Review: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (PS3, Xbox 360)

Shamefully this has been my first voyage into Assassin's Creed seas, as the previous five instalments (yes, this is the sixth main release despite it having number four in its title) never quite come within my range at the right time.

Fortunately I seem to have timed my entrance to perfection with Black Flag being widely regarded as the best game in the series yet.

Of course, not having much familiarity with Ubisoft's historical time-travelling saga means there have been points where I've felt disorientated.

But I'm still able to say that the open-world action on land and intense naval battles at sea, taking place within an outlaw-ridden Caribbean of the 18th century, combine to form an enthralling and impressive game.

The protagonist for the game is “a young, cocky, and fearsome” British privateer turned pirate called Edward Kenway, played by Welsh actor Matt Ryan. In look and voice Edward reminds me of Heath Ledger in A Knight’s Tale. He’s a fun character to play as – at times he’s sinister, cold-hearted and greedy and other times there’s a certain boyish and roguish charm to him with dashes of dry humour.

Early in the game Edward is seen stranded on an island with a member of the Assassins order who offers a handsome reward for being taken to Havana. The deal isn’t done and a chase ensues, which leads to Edward killing him, assuming his identity and travelling to the city in search of riches for himself.

Even before he gets off the island it’s clear Edward has special skills in free-running and combat, and there is obviously more to him than meets the eye. Another sign of his potential is the fact two of his descendants were the playable characters of Assassin's Creed III.

Once in Havana, Edward gets himself embroiled in the long-running conflict between the Assassins and Templars and the conspiracy around an ancient device called the Observatory.

Being the newcomer I am, the complex plot is one part of the game which has confused me. There are sci-fi elements involved and one of the most bewildering has been the segments which fast-forward to a modern-day setting inside an entertainment company. It seems Kenway may have a connection to the present day, while it also transpires his story is not presented as a first-hand adventure in an historical setting but rather as a simulation based on ‘genetic memories’ which is experienced through a virtual reality machine called the Animus.

To make things easier, I’d recommend others take a different route to me if they’ve not played before and get a couple of the previous Assassin’s Creed games under their belt first before taking this one on.

Fortunately, I’ve still been able to get a lot of enjoyment out the pirate escapade.

On land the game plays as an open-world action-adventure. My Grand Theft Auto comparison at the start may be a little simplistic but the structure of those games is similar to this.

Dotted around are main missions which must be completed to move the story forward Missions have the player trailing targets, infiltrating buildings and carrying out kills among many other things.

There is a lot of stealth, free-running and dashing across rooftops involved. In fact, there is so much jumping around trying to stay out of sight that Black Flag can feel like a platforming game at times.

There have been times when Edward has started leaping up the side of a building when I've wanted him to keep running but generally the parkour system works well - although it is odd how passers-by seem to pay very little attention to the sight of a pirate running and flying about.

Sometimes enemies are taken out covertly but there will be times when they notice Edward's presence and will fight back aggressively. Sword fights are quite frequent, and they are always fast and fluid. While combat is relatively basic, fights can become challenging when multiple adversaries circle Edward. Other weapons Edward acquires include pistols, smoke bombs and darts.

Among the various side quests and other time filling activities in-between main missions are assassination contracts for cash, looting treasure chests, climbing tall buildings to reach viewpoints and chasing song-sheets which provide sea shanties for Edward's crew to sing on board his ship.

There's also the chance to hunt animals and skin them for crafting. Ubisoft invites feedback at the end of missions, or ‘memories’ as they’re called, and some feedback I’d like to give is I wish developers would stop including these gory wildlife elements in their games. I don’t mind sticking a sword through an enemy but killing an ocelot and taking its pelt turns my stomach.

Black Flag is a game which provides a huge amount of things to see and do at more than 50 locations gradually revealed on the vast map, ranging from the bustling but ramshackle urban areas of Havana, Nassau and Kingston to jungles, forts and smugglers’ coves.

All the sites are visited by ship and I'd say about half of the game is spent at sea.

Edward’s pride and joy is called the Jackdaw, which handles remarkably nimbly for a ship but is easy to steer and is good fun to be in control of.

A wide variety of sea-based missions and activities await, and there is a lot of scope to customise the ship with new armour and weapons in preparation for the toughest of them.

Battles against other ships are regular occurrences and provide some of the game’s more thrilling and challenging segments, especially when there are several quickly moving vessels involved.

Winning takes great displays of dexterity because of the multitasking involved. Managing defences against incoming fire, swiftly switching between weapons to mount attacks and navigating the ship safely all have to be done at the same time on the shifting waters.

The full spoils of victory, such as precious items to sell, spare parts to repair the Jackdaw with and captured crew who can be recruited, are obtained after disabling and boarding enemy ships. Land-based forts can also be attacked to gain control of certain areas of the sea.

In terms of how it looks, the game is good overall but doesn’t have the same wow factor of other recent releases.

On the one hand, the developers have done a great job of creating an authentic and immersive world based on the Golden Age of Piracy.

It’s all visually arresting, with island areas coloured in beautiful golds, greens and blues while the sea is believably murky and choppy. Storms are conveyed in a suitably ominous fashion, especially when out at sea.

Ambient sounds, music and voice work add greatly to the fantasy too.

On the other hand, there are areas where the graphics aren’t as refined or elegant as they might be. There are a couple of minor technical glitches, but overall the visuals just lack a little bit of polish. This may be another of the current games which will look better on next-gen machines.

For those who want them, there are several multiplayer options in addition to the epic solo adventure. It’s all land-based rather than with ships at sea which would have been cool, but one interesting addition is Game Lab which allows players to create and share custom games in which virtually every detail can be modified.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my first Assassin’s Creed experience. Despite its weirdness in places, Black Flag is an engrossing game on a big scale which is well worth setting sail with to see for yourself what treasures and dangers are out there.

8.5 out of 10

Out now for PS3 and Xbox 360. PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U versions to come on November 22. PS3 version played for this review.