Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review - Yahrr!

I think it’s fair to say that Assassin’s Creed is one of the most significant new IPs that has emerged in the last console generation. When Ubisoft first launched the game (which quickly became one of their most important franchises, in case you didn’t know), the combination of free-running and killing made for a successful formula which has been the basis for every game since, even though it’s gone through some pretty big changes since the first title of the series. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is Ubisoft’s latest Templar killing adventure, and all signs are pointing towards it potentially being the very best.

You jump into the shoes of Edward Kenway, through means of the Abstergo Corporation, which is disguising itself as a French entertainment company (Ubisoft may be hinting that they are, in fact, all evil Templars). Edward is a Welshman who has turned to piracy in hopes that it will bring him gold and glory, just like most of the Welsh. On his travels he kills an assassin, and, for some inexplicable reason, ends taking up the man’s legacy, which eventually leads him in the search of the fabled place: “The Observatory”.

 

 

Here’s the thing about Assassin’s Creed IV: the backstory doesn’t matter anymore. Once upon a time, the heated rivalry between the Templars and the Assassins interested me, but now? I couldn’t care less, and neither should you. The fact is, Assassin’s Creed has been slowly mastering the free-running and assassinating gameplay over each of the series titles, and in Black Flag, it’s arguably the best it has ever been. It takes elements for each of the older AC games, and has nearly perfected them. The over-abundance of money became a problem in AC II, Brotherhood and Revelations, whilst ship repairs and upgrades now ensure that money will never be too plentiful. AC III had a large open-world forest to explore, but gave limited and no fun ways to explore it, whilst the game also introduced a brilliant sailing mechanic that there simply was not enough of. Black Flag perfects the sailing and puts it into the brilliant pirate setting, whilst also giving atmospheric areas to explore, interesting towns and lovely deserted islands. With so much to do and so much to explore and enjoy, why would you care about a storyline that has long since become too convoluted?

 

Sailing feels fantastic, and is arguably strong enough to have its own game built upon that one mechanic. It already felt great in AC III, but it was clearly underused. Black Flag’s huge sea to explore feels fantastic to sail through, and some naval battles felt both genuinely intense and exciting. Swinging over to an enemy ship to slaughter the crew and take the boat for part of my fleet is a brilliant rush, and one of the most engaging gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time. It’s incredibly refreshing to see something visually stunning happen on screen, and for once, it’s not just a scripted scene I’m watching, it’s something I’m genuinely involved in.

Of course, everything you would usually expect from an Assassin’s Creed title is still here! There’s still a short list of Templar bad guys that need to be stalked and dealt with, and a variety of stealth, stalking and combat missions to sink your teeth into. Stealth feels much as it ever did, and stalking targets can still be frustrating, although it feels somewhat better than it did in older AC titles, at least. The combat system has been enhanced as well, even though it’s still nowhere near the quality of something like the Arkham series.

 

 

Multiplayer is a fairly important part of Black Flag, and has a nice variety of game modes available, both in Team Matches and Free-For-All. Most of the game modes will be what you are used to in Assassin’s Creed multiplayer, with a few new additions. Still though, Assassin’s Creed multiplayer suffers from what I find to be one of the biggest problems with any multiplayer game: New and unskilled players are given a set amount of perks and abilities, whereas more experienced players have yet another advantage in the form of unlocked items and weapons, and later unlocks such as Pistols can give players quite a large advantage. Ignoring the issues with unlockables, however, Assassin’s Creed IV has a multiplayer mode that is great fun to play, and is always a refreshing distraction from the most popular multiplayer titles, which are often shooters. Finding and assassinating your target is always a rewarding feeling, as is claiming artifacts in the Capture The Flag inspired game mode.

Graphically, Black Flag is beautiful, and on PC can look even better than its next-Gen counterparts, thanks to the higher resolution textures and advanced techniques that can be enabled  on NVIDIA hardware, such as TXAA, PCSS, HBAO+; in a future update, even PhysX will be enabled. The game looks already gorgeous, though, with lush and vibrant jungles, sandy and warm beaches and some of the most beautiful and realistic looking water effects I have ever seen in any game, which is fairly essential when sailing is such a fundamental part of the game.

 

 

As if the graphics weren’t impressive enough, the audio will ensure that you are fully engaged in the pirate experience. Gulls squawk in the air around, waves crash, and your crew sings familiar sea shanties. Ubisoft have clearly worked very hard on making Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag thrive with a world that the player can get fully immersed in.