Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 922 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 723 out of 922
  2. Mixed: 96 out of 922
  3. Negative: 103 out of 922
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  1. BladeStrike
    Oct 29, 2013
    4
    Stop paying full price for minor updates. This is a glorified dlc campaign, nothing more. If you must play it wait for a sale. Ubisoft don't deserve full price for this lazy dlc pack. Whatever you do don't listen to the mindless drones giving this a 10, it does not deserve it. They are just fanboys.

    Btw Metacritic have been deleting user reviews all day that don't think highly of this    Stop paying full price for minor updates. This is a glorified dlc campaign, nothing more. If you must play it wait for a sale. Ubisoft don't deserve full price for this lazy dlc pack. Whatever you do don't listen to the mindless drones giving this a 10, it does not deserve it. They are just fanboys.

    Btw Metacritic have been deleting user reviews all day that don't think highly of this game. Thats just pathetic...    … Expand
  2. OMGtoasty
    Jan 7, 2014
    4
    Here is a brutally honest review by a big fan of the franchise. This game is a wreck. It doesn't feel like any of the other classic Assassin's creed games. You spend most of your time out on the ocean using the only successful mechanic from the third game, the naval warfare. This game resembles nothing but a really cool pirate game, but even that part of the game gets old after so long.Here is a brutally honest review by a big fan of the franchise. This game is a wreck. It doesn't feel like any of the other classic Assassin's creed games. You spend most of your time out on the ocean using the only successful mechanic from the third game, the naval warfare. This game resembles nothing but a really cool pirate game, but even that part of the game gets old after so long. The land combat doesn't improve on that. It is way to easy. After you have taken out one enemy you just have to span the attack button and you will kill everyone. All of the characters (excluding Thatch aka Black Beard) are predictable and uninteresting. Even the main character, Edward Kenway, pales in comparison o the franchises past characters (Ezio Auditore).The missions are all very repetitive and seem to drag on. The stalking missions are pathetic because of the eagle visions change.his is the second worst game in he franchise and sincerely hope that changes are made to ring back the old assassin's creed that I love to play. the only reason im not giving this a 0 is because I atleast has a beautiful world an decent voice acting, but they ned to work on the story.… Expand
  3. officer7161
    Jan 30, 2014
    2
    boycott this franchise please! All assasin's creed has done is just recycle, recycle, recyle. If you compare the characters and maps etc from the previous titles in the franchise, they just take the same stuff and repackage it. I used to be a huge fan of MP of the series, but just got bored after they just repackage the same stuff repeatedly.
    Now I tried out MP in blackflag I can spot    boycott this franchise please! All assasin's creed has done is just recycle, recycle, recyle. If you compare the characters and maps etc from the previous titles in the franchise, they just take the same stuff and repackage it. I used to be a huge fan of MP of the series, but just got bored after they just repackage the same stuff repeatedly.
    Now I tried out MP in blackflag I can spot characters recycled from brotherhood, revelations etc...
    It's just terrible! guys, boycott the franchise so they will actually put some energy into creating new titles instead of recycling old ones!
    don't buy this game if you played previous title/titles!    … Expand
  4. Deusex
    Mar 2, 2014
    2
    I gave AC one last chance..
    But unfountantly they took the Rockstar bridge with gta 5 and made the same s*** as before except ruined every element.
    I want to play as an assassin, not some pirate. Edward is an affront to the creed, and a badly written character. The side missions are horrible, everything is Repititive and the story is now weak. Everything is ruined.. I've played all 6    I gave AC one last chance..
    But unfountantly they took the Rockstar bridge with gta 5 and made the same s*** as before except ruined every element.

    I want to play as an assassin, not some pirate. Edward is an affront to the creed, and a badly written character. The side missions are horrible, everything is Repititive and the story is now weak. Everything is ruined.. I've played all 6 games (the main ones not psp bulls***) and ill play no more.    … Expand
  5. Cimentoid123
    Dec 6, 2013
    3
    Ubisoft presents: PIRATES OF CARRIBEAN: Assassin's Creed. I liked the AC series, but Black Flag SLAUGHTED it. I like the idea of being stealthy and stab stuff in the back and I HATE the idea of sailing half of the game! I mean srs, the action happens in Carraibe! I don't even want to go in a game shop because of this garbage!
  6. Prosthetics
    Nov 8, 2013
    4
    Dull at best.

    The story had great potential, but falls flat on its face near the end. I was so damn disappointed when you reach a climax and pinnacle moment in Edward's life, only to have the last few key events rushed in one chain mission. On top of that, little is revealed in the modern day story. No new revelations. The missions are dull with no real content. The side missions    Dull at best.

