Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag doesn’t move the franchise forward as a whole—but it doesn’t need to. Instead, this is probably the best pirate simulation in gaming history that successfully lays the groundwork for what’s to come in the series.

It doesn't solve some of the oldest issues of the saga, but Black Flag is nonetheless a great piece of entertainment software, especially thanks to the rich environment, the interesting underlying plot and the almost infinite list of stuff to do while wandering around.

The PlayStation 4 version of the game is mechanically the same as the PlayStation 3 version, but the new engine is eye-poppingly awesome.

The best pirate game ever. [Jan 2014, p.51]

I'm still waiting until we get a modern assassin game out of this universe, but until then Black Flag breathes a whole new energy back into the series. It also looks stunning on the PlayStation 4 and offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag is a damn good game that has little flaws attached to it, which is impressive for a launch title.

Beautiful, expansive and rewarding. Fresh experiences mark a return to form. [Christmas 2013, p.66]

There's an incredible scope to what you can do in Black Flag, with a level of harmony between its component parts that encourages you to try it all, and a story that keeps you invested throughout the whole thing. If there was ever any question that Assassin's Creed needed something ambitious to get the series back on track, Black Flag is that game and then some.

Besides being an excellent Assassin's Creed game, Black Flag is also the best pirate game we can remember playing, and makes us wonder why more studios haven't tried their hand at the genre. Black Flag delivers. Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me!

Stealth games are only as good as the flexibility of their encounters, and in that regard Black Flag is the most generous Assassin’s Creed game to date.

An ambitious start for Assassin's Creed on next-gen. The vibrant Caribbean world and bloody piracy shine brightest, while the only sour notes come from contrived series story beats and repetitive missions--both need rethinking for AC5.

With a great cast of characters and a huge world to explore, this next-generation sequel is the best installment since Assassin's Creed II.

At the end of a generation, Ubisoft gives us a new and great chapter of Assassin's Creed. Black Flag, despite some congenital defects, works great, focusing on the exploration and a free roaming component refreshed for the widest audience.

Beyond the underwhelming main campaign, Black Flag delivers a world brimming with gorgeous places to go, amazing secrets to discover, and nefarious pirates to stab.

Ubisoft significantly improved the multiplayer side of things. Also, story takes you places.

After the disappointment of Assassin’s Creed III, Black Flag being such an enjoyable return to form is a really pleasant surprise. The classic complaints of sticky movement and rubbish combat make a return, but the rest is such an enjoyable package that they don’t ruin the experience.

Despite my issues with the paths that are laid out before you, Black Flag is great fun when you let your impulses guide you.

It’s difficult to imagine Assassin’s Creed ever leaving the sea behind.

For those who just like the idea of a game in which sailing and stabbing exist in harmony across a vast ocean of entertaining objectives, Black Flag most definitely delivers the goods.

An energetic new protagonist, a focus on piracy and pillaging, excellent naval combat and a huge, beautiful open world make Black Flag an easy game to recommend, and a decent way to kick off the next generation.

So this is a beautiful, sun-drenched idyll in which you’ll never want for something to do, and as such Black Flag is an excellent pirate fantasy. However, the core game is undermined by issues which should have been booted out of the franchise years ago. Eavesdropping missions have always been abysmal, and there’s a boatload of them here.

Beyond its present-day feature set, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is a vibrant historical adventure, drawn from bold characters and edge-of-your-seat sailing. It's not the proper return to form for the series, but it is a concerted acknowledgement of what that form is today, and what works for the monster of gameplay systems, stealth, ships and oceans that lurks underneath.

As for the the next-gen and PC versions, we expected better graphics. And some of the same old gameplay problems are still there. Nonetheless, Black Flag is one of the greatest entries in the Assassin's Creed brand.

For all of its mechanical improvements, for the wonder I felt as I sailed the ocean, orca, dolphins, even great whites breaking the surface to my port side as I outran a royal trade armada, for the excellent performances and character moments throughout ... it felt disjointed. Directionless. Black Flag, like its protagonist, is constantly waiting for its dare-to-be great moment.

As much as an improvement as Black Flag is over previous Assassin's Creed titles, Ubisoft is using its audience to market-test certain ideas and mechanics.

Much like a rollercoaster, Black Flag has its fair share of highs and lows. The naval exploring is one of the high points in the series so far while sneaking about the bushes and trees tends to get frustrating fast. It lacks in polish, harming the immersion, but if you can overlook this, chances are high that you’ll like the pirate life.

Frustratingly shallow and hamstrung by underdeveloped gameplay mechanics, and yet somehow the fact that that an open world pirate game exists at all is enough to provide a certain amount of fun.