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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!
Go to page 2 for more on this review.
And some gripes:
Fighting: Some games have it and some don’t, and this one really doesn’t. Sometimes you can strike at your opponent, while at others it only allows you to counter for a while before throwing them behind you, inbetween leaving you all moving about looking like you’re happy to stand in a pose that wouldn’t look out of place if you were startling someone and it just looks stupidly odd… as the video below shows.
Graphics: While the draw distance is great, the fast movement around the environment feels a bit jerky so I don’t know what they’re meant to be aiming for as it just doesn’t look right.
Sometimes when you’re on the run, like with “Claiming What’s Due” (Sequence 2 Part 5), where you have to outrun the baddies without resorting to combat, while trying to get to the prison gate to free the Sage, it can be frustrating because they always find you just as you’re getting to the gate and thus, giving chase, meaning you waste time running hither and thither just so you can get back to square one.
There’s no 3D option this time round, which isn’t surprising. It worked very well in AC3, but I barely used it because… it just wasn’t necessary, and I wanted to make a few videos that I could put on Youtube, and with the stereoscopic 3D effect applied, very few would be able to watch them properly.
Don’t get me wrong – I love 3D when it’s used well in films, great examples being Life of Pi and Prometheus, but 2013 has seen a slew of films which were shot in 2D and then had the 3D effect added in post-production, so you’re literally paying for nothing! Such examples include Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z.
Hence, I went to see those particular films in 2D. In fact, less and less films seem to get made in 3D these days. Yes, the format isn’t always required, but I wouldn’t want to see it die a death. In fact, I would like to see it still used when the process will be used to great effect, such as with Gravity. After all, the equipment is available for Hollywood to use, and your local multiplex will be able to show the end result, but what we really don’t need is the likes of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.
Visit my DVDfeverGames Youtube channel for many more gaming videos. However, does anyone know how to replay past sequences and chapters, so I can record footage from a second go at them, when I might have a chance to record it cock-up-free?
Important info:
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Players: single player campaign, multiplayer: 2-8
- HDTV options: 720p/1080i/1080p
- Dolby Digital 5.1 sound: Yes
- Spoken language: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian
- Subtitles in 11 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Portuguese and Finnish
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
8 8 7 8 |
| OVERALL | 8 |
Director: Ashraf Ismail
Producer: Martin Schelling
Writers: Liz Albl, Nicholas Grimwood, Jean Guesdon, Mark Hill, Mustapha Mahrach, Corey G May, Darby McDevitt and Jill Murray
Music: Christian Henson, Joe Henson, Alexis Smith and Brian Tyler
Cast:
Charles Vane: Ralph Ineson
Peter Chamberlaine: Sean Pertwee
Anne Bonny: Sarah Greene
Desmond Miles: Nolan North
Laetitia England: Amy Landecker
Additional Voices: Stephen Campbell Moore
Edward Kenway: Matt Ryan
John Cockram: Diarmaid Murtagh
Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Thatch: Mark Bonnar
Vance Travers: Michael McElhatton
Ruggiero Ferraro/Abstergo Entertainment Marketing Analysis Director: Roger Craig Smith
Benjamin Hornigold: Ed Stoppard
Additional Multiplayer Voices: Kate Fleetwood
Joe: Ronan Vibert
Additional Multiplayer Voices: Tony Gardner
Additional Voices: JB Blanc
Melanie Lemay: Cristina Rosato
Additional Voices: Adrian Schiller
Additional Voices: Stuart Martin
Additional Voices: Arturo del Puerto
‘Calico’ Jack Rackham: OT Fagbenle
Additional Voices: Lee Boardman
Dr. Case Fischer: Neil Napier
Additional Voices: Trevor White
Woodes Rogers: Shaun Dingwall
Spanish Sailor/Spanish Soldier/Spanish Merchant: Dan Jeannotte
Additional Voices: Damian O’Hare
Shaun Hastings: Danny Wallace
Additional Voices: Mark Camacho
Aveline de Grandpré/Abstergo Entertainment Receptionists/Additional Voices: Amber Goldfarb
Additional Voices: Andreas Apergis
Bartholomew Roberts/John Standish: Oliver Milburn
Additional Voices: Nicholas Boulton
Laureano Torres y Ayala/Additional Voices: Conrad Pla
Warren Vidic: Tod Fennell
Rebecca Crane: Eliza Jane Schneider
Additional Voices: Richard Cant
Additional Multiplayer Voices: Robert Wilfort
Antó/Jackdaw Crewman/Plantation Slaves: Kwasi Songui
Josiah Burgess: Christopher Hatherall
Additional Voices: Joe McFadden
Connor Kenway: Noah Watts
Tommy: Dawn Ford
Jennifer Kenway: Angela Galuppo
Stede Bonnet: James Bachman
Julien du Casse: Alex Ivanovici
Jackdaw Crewman/British Sailor/Pirate: Julian Casey
Additional Multiplayer Voices: Jaqueline Boatswain
Laurence Prins: Christian Rodska
Standard Edition:
Limited Edition:
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.
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