First Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag details
Ubisoft has officially lifted its embargo for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and first details have started to arrive. We’ve compiled a bunch of information below. The details batch covers new gameplay elements, improvements, and a few story bits.
– Takes place in the earlier half of the 18th century
– Set off the east coast of Northern America where piracy thrives
– Stars Edward Kenway, father of Haytham and grandfather of Connor
– AC4 is part of the “Kenway saga” of Assassin’s Creed games
– Where Haytham and Connor were present at the dawn of a new democracy, Edward will be tested by the failure of the old one
– Edward is a more charming, clever, and reckless character than Connor
– When Black Flag starts, Edward is already a pirate
– Black Flag director Ashraf Ismail stressed that his global team was focusing on placing Edward into a more historically accurate take on this era – no parrots, no Krakens, no theme park shine
– Looking to be grittier, more true to the dark, rough reality of the era
– Ismail references Kurt Sutter’s twisted, gritty, grounded television show “Sons of Anarchy” a few times when describing his vision for a cast of characters that encompasses Charles Vane, Calico Jack, Blackbeard and more
– Montreal-based team
– Singapore, Sofia, Annecy, Kiev, Quebec City, Bucharest and Montpellier assisting on the project
– “first true naval overworld”
– Black Flag aims to blend between its land and aquatic experiences seamlessly
– Edward can dive off of his ship, swim to the shore of one of 50 or so locations in the Carribbean, and explore
– No loading or segmented feel for the above
– Variety in these locales
– Locations range from plantations and jungles to Mayan ruins and exotic coconut islands
– Three major cities: Havana (described as analogous to ACII’s Venice in terms of vertical emphasis), Nassau (the home of the so-called Republic of Pirates) and Kingston (a very dangerous, British-run city)
– Land-based portions are around 60% of Black Flag’s main missions
– Some Far Cry 3 developers are on board
– All of the game’s activities, from hunting and harpooning (water-based hunting) to exploring underwater environments, will feed into a larger sense of progression and evolution of play
– Edward can upgrade his equipment in a variety of ways
– Can upgrade the Jackdaw ship and its crew as well
– More complex and deeper ocean-based warfare compared to ACIII
– New weapon types, enemies, and challenges
– Edward uses a spyglass to view ships and islands from a distance, which communicates valuable information on a destination or foe prior to any sort of engagement
– Can exploit weather patterns, luring the opposition into less than ideal conditions such as dynamic storms, to their advantage
– Can board an enemy’s ship
– Your goal with any ship-to-ship fight is to eliminate the other captain
– How you choose to do this is up to the player
– Ship has a swivel gun
– Up to four pistols can be used depending on your upgrades
– Ubisoft wants to remove some of the barriers that previous games created, leaning more on open-ended directives
– Less about hand-holding and more about providing basic objectives with flexible conditions for satisfying said objectives
– Team is refining game systems for things like detection and stealth, so players better understand how the game “reads” their actions
– Ismail noted that his team has, from the start, been focused on building mechanics within the pirate theme that the story then supports – not the other way around
– Notoriety system has been tossed out since navigating the wide ocean and traveling from location to location makes this sort of “worldwide alert” illogical
– You are a person hired by Templar-controlled Abstergo Entertainment to research a pivotal moment in Desmond’s ancestry
– You’re told to look into Edward Kenway – and away you go
– Ubisoft is attempting to find the delicate balance between the game’s Caribbean setting – where the bulk of the game takes place – and its modern counterpart, where a significant amount of lore is held
– The team hopes that it can incentivize hardcore Assassin’s Creed fans to step outside the world of pirates and explore the Abstergo facility, by providing a variety of unnamed activities and information as a means of reward
