The global phenomenon Assassin’s Creed released another classic edition to add to the franchise. The action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft was released to positive reviews in 2013 and, many years later, has still maintained its charm. After playing Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag for so long, I can tell you that it surpassed the unmet ambitions of Assassin’s Creed 3.

Black Flag delivers enjoyable and memorable gameplay grounded in universal themes like comradery, longing for home, and good old warrior mentality.

The games are compatible with PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia, ensuring that you can enjoy it in any medium.

A Fresh Approach To The Plot

This game is predominantly situated in the west indies around the early 1700s, at the height of piracy, and follows the life of a notorious pirate. Your character, Edward Kenway, steals and captains a ship called the Jackdaw. He and a few comrades set out to capture more ships and battle the British and Spanish Navy.

Your core mission is to infiltrate the high ranks of the Templar organization and uncover a plot by the British-Spanish empire to locate the observatory. This observatory can monitor any individual in the world, which would then be used to blackmail world leaders. You attempt to find the informant who allegedly knows the observatory’s location and work together with him to locate it.

As exciting as the missions are, Black Flag is at its best when you explore the islands on your own; this is where you uncover secrets of the Templar, which deepens your understanding of the world and how to stop them. You can even decide to go off course and live like a nomad, ignoring your life as a pirate.

Almost Limitless Gameplay Opportunities

Black Flag avoids its predecessor’s mistakes by sparing us the long and mind-numbing opening scene and launches us straight into an ocean battle. This battle sets the stage as much of the game is situated in Kingston, Nassau, Havana, and its environs. By environs, I mean the many islands around, under the sea to loot sunken ships, attacking and raiding forts, among others.

In classic Assassin’s Creed fashion, the game does not limit your freedom in exploring the world. You can play the campaign five times and still find new missions and tasks to complete for money, supplies, maps, and weapons. You can choose to assassinate targets, hunt land animals, or harpoon sea creatures for food.

The gameplay for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is unique as it takes a different turn from the third installment. Since the plot focuses on the Welsh pirate, much of the game is spent on the open sea. Feel free to get in bar fights, battle storms, and steal as all these increases your arsenal.

Visually Exciting Graphics And Locations

Many games have mastered the graphics of land and built-up fictional combat arenas, but very few have conquered the sea like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag does. In the middle of the mission on the waterway, whales and sharks dive out and make a huge splash, just like they would in real life. The view is magnificent, and the graphic details put into ship structure, and the design of the Caribbean settlements is astounding.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag delivers amazing scenery regardless of the console you use. The graphics are based on Assassins Creed 3 and are heightened by the tropical and ocean view. The deep blue sea is beautiful as sharks swim quietly ahead of you, and the dry land is magnificent as you sail into the sunset.

It, however, felt like the developers spent most of their time developing an immersive ocean experience and forgot to populate certain islands. Some islands were inhabited by only sea turtles, which made me wonder if they were a rushed part of the game that was never meant to be explored.

Intriguing Soundtrack Consistent With The World

If you ever want to simulate what it feels like to be on top of the world, try going top speed on your ship, watch the camera zoom out and feel the sound of the ocean and wind in your ears. That sound, coupled with the emotional Caribbean, score playing, and the realistic flapping of the sails overhead, will put you in an elevated mind frame.

I found especially enjoyable the sailor songs that my fellow pirates would sing about home and the missions. They could break out into singing unprovoked after having too much to drink, which goes to build an even more realistic world.

Wide Variety Of Weapons

The weapons in the game are quite exciting because they are ancient and proffer new ways to assassinate. There is a wide array of weapons available to you, including melee weapons such as British colonial cutlass, French court swords, and Pistol swords. Pistols such as cannon-barrel pistols. Pirate blunderbuss, Golden and silver flintlock pistols.

Other weapons include axes, daggers, muskets, single swords, blowpipes, rope darts, and smoke bombs, among others. These weapons can be purchased from the general store or unlocked after completing tasks. You can also obtain others by disarming enemies etc. The artillery I found most exciting was the ship canons which were used extensively in battling the Navy and other pirates. The method of hitting the target is so fresh, and you can also be hit which raises the stakes because there is nowhere to hide.

More Enjoyable Than Preceding Versions

This is without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable games of 2013. I think it has to do with the freedom to explore the world with no limitations, the action-packed fighting sequences, and the new challenge of oversea battle.

The character however, proved to be a nuisance on some occasions by ignoring commands. This led to the exposure of the character in stealth missions. It also plunged the character into the water unexpectedly, which messed with the game’s flow. There are also missions where you have to tail a victim for long periods, which makes the assassination less rewarding.

Multiplayer Is Back

Many things have been restored in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The multiplayer function returns and opens up the opportunity to share the world. As exciting as that sounds, the fun never gets to the water because all the missions are on land which is no fun.

I enjoyed the upgrade to the multiplayer mode which was better than the hunter-prey relationship of previous editions. You now try to blend in with the surroundings and act as an NPC to trick other players before attacking them.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review is a top-tier game that brings back the signature momentum and pace lost in Assassin’s Creed 3 and gives an almost endless way of exploring the virtual world. It also maintains the game’s roof climbing and swinging aspect, which is simply impeccable at this stage.

Asides from the minor issues of unacknowledged commands, sparsely populated islands, and a constricting multiplayer mode, Black Flag ticks all the right boxes for me. It is not as violent as its predecessors, which is good for most people.