Suggestions for catching up on Assassin's Creed

So the last Assassin's Creed game I played was AC II.  I own Brotherhood, Revelations, AC III and AC IV: BF.

2 Questions:

Would I absolutely NEED to play ALL of these games to catch up?  If not, which should I play and which should I get rid of?

Is it even worth trying to catch up at all?

If you want to understand the story honestly the BF, Unity, Rogue, Mobile games, Browser games don't add much overall. Honestly I would wait for Syndicate and play BH REV and 3 for story.

I'm in the same situation except I haven't played since Assassin's Creed III.  I was planning to play AC: Liberation before jumping into AC: Black Flag.   Should I skip AC: Liberation?  Should I skip AC: Unity as I catch up?

Alright basically if you want to follow the story.

Desmond's Story

Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Ezio Trilogy
Assassin's Creed III
 
The rest of the titles don't add much to the overall story but Syndicate may alter that trend.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Brotherhood and Revelations weren't much more than yearly placeholders; games with only minor improvements between them until Ubisoft could finish AC III (and the very little progress the story makes can easily be digested in a few minutes on youtube). AC III is ambitious with its new gameplay elements and wraps-up the story set in motion in the previous numbered titles, but the missions can actually be kind of mediocre. I think most people would agree that Black Flag is the series' high point, utilizing AC III's tech but making the gameplay much more fun. You've probably heard enough about Unity to know that it doesn't have a very good reputation; it feels like they stripped alot of gameplay out to justify "building up the series" on next-gen consoles.

In my opinion, the only games worth playing are AC III and/or Black Flag. I think AC III is worthwhile because I really enjoyed the game world and was curious to see the main story finished, even if alot of the missions were a bit of a slog. If you don't really care about either of those elements, then Black Flag is the way to go.

Of course, you could always stop at AC II.... that's kind of what I wish I did. For all of the various gameplay improvements, nothing beats the setting, the mystique and the well-rounded gameplay of AC II for me.

Okay, I've played all of them and here are my thoughts:

If you're interested in the story of Desmond:
AC1, AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations, AC3.

If you're interested in the whole Templars/Assasins story:
AC2, Brotherhood, AC3, Black Flag.

I wouldn't suggest actually playing AC3, though. It's the only game I outright hated in the series. I love US history and I thought it would be great in the AC series, but it just turned out to be trash. Most unfun game besides Revelations which just wasn't that fun because it didn't add enough to the game.

I'd say definatly play Brotherhood. Personally it's my favorite story in the series dealing with the Borgias, Vatican etc. Being set in Rome with all it's history and sturcures was a lot of fun. Plus at the end you get in a fist fight with the pope. You can't beat that.

Revelations puts closure on Ezio and Altiar's story but not much else. It adds nothing new (except a gimmick hook blade) It's totally skippable IMO.

ACIII is the most intresting from a history angle, but the story built around it is boring and the lead charcter is a drone. Colonial America didn't have a lot of structures to climb so most the game you're hoping through the woods like a monkey. This one could've been great but it fell flat. I guess it's essential if you want to finish Desmond's story.

Black Flag is a must. Not only a great AC game but a great pirate simulator. If you ever wanted to be a pirate look no further.

Unity is hot garbage. I got about 8 hours in and realized I was forcing myself to play.

Remember it's very easy to get burnt out of the series since they all have essentially the same gameplay. Personally I'm giving the series a break for a couple years. I'm not feeling Syndicate either.

Assassin's Creed III is terrible and is supposed to be a key part in Desmond's story, but the game was horrid and I just couldn't get myself to play it. I was super into Assassin's Creed but I really couldn't care two shits since AC III came out. AC IV Black Flag was really good, but AC Unity sucked so hard that it really took me out of the AC franchise. I could not care less for AC: Syndicate coming out.

:0  just passby