Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1141 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 894 out of 1141
  2. Mixed: 145 out of 1141
  3. Negative: 102 out of 1141
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  1. asfj
    Jan 25, 2014
    0
    Unbelievable for the high reviews. Don't you find this game has very little content, but self copy again and again like bacteria so as to create an epic elusion?

    That's true there are many mini games sprinkled on map...randomly..., but every time you play it, it just repeats the same animation. More annoying is that you have to waste time very long to finish one. Naval battle is in    Unbelievable for the high reviews. Don't you find this game has very little content, but self copy again and again like bacteria so as to create an epic elusion?

    That's true there are many mini games sprinkled on map...randomly..., but every time you play it, it just repeats the same animation. More annoying is that you have to waste time very long to finish one.

    Naval battle is in fact very boring, what all you do is just playing circling game with rival ship to find a good angle to shoot, again and again. If you want to board, you have to waste another 10 mins, during which you just encounter same enemy, same animation, same music and same boarding missions, utterly boring and annoying. But in return, you only gain double loot. The loot is just a form of EXP for your ship, nothing special. So I prefer directly wrecking the rival ship, then gaining even half loot spending just 5 seconds.

    The environment is really visually-tiring, just same coastlines with randomly planted trees.
    The city is very flat, constructed with several pattern of normal buildings randomly composed, Nor historical landmarks or classical/elegant internal architecture at all!!!(Recall what was in AC II is so memorable). The designer boasts the environment is epic... Don't fool us, designing this random and repetitive will cost you very little efforts, you know, lazy. We want diverse and elegant content. I have to say, in AC II, climbing to the peak of buildings to overlook the city is my favorite. However in AC IV, I never do this again because of the so lack-of-characteristic scene.

    What about main story? I have forgotten most of it. What is left is just some repetitive trailing and killing missions. In addition, a strong anxiety/confusion is why the hell does he wear like an assassin?
    The confusion makes me very lack of motivation to continue the game because, in instinct, a strong feeling is that he has no soul of assassin which however is forced to be titled on him by dev so as to be coherent with the franchise.

    After a 4-hour playing, I felt this game is very shabby and hollow, full of random and repetitive mechanism, lack of soul of assassin, with little and tricky effort from dev who seems to have found a lazy way to create an addictive game.
    IMO, it is reasonable for a game to have a certain amount of random and repetitive mechanism to extend gaming time and save cost for dev, but in AC IV , this conduct is too obvious, excessive and aggressive. In other words, the dev are taking customers as fool. This is unacceptable.

    I tried this because of good impression from AC II. Ok, now, I know this franchise has faded. Good bye.    … Expand
  2. Papamiau
    Nov 3, 2013
    4
    The gameplay is great. The fighting for me is better than it was in previous games. Pirates thing is quite nice. And boat fights are pretty great. But I was disappointed very much with the general storyline (DESMOND, PRESENT DAYS STORYLINE). No questions answered, some new stupid questions raised and basically those new questions are not so important. So after playing this game, lookingThe gameplay is great. The fighting for me is better than it was in previous games. Pirates thing is quite nice. And boat fights are pretty great. But I was disappointed very much with the general storyline (DESMOND, PRESENT DAYS STORYLINE). No questions answered, some new stupid questions raised and basically those new questions are not so important. So after playing this game, looking from the storyline point of view you can say that you found out absolutely nothing that could interest you. People may skip this game and move on to the following part, which will be probably show up next year and won't feel that they missed something. Anyway, disappointing.… Expand
  3. Chris_DK
    Oct 5, 2014
    0
    I love Assassin's Creed but Black Flag was a let down to me. I know the game is set in the Golden Age of Piracy but the thing that bothers me the most is the game revolves too much around naval warfare and naval travel. The story feels neglected to me, the game is not as strong as it could have been. In this game you spend a lot of time trying to earn money to upgrade your ship so you canI love Assassin's Creed but Black Flag was a let down to me. I know the game is set in the Golden Age of Piracy but the thing that bothers me the most is the game revolves too much around naval warfare and naval travel. The story feels neglected to me, the game is not as strong as it could have been. In this game you spend a lot of time trying to earn money to upgrade your ship so you can progress through the game and these upgrades are very expensive and takes a long time to afford. The naval warfare gets boring really fast because it's so simple. Many people are probably going to disagree with me for writing this but to me Edward Kenway is not really an assassin. At least not compared to Altair, Ezio and Connor. I know he is a pirate but he is a sad drunk who only cares about rich and fame. Edward did not earn the assassin title, clothes or the weapons. He just took it and it didn't really mean ANYTHING to him. I remember playing as Altair where you had to regain your rank through assignments, or as Ezio and Connor where they took on massive responsibilities to avenge their family and get justice.… Expand
  4. REfreakk55
    Nov 17, 2013
    3
    It's difficult to describe this game, if you look at it from the pirate aspect then no doubt you can see why this game is fun but when you look at it from the Assassin's Creed aspect, then this game is just a downright train-wreck, Where is the stealth? Why has this franchise suddenly become obsessed with pirates? Not to mention the poorly written storyline that they scribbled together forIt's difficult to describe this game, if you look at it from the pirate aspect then no doubt you can see why this game is fun but when you look at it from the Assassin's Creed aspect, then this game is just a downright train-wreck, Where is the stealth? Why has this franchise suddenly become obsessed with pirates? Not to mention the poorly written storyline that they scribbled together for this game, I personally think Ubisoft is just desperately trying to make this franchise all that and more and they are failing at it, but then again I gave it a 3 because when you play this game and forget the other Assassin's Creed games and their plots, then yes the game can be some-what enjoyable but to all the die-hard Assassin's Creed fans, like myself, I strongly recommend that you DON'T buy this game, it has become clear Assassin's Creed is turning into Call of Duty, expect another similar or below-average sequel next year from Ubisoft for the same 60 dollars you keep wishing you had back............… Expand
  5. aaronspada
    Nov 15, 2013
    3
    The graphics are great, the game play is just awful. I didn't like ac 3 and I was wishing for a better game here and it just didn't deliver a great game. this will honestly be the last ac i will ever buy.
  6. dj51234
    Nov 1, 2013
    3
    I feel like this is a DLC extension of Assassin's Creed 3. And like the other user said, it is the same missions from past games. Follow a guy, trail some guy, kill another guy. SAME missions, different setting. The ship stuff was a good idea but it is boring to me.
  7. austenite
    Dec 15, 2013
    2
    This game is bland. The combat is the same boring system used in previous AC games. You simply wait for the O to appear above your head then press it, then do it, then Square then do it over again 1000 times.(twirls finger in the air).

