I really appreciate this game for several reasons. It provides a lot of enhancements from AC4, especially within combat, world exploration and small game play qualities. Exploring New York, River Valley, and the North Atlantic is extremely fun and offers a fresh change from the Caribbean in AC4. I also extremely appreciate the plot itself. It offers a separate perspective of morality between the templars and assassins. AC1 offered this, that neither side are bad guys, it all depends on your interpretation of morality in the achievement of peace. Though the Ezio trilogy disrupted this by making each Templar an indisputable bad guy. AC rogue helps bring back the idea that in some situations, the Templars might be able to do a lot better than the assassins.

Most of the downsides regarding AC rogue happen to coincide with the plot as well. It had so much potential to be even better than AC4, however there are a few moments that let it down. Firstly, it's really short. There are a lot of locations and extra content to explore, that outweighs the amount of story missions that can be played. Additionally, Shay's betrayal of the assassins is very quick and lacks substance. I feel like there should have been more development on his relationship with everyone in the assassins, to make that betrayal more difficult. Shay's betrayal should have been more forced, however he's made to seem like the black sheep and irrational in his decision. Another issue is that after the betrayal, the assassins become the villains suddenly. I don't mind if they introduce a contradictory persona like this, if it's recognised as being contradictory, which it isn't. It would have been better to simply have Shay explore his disapproval of the assassin's methods, exploring a route that he's better suited towards. However, the assassins in this game are not expressive of the identity that's presented in previous titles. Perhaps if the game was given more focus, while Unity was being fixed and perfected for a later release, both titles could have had a better reception.

I really appreciate this game, despite it's short comings. If they had made it into a "anti-AC1", I think it would have played a better route. Allow Achilles to become obsessed with personal gain, or some other motive, that pushes Shay away and disrupts the creed of the assassins. It would have been a lot better if they explored Shay's distrust of the templars, that sometimes their methods are beneficial and sometimes they go against Shay's character. And do the same for the assassins. Plus, allowing for Shay's development in character, rather than a sudden switch in sides. He constantly praises the protection of the innocent... yet there's no desynchronisation when he does harm innocents. Either he becomes a Templar, but maintains his beliefs as a past assassin, or he fully embraces the Templar identity, not both.

But either way, I think this game is worth exploring! It offers a unique experience that other titles don't provide.

Good news, this game is awesome and I highly recommend it if you focus on the franchise's timeline

Bad news, I'm a Templar now. Save me from the corruption that comes later pls

early tween memories with this game