2014
Halo 2 is a bigger, better and more varied and interesting Halo 1. It evolves the sandbox with amazing new weapons like the Energy Sword, there are a lot more sprawling levels like the first maps of CE, and ones that are a bit more tighter feel tense and immersing. The whole Arbitre story line is a brilliant and unexpected addition that fleshes out the world and adds more interest to Halo 2's antagonists. The game is pretty as it is, but the Anniversary edition, unlike the first game's remaster treatment, improves the visuals tenfold. It's issues like the presistant hitscans or annoying boss battles are frustrating, but the whole of Halo 2 is definitely bigger than the sum of it's parts
Shadow of War is, quite literally, everything Shadow of Mordor was, exept better, bigger and more in every way possible. The game is a relatively slow burn, which is made more bearable by the fact that the overall loop is so enjoyable and addictive. One of the best open world games ever, dlc was great too
AC Rogue is basically a worse, reskined and down-sized version of Black Flag. And the "reskined" portion is probably the best thing about Rouge - the new (kinda) setting really breathes new life into this game compared to it's older brother. But the thing with AC4 is that all the bad parts of Black Flag were held together by it's narrative and setting, and by perserving the bad of it and replacing the good with a boring lazy narrative, Rogue becomes infinitely worse and less worthy of attention than it's predecessor.
Murdered: Souls Suspect is a great concept with not great everything else. It's seems very unforunate all around, with the story being so forgetable that it's incredible, and the gameplay being unremarkable at best. There's not much to say, except for the fact that I wish someone makes this very game again, but with a bigger budget and more effort and talent put into development
If it wasn't for it's forgettable story, I would have no problems calling Unity my favourite of the pre-Origins Assassin's Creed game. Unity builds on everything from the rest of the franchise (barring all the hunting and sea stuff from 3&4), making the assassin fantasy come to life about as well as humanly possible. But the most inspired thing in this game is the world - Paris is crafted with such care that it's truly impossible not to lost yourself it and be fully immersed right until the end
AC4 is one of those "if they gave it one-two more years, it would've been a masterpiece" situations. This is pretty much the best Assassin's Creed game of the pre-Unity generation, combining great story, a lived-in open world and innovation to create a uniquely fun action experience. It's full of pirate's romance, great music and vibrant folliage. Black Flag's bugginess is pretty much deep in it's core, and with how overkill the road to 100%-ing it was, there're a lot of little things that bring the whole game down