AC Syndicate? Worth it?

I've been a long time fan of the AC franchise, and bought just about every AC game. Excluding those like Rogue and Liberation. I don't feel betrayed by Ubisoft like most, as my experience with Unity was great. I'm just disinterested in the game for a few reasons, and I want your opinion on these reasons. The first thing I want to bring up is the whole carriage system to travel through the game. I don't really fully understand how it works. Do you have to use it to travel to some locations, or is it completely optional? I feel like it'll ruin part of the experience for me if it's not an optional thing. Second problem is that grappling hook. Does it come into play a lot? Do you find yourself relying on it too much? I feel like it's another thing that could ruin that whole Assassin's Creed experience for me. My third, and biggest, reason for not getting Syndicate is the two characters. I feel like it probably just weakens the narrative, seeing as it's two different stories instead of one. Another thing about the two characters, is it possible to use only one throughout the entire game? If so, how much would I be missing if I did only use one character? So, are my concerns wellfounded? Should I buy this game, or pass on a major AC title for the first time? TL;DR: I dislike the idea of carriages, grappling hooks, and two characters. Should I buy the game? Do they effect the game that much? Edit: Does it have multiplayer? I really enjoyed Unity's multiplayer.