Assasins Creed IV: Black Flag

The pirate’s life for you.  That’s what Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag promises, and the fantasy it delivers sets new benchmarks not only for Ubisoft’s series but for open-world gaming. You are Edward Kenway, a privateer-turned-pirate seeking riches and renown on the high seas in the years prior to the events of ACIII. That game, of course, drew criticism for its gratingly earnest protagonist – Edward’s grandson, Connor – and for the sly edutainment of toggling between historical settings and cameos of important figures. Black Flag hasn’t abandoned the series’ love of history, but Ubisoft Montreal lightens

proceedings with bawdy humour and lovable seafaring drunkards aplenty. The recipe that makes Caribbean cruises such a popular holiday – sunshine, open water, gorgeous beaches – is the same one that makes Black Flag’s virtual world so enticing.

From a graphical standpoint, Black Flag’s world is built to amaze regardless of which console generation you’re playing it on. The fact that it was developed for the current generation and ported to PS4 and Xbox One means we’re talking about marginal sweeteners, not a generational leap. The tropical foliage in jungle environs has a more dynamic lilt and sway. Watching a cutscene of Edward speaking

to his quartermaster Adéwalé at the stern, the current-gen version assumes your eyes are focused on the conversing men and soft-focuses the background details such as water and passing land, while the PS4 version maintains distinct water surface detail and crisper wood textures on the boat. It’s noticeable, but feels more like the step up we’ve become accustomed to between existing console and PC games.

It wouldn’t be an Assassin’s Creed game if the main quest thread didn’t eventually veer into the fantastical, and so it’s with little surprise that we discover that Black Flag’s plot hinges on a crystal cube containing human blood. The series’ affection for Lost-style sci-fi inscrutability has been dialed back considerably, however. At its