My philosophy on games usually boils down to:
1: Not all games can be for everyone (this is fine)
2: You believe one game in a franchise sucks, and thus don't give it any more of a chance beyond that
3: You dislike a particular dev/ pub and refuse to buy anything they are associated with
AC is still kinda niche. Doesn't appeal to everyone. You could argue that over the years there has been a move towards appealing to a broader audience. I won't dispute that. Not every decision taken on AC is one i agree with, just so we are clear. It is still a narrative heavy experience, and a lot of that is underlying. More so if you consume our transmedia. Anyway this.....
is interesting to me. I can agree AC3 was guilty of this. The previous games, not so much. I can't speak to Black Flag prior to release.