I felt tacked on and didn't add anything meaningful to AC.
4. Side stuff, AC side quests/ exploring are great for podcasts and it is very much the same as previous entries. I think you would enjoy the side stuff, if you've been enjoying the side stuff so far.

The change in location from Papal Italy to the Ottoman Empire is refreshing. Perhaps it was because of fatigue around AC Revelations/ AC3, Revelations isn't an AC game that stood out to me. It was just another AC game in the same ilk as AC2 and Brotherhood. It's a good game though, if you like AC.

@sethmode: Revelations is the best playing AC game of that generation of AC games and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

I haven't played it since release but I remember enjoying it a lot more than some people. There were some cool ideas that made it seem like they were trying to push the boundaries of AC, even if some of them weren't great. Out of the new stuff they added, bombs were definitely the thing that I found most fun at the time. I kinda wish they'd kept it in for other games (I think Syndicate had a watered down version of it or something). I can see how the Desmond stuff could be frustrating but at the time the only other first person puzzle thing I'd played was Portal so it seemed more novel. I don't think there's any major reason to do it if you don't like it.

Basically, I think it's worth playing through the main story at least but maybe don't 100% it if you're not feeling like it. Also if you're in a position of whether to play Unity or Rogue next...play Rogue. It's like a direct to video sequel of Black Flag but still much more fun than Unity at the end of the day (and it's way shorter).

I haven't played it in a long time (since its release), and while I didn't like it as much as the previous two for a few reasons, I still thought it was great. So, when it comes to the bombs thing, from what I remember, all you do is sell that crap and get a bunch of money. It wasn't necessary but is a great way to make money if you need it. I didn't love the pace of the story, but I think it's good and worth seeing to the end because it pretty much finishes Ezio and Altair's story. The tower defense was also not much of an issue because you didn't really have to do it much (again, from what I remember), and it does have a very good song playing during it. The soundtrack was great. The thing that made me not like it as much was as I mentioned, the pace/structure of the story. It felt kind of rushed in spots, like the aspect of Ezio going up against the villain in the game. I didn't love Constantinople as much as Italy or Rome. It was okay, but kind of small and just not as interesting to explore. If I remember correctly, there also wasn't as many interesting side activities to do. Revelations may not be as good as AC2 or Brotherhood, but it's still a really good game.

It's been a while, but I remember really enjoying Revelations. I thought the way it ended was a nice way to close out the Ezio story with Desmond.

As for the tower defense stuff, you don't really have to engage with it. Whenever one of my towers was being attacked, I would just let them take it, then immediately go assassinate the Templar captain to retake it. Which wasn't all that often.

I think I had to do the tower defense twice, including the tutorial, so I wouldn't worry too much. Neither was particularly hard and it hardly happened throughout the game.

Only thing i liked about that game was the improvement to recruiting and managing assassins, really hate they completely went away from that now. Otherwise that game had the worst ai ever and just felt unnecessary as a whole

Revelations is at its best in its small moments with Ezio, and for that, I really think it's worth at least blowing through the campaign. It's not a terribly difficult game either, so at the very least, I'd say do that.

Thanks everyone! I took a little break to play through Night in the Woods a second time, but based on the comments here, I'm excited to dive I to this.

@sethmode: The hook seems so dumb at first, but it's so great to use for double jumping while wall climbing, for combat throws or for catching yourself as you fall from a building. It was a tool I thought they would surely implement in future games as it felt so great, but nope.

Boy, something none of you mentioned to me was this games heavy lean (at least early) on Eagle vision. Did this come out around Batman or something? I'm watching holographic outlines kill guys, having to hover over areas for extended periods of times to reveal secrets, etc...it's a weird addition to what was a pretty basic and fine mechanic before. I just want to find the yellow guy or thing and commit crimes. Crimes Gregg, crimes.

Sorry. Not besmirching the help, but what a weird feature add. And man can I NOT get used to them changing it to pushing down on the left stick instead of being Y. Other than that though, I am genuinely intrigued by the in Animus story (out Animus story---eh---I feel like I never got the staff's fascination with that), and really like the...wait for it...*rolls up sleeves*....running around in it.

So, just want to chime in again and thank everyone that encouraged me to stick with this. I've really enjoyed it. It plays really well, I love the city, and I have really enjoyed the story for the most part. I'm just about finished.

Having said that, the eyeroll/mental jerkoff motion I make every time there is a fucking carriage sequence is audible.

@muftyriots: I think the Altair stuff is pretty good. It's mostly backfill, sure, but having blown through all three games at once, it still fills in nicely with the other games. I guess if you were paying $60 for Revelations at release I could see being pissed since it's essentially a side story/backfill/overblown kind of DLC thing in a lot ways, but as part of this package I liked it.