    The story had great potential, but falls flat on its face near the end. I was so damn disappointed when you reach a climax and pinnacle moment in Edward's life, only to have the last few key events rushed in one chain mission. On top of that, little is revealed in the modern day story. No new revelations. The missions are dull with no real content. The side missions are bland and boring.
    It is rather obvious that they went with a pirate theme due to the fact that some players liked the ship combat in AC3. They come to depend on it here. You have to spend hours doing the same stuff to build up your ship before you do missions, which is rewarding at first, but gets tedious and boring after awhile. Its a mechanic that was added to take up time, giving the illusion that the story is longer than it really is. The underwater areas are just a mechanic added to force the player to grind boring content to get the ultimate upgrades for your ship.

    You can tell that Ubisoft is starting to milk the franchise now, and it is giving off the stench of either them not giving a crap, or trying too hard with very little innovation/creativity.    … Expand
  7. BinaryRecoil
    Nov 22, 2013
    3
    To be fair, I started into playing this within a day of finishing up Skyrim. Realistically, anyone who's rating this experience based on it's visual prowess has lost their marbles. Yes, it looks gorgeous- Do I care? NO. The ONLY reason this game gets more than a zero is for how belligerently large the world is. Dis's & Then Likes.
    Dis's *The game was not finished upon manufacturing, and    To be fair, I started into playing this within a day of finishing up Skyrim. Realistically, anyone who's rating this experience based on it's visual prowess has lost their marbles. Yes, it looks gorgeous- Do I care? NO. The ONLY reason this game gets more than a zero is for how belligerently large the world is. Dis's & Then Likes.
    Dis's *The game was not finished upon manufacturing, and if you attempt to play through it without downloading updates, the campaign side quests aren't exactly capable of registering on the map. (for me specifically, I didn't know there was a "Templar Hunt" in a specific city until I downloaded the update)
    *I have completed the game and still have NO idea how to commit to "Whale/Shark Hunting"- so to accomplish the task of acquiring certain gear, I'm left with only the option to Grind ship kills for $$
    * Of the 4 Legendary Ship Encounters, with a fully upgraded JackDaw- One seemed impossible & I was so frustrated from seeing a ship 3 times larger than mine accelerating like a rocket was strapped to it, that I refused to finish the 2nd most difficult encounter.
    *I quit playing before finding the final upgrade, apparently there were quite a few more hidden treasure chests/maps than I had in my inventory after clearing the locations of all noted finds.
    *The Online Element: This puts a pistol to the head of this game and blows it's brains out. You Can NOT Rent this Game and fully experience it. AGAIN, it is required that you have a "Uplay Passport" that you get with a NEW Copy of the Game OR PURCHASE IT TO THE SIDE. This is In Your FACE, Profiteering, for a game that really only managed to change it's scale & pixel count for the next installment after AC3.
    *MOREOVER, Without the Uplay passport you will have several items for your ship (ascetic) that will sit and taunt you to purchase them for the duration of your playthrough (such as "Unlocked by Kenway's Fleet") that are impossible to ever have.
    *The Story line has effectively played out its entertainment value with the conclusion of Assassin's Creed 3.
    *Loss of objectivity for a consistent tie in from the digital "real world" to the digital "animus world".
    The one crazy guy isn't enough now that I'm in a new characters shoes that has NO Face Or Body Or Back Plot other than Conformity for Joining Abstergo so I can digitally WORK A JOB to play a game.
    *Plotline of the Pirates is extremely tragic and heart wrenching, burning out my "drive" to continue as this is only a game, not reality.
    *Just like previous installments, the game hinges on a "Wash, Rinse, Dry, Repeat" mode of play. This is unacceptable for a character that basically NEVER improves his position in his own world across over 1/ a Decade of time.
    *Constantly taunted with a Larger ship class plaguing the game, to end up stealing one during the main story- to NEVER be able to use it again.
    Likes:: It sticks to the genre of exposing the power hungry, shadow government functionality of the world around us, which will unlock the minds of a few children at most.
    *This has definitely been a serious Upgrade to the unsatisfying experience of Digitally owning a ship in AC3
    *The plotline of the Pirates is extremely interesting.
    *Blowing up ships and using a blow dart gun.
    *The Mayan (1st Civ.) Outfit
    *Hacking others consoles.
    ..... I can't even say I like the main characters because *spoiler Spoiler spoiler*, basically your main character stands alone.
    Will I ever pay to play multiplayer or complete this game? NO. In fact, seeing the constant profiteering & now knowing that Ubisoft cares more about manufacturing an unfinished product to later update (like so many lazy slobs have begun doing these days) has severely shaken my faith in the future of the gaming industry. The Will to create is there, but the people in charge are perfectly represented within this games plotline as Abstergo/ AGAINST The Right to Decide. Basically, this game is worth $10.00 USD & when the American dollar Crashes and is worth next to nothing- this game will still have a maximum value of $10.00 USD because it can NOT stand without crutches of:: internet connection for updates (+add personal cost), uplay specific authorization through Uplay "Passport" (+add personal cost), a foundation of constant players to fill the multiplayer world- which is a higher cost than anything else in the world. If you haven't noticed, most people in America that have jobs are now working two to three jobs just to break even at this point- The "Templars" crippled your ability to have a "Mature" audience/user base, leaving only the children who will say "Mommy please let me play that game that teaches me how to be an Assassin" further hurting your own sales in the long run because the USA is a Hub of brainwashed, zombie-like, morons that don't realize the legal definition of War is taking place in their nation against them or that Martial Law is already in place.    … Expand
  8. K3nney
    Dec 28, 2013
    1
    I went through the effort of making an account so I could post how I feel about the new game, Im disappointed, ive played the AC games from the first up until now, and 3 was the drop off point, the games are getting worse, they changed the combat so instead of doing satisfying finishing moves, im just pushing the enemy around, the constant tail missions are boring and I hate them, this isI went through the effort of making an account so I could post how I feel about the new game, Im disappointed, ive played the AC games from the first up until now, and 3 was the drop off point, the games are getting worse, they changed the combat so instead of doing satisfying finishing moves, im just pushing the enemy around, the constant tail missions are boring and I hate them, this is not the future for the AC games, it shouldn't be, I loved Ezios story, and desmonds, now I just dont really want to complete the games, the only reason I did 3 was to see the ending of desmond, if your not into the story then this game might be for you, but if you loved the first few games, you will not be pleased by this… Expand
  9. AWSOME-O
    Feb 26, 2014
    4
    Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say this is the WORST game in the series, but I would easily say it is the most boring next to the last 3. I was never really a gigantic fan of the series, but it is like Call of Duty to me. I just ignore it every year, after year, after year of the same generic crap.

