I'd figure it couldn't help but be a breath of fresh air, simply because of the change of setting, the change of weaponry, and the change in gadgets and skills you need to deal with them. While bladed weapons would undoubtedly still be in use, we're well into the age of firearms if we're talking the colonial era.
As I said, I haven't played the AC2 spinoff games, but I'd expect that firearms aren't used anywhere near as much. That'll necessarily change how whoever the main character is deals with his opponents.