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
Right around last year’s E3, Natsume and Rising Star Games announced “Project Happiness”. It’s a game from TOYBOX – led by Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon.
As a reminder, Atsuko Nishida is providing character designs. Nobuo Uematsu is handling Hometown Story’s music.
A new trailer for the game finally surfaced today, along with a new name: “Hometown Story”. Development is currently 50-60% complete.
In Hometown Story, players run a shop, although increasing sales and shop expansion aren’t the game’s central elements. Users will instead be encouraged to enjoy the story and encounters by earning more customers, which also ties into the store’s growth. You’ll encounter characters will all sorts of different tales, and Hometown Story’s primary enjoyment results from fulfilling customers’ dreams and resolving their worries.
Hometown Story was previously confirmed for the 3DS at last year’s E3. It should be out later in 2013.
Future Publishing will be expanding its business in the UK with an Official Pokemon Magazine.
The magazine will debut this month and will release new issues every four weeks. A total of 13 issues will be available per year. Future also plans to include a free Pokemon-themed gift each month.
The Pokemon Company International’s Heather Dalgleish commented:
“We’re delighted to be collaborating with leading publisher, Future. Their extensive reach in the market ensures that the Official Pokémon Magazine can be enjoyed by Pokémon fans across the United Kingdom.”
Thanks to Zack Wiliams for the tip.
Vidyo, the company powering the Wii U’s chat application, appears to be working on new functionality for the console. An official PDF document from Vidyo suggests that “multi-party conferencing” and communication between a Wii U and a mobile device could be on the way. There’s also a mysterious mention of something labeled as “video-powered game experiences”.
Take a look at the relevant extract from the PDF below:
Focus on social networking around gaming
Now: video chat in Miiverse
Next: video-powered game experiences
Chat today, conferencing soon
Now: point-to-point
Next: multi-party conferencing
Extending to mobile devices soon
Now: between Wii U consoles
Next: between Wii U and mobile devices
Along with the hinted additions mentioned above, Nintendo has previously teased plans to improve Wii U Chat in other ways. For instance, in an Iwata Asks discussion, Satoru Iwata suggested that it may eventually be possible to chat with other system users without having to turn off a game.
Prior to Pilotwings Resort, Monster Games never made a game for one of Nintendo’s portables. Now the studio may be sticking with the 3DS for its next project.
One staffer from Nintendo’s QA department lists “Nintendo 3DS Software Testing directly with developers (Monster Games)” on his LinkedIn profile. That seems to suggest that Monster’s next project is indeed for the 3DS.
We’re having a bit of a tough time tracking down the profile for this one, so take this update with a grain of salt for now. Nintendo has yet to unveil Monster Games’ new game in any case.
Circle Entertainment has close to twenty games lined up for Nintendo’s digital services this year. Swords and Soldiers 3D and Color Commando are just a couple of games coming to the 3DS eShop/DSiWare in 2013.
Here’s the full listing:
Ah Heaven! (DSiWare, Q1)
Goony (DSiWare, Q1)
Achilles War (DSiWare, Q1)
Publisher Dream (DSiWare, Q1)
Swords and Soldiers 3D (3DS eShop, Q1)
Witch and Hero (3DS eShop, Q1)
WAKADAS (3DS eShop, Q2)
Color Commando (DSiWare, Q2)
Cafe Dream (DSiWare, Q2)
I am in the MOVIE (DSiWare, Q2)
Banking Dream (DSiWare, Q2)
Cinema Dream (3DS eShop, Q2)
Castle Conqueror: Heroes 3 (3DS eShop, Q3)
World Conquest (3DS eShop, Q3)
Rhythm Scape (3DS eShop, Q3)
Toy Defense (3DS eShop, Q3)
Sweet Memories: Poker Night (3DS eShop, Q3)
Puzzle Craft (3DS eShop, Q4)
Lair Land Story (3DS eShop, Q4)
Lair Land Story 2 (3DS eShop, Q4)
If you haven’t done so already, you can reserve The Wonderful 101 from a pair of notable retailers. Amazon has a pre-order page here
, and GameStop’s product page is located here.
Nintendo has been keeping quiet when it comes to The Wonderful 101’s release date. The company has only confirmed that the Wii U game will be available in the first half of 2013.
Thanks to Robert for the tip.
Much like Injustice: Gods Among us, Japan will be receiving a different Resident Evil: Revelations boxart than in North America and Europe.
Here’s what the Japanese cover looks like:
And here’s the European box:
I assume that the North American art will be kept the same as the European imagery, but you never know…
Kid Icarus: Uprising weapon gem deliveries will be ending at the end of the month. March 31 is the cut off date, a message sent out through SpotPass reads.
Nintendo has been sending out weapon gems on a daily basis. However, even though online deliveries will be ending, players will still be able to obtain gems through StreetPass.
