The data shard things are on the map, they look like little rock icons or something. But you only need 30 of them to unlock all of the Desmond missions, you don't need all of them.
Anyway, I just beat the game about a half hour ago and it finally hit me that I will no longer be playing as Ezio and/or Altair. I'm pretty sad about it and am a bit concerned about where the future of the franchise is headed. Quite frankly, I am not as interested in this doomsday angle as I am in the war between the templars and the assassins. That coupled with the fact that I am unsure if Desmond is an interesting enough character to carry the franchise or if this saving the world from the sun storyline is going to exciting enough, I'm thinking that maybe we should be introduced to a new assassin from a different era and manage to keep Desmond and the modern-day arc a backstory if at all possible.
But as far as this game itself, while I thought it was a very good game, I found it to be the weakest since the first. Like someone else mentioned, I missed the high number of real historical figures that were in the other games as well as the frequent assassination missions. Also missed the glyphs on the side of the building with the puzzles. I hated the protect the den missions, it was a cool concept but the way it panned out with those giant wagon things busting through my den with Ezio only standing there was pretty dumb and it was an idea that sounded cool but was poorly executed. And I felt too that it felt too disconnected from the previous installments. It would have been great to see Da Vinci or Claudia in the actual game, because they bring out another side of Ezio's character, a refreshing side.
Still, except for Yusuf (if I remember it correctly), this game didn't really fair as well in the supporting character development. No real memorable side characters or cool villains like before. But it was nice to see Altair and Ezio off on one more grande adventure. This game succeeded in showing why they are two of the most integral parts of the history of the assassin order and why they are legends. And it was nice to have Altair back with the updated combat system (which has some very cool, fluid kill combos), because the one used in the first game was simply atrocious. Yes those missions were short, but I am honestly fine with it. I couldn't take much longer of walking around at Yoda pace with Altair as an old man anyway.
The ending was fine, but not as mind blowing as the last couple. This whole Desmond thing is just starting to get old. I liked how it ended by uniting Ezio and Altair, bringing their legacy full-circle. I would have preferred that the credits rolled their, but Desmond's part at the end made it lose its steam in my opinion. Who was the lady holding the baby during the first solar flare Jupiter's story?
Btw, did anybody get any of those Ezio statues (ether with the collectors edition or the one that is being sold separately)? Any reviews? How's the face look?