Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is like a refreshing swim in a beautiful blue ocean that stretches as far as the eye can see. You can smell the salt from the sea-spray and feel the cool waves caress your skin. All your troubles are washed away as you float between white-caps and stare into the sky. The interruption from rare threats, like a jellyfish hidden beneath the surface, won’t stop you from going for another swim.
In Black Flag, the ocean is your virtual playground. You are a pirate, Edward Kenway, who commands an imposing vessel across a large ocean. Scattered around the ocean are settlements that facilitate land mechanics inherent to the Assassin’s Creed series. It is the best open-world experience in the series to date. You can hunt for whales, find treasure or dive into shipwrecks. No pirate life would be complete without plundering booty from other naval vessels, assuming you can fight the enemy crew into submission. After sending each ship to a watery grave, you scan the ocean for the next port to drop anchor.
Edward Kenway is a privateer caught between the feuding Assassin and Templar factions. He has no interest in joining either side because he only yearns for enough riches to lead a lavish lifestyle. His wife remains in England as he foolishly risks his life in the Caribbean. Edward crosses paths with many famous pirates, including Blackbeard and Anne Bonny. Some character introductions seem incomplete because they become good friends with Kenway without foundation. Kenway is looking for an Observatory, which is rumoured to hold a great treasure, but its location is hidden and he must seek a character known as the Sage. This Observatory is also the target of the Templars and Edward quickly becomes their enemy despite his efforts to remain neutral. An Assassin believes that Kenway has a special gift that should not be wasted on drinking, debauchery and laying waste to the ocean, but he will take some convincing.
Black Flag retains the modern-day sci-fi story intermissions between all the Animus pirating. This time you play the role of a mute employee at Abstergo entertainment - a game developer currently working on a pirate experience starring Edward Kenway. These sequences are brief and have you exploring office cubicles in first-person view to hack computers that contain information about the Animus or Subject 17. Using this game-developer setting produces plenty of Meta references and witty commentary if you delve deep enough. Hacking computers is basic, and occasionally tedious, but it is the only means to access the side information. These evenly placed modern-day interludes compliment the Caribbean setting and push forward the over-arching narrative.
Back inside the Animus program, the Jackdaw is Edward Kenway’s pirate ship and it is used to sail to unexplored locations or engage in naval combat. Once you reach a new destination, it is available for fast travel, but you may prefer to listen to sea shanties and loot vulnerable ships. Plunder can upgrade the Jackdaw, allowing you to destroy powerful ships or survive long enough to flee. Unprovoked attacks will raise your wanted level and periodically bring hunter ships upon you. The basic ship combat involves long range mortar fire, fire-barrel mines, and cannons on both sides of your vessel. Maintaining ammunition, managing cool-downs and making best use of ship positioning is important. Once an enemy vessel is incapacitated, you can board it and complete basic objectives before the vessel is yours for the taking. The ship can then repair your vessel, reduce your wanted level or be transferred to a money-generating fleet mini-game. This system is constantly rewarding and it takes time to acquire all upgrades for the Jackdaw.
On the open sea, there is a healthy open-world dynamic involving forts, patrolling vessels and the threat of storms. Forts attack the Jackdaw from a great distance and should be captured to reveal collectibles and create safe zones. You must circle forts, destroy the towers and then invade the fort on foot to capture it. Restricted zones, often placed within the area protected by enemy forts, can have you steering the Jackdaw between vision cones or stumbling into large scale battles between the British and Spanish fleets. There is also the random threat of rogue waves or water spouts that add some challenge when sailing. Scripted weather events around forts are contrived, reproducing identical rogue waves like they are going out of style. When random aspects coalesce, it can result in some thrilling sea battles. If your ship falls to enemy fire, you only have to restock ammo and sail back to your destination.
Not all the action in Black Flag is at the helm of a pirate ship. Most of the land mechanics translate directly from its predecessors, so there is plenty to do ashore if you get seasick. Major towns are scattered throughout the Caribbean and are built to facilitate free-running. You still need to scale viewpoints to reveal town structure and opening chests can fund your own pirate settlement. Hunting for animals can increase your ammunition pouches, and this is not the only mechanic borrowed from Far Cry 3. Assassinating targets via side missions can unlock special armor. If treasure is your passion, find a map and locate buried goodies in the corner of a remote island. Notoriety is absent on land, relying instead on restricted zones to force you into anonymity. Black Flag strikes a healthy balance between giving you plenty to do, and making it achievable if you desire to clear locations.
