User blog comment:D. Cello/Assassinews 01/17 -- ACW New Admin, key Ubisoft figure leaves AC/@comment-3288815-20120119134803

I've got to agree with Vatsa here, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. It's all down to personal preference. I understand that us wiki peeps will always be expecting so much from Montreal and are with out a doubt the franchise's harshest most informed critics.

And while some of ACR's gameplay segments may have been slightly lack luster for me I won't except that is the fault of Darby or Alex. I felt that they executed their roles superbly. Having read "The Secret Crusade" before playing ACR I must admit that my expectations were huge and looking back now, highly unrealistic.

I wanted to see Malik again, an aged, yet faithful friend. I needed to see his head in a burlap sack and feel the same pain and sense of loss that Altaïr must have felt. His son, his friend and then his wife murdered, yet I felt no feeling of loss. I wanted to see Swami pull at his own throat and rip his own guts out, but that was not there either.

Yes I was left a little wanting, but this is a thing called "Artistic licence". Certain things must be altered and cut in order for a video game conversion. But still I do not just go and blame Darby for all my unsatisfied expectations. I blame myself for being unrealistic in my wants. The same goes for the Desmond memories.

In my opinion, the game that was delivered was fantastic, authentic and highly intellectual. Darby did an excellent job with closing stories, both in ACR and in Embers. I felt that the dialogue he produced in ACR was the most mature and intellectual of any game in the series. Some of the conversations between Ezio and Suliman were my favorite pieces in the entire franchise.

I for one would be more than happy to see his name on future series releases. But then again, it's all a matter of personal opinion. I do not speak for the wiki, only for myself. I just hope that some of you are of the same mentality as myself.