Since we're on the topic of Assassin's Creed:
The first was the best, at least out of the three I've played (1, 2, and Brotherhood). Don't get me wrong, AC1 needed some tweaking here and there, but overall it was way better than 2 and Brotherhood. Shops? Who needs shops? Your health recovers when you're socially invisible, so you don't need potions. You don't need weapons, your arsenal is upgraded as you advance in the game. You need refills on throwing knives, but you can jack those easily. Altair da bes assassin.
The second was worse in every way. Ignoring the always-online DRM bull**** the PC version was saddled with (that naturally made the game run like ****, no matter what your specs are), the gameplay simply didn't work as well and the story received a massive downgrade. There were a whole bunch of unnecessary new mechanics foisted on AC2. The gameplay was revamped to feel less like an out-of-body experience and more like a traditional video game. You even get instant-healing medicine (read: health potions), in a game that's set on Earth, in the past. The stealth mechanic is practically removed, made worthless by the new AI and the environment. If the guards notice you, all you can do is slaughter them, because trying to run will only get more on your tail before you finally remember that hiding is pointless in AC2 and you have to kill them all. Ezio sucks.
Brotherhood was better than 2, but that's not saying a whole lot. Some of the fat got trimmed, but overall it was more like 2 than 1. I didn't outright hate it like I did with AC2, but I was pretty bored with it. So bored, in fact, that I never finished it. I had to kill a bunch of soldiers invading a castle, and I was going for 100% sync (in this mission, it means not getting hit at all), with the game lagging thanks to forced Uplay. In the end, I decided I didn't care enough to try and power through it, or even enough to play without trying for 100% synchronization. The assist mechanic was neat, and did a lot to bring back stealth. Ezio still sucks, but not nearly as much.