@Enragedhydra: Yeah sorry, I was joking. I don't sing in a boyband or write Deathnote fan fiction. Interesting statistic though, I would've guessed younger

I understand why they do it though. They don't need to make protagonists interesting, they need to make them relatable, so they model them on their target demographic. Game devs aren't stupid. They've done enough market research to figure out that us gamers are all teenage boys with straightened hair and skinny jeans, and we just need something to when we're not writing Death-note fan fiction or touring with our respective boybands.

@vanilli: Completely agree. Why do they focus so much on meaningless collectibles in the AC series (and so many games these days)?? It seems like it is essentially a way of rewarding people that are willing to play a game to death to get 100% achievements, but in the end all it does is completely take the pleasure out of the game mechanics, forcing you to perform mundane actions over and over again to get 100%.

I don't see the point of including anything in a game that is so intrinsically boring, just to extend its play lifespan.

I definitely consider myself a completionist as well, but my dislike of leaving side-missions unresolved has ruined quite a few games for me.