At the time of its announcement shortly just months after Assassin’s Creed III hit the shelves, news of another incoming Assassin’s Creed game was nothing short of controversial. As we all know, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has always been polarizing among fans and critics considering the timely releases of their titles which, after the second Assassin’s Creed became a huge hit has since then became an annual affair. The same can be said for the once beloved shooter franchise, Call of Duty. These game series, while actually being great, have currently succumbed to the gallows of gaming stigma. One in which no matter how established your reputation may be as a studio, gaps of one year in-between title releases mean mediocrity. It is a prevalent issue that if not currently addressed will certainly create a distorting image of the industry; an image perceived by those outside of the industry as immature, biased and ultimately prejudiced. Yes, ‘milking’ any series is certainly a troubling thing and usually results in never ending births of half-hearted sequels that introduce nothing but same rehashed of the same old shell albeit in a different skin. But in no way does an annual development time becomes an immediate 'bomb'.
Here we are, roughly a year after Assassin’s Creed III was released. The controversy concerning Black Flag has never died down since then. There was always that concern on how this would turn out considering the somewhat disappointing adventure of Connor and the assumed inadequate development time of just a year. So how does Black Flag fair? Was a year enough for the franchise to rise above the ranks? Is the new protagonist more interesting and relatable? Was the deployment to next-gen systems substantial? And most importantly, is it actually fun to play?
Massive and most of the time increasingly overwhelming, these were the words that kept running through my head as I fight and plunder my way through one of 2013’s biggest games, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. I’ll get to it straight away, Black Flag is great, and better than Assassin’s Creed III. As to how it compares to the other titles is better left for you to decide. One thing I can say for sure, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag definitely delivers.
One of the biggest deviations from its predecessors is in its level design. Black Flag how has now pursued the design structure which made The Elder Scrolls and most notably the Grand Theft Auto series resonate among the fans; it has now gone 'full' open world; in a sense that it now allows you to use vehicles. Making use of the surprisingly awesome naval battles of Assassin’s Creed III, Black Flag has decided to place that outstanding aspect center stage and stem the whole game from it. In other words, forget small-scale subtlety and discretion we've previously abode to and say hello to huge, epic naval set pieces and intense, swashbuckling action. In here, your ship becomes your main mode of navigation and the game’s secondary main character. As you buy upgrades for survival and cosmetics to customize the ship to your liking, the Jackdaw, as what they call her, is where majority of your time will be hugely spent.
What’s surprising however is the manner the game utilizes its new open world design. Scattered around the world map are hundreds of activities and collectibles that given the enormous amount of them, will surely make any obsessive compulsive person cry for joy. I've never seen any game which offers this much 'collectathon'. From hidden Mayan ruins, animus fragments, to the ever present treasure chests, Black Flag ensures that you will never have nothing something to do. Add to that the map size which is overwhelmingly humongous. And by that I mean, hugely huge. Here we begin to see the power of next-gen technology. With absolutely no load times as you cruise around the ocean map, Black Flag dishes the several convoluted systems of side missions in Assassin’s Creed III in favor of a purer, more engaging sense of exploration. All these in a sprawling open world, one in which locations and islands are accessed in a seamless, load-free manner. Well, except for the main cities of course; they still load, in a way.
As you encounter both friendly and hostile ships along the way, there comes a time where you can’t help but to engage the enemy. And here comes the improved naval battles. Gone are the scroll-able gun types we had last year and instead we now have a new contextual weapon selection system where the kind of gun you get to fire is determined by your view orientation in accordance to the Jackdaw. Assassin’s Creed III has been previously hampered by the issue of battles becoming increasingly cumbersome and frustrating as you have to sluggishly scroll through weapons types and the like, struggling to actually fire the damn weapon itself. Now, naval combat has become intuitive and comprehensive, all leading to that incredible feeling of satisfaction as you get to see every mast and sail sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Even more savory is the fact that any ship could be boarded at any time possible, even the mean-looking big ones. Given the conditions are met, once an enemy ship sets on fire signaling its distressed shape boarding can now be possible. How it plays out depends on your approach. As the captain of the ship you get to decide how the boarding process is laid out. Will you entrust it to your crew as you find comfort within the confines of the bridge? Or will you take the whole matter in your hands and approaching them from above, up front, or from afar with pistols? The outcome is entirely in your hands whether you choose to jump across to stab the captain or just play it wise and pick them all off with a swivel gun. It’s that sense of freedom in your actions that helps define Black Flag as a more entrusting and confident title of the series. It puts the player in a position of actually deciding on what to do, not on what to follow. However, even with the abundance of these possibilities naval exploration can still inflict fatigue. As you repeatedly board and plunder ships to your fill, the formulaic gameplay soon begins to show its superficial surface. While it’s certainly cool to see ships on fire as you plan your boarding process and finally triumphing over them as you loot plunder, doing it for the hundredth time is stressful and routine. Add to that the ever present repetitive stock cut-scenes which all the more aggravates that sensation.
