Well, to be honest, it is not the best game, but it has some excellent gameplay mechanics - naval warfare, the Frontier, the new combat system, all these things are a great setting for another game, which will surely be better than this one. And you got it for 13$, eh? Sounds like a bargain, is it second hand?
I've heard it's not the best AC game and the ending is horrid. Really not making me be in a hurry to play it. It's sitting on my shelf right now - I got it for $13 last week on 360.
I fell in love with AC3, despite all the bugs and glitches, and the terrible ending that was poorly pulled off in my opinion. I suggest you play it on PC, as the version is newer and they might have actually fixed some of the things that could possibly ruin your gameplay.
All of these, yes! But I don't know about the bales, they don't seem mainstream at all these days... if I was to dress up as an assassin, I'd walk around parks, scaring the living hell out of people just for the funsies. :D