A lot of people bitched about the start of 3. I thought it was the best part. The pacing was great and Haytham is a bad ass.
Then world opened up to free roam after *spoiler* and it all went to shit.
And don't listen to Eth. Steer clear of the first game. It's maaaaaaaaaaad repetitive.
And prepare for a lot of tedious hair loss inducing "tail *insert name*" missions with 3.