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Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag is the fourth game I’ve played in the series, following the original, which I couldn’t really get into as the fact that it kept jumping back to the present day and I found that very jarring; then 2011’s Assassins Creed Revelations which resolved a great deal of the issues I had with the first one; and last year’s Assassins Creed III which didn’t really grow on me because of the setting of the American Colonies in the late 18th Century.
When it comes to the latest entry in the series of games, I find the pirate aspect of it makes for a much more engaging game than in AC3 and, to sum it up, think of AC4 as ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ but with the protagonist having an English accent rather than one like Keith Richards.
The basics with Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag is that the year is 1715 and you are Edward Kenway, a pirate trained by assassins and captain of the great ship Jackdaw – once you’ve completed a few missions, that is. You don’t get it immediately.
There’s a lot of fun to be had brandishing a cutlass of two as you hack and slash at the baddies – it feeling particularly rewarding when you perform an aerial assault on them. There’s the option of using pistols, too, but this feels like a bit of a cheat since you simply point and shoot. Then again, the enemy can do that as well, so don’t feel too bad about any feeling of cheating.
Completists will welcome the chance to steal loot from underwater shipwrecks, hunt for rare animals, discover hidden coves, explore exotic locations and search for treasure in lost ruins, but in the majority of cases, I just want to go through the standard single-player experience without wandering off the beaten track.
Multiplayer fans will be pleased that they can simply log into their Uplay Passport to unlock full access to the online multiplayer part of the game, and get a unique multiplayer skin, plus exclusive play content and tips.
Oh, and at the same time as this came being released, there was a piece in the newes about a terror suspect who entered a mosque with an electronic tag, disabled this & then left in a burka. By changing outfits, I bet he’s fucking good at Assassins Creed!
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.