Did you think Black Flag was the utmost heights that Pirate vs. Ninja combat could climb to? Were you under the (foolish) impression that Ubisoft(in the head) couldn't further refine the ship combat introduced in AC3 and then perfected in Black Flag? Did you skip this game thinking it's just ANOTHER reskin of Black Flag?

If you answered yes to any of these questions - then you are REALLY missing out.

The first thing most players say about Rogue is that it's shorter than Black Flag. That isn't quite true - Black Flag was a sweeping epic spread out across several years; all leading up to AC3. Rogue is more self-contained and (dare I say it?) streamlined than Black Flag. Take a couple of weeks off from playing Black Flag - you're likely to forget the story when you start it up again. Rogue is all-involving. The plot is a lot more personal. It does something that no other AC game has done before... and shows the story from the BAD GUY point of view. Not only that, but it does it in a way that makes YOUR character a good guy (well, as good as a guy can be when he's a member of a top secret murder cult) while still ticking all the bad guy tropes. Best of all, it actually SHOWS the good guys (again, murder cult) the heroes - as villains without MAKING them villains. This whole story - by and large - is a series of misunderstandings. Arrogance. Mistakes and one man (the main character) trying to clean up afterwards.

Enter the main character - a wisecracking, smart-ass who hails from the fair emerald isles. If you stand too close when he opens his mouth you can smell the guinness. Trust me. He's Irish. He's full of energy and fun and he'd like to kick the ass of over half the members of the brotherhood. He's arrogant - but he's got a reason to be arrogant. At the start of the story he's one of their best recruits - and as the story goes on he's one of the ONLY characters who seems to retain some kind of common sense. When the head of his top secret murder cult orders him to steal an artifact that costs millions of people their lives - you'd THINK said head of a top secret murder cult would be smart enough to leave well enough alone. But no, the French and the British and the Native American's are breathing down the throats of both the Templars and the Assassin's and it's up to the boss man (aka the head of the top secret murder cult) to track down MORE artifacts. Your character has an objection to this - and from there the whole story spirals out of control with your character struggling to (literally) keep the world in one piece the only way he knows how... by killing everyone he ever cared about. Over the course of our story the Irish ball of fun loses his sense of humor. He loses his innocence. He loses everyone and everything he ever cared about. He becomes a Templar. Utterly. His last act of humanity is to spare Mr. Big (aka the boss man aka the head of the top secret murder cult) which eventually leads to the events of AC3 - but wait! There's more! Another game was developed alongside Rogue (ACU) and the player's last act as the main character ties into the FIRST ACT of Unity. Tying together not JUST Black Flag and AC3 but the future games themselves.

The combat is the same as all AC games have ever been. Seriously. If you don't like AC combat then you're going to be upset with this game. Again, as with every AC game, there's one or two bells and whisles that have been added in to make your experience a bit more unique - but it's still the AC combat we've all come to know.

There's even less to say about the crafting in this game than there was in AC3 and Black Flag. There's even less outfits you can craft in this game. The upgrades are nice but - again - as the requirements can all be bought and then crafted - the actual foraging aspect of the crafting feature can be completely ignored.

The map is easily as big (if not slightly bigger) than Black Flag but it does this in a very sneaky way. Instead of having a HUGE ocean to play in - you have three medium sized maps. You have the ocean to play in. Rivers to play in and New York City to play in. Best of all, unlike AC3, New York actually feels fleshed out. It actually feels like a city with districts and people living in it. There is no diving this time - but you won't really miss it (if you tried it in Black Flag and hated like I did you'll actually be glad it's gone) or probably even notice it's gone.

The ship combat has actually been re-refined. Gone are those (near useless) barrels (well, almost gone, anyway) and in their place we have an oil slick that makes it VERY tricky for an enemy to come too close or (even stupider) try to follow you. Further, in place of the limited-use flintlock guns strapped to your ship, you have a puckle gun. This weapon is FUN. It's basically a flintlock machine gun (look it up, this was an ACTUAL historical weapon) that can fire off twelve shots before needing reloading. On the open sea an enemy ship can attack you - you can be pulled down and dragged into combat when you aren't ready for it. Black Flag may have made the ship combat enjoyable - but Rogue makes it an art form.

AC Unity is embarrassment - even after all this time. Rogue came out at the same time and was - sadly - overshadowed by the media attention Unity got. Unlike Unity - Rogue was WORTH full price at launch and is STILL worth it. It is WORTH the hours and time you put into it. The story is good. The combat is the same as ever and you'll feel satisfied when it's all over. If you like pirates and ninjas and good-old-fashioned 'Merican cameos (hey Ben! Captain Cook! Woo!) then make your own luck and give this game a try.