    I would say this is probably the funniest game so far, not from the dialog or anything    Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say this is the WORST game in the series, but I would easily say it is the most boring next to the last 3. I was never really a gigantic fan of the series, but it is like Call of Duty to me. I just ignore it every year, after year, after year of the same generic crap.

    I would say this is probably the funniest game so far, not from the dialog or anything even close to that, much more from the hilarious things that the AI does. From traders yelling with no audio at all to the civilians that just mumble down the street.

    The combat is very forgettable, and not exciting at all ever. I never once felt a moment of panic while doing it, if anything I felt it was probably the weakest point of the game.

    The ship combat is way, WAY overhyped. It is practically identical to that of Assasin's Creed 3 (Which was also very boring).

    The dialog is easily forgettable and isn't even accurate to the time period, the characters are the same, and the environment's would probably be the best part of the game to me. I won't deny that in SOME parts, the environments look pretty impressive and beautiful at times. Though not always.

    Ship customization is actually pretty cool to be honest, though it hardly brings the game above a mediocre score.

    All in all, if for whatever reason you are a huge Assassin's Creed fan, by all means you should get this game. But otherwise I can't see what audience it could claim, it is confusing, and extremely boring. This is probably the most dull game I have trudged through since Call of Duty Ghosts, but at least that was a short pain. This lasts hours and hours, just like every one of these.

    If I could choose between beating this game 5 times (Which I did with Gta 5, which I personally think is one of, if not the best games ever made) or being punched in the face by Mike Tyson, I'd take some Advil and choose Tyson.    … Expand
  10. CygnusX1Bk2
    Dec 17, 2013
    4
    This is not Assassin's Creed. It's a pirate sea game. Not fun. Infuriating. Dude isn't even an Assassin or a Templar. The fleet system is terrible. No way to complete. So convoluted. Please Ubi, make Assassins Creed games be assassins creed games.
  11. Link
    Dec 25, 2013
    0
    I have all Assassin's Creed games, and I feel like everything went really wrong after 3. AC III is the worst, yes, but this one isn't much better. Don't get me wrong, I like pirates and I think this is a really nice pirate action game or something, but this doesn't feel a bit of ASSASSIN'S CREED game. Characters are not so interesting as they were in Ac2 brotherhood games. Assassin goingI have all Assassin's Creed games, and I feel like everything went really wrong after 3. AC III is the worst, yes, but this one isn't much better. Don't get me wrong, I like pirates and I think this is a really nice pirate action game or something, but this doesn't feel a bit of ASSASSIN'S CREED game. Characters are not so interesting as they were in Ac2 brotherhood games. Assassin going to the mission with a ship with cannons singing feels so stealthy...... right... Battles are easy, you can just go in and take out everyone no need of planning anything.. Just go in and take them down.. I would like this as a pirate-action-game but as a assassin's creed, this feels wrong, so wrong.… Expand
  12. Fried
    Apr 13, 2014
    0
    Complete and utter **** The story sucks, multiