So I was not into the series. But then Steam sold a 4 pack for cheap then and Assassin Creed came along with it, then I started playing.
So far I found the gameplay exceedingly boring. The only thing driving me on to play is the story, I have an interest on the Medieval periods and some interest in the Crusades.
Just wondering if the gameplay gets better in Assassin's Creed 2. Heard it's a vast improvement in the 2nd game?
How about the 3rd game?

I haven't played the third game. The first one is very repetitive, you do the exact same missions in 3 cities and then there's the ending. The second one is a vast improvement, it's not so linear and the missions are varied.

AC2 and AC:B are far far better than AC. In fact, I still haven't finished the first one. But I've happily put 40+ hours each in AC2 and AC:B. The gameplay was most certainly improved.
And you really don't need to play the first one in order to play and enjoy AC2 as it gives a good enough recap at the start.

Yeah AC2 & Brotherhood are vastly improved. AC1 was a wide open land full of promise and nothing else, it was dull and empty when you weren't playing a story mission.

Also in 2 & B, there's way fewer beggars and none of them are "poor an sick an ooongry"

ACII is a HUGE improvement, in gameplay especially. It's much more fluid, varied and generally fun.

Oh cool I guess. Good thing I bought AC2 for $10 during the Steam sales just a few days ago.

I'm gonna try to finish AC1, I want to know how it ends.

I haven't played any of the AC games, is it OK to start with Brotherhood right away, or should I play AC2 before that ? Are there significant differences between AC2 and AC:B ? (I haven't picked up any of those, but I will do so eventually).

I'd definitely suggest playing 2 before brotherhood since ther story of brotherhood picks up right at the end of 2.

I'd actually also suggest playing 1 because its definitely worth experiencing the story as it unfolds. Its also very cheap. You just have to try and ignore the more empty parts of the world and ignore the flags, they're not worth a damn.

I'd say Assassin's Creed is one of the best series to come along in a long time. I like it more than any other ongoing franchises like The Witcher or Mass Effect (the only series I may like more is Dead Space).

I still can't decide which are worse, the begging women or the minstrels. Either way, I tend to treat them the same; abruptly ramming into them if guards are around, or slitting their throats at all other times >_>.

The beggars are worse, definitely. The minstrels are less common and once you bump them once they drop their lute and leg it whereas the beggar women need to be physically thrown to run off and they keep coming back at every feckin corner.

It reminds me of the older games like Spyro, some Castlevanias, Sonic, etc....where the heroes can do all sorts of amazing feats but can't swim in knee deep water....maybe this was a throwback to those days? :\

Maybe Enzo has a really bad case of hydrophobia?

Ezio can swim. He's even got a dive function to hide underwater. Heck, I think there's at least one mission where jumping into the water and swimming away is the designated escape route.