Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review
Developer Ubisoft
Publisher Ubisoft
Platform PS3, Xbox360, Xbox One, PS4
Release Date Out Now (Launch title for Next Gen)
Black Flag is the latest installment in Ubisoft’s long running Assassin’s Creed franchise. A series that set the bar for spectacular open world adventures and it is perhaps the best one to date. Why? Because it it is a lot of fun. The story is lighter, the setting allows for more mischief and most importantly it doesn’t take itself too seriously.You play a Pirate, Pirates are well known for living in the moment and this allows for a much more natural adventure to unfold through random exploration. Or maybe it is because they decided to drop the long drawn out ten hour introduction and got users right into the action, but whatever it is it works.
Set in the year 1715 and located around the spectacular Caribbean Islands. This is the playground of Pirate Edward Kenway (Connor’s granddaddy) and it truly is a playground. Much of these waters are uncharted and if it suits the explorer in you, you can spend days visiting every little enclave, every land head or just remain at sea plundering other ships and hunting wild sea creatures. The size of the world map is impressive, with such a vast amount of locations to explore you will find that a lot of your time is spent just sailing around. This is handled quite well with a lot of collectibles and side quests scattered around the island to keep you playing. Or of course you can follow the main story line it is up to you both are incredibly enjoyable.
Visually (even on current gen) Black Flag looks stunning. The lush tropical location, crystal clear water and vast draw distances combine to make the game a visual masterpiece. Reaching top speed in your ship with the wind blowing in your virtual hair is incredible satisfying. This is all handled with surprisingly low load times. When the game releases on Next Gen you can expect everything to step up a notch along with some cool features on the second screen.
Being a Pirate adventure set at sea plundering other ships obviously plays a big part. The naval battles are handled really well with a number of different attacks available as well as the ability to board and overthrow an enemy’s ship. This is one of the biggest achievements of the dev team, to be able to bring two separate items together and still allow the impeccable free running the series is renowned for is a phenomenal achievement.
The ships cannons can fire in two main ways a forward attack or a side on attack. Each one takes some maneuvering to line up correctly and although it looks complicated it actually works quite well.
The game overall is very enjoyable but it does have its downsides. It is unfair to focus on them too much in a game of this scale but they are the same issues that have plagued the series. You will find that Edward will jump off roofs or run up walls you had no intention of climbing. You also have the incredibly boring mission where you must trail a potential target staying a certain distance away from them, but we are used to this now from the series.
Overall: You know what to expect from the series at this stage and Black Flag delivers on every front. It looks and plays incredibly well. The exploration of the Caribbean Islands is the game’s best feature and what kept me coming back to the game again and again. The multiplayer mode does offer some extra longevity and while enjoyable it is not something I was overly hooked into.
Whether you want to play on Current Gen or hold off for Next gen you will enjoy your 40 or so hours of gameplay.
SCORE 4.5/5
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