Edward can be upgraded although it’s not as necessary as the Jackdaw upgrades. Ammunition pouches are crafted using skins of animals found throughout the Caribbean, or from material bought at shops. Tools are given to Edward as he completes the story missions and this includes the hidden blade, rope arrow and the stealthy blowpipe. The blowpipe fires darts that can turn foes on themselves, or put them to sleep before you knock them out permanently. Upgrades can be applied to each dart type, extending how long the effects last. Swords and pistols can be upgraded, although the most important upgrade is merely having more pistol holsters so you can fire more bullets without reloading. There isn’t enough demand for high end weapons and you can manage the entire campaign with less than 50% of Kenway’s upgrades.
Edward Kenway may be a reckless pirate, but he still uses stealth to his advantage when given the opportunity. Plantations are restricted zones containing patrolling guards and sniper nests. You can crawl through the bushes or scale the rooftops to reach a stocked warehouse. Bells are placed in these areas and will bring reinforcements if you are spotted. Disabling the bell will reduce danger if you are seen, but you usually have seconds to break line of sight or hide in bushes. Even if you are detected, smoke bombs and clever free-running can see you escape from combat and try a different approach – maybe in the trees above. Stealthy land missions show smart design with good enemy placement in relation to the world geometry. Air assassinations are a constant reward and hiding bodies between patrols is possible. Mixing the stealth tools, such as the blowpipe, with the good layouts makes for a rewarding stealth experience that is rarely forced on the player.
When stealth is out of the question, you can fall back on traditional sword combat. Melee combat remains a simple slog, just like its predecessor, with familiar moves. Pistols become important when boarding a ship because they offer quick kills that minimize crew losses. There is no need to use a particular weapon when fighting different enemy types though. Counter will see Kenway avoid attacks and break-defence will leave them exposed. The only caveat is that you need to dodge some enemy types before break-defence functions correctly. You can use smoke bombs to stun all nearby enemies and kill them before the effect wears off. Kenway can chain kills relatively quickly, although this isn’t as fluent as previous games. You can buy different pistols and swords, but the upgrade path isn’t as gradually progressive compared to the Jackdaw upgrades. When things go awry, Edward Kenway can certainly handle himself in the heat of battle.
Black Flag improves the disappointing aspects from its predecessor. Assassin’s Creed 3 lacked a healthy economy and was packed with dozens of micro-elements that failed to captivate. The towns were flat and boring and the main character, Connor, had all the charm of a Syphilis-infested mute. In contrast, Edward Kenway is a dashing young pirate who is a likeable despite his questionable actions. The major towns are varied and designed with more care towards free-running above street level. The economy feels meaningful - requiring you to purchase ammunition on land and upgrades at sea. A healthy dose of assassination missions is impressive considering Edward is not a member of that secret organisation. Black Flag improves nearly everything from AC3 and usually by a significant margin.
Despite the balance between land and sea, AC4 still stumbles over itself when it comes to some gameplay elements. Free running looks impressive, as usual, but it’s too automated. When you are chasing somebody, you’ll only need to bump into a building to begin climbing and consequently lose your target. Chasing shanties is better than the dreaded AC3 almanacs, but still demonstrates this free running stickiness more than any other task. The quality of eavesdropping missions varies from acceptable to atrocious. Some give you obvious routes that you can complete without restarting. Others are frustrating sequences of trial and error as targets loop through restricted zones and snipers make rooftop stalking a nuisance. Still, life as a pirate was not meant to be easy and a challenge is sometimes needed.
Black Flag’s entire journey is absorbing from the first time you sail the Jackdaw to the twentieth time you frolic in the shallow water of a tropical island. It’s an easy game to play for hours because of the variety between land and sea. No component drowns out the other and the side tasks beckon completion much like they did in Assassin’s Creed 2. The Caribbean setting, backed by outstanding visuals, refreshes the franchise. Minor problems, such as poor eavesdropping missions, are negated by the expansive design and strong sea mechanics. Edward Kenway’s pirate tale is an intriguing adventure of danger, reward and legacy. Black Flag sets the franchise back on the right course and compels you to dive in head first.