The cynic in me wants to say to that Assassin's Creed Rogue is little more than a glorified add-on, one last-ditch effort to squeeze some cash from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation--and in many ways, it is. But after sailing the high seas as an Assassin turned Templar, I think it's more apt to think of Rogue as a cheeky but uninspired farewell, a piece of fan service that ties up some loose ends, and gives those absorbed in the overarching Abstergo arc answers to some of its more complex questions.

Those answers are, unfortunately, buried in a serviceable, if predictable story. The hero--or anti-hero in this case--is Shay Patrick Cormac, a gruff, moody Assassin out for revenge after becoming disillusioned with the brotherhood. Yes, the Assassin's Creed series still hasn't discovered that there are character motivations outside of surly angry dude, with Shay spending most of his time shouting at and killing other surly angry dudes, before going off on his own to stare off into space, and contemplate why everyone is just so gosh darn mean to him.

So no, the core character story isn't going to keep you glued to the screen, particularly as the voice acting with its dodgy Irish accents is less-than-convincing. But, while I've never cared for it much myself, the surrounding lore is going to be of huge interest to series fans. Rogue fills in many of the gaps between ACIII and Black Flag by diving into the Abstergo and Templar conspiracies, and making you think about their motivations. Perhaps Abstergo isn't the evil organization its been made out to be. Perhaps the Assassin's aren't always in the right. That Rogue doesn't paint a picture of black and white is one of its greatest strengths.

A lot of this is accomplished during the historical missions (which take place between 1752 and 1761), but there's also a return to the often derided modern day first-person sections of Black Flag. Thankfully, these sections are much shorter this time around, and--save for a painfully perky Abstergo employee--rather pleasant. There's a lot of information to uncover, from datapads with tongue-in-cheek references to other Assassin's Creed games, to computers with Assassin profiles that are unlocked via a nifty puzzle minigame. That's not to mention the Abstergo Entertainment offices themselves, which are littered with all manner of Easter eggs not just from Assassin's Creed, but from other Ubisoft games too.