With all that said, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag on the lighter side, features a more compelling story and a better protagonist. Captian Edward Kenway, the man to pave way for our heroes Haytham and Connor in Assassin’s Creed III has a more light-headed, brash, and curiously exploitative character; and it’s refreshing to see the contrast to Connor’s personality as you see Edward actually having fun during the exploits he gets to perform in his grand adventure. And what a glorious adventure it certainly is. From atypical pirate affairs to the more serious political conspiracies Black Flag sports a more explosive campaign with some attempts of engaging players to be more emotionally attached to the characters. From the get-go the change is apparent: you actually get to have fun from the start, not four hours after. On the flip side, it is disheartening to see drawbacks prevalent in the series persistently existing; notably, the never ending tailing missions. I have never seen any point in the inclusion of these segments. If they aim to add more context it could have been integrated in cut-scenes and if they felt they managed to provide an ‘assassin-stalking’ feel then no, it did not engage me as a player as even the slightest nudge of the camera to place the target out of focus brings up a clock timer that ticks down even as theoretically, I was just right behind him. That certain sense of disconnect as you tread through these missions pulls the player back from the well established mood the game already has cooked for you. The setting, the architecture is varied; with stone structures dotting the more natural habitats, trees marginally crossing each other in forests blossoming in flora and teeming with wildlife. As you visit cities, there’s a distinct feel to each of them, with Havana being a more civilized place - houses built close to one other inspiring long-time fans of the series with a nostalgic remembrance of the city of Florence in Assassin’s Creed II - and Kingston being reminiscent of the more organic, plateaued layout of Assassin’s Creed III. These elements help create a more organic and well realized universe for the player to be in. And all those tailing missions do is suck the life and energy out of it, reminding the players to pay attention cause "Hey, you’re in a game bud".
What’s interesting to note though is that gameplay has been thoroughly improved through the new direction in level design. With the inclusion of large, open environment both natural and man-made, players will have the leisure for actual discretion. Stalk zones have been revamped and have been scattered more frequently across the map, their density amped up to sell the world more. And with the improvements made in the level design which smartly spreads high points and hiding zones in an organic fashion, stealth makes for an even more enjoyable hunting spree. However, with all the good things said stealth gameplay still remains as problematic and as unpredictably nonsensical as it has always been. This became hugely apparent during Assassin’s Creed III. Enemy detection is still abysmal. With half-baked routines to spot and negate the player, enemies feel stale and artificial. The manner in which they populate environments is even more poor. Roaming around the map, they actually contain nothing to remind the player of their existence on that said space. No idle dialogue, no subtle animations. They just either walk on patrol or wait for their doom. With that said, closed combat becomes even more problematic. Unlike the more aggressive soldiers in Ezio’s titles, enemies in Black Flag prefer to engage the player more frequently so that they could wait for their one-one tactics to come to fruition which in this case, never reaches any success. Time and time again, though they actually give more challenging chase sequences than ever before, what happens as you get cornered is nothing short of disappointing. They still attack one at a time and unlike Assassin’s Creed III, fails to actually make use of those awesome-looking dual counters. In fact, in my 30 hour play time, I think I've just encountered a single instance where two guards actually came to their senses and attacked me simultaneously.
Problems extend even to the actual story itself. Though even more engaging than its predecessor, Black Flag’s narrative still feels padded at times, focusing more on mundane tasks that serve nothing but to introduce new mechanics. However, given certain moments, Black Flag can be at times moving. Even though the main cast itself is composed of pure flat characters, numerous punctuated moments evoke something emotional. Thankfully, the modern day segments have been given attention. By now we all know Desmond’s sacrifice for humanity and the exclusion of this meta-character element frees up the main story thread for the main assassins themselves. That the possibilities for further Assassin’s Creed games could be endless is anyone's guess at this point. Controlling a character which is supposed to be exactly representative as the player himself in a first person perspective, you roam the offices of Abstergo industries as you get deeper into the modern day narrative itself, getting pushed to and fro by some shady individual whom is again best left served for you to uncover. The disparity between the modern day segments and your time in the Caribbeans is an interesting angle by which players get rejuvenated after a hard day’s work on the animus. It’s a somewhat weird concept that sometimes feel very awkward yet it works.
That said, there are a lot of refinements added to better the overall gameplay. Obviously inspired by Far Cry 3, crafting has now become a major necessity in Black Flag. And with its urgency comes the encouragement to hunt. Ranged combat has been tweaked with players now able to aim and fire just like what you’d expect in a third person shooter though somewhat, the actual firing of a weapon seems late and delayed. Together with the improved level layouts this makes up for a more consistent stalking game where ranged tactics could be as effective as going in for a close kill itself.
Also, drawing inspirations from past games, liberating forts still comes into play though a little bit scaled up. These huge dens of fortresses and cannons replace those liberation missions found in the earlier titles and have been increased in difficulty. And the tense, back and forth action you’ll get to have as you both take down towers and ships alike results in a for more challenging predicament that ultimately guarantees satisfaction.
The franchise has been saved once again. Thanks to Black Flag’s attempt on letting players actually have fun in playing, history takes a back seat as the core action takes the main focus of your attention. The questions lingering prior to release has been put to rest. Assassin’ Creed Black Flag is a great game filled to the brim with insanely amounts of collectibles, tons of fueled-filled action both on ship and on foot, and an improved narrative which features a protagonist so driven with personal glory he himself becomes the driving force of the story. However, even with all the praise mentioned there still exist a huge number of mishaps which sadly have been for so long. And it is no excuse to make it up for technology for these things unfortunately are very serious in their own right. Though Black Flag improved a lot of things problematic from its predecessor, the changes weren't impressive. In fact, I’d say Ubisoft has to do more. By now, the main core gameplay is becoming a bit formulaic and dry. What was once done in 2007 is still being done in 2013. And just as stressful as boarding ships is so does the resulting overall gameplay begins to be. Now is the time to reinvent the formula a bit. Cause as next-gen systems begin to dominate the market, so does the demand for change starting to amplify.