It's been quite awhile and AC3 is still my favorite game in the series tied with AC4. The story is fantastic. The gameplay is fantastic. AC3 is the first AC game that really dives into a more open world approach, giving you a LOT of various things to do outside of the main quest.

Pros of AC3:
There's very little I DON'T like about AC3.

• The protagonists are great. Connor is one of the most genuine, compelling protagonists in the series. Side characters, even ones as minor as your homesteaders, are memorable.
  
• The villains are believable, interesting, and fun to hate.
  
• The assassin story is ambitious and rewarding. Connor's story wraps up beautifully.
  
• Combat is fun and brings some new mechanics to series, such as prompts that show you when an enemy is about to attack, allowing you to counter them efficiently. You also get a pretty sweet new slow motion kill cam.
  
• There's so much to do. Want to sail your own ship? Do it! Want to hunt? Do it! Want to build your homestead? Do it! Want to parkour through Boston and New York? DO IT! The heart of the American Revolution is your f*ckin playground.
  
• No romantic subplot
  
• This game has aged well and the world is beautiful. Nothing beats hopping through the trees as the forest changes seasons from mission to mission. I often found myself parking Connor on top of a tree just to stare at the landscape.
  
• Desmond in action! Desmond goes on some very engaging missions outside of the Animus and puts his assassin skills to the test.
  
• Ubisoft pulls no punches with the hard facts and hypocrisy of the Revolution and the Founding Fathers' idea of “freedom.” This is evident in the narrative even without Shaun Hasting's non-stop tiresome sarcastic rambling. (Seriously Shaun, it was cute maybe the first 500 times but it gets old really fast.)
  
• Ubisoft's exhausting obsession with revenge arcs actually feels appropriate and justified in this setting. There are few video game villains I've wanted to shoot square in the nuts more than Charles Lee.

Cons of AC3:

• You know what I'm gonna say. The controls. Come on, the series boasts nine main games now and Ubisoft STILL doesn't know what to do with the controls.
  
• Wow, a lot of pros and ONE con? There has to be a catch, right? Right. The ending. Oh sweet baby Jesus, the ending...It's been about 5 years but even if you weren't into AC until now, the ending was so bad that you've probably heard of it anyway. I can't name a single video game ending that has disappointed me more.

All that being said, AC3 is definitely worth a play (or two or three) even with its painful and unsatisfying conclusion to the Desmond trilogy. You can get it on sale if you want but IMHO it's well worth the full price too.

It's been quite awhile and AC3 is still my favorite game in the series tied with AC4. The story is fantastic. The gameplay is fantastic. AC3 is the first AC game that really dives into a more open world approach, giving you a LOT of various things to do outside of the main quest. [b]Pros of AC3:[/b] There's very little I DON'T like about AC3. [list] [*]The [b]protagonists[/b] are great. Connor is one of the most genuine, compelling protagonists in the series. Side characters, even ones as minor as your homesteaders, are memorable. [*]The [b]villains[/b] are believable, interesting, and fun to hate. [*]The [b]assassin story[/b] is ambitious and rewarding. Connor's story wraps up beautifully. [*][b]Combat[/b] is fun and brings some new mechanics to series, such as prompts that show you when an enemy is about to attack, allowing you to counter them efficiently. You also get a pretty sweet new slow motion kill cam. [*]There's [b]so much to do[/b]. Want to sail your own ship? Do it! Want to hunt? Do it! Want to build your homestead? Do it! Want to parkour through Boston and New York? DO IT! The heart of the American Revolution is your f*ckin playground. [*][b]No romantic subplot[/b] [*]This game has aged well and the world is [b]beautiful[/b]. Nothing beats hopping through the trees as the forest changes seasons from mission to mission. I often found myself parking Connor on top of a tree just to stare at the landscape. [*][b]Desmond in action![/b] Desmond goes on some very engaging missions outside of the Animus and puts his assassin skills to the test. [*]Ubisoft pulls no punches with the hard facts and hypocrisy of the Revolution and the Founding Fathers' idea of “freedom.” This is evident in the narrative even without Shaun Hasting's non-stop tiresome sarcastic rambling. (Seriously Shaun, it was cute maybe the first 500 times but it gets old really fast.) [*]Ubisoft's exhausting obsession with revenge arcs actually feels appropriate and justified in this setting. There are few video game villains I've wanted to shoot square in the nuts more than [spoiler]Charles Lee[/spoiler]. [/list] [b]Cons of AC3:[/b] [list] [*]You know what I'm gonna say. [b]The controls.[/b] Come on, the series boasts nine main games now and Ubisoft STILL doesn't know what to do with the controls. [*]Wow, a lot of pros and ONE con? There has to be a catch, right? Right. [b]The ending.[/b] Oh sweet baby Jesus, the [i]ending[/i]...It's been about 5 years but even if you weren't into AC until now, the ending was so bad that you've probably heard of it anyway. I can't name a single video game ending that has disappointed me more. [/list] All that being said, AC3 is definitely worth a play (or two or three) even with its painful and unsatisfying conclusion to the Desmond trilogy. You can get it on sale if you want but IMHO it's well worth the full price too.