Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - The Details and What It Has To Offer

So the embargo has been lifted and we can talk about Ubisoft’s latest Assassin title, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag! Recently we attended a presentation where the team behind the upcoming game gave us a brief history on the franchise and the kind of expectations they had for the new title. Alright I’ll admit this doesn't really explain much however if you keep reading further, we’ll be getting into the story, characters, locations and the kind of gameplay you can expect as this time the series journey’s even further into the past and enters an era where pirates were ruthless and held a great amount of power.

So what Ubisoft are planning to do is go even further in the past and set up Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag to take place in an era where piracy was at its strongest. The exact date is 1713 and you now use a new hero called Edward Kenway (for those who played Assassin’s Creed III, you’ll be able to make the connection but just in case I won’t spoil it).

Edward Kenway is British and was once a Privateer of the Royal Navy, however after many people (including himself) being let go and society beginning to crumble due to the poor being given no help. He turns to piracy and somehow, stumbles into the ancient war between the Assassin’s and Templars. Judging from the trailer and such, Edward likes to utilise two swords which he equips at his side along with a gun strapped to his chest. Surprisingly (not really) he was also trained by assassin’s.



To add to the validity of the game’s historical outlook, it was announced that you would also be coming across other famous pirates, some of which were already announced. These pirates are: Blackbeard

- Ben Hornigold
- Anne Bonny
- Calico Jack
- Charles Vane

Now for the meat of it, just what can we expect from the new Assassin’s Creed and according to the team; the game has been in development for SIX YEARS! That’s unheard of even for most titles being released nowadays, so it must be full of awesome right? Let’s see the kind of gameplay it has to offer.

In terms of the world, the game takes place in the Carribean and in total there are around 50 locations to explore with three main cities’s that you’ll come across. Along with exploring these places you can take part in many other activities such as Treasure Hunting, Harpooning and sailing through raging storms.

The main Cities are:
Havana - The capital of the Carribean.
Kingston - The capital of Jamaica.
Nassau – located in the Bahamas.

Along with the main areas, you’ll also be coming across side islands which include Fishing villages, Plantations, Jungles and Hidden Coves. What worries me here is if all of these side locations will end up being the same or if Ubisoft can do enough to set apart all the islands. Oh did I forget to mention you can now explore under the water too! Looks like they’re going all out to make sure the world is filled with things to do and when moving between all these aspects, it’s said the game will do it in a very fluid manner. Whether this means less loading screens who knows? But it’s a very welcome addition and should keep players immersed into the game without a sudden break in action.

You can now go... UNDERWATER!!

Another important aspect of the game that was mentioned was the actual ship you travel on called, the Jackdaw in which the team went on to call it the second most important character in the game. Interestingly enough, a lot of detail was put into this function as you can upgrade your ship throughout your journey but hold on, it’s not all lonesome as you’ll also have a crew there to back you up. The crew themselves are very important as they’re needed to operate the ship, so they need to be looked after and prepared for the many battles you’ll be having on the sea. Of course in saying this, members can be lost however you can recruit new minions from populated areas or finding them shipwrecked on islands.

One gameplay aspect that was introduced in Assassin’s Creed III was Naval Battles and it’s said to have been improved even further by having a much more fluid and seamless experience when engaging other ships, along with a lot more options available to you when doing so.

Lastly, the team wanted to implement well received ideas from previous titles in to the new one, while at the same time, improving on them and making it better. Game aspects they decided to bring back are:

Assassin’s Creed II – Tease, Cheat, and Use Challenge.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – Playing with the Systems.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – The beauty of the environment.
Assassin’s Creed III - Actually being a part of history.

Interestingly enough, the game seems to be offering a hell of a lot and while details on the Multiplayer itself was pretty thin, it'll be cool to see how they implement it into the world! Battles On Sea? Or maybe different quests like finding some treasure? It's pretty much up in the air.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is scheduled to be released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 4. Be on the lookout for the game when it’s released on November 1st 2013.