I'M PLAYING THE BEST GAME EVER. MY DREAM GAME!
I enjoyed Assassin's Creed III, but it wasn't my favorite despite the new abilities and actions you could do. One of the main reasons was Connor, the protagonist. He was as emotional as a stone and his voice actor wasn't very good either.
Ezio from ACII, AC:B, AC:R was much more likeable. He had the Italian accent, he was one of "the boys," getting into silly trouble, tried to be smooth with girls, he had a girlfriend eventually, he had a nice family, etc. You started off ACII in Florence with him being teased by one of the Pazzi boys and getting into a rumble with his older brother. Then his older brother tried teaching Ezio how to talk to girls and Ezio manages to be successful with Cristina, but her father thinks he's a good for nothing young man so he's always running away from pots and pans and insults. He and his brother go around Florence, climbing rooftops, talking about how lucky they are, and being lectured by their father. Ezio is endearing and charismatic at that point.
Then one day Ezio is told his father and brothers are to be executed (because of their Assassin affiliations) and you see them all hang, while his mother and sister go into hiding somewhere. It begins as a quest for revenge, but he slowly learns about the Templars
You actually felt sorry for Ezio and over time you see him mature and become more serious and lose all of his innocence because of his line of work, but he always has a sense of honor and justice. You are also able to access "happy" memories or memories from his past that aren't so happy, such as burying his family in secret with Cristina or getting his first kiss on the cheek from Cristina. Then he has to give her up forever.
AC:III was different because you start out as Connor's father, Haytham, and you grow to really like Haytham. He seems like a good, charming, trustworthy British man and he fell in love with a Native American woman who becomes the mother of Connor. BUT THEN YOU FIND OUT A SHOCKING FACT!
Anyway, Connor sees his mother burned alive and his quest starts there. Connor is always searching for peace, fighting for justice, etc, but he comes off as naive. He was on the Patriots side, with George Washington, but what he doesn't realize until later on is that people like George Washington didn't care about the Native Americans either and can be just as prejudiced and "OK" with only allowing white property-owning men to vote and for allowing slavery.
AC:III challenges the romantic ideas Connor and we as 'Muricans have about our founding fathers. For the series, it challenges our idea that Templars = Evil because of how much you grew to like Haytham. I like Haytham more than Connor! There was even a chance for the two reconciling, but having power got to Haytham and he became a cold man. The chance was blown too by Connor choosing to stay with George Washington even knowing that George Washington was the one who gave the order that would change Connor's life FOREVER. I'm not sure why having that revealed didn't make Connor even flinch.
The big weakness in AC:III was Connor. He suffered a loss too, but you didn't feel sorry for him. He had the same expression all the time, he was kind of naive to the point it was frustrating, always stoic, and there wasn't much to like or dislike about him. He didn't go through much character development even when there was the perfect chance to.
The sidequests were confusing, crafting and trading items was more hassle than it was worth, and rebuilding the manor was complicated. It's weird since I like to rebuild my house, I had done it in previous games, but the economic system was complicated. The present-time side of the game was fun though, and I enjoyed being in Brazil and Abstergo.
One of the most damning things I could say about AC III was that I mostly wound up avoiding doing things. My boss Stephen has pointed out all the cool side-stuff in that game, and how rich it becomes if you take the time to dig into its nooks and crannies. But I was so bummed out by how much of a chore it was to get around, how little I liked the main character and how buggy it all was that I never really wanted to do much of anything.
YES! It became a chore for me and I avoided most of the sidequests. I only did the naval missions and helping citizens. It's not a bad game, it's beautiful and detailed, and the other characters are good (Haytham), but some things were too complicated/slow and the lack of motivation caused by the lack of feeling for the protagonist made everything harder.
Now as for AC4... it's
WONDERFUL!
Edward is already 100x more likable than Connor. He has no sad storyline right now, but he's a man in search of a better life. It starts off with action and a flashback he has with his girlfriend and he wants to be a man of rank, to have a good house the wind won't blow away, and he hopes she believes in him somehow making that happen.
My mind was also blown by the present-time and what's going on there.
Back to the past, the visuals are stunning as usual, the music is FANTASTIC (Pirates of the Caribbean-ish), etc. The economic and crafting systems are much easier than AC:III and I find myself *wanting* to hunt, wanting to craft items, wanting to find memory fragments, etc. I even want to find all the treasure chests on each island. I even want to find every sea shanty to teach my crew to sing! It's that enjoyable!
My quarter master is a man who saved my life named Adewale and we named our ship the Jackdaw. Other captains made fun of it, but whatever. I can order my crew to sing or to shut up. We can also hunt sharks and I have harpooned two bull sharks already!
We can also PLUNDER SHIPS for rum, sugar, and other supplies. The fighting system for ships is awesome and there are also different types of ships. We can even board them once they become weak!
I can even go to the tavern and drink rum! I can hunt alligators, wild pigs, deer, etc. IT'S AWESOME! I've been to Havana and Nassau already
So right now things are pretty great and the "world" to explore is huge, I have only explored two islands, and there are even uncharted islands. Sometimes WHALES will come out of the water and you can swim alongside dolphins!
I love my crew. Whenever I get near the steering wheel they begin cheering, haha. THAT'S HOW IT SHOULD BE! I also like them yelling, "Rogue wind, captain!"
I even have my own captain's quarters and desk. This is the life. I went to a tavern and they were singing "William Taylor" and my other favorite songs.
So far I've taught my crew to sing my favorite songs like High Barbary, Drunken Sailor, and Spanish Ladies. My collection is growing. I can even customize my ship
Edward is a cool, easygoing guy. He's kind of swashbuckling, clever, but not the weird-Jack Sparrow type. He's the type of person who commands loyalty from his crew. He's also the friend of this bumbling sugar merchant so you can see Edward having a heart and sense of humor too. He shows a bit of vulnerability with his lady and you really want to help him achieve his dreams!
While I was wandering around Nassau I overheard a woman singing "Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low"-- it's heaven~ I'm not even at 5% of the game yet!
But it was completely worth it for JoySound Karaoke! 
It was just a different costume, but if you have to pick...
We had chips, soda and chocolate chip cookies my mom made, fresh from the oven. For dinner we cooked chicken nuggets. 
