Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a smart, sprawling sequel
that wisely places an emphasis on freedom and fun while trimming most of the
fat that bogged down Assassin’s Creed III’s ambitious but uneven adventure.
Ubisoft’s take on the Golden Age of Piracy begins in 1715, and is presented
with a much-appreciated lighter tone that isn’t afraid to make fun of itself in
the name of an entertaining journey.
Sailing across the
massive expanse of The Caribbean, exploring gorgeous and unique islands, and
getting yourself into all sorts of swashbuckling trouble provide some of the
most rewarding and memorable stretches of gameplay I’ve experienced all year.
Even after putting in well over 50 hours with the Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U,
PC, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 versions, I’m still discovering new
islands to explore and tombs to raid.
upon the
already-gorgeous AC 3 by showcasing well-lit, tropical locales and the amazing
water effects on the open seas. And on next gen, the experience is even more
impressive thanks to minimal loading and maximum draw distances that seem to go
on for miles. The way the camera zooms out when your ship reaches its maximum
speed, the speakers bombard you with the sounds of the wind, and the sunset
turns blood-orange, is simply amazing. The PS4 and Xbox One versions are nearly
identical, and both deliver the same gorgeous adventure.
All versions of the game come with some form of off-screen
support. The Wii U GamePad acts as a map that comes in handy when you're
searching for a particularly hidden piece of treasure, or you can play Black
Flag directly off of the screen on your controller. The other versions support
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV Companion App, a free download that lets you turn
any tablet into a home for maps, an Animus database, and much more. There's a
lot of information to digest in Black Flag, and being able to utilize a second
screen instead of constantly bouncing in and out of menus helps keep you in the
experience.
Black Flag learns
from AC 3’s initial 10 hours of banal hand-holding by immediately throwing you
into the action. After a lean and exhilarating opening mission that places you
in the blood-soaked boots of Connor’s much livelier and more likeable
grandfather Edward Kenway, the world blossoms and allows you to explore its
vast uncharted waters.
When you ignore the main mission prompt and simply set out
in search of your own fun, Black Flag is at its best. It treats you like an
adult, and allows you to explore its gorgeous and activity-filled world to your
heart’s content. Want to discover every nook and cranny of Kingston’s sprawling
expanse in search of Templar secrets? Or would you rather buy a small fishing
boat and hunt for all manner of deadly sea creatures, using your spoils to
upgrade your character? Maybe you just want to sail to a remote island, climb
to the top of a mountain, and gaze in awe at the world around you. Black Flag
is all about embracing freedom and carving your own path through the world.
The freedom to tell your own stories also exists in the
multiplayer mode, which, once again, refines the unique cat-and-mouse gameplay
originally introduced in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Having to blend into
your surroundings and try to trick other players into thinking you're an
A.I.-controlled NPC provides ample moments of tense and entertaining mayhem.
Just like previous versions, it’s a welcome alternative to the standard
deathmatch that's become the norm in most multiplayer games, but it’s not
substantial enough to be the main reason to keep coming back to Black Flag.
Also back and better
than ever is the series' signature feeling of momentum. It does a great job of
marrying the vertical city-based traversal of Assassin’s Creed II with the
energetic frontier movement of AC 3. That being said, Edward still occasionally
disobeyed my commands by errantly jumping off rooftops and climbing up walls
that I never wanted to scale in the first place, but those are minor nuisances.
Also, the world’s vast scope invites a handful of hiccups. For instance, the
body of a guard who’s holding a necessary key might disappear if you leave the
area, meaning that you have to restart a mission. Black Flag is peppered with
these sorts of annoyances, and though they certainly aren't deal-breakers, they
had a tendency to pull me out of the experience a bit too often.
Ubisoft wisely avoids
the morose spaghetti bowl that Assassin’s Creed’s plot lines have become in
favor of a much lighter tale that embraces the adventuresome spirit of classic
pirate stories. I loved the fact that Edward is so unlike his Assassin
relatives, and much more interested in the pursuit of money than the opaque
goals of some secret cabal. It's a refreshing change of pace from a series that
had started to take itself a bit too seriously.
This lighter tone is
also evident in the way that Black Flag feels less violent than its
predecessors. Death animations are relatively short and sweet, with a surprising
lack of blood for a game centered around stabbing people. The restraint is
admirable, and it makes combat more fun and less serious business slaughter
than in recent years. Then again, Black Flag also tends to repeat some of the
Assassin's Creed series’ favorite mistakes, like forcing you to tail a
prospective victim at a safe distance for minutes on end while you’re given an
exposition dump. It’s mighty annoying that I had to spend 10 minutes listening
to rarely memorable dialogue before I could make the kill.
While the main story
is a bit of letdown, I was honestly shocked at how much I enjoyed my time spent
outside of the Animus. These first-person missions are mostly optional, but
surprisingly great. As a new Abstergo employee working to develop an
entertainment product based on Edward’s life, you’ll quickly find yourself
embroiled in a bit of corporate espionage that ultimately leads to you to
discover all sorts of secrets that gleefully hint at the future of the series.
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