Assassins Creed iv Black Flag

28/10/2013

Assassins Creed iv Black Flag
I’ve just picked up Assassins Creed iv Black Flag for the xbox 360 🙂

I have mixed expectations about this; (no ratings yet: Metacritic as it doesn’t release to the rest of the World for another 12 hours, gotta love the antipodes) I didn’t really get into ACiii, I didn’t like the controls or find the plot engrossing… but on the other hand I’m a big fan of pirate games, well Sid Mier’s Pirates at least 🙂

I’ve enjoyed Assassins Creed from the first title, an Amazing production from Ubisoft, and I’ve learned more of European history from it than any other source, so let’s see what I learn about pirates arrhh!


First Impressions

It’s gorgeous!

It really is easy on the eyes and runs smoothly.

Dropped into a sea battle with a nice introduction to the controls of how to manoeuvre a ship, and fire the cannons. As with the other games in the series the complex is made simple, and it’s an easy pleasure.

I’ve just made my first synchronisation, feels like a Tarzon esq version of the earlier titles, stone towers, churches and mosques replaced by bamboo towers.


Second Impression

I wanna work at Animus!
The Canadian French is a nice touch.


A couple of hours in

The combat is as slick you would expect, although for me doesn’t quite flow like Batman Arkham City‘s fluent style… it’s nice, don’t get be wrong, just not that engaging.

For an assassin themed game, there’s not really much sneaking and stealth aspect to it., maybe Parkour Creed would be a more suitable name 😉 The traditional way to go dark is to huddle in crowds or pay off dancers, I’d like to be able to hide in the shadows. This said there is now the ability to hide in overgrowth, which is a step in the right direction, but why not all shadows.

I’m bored already of looting corpses!

I like the element of humour in the notes left on points of interest, no spoilers, but they’re worth reading 🙂

The day cycle is a nice touch, although not sure what, if anything, it does for stealth?

The city still has the feeling of being a living breathing space, with cats and dogs wandering around… but notable due to their exclusion, no children?

A nice touch reminiscent of GTA are the random events happening in the cities, couriers who know of your identity and pirates that need saving. Gold is always your reward 🙂

And in draughts the player with the black pieces goes first 😉

The controls are ok, but there’s still the AC issue of climbing buildings et al when you just want to sprint by them. As I’ve got more into the game, each combat encounter feels more like a quick time event, 2 button presses and it’s time to loot, rinse and repeat.

Who would have thought that sailing a tall ship would be so exhilarating! Wow, that’s fun, not just piloting the boat between hazards, but lining up to take aim and avoid canon fire

I only had the patience to complete the first 2 AC games, and with Batman: Arkham Origins on my radar this game might not get much play time this week. It is a great quality piece of work, just very much same same… looking forward to seeing how it progresses and grows though.

Thinking back, I’ve always enjoyed just chilling out in the AC World when I’ve had time to waste; there’s always been another feather or flag to find, and I appreciated the physics of the horses.

Now no horses, but we get a ship to mess around with, and did I mention that you can upgrade it? 🙂

[Rating: 4]

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