AC main track could learn a thing or two from Liberation
So I'm playing through Liberation now (I'm not very far into it, so I don't have much on story - I do recall really liking the plot synopsis when I read it online when it came out though). There are some weird glitches, but the game was ported over, so I can't really complain too much about that.
However, in this game, two things have been implemented that I personally have been BEGGING for for the last 3 installments of the game.
1 - Full stealth range kills from within hiding locations.
Okay, I admit, this is minor. But it's really awesome to sit in a hay bale and shoot someone with a blowgun without exposing yourself at all.
2 - Perks, weaknesses and strengths to your character based on what you are wearing.
In ACIII:L there are 3 (at least, maybe I'll get another one) "personas" you can adopt (Assassin, Slave, Lady) each with their own outfits. Each persona has their own notoriety and ways to remove it (with cool downs in other personas). You can remove notoriety for the Slave when dressed as the Lady and visa versa. Okay, notoriety changes based on costume changes, big whoop. Here's the fantastic thing though. Each persona has a different set of skills and abilities! The Lady can't free run or carry weapons, but can bribe and charm guards. The Slave can't charm or bribe, but can blend into the crowd and get past many checkpoints carrying boxes of supplies. The Assassin's default notoriety is higher, but has access to nearly all weapons. In addition to abilities, each persona has access to different weapons. The Lady cannot carry a regular pistol or a sword, but can carry the pocket pistol (which the Assassin cannot), for example. Each persona has their own (user set) hot keys and weapon sets.
Basically, YOUR OUTFIT ACTUALLY MATTERS FOR GAMEPLAY REASONS!
Have a noble at a high party to assassinate? Will you enter dressed as the slave with the other workers with the ability to freerun? Or as the Lady with the ability to free roam the party, but with limited weapons and escape abilities if something goes wrong? Hell, replay the memory and do both! (replayability is good).
Is the game perfect? No. But I LOVE these additions to an already fantastic franchise.
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
The persona switching makes me think of a flash game wehere you were some kind of dot or blob or whatever and you had to make your way across a level. You could switch into 3 different colours, each of them able to do unique things that the others could not and basically you had to time your switches really well. 
Back on topic, how does the persona switching work exactly? I figure you can't exactly change into another outfit in the middle of the street. Do you need to go to a hideout or something?
You "renovate shops" that are specific changing stations. (Like, superman phone booths). There are about a dozen, maybe more, throughout New Orleans (the map is pretty small, larger than San Gimignano, smaller than Florence - but there is also a large bayou/swamp area).
That said, certain missions restrict you to one persona or another (a mission where you have to seduce someone will work better as the Lady vs the Slave, for instance). The only assassination mission I have done did give you options. to full sync you had to use 1 of 2, but I think you could have used all 3 in the assassination mission.
Speaking of "shop renovations," many shops are available (tailor for costume color change - and so you can ditch the hat and pick up the hood, and weapons dealers) but you can also buy out some shops as the game progresses to get cheaper prices at them (1000 for a color change instead of 1500).
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
Ooh man. Almost forgot.
The OTHER thing Liberation does absolutely right that the main games haven't been able to accomplish recently: collectibles and other side content are not available until introduced in the main game. (why would Haytham collect Franklin manuscripts? Why would Eddie complete assassin contracts before he knows where to find them)?
EDIT: And ANOTHER thing... simple contracts/etc are replayable from the DNA menu.
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
I got my copy of AC:L today and I gotta say, I really like it so far. I'm just halfway sequence 2, but I already enjoyed the idea of switching personas. I don't think I understand the kill chain system (yet) though and the story seems to move too fast, for me at least. Maybe I should just play a little slower. Also, a minor issue, but I think the transitions from pause menu to game, map to game, weapon wheel to game and vice versa seem a bit slow. Kinda kills my momentum.
But apart from those things, I'm enjoying this game. The sounds remind me of AC2. It has that 'AC2 feel' that I think is important for a game in this series.
I got my copy of AC:L today and I gotta say, I really like it so far. I'm just halfway sequence 2, but I already enjoyed the idea of switching personas. I don't think I understand the kill chain system (yet) though and the story seems to move too fast, for me at least. Maybe I should just play a little slower. Also, a minor issue, but I think the transitions from pause menu to game, map to game, weapon wheel to game and vice versa seem a bit slow. Kinda kills my momentum.But apart from those things, I'm enjoying this game. The sounds remind me of AC2. It has that 'AC2 feel' that I think is important for a game in this series.
Kill chain (based on my experience): depending on your melee weapon, i think the kill chain can have 2-3 melee kills. depending on your pistol, 1-4 there. To "activate" it, or, I guess, make it available to you, you have to do a stealth kill in the world (i think with hidden blades) then it will tell you kill chain available and light up the number of bars on the bottom right for your available kill chain with melee weapons. to actually use it, when in battle hit 
and the screen will freeze. enemies within melee range will have a sword icon, others will get a pistol icon. you have to manually select/toggle the ones you want killed in your chain. once you have selected them all, hit the button to start the chain. You then have to stealth kill someone in the world to reactivate it. also, if you don't use ALL available melee kills in a kill chain, not all the bars will disappear and you can have some kill chain kills left over for another kill chain prior to a stealth kill reset.
And yes, all the pause menus take to long. i chalk things like that up to the porting of the game over.
The story goes fast... make sure to read the diary pages for background as you collect them (just like the messages in the bottles in ACIV, kind of open up a lot of background)
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus
I like AC:L's loading screen/memory corridor even better than I did AC4's. Blue-green waves were beautiful, but the orange-blue is just stunning.