Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is one of the several top-notch games that are set to release this year from Ubisoft. The game is basically a prequel as far as the series’ familial storyline is concerned.
Black Flag allow players to take up the role of Connor Kenway’s grandfather and is set mainly on and around the islands located in the Caribbean Sea during the early 18th century. As expected from a normal Assassin’s Creed game, the story is divided into two parts – where one half of the game happens in a historical location, while the other half takes place in the present day.
The present day storyline starts off in an Abstergo facility. And although Ubisoft hasn't revealed much, it can be assumed that the player is in the Animus. Moreover, *SPOILERS* at the end of Assassin’s Creed 3 Desmond’s genetic memories were shown being uploaded on to the Cloud.*END SPOILERS*
In addition, the Animus will continue playing its usual role in the game as it has done throughout the series’ history.
Players will get to experience the life of Edward Kenway, the father of Haytham, one of the antagonists of Assassins Creed 3. Edward is a young, slapdash Welshman born to an English Father and Welsh mother. Edward Kenway was previously in the Royal Navy, but later turned to piracy.
Somewhere down the line, Edward falls into the Assassin’s order by accident.
The game takes place somewhere around 1713 and is also set to feature locations such as Nassau, Havana and Kingston, and historical figures such as the infamous pirate Blackbeard. See below for more:
In 2011, the Ubisoft team actually started playing with the idea of a pirate game as their primary focus. The idea was to make the game as realistic as possible while still being fun. The in-game world is quite massive compared to other games in the series, and as it’s a pirate game, the majority of the playtime will happen on open seas.
Hugues Ricour, senior producer of the game, in a recent interview with EDGE revealed that five other studios are helping Ubisoft Montreal create this epic.
He stated: “So we do work on a high-end PC, and that helps, that simplifies things. We are discovering these opportunities for Assassin’s Creed in general so we know games are becoming more social, more connected, and we know this next generation is going to help us.”
“Assassin’s Creed, originally, was a very singleplayer focused game but we have a section of our audience that loves the multiplayer. However, a lot of our fans are very engaged with the story, and the narrative, so how do we combine this with a connected experience? It’s still to be defined and we have a few good ideas. The game will remain true to its roots, and its roots are in the narrative and immersing the player into an experience and a story.”
The most interesting aspect of Black Flag, or any other Assassin’s Creed title (for that matter), is the gameplay offered by the developers. The newest one, as it seems, is keeping up with the pace and offering as many as 50 different locations to explore.
Ashraf Ismail, the game's director, revealed last month a detailed summary about Black Flag’s gameplay while in an interview with Examiner.com. At that time, he discussed what Ubisoft had learned from the preceding titles in the series, the kind of individual Edward Kenway is, the game’s open world physics and the journey the fans are looking forward to.
"The game really shines when land and sea gameplay are merged! Let's take Naval Forts. These are locations that you have to battle in the sea, fight against turrets, towers and other ships defending the fort,” Ismail stated.
“When you breach the defenses of the fort you can let go of the wheel, get on to the land and raid the fort using stealth, navigation and ground fight! And all this happens seamlessly!”
He also stated that cities are all unique in their own special ways. For example, Havana is a busy location with buildings and landmarks. “Streets are tight and roof running is highlighted. It is also beautiful and very European in its flavor. This city was inspired by Venice from 'ACII.'”
“Kingston merges urban and nature. Trees and fauna are intermingled with buildings and streets. It's a dense environment where you are constantly changing heights in your free running. There is also a country side with rolling hills and incredible vistas. This is the most unique city we have had in the 'AC' franchise,” Ismail added.
The game has new weapons, new enemies and a complex naval combat scenario, assisted by free aiming controls and the return of the hidden blade.
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is the sixth installment in the Assassin’s Creed series, and is set for an October 2013 release for Xbox 360, PC, PS3 and Wii U.