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MORE FREEDOM

We've had enough of scripted missions. We don't mind a few to push the story forward, but the main assasinations should be deeper and more imaginative. There should be multiple ways to take out your target, big levels with numerous entry/escape points and some element of creative freedom. Think Dishonored or Hitman. In those games you're given a target and the rest is up to you and your imagination. That kind of gameplay would suit the series perfectly.

LARGER CITIES

The American Revolution was a unique setting and worked well in terms of story, but the cities suck. They're atmospheric and beautifully recreated, but a total bore when it comes to free-running: one of the series' defining features. The Colonial buildings are disappointing compared to the majesty of cities from previous games like Florence, Constantinople and Rome. So we want them to pick a time period that lends itself to bigger, more interesting architecture.

CUSTOMISATION

In Assassin's Creed 2 and its spin-offs we could mix dyes and add armour to Ezio's robes. In AC3 there's only a tiny selection of outfits, and no armour to speak of. We'd like to have more control over the new hero's looks, and whatever their equivalent of the homestead/Monterrigioni is. Obviously we don't mean cowboy boots and a mohawk, but if we're going to be spending upwards of 50 hours controlling someone, we want to leave our mark on them.

BETTER SIDE MISSIONS

Assasin's Creed, like many open world games, relies too much on arbitrary collectables. We want less feathers and almanac pages, and more missions like the Assassin Tombs in AC2 or Captain Kidd's treasure hunt in AC3. Something that feels crafted and substantial, rather than padding to artificially extend the game's length. The open world genre is stagnating, and developers need to find new ways of filling their worlds with content besides random floating items.

LONGER DEVELOPMENT

Assassin's Creed 3 was developed in two years, which simply isn't enough for such a big game - especially when you factor in development of AnvilNext, which probably took half that time, and helping the Brotherhood/Revelations teams. That's why the engine was so poorly optimised for current hardware, and why there are so many scripted missions. Releasing a game a year is fine for a linear rollercoaster like CoD, but not a giant historical epic.