If you have played the earlier editions of Assassin’s Creed, you are in for a treat with Black Flag. Ubisoft has taken the game through some revolutionary upgrades – both in terms of gameplay and graphics – to really use Xbox One’s APU to an optimum level. The game is set in the year 1715, when pirates ruled the Caribbean. The pirates have also established their own lawless Republic where corruption, greediness, and cruelty are commonplace.
Black Flag also tells the story of Edward Kenway, a pirate who plunders his way from shore to shore, evading British and Spanish fleets as he seeks to get rich or die trying. Edward’s fight for glory has earned him the respect among legends such as Blackbear. But, after the ship Edward is crewing picks a fight in a storm and it goes wrong, he gets marooned on a beach with a feisty Assassin for company, and ends up stealing his clothes and travelling to Havana to impersonate him and claim his prize.
Assassin’s Creed IV has a more open world feel, which means fewer restrictions for you, the player. The world opens up sooner in the game, as opposed to Assassin’s Creed III, which had very scripted missions and did not give players freedom to explore until the game was well into its first act. In Black Flag, you will encounter jungles, forts, ruins, and small villages.
The game also allows you to engage, board, and capture passing ships and swim to nearby beaches in a seamless fashion. In addition, the hunting system has been retained from Assassin’s Creed III, allowing the player to hunt on land, and fish in the water. Overall, the naval combat is the highlight of the game. It’s based on broadsides and positioning, but there’s an intuitive element to it that rewards good strategy, and encounters themselves are tense and engaging.
Upgrading the vessel is key to both mission progress and acquiring real money. Whether it’s looting, fighting, or raiding coastal forts, it’s at sea where the game really excels. On land, it’s somehwat similar to the old Assassin’s Creed editions. There’s a certain compulsive appeal to it of course, just like Ezio’s trilogy; you’ll want to collect the seemingly inexhaustible amount of things on offer, even if you know that what you’re doing isn’t technically good or even interesting.
As a pirate captain, Edward can board his ship, the Jackdaw, and sail around the world, discovering new harbors, new islands and new secrets. The only thing that can really keep you from going where you want are practical pirate concerns — storms and other ships. Over time you’ll earn resources to upgrade the Jackdaw, but there are almost always bigger, badder opponents out there.
Capturing cargo is a key part of the game as it can either be sold or used to upgrade Edward’s ship. However, boarding is also the far more dangerous option as it requires you to incapacitate the enemy ship and then physically board it and kill the remaining hostile enemy sailors. In order to achieve this, you will have to inflict a set amount of damage on your target. How easy this is depends on the size of the enemy ship you’re taking on and how well armed your ship is.
Also remember that each upgrade will cost you some amount of gold and various resources. For instance, if you want to upgrade your cannons you’ll need metal, if you want to reinforce your ship you’ll need wood. These items can either be bought or stolen from conquered enemy vessels.
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag does a great job in the graphics department. Everything looks real, especially the waves throughout the sea. You spend a great deal of time on the water, so this is a really good thing. The colours are vibrant, the scenery is beautiful, and it really does capture your attention. You get sucked into the game, and the hours go by.
As mentioned at the start of the review, if you have always loved the earlier editions of Assassin’s Creed, you will not be let down by the latest installment. Ubisoft has done a really good job, and we feel like this series is going into the right direction. If you enjoyed the old games in the series this is a must have.
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