Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | Still strong in 2024!
Earlier this week, I played Assassin's Creed Black Flag (Ubisoft, 2013) for the first time. I purchased the game on the PlayStation Store for only £7.99 - it felt like a great addition to my ever-expanding collection of Assassin's Creed titles, and a good alternative to the criticized - and still fairly expensive - Skull and Bones (Ubisoft, 2024).
Rhum, Coins, and Glory!
The immersive world of Assassins Creed Black Flag drops you into the heart of an explosive reimagining of maritime history. Play as young privateer Edward Kenway, fighting side by side with the most notorious Caribbean pirates of the 18th century. As captain of the Jackdaw, Master Assassin and ruthless pirate, seek adventure on both sea and land in the biggest world that Assassins Creed has yet conceived. Through raging waters, lush jungles and sunbaked cities, seek and destroy scheming Templars and oppressive colonial powers, while enriching yourself and your outlaw compatriots with ships and gold.
Released in 2013, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (AC Black Flag from this point) remains very strong today. The story is not extraordinary (per say), but works sufficiently well to propel the player and protagonist into the adventure early, paying homage to the pirate action-adventure genre head first. The environments are rich and beautiful with a great sense of space and scale, and the voice performances are simply outstanding. While some aspects of the narrative could be a little more coherent and the graphics might feel a bit dated by modern standards, the overall experience of the AC Black Flag is very enjoyable!
A Pirate's Life For Me!
I really enjoyed the many references to the 'West Country', such as the character of 'Caroline From Bristol' in the early stages of the game. As someone based in Bristol, I appreciate the effort the team behind AC Black Flag put into their research, honoring the roots of piracy and the sea dogs of Devon. The setup of the game is grounded in a historical workframe whilst being subject to creative interpretation (as always with the series).
A Promising Start!
After just two hours of gameplay, I was eager to play some more - the balance of naval combat, exploration, and well-sequenced story nodes makes AC Black Flag an entertaining, compeling, and vibrant pirate experience. This seems to contrasts with the more recent Skull and Bones, missing to reinvest what made the success of AC Black Flag in the first place.
Across the 7 Seas!
I'm excited to continue playing AC Black Flag and to share more of my adventure on YouTube! Join me live as I sail the seven seas, engage in battles, and unearth hidden treasures in one of the best games in the series to date!
Mentioned and Featured
Ubisoft
Game Credit: ©2013 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Assassin’s Creed, Black Flag and Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries. UbisoftDeveloper:Ubisoft Montreal, Quebec, Annecy, Bucharest, Sofia, & Singapore | Release date:11/22/2013
Keywords: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Ubisoft, PlayStation Store, Pirate adventure game, Edward Kenway, Naval combat game, Pirate exploration game, Bristol piracy history, Assassin's Creed series, Assassin's Creed Black Flag gameplay, Black Flag review, Ubisoft games, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Skull & Bones game, Video game storytelling, Historical video games, Open-world pirate game, PS3 classics, Pirate video game experience, Black Flag graphics and art direction
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