    The ship combat had the potential to be interesting. If they had included actual sailing mechanics (adjusting the sail angle depending on wind) it would    This game is bland. The combat is the same boring system used in previous AC games. You simply wait for the O to appear above your head then press it, then do it, then Square then do it over again 1000 times.(twirls finger in the air).

    The ship combat had the potential to be interesting. If they had included actual sailing mechanics (adjusting the sail angle depending on wind) it would have been. Instead it controls like driving a really big car about 5 mph in a giant parking lot. Not terribly exciting.

    The parkour bits are the same as previous games. You hold down a button and do all sorts of fancy free running stuff. No effort needed on the part of the player.

    The dialog and story are, at best, boring.    … Expand
  8. Hellion
    Dec 21, 2013
    0
    One of the most overrated franchises ever created. Predictable plot, mediocre combat, and worst of all..tons of cliches. Don't understand the hype or the interest.
  9. DittoDude
    Feb 14, 2014
    0
    Awful awful awful game. Wolfpack Discovery mode M4: No Time For Rest is impossible, 100% sync is impossible, and too much sailing. By far, the worst game in the series
  10. vizard00
    Jan 26, 2014
    3
    AC2 was a great game , but this one named Black flag a pirate story , so expected a great sea experience a views u know sun water birds Land over there... but lol when i played the i was shocked by the quality of the waves and how the Main character Swim its a joke UBI right ?! , a pirate game with a bad water effect and quality , and the character movement are flow at all , so i say andAC2 was a great game , but this one named Black flag a pirate story , so expected a great sea experience a views u know sun water birds Land over there... but lol when i played the i was shocked by the quality of the waves and how the Main character Swim its a joke UBI right ?! , a pirate game with a bad water effect and quality , and the character movement are flow at all , so i say and ill always say AC2 was and will be the best game ever produced in Ac series .… Expand
  11. Dingytheman
    Feb 28, 2020
    4
    Big map with little substance, most islands look the same and are very linear, the same goes for most other activities like hunting or diving, they are a copy/paste job with little dynamic. Weather feels too scripted and predictable as well. Story is boring with intrusive tutorials throughout.
    Fighting and naval combat were better in AC3, it's more arcadey in BF and animations are also a    Big map with little substance, most islands look the same and are very linear, the same goes for most other activities like hunting or diving, they are a copy/paste job with little dynamic. Weather feels too scripted and predictable as well. Story is boring with intrusive tutorials throughout.
    Fighting and naval combat were better in AC3, it's more arcadey in BF and animations are also a considerable downgrade as is the A.I and notoriety system. There's little incentive to explore as most treasure is auto converted to gold when there could have been some depth to the trading and far more interesting items and customization options, but it's like every other aspect about this game, it has no depth.
    There's some fun to be had but at heart it's little more than a superficial title with pretty graphics.    … Expand
  12. Marinusf
    Aug 28, 2022
    3
    Boring, repetitive and not difficult. It's a collecting game with tons of uninteresting dialogues.

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PS3 Game of 2013
11
#11 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2013
15
#15 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. CD-Action
    Dec 13, 2013
    90
    All the distinguishing features of the series – the Templars, parkour and brutal assassinations – are here, but now they are not the core, they are just elements of the best pirate game ever, of a Red Dead Redemption at sea. [13/2013, p.52]
  2. Impulsegamer
    Nov 16, 2013
    90
    Black Flag is a remarkably new take on the series, and I would go as far to say it’s the finest entry we’ve seen to date.
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  3. XGN
    Nov 15, 2013
    85
    With the new Assassin’s Creed we find ourselves in the Caribbean with a new main character called Edward Kenway. Black Flag focuses on the sea battles we saw in the third game and continues with this, with some new additions. Overall, you’ll be busy for a while – 40 hours, give or take – but the story isn’t that compelling.
    Read full review
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