Musings on... Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

I’m glad to say that Black Flag rescues the Assassin's Creed  franchise from the tedium of ACIII, and injects new life into gameplay which had been growing stagnant. Black Flag succeeds its previous entries in the series with one of the most immersive experiences I’ve come across, nicely refined gameplay (gone are the frequent free running glitches of ACIII), and a story that drives the experience forward effectively even if it’s nothing to write home about. If anything this game is less an Assassin's Creed game than a pirate simulator, and indeed some of the more classic mechanics of the series only serve to detract from the experience.

Setting

Ok, this game cannot be reviewed without first acknowledging the setting - the golden age of piracy! This is an outstanding design choice that does much to break up the tired old formula. You are now captain of the Jackdaw, your very own pirate ship (not 'boat', as the game constantly reminds you), allowing you to plunder your way across the West Indies as savvy Welshman Edward Kenway. The open world consists of everything you could want from a swashbuckling adventure: hidden coves, epic storms, coastal cities and roving creatures of the deep. If there is a centrepiece of this game it truly is the game world, which completely succeeds in transporting you onto the high seas as a fearsome privateer.

You'll find yourself foregoing fast travel just to soak up the sea air while listening to your crew sing along to classic shanties (for a crew of pirates they have some surprisingly talented voices among them). You'll stop every time you see a lone merchant vessel, to assess whether you can plunder its cargo before the man o war sailing some distance off will be able to respond. Black Flag really will have you acting and thinking like a pirate, right down to avoiding storms, carefully biding your time until the convoy you're tailing reaches the best position for an ambush, and even drinking rum when it get too hot.

The open world consists of everything you could want from a swashbuckling adventure

Story

The story of Black Flag follows Captain Kenway who, as a refreshing change, is not an honourable warrior or revolutionary, but a morally grey pirate. Differing from the other AC games, Edward is not actually an assassin to begin with, he simply loots the famous outfit from a bested (actual) assassin. The plot then switches between Kenway meeting famous pirates and hanging round until they do the thing they're famous for (such as Blackbeard’s blockade of Charlestown), and getting mixed up in the clandestine war between the assassins and Templars.

The former sections usually play to the strengths of the game, giving more open-ended and nautically-themed missions, allowing you to partake in epic naval battles, while the latter are far less enjoyable. These sections simply follow the race of the two factions to locate the Sage - the individual who can lead others to the Observatory (a Precursor artefact that can show the location of any individual as long as a drop of their blood is obtained). The Templars want to use it to control the world, and the assassins want to deny them to protect the freedom of all.

The story certainly isn’t anything ground-breaking, and isn't as emotionally involving as those from the Ezio trilogy (although at one point it did threaten to tug on my heart strings). In particular, the more linear layouts of the assassin missions, such as tailing targets until the game tells you it’s their allotted time to get stabbed, are really at odds with the open world exploration which is encouraged in the rest of the game.

It is an improvement on ACIII's story, however. The characters who drive the narrative (none of whom sport an eye patch, surprisingly) are interesting, and as opposed to rooms of famous historical men signing sheets of paper, infamous pirates are now raiding the galleons of the two dominant empires (Britain and Spain), both of which are lackeys to their Templar masters.

The mandatory modern-day parts of the story drag you away from the high seas to play as a nameless Abstergo Entertainment employee who is being manipulated by the unhinged head of IT. The fictional company is a branch of the Templar-run Abstergo Industries that is using the data from previous animus subjects to create media products which will warp the public’s knowledge of the past in the Templars' favour.

While it’s an interesting idea the execution is very poor, and these are, as usual, the worst parts of the game. Luckily Ubisoft seems to acknowledge this and the modern day sections are kept mercifully short (except for the final Frogger-esque hacking mini game, which took me and a friend at least ten infuriating minutes).

Edward Kenway is not an honourable warrior or revolutionary, but a morally grey pirate

Gameplay

The gameplay on land has changed very little from previous entries. The combat is the most fluent in the series - chaining sword kills with pistol shots is very satisfying. Free-running is essentially unchanged, although the environments make it feel much more natural than in the third game. The new trading system is also much improved over that of the last game. As opposed to gathering money to make supplies to sell for money, you now gather materials to upgrade your weapon, armour and most importantly your ship.

These investments have real value, and you will certainly feel the need to upgrade your arsenal as you progress through the game. Boarding can get very hectic, and the ability to take hits and deal damage is a must when you're boarding large ships, or for the fights in the later game involving lots of enemies. Upgrading the Jackdaw is also essential. To take and loot the bigger, more valuable ships you’ll need to add more cannon and mortars, increase the hull strength and improve your ammunition. As the story progresses you fight larger and larger ships, and upgrades are absolutely essential if you intend on besting the four Legendary Ships

The biggest improvements are seen in the naval gameplay. The naval controls are a revamped version of the same scheme from ACIII, with the camera following your ship from behind and allowing you to look around in order to aim the weaponry. Controlling the ship is simple enough but mastering the differing speeds to maximise the time you can broadside opposing ships feels both skillful and rewarding. The whole system is easy to learn yet requires some skill to master - knowing when to ram, close-in to give a broadside of heat-shot or keep your distance while employing the mortars and round-shot. Once you’ve got used to which tactics are required for a given situation (facing into rogue waves, moving round the back of galleons with your superior speed, etc.) you start to truly feel like you’re a skillful pirate captain despite the relatively easy-to-use control scheme.

Naval combat is easy to learn, yet requires skill to master

In short, Black flag is a reinvigorating entry into the Assassin's Creed series, which forgoes the emphasis on characters  found in previous entries in favour of giving the player everything they need to enjoy the excellent open world setting. Fluid gameplay, a good story and all the piratical action you could ask for - this a great entry in the Assassin's Creed series and well worth a play.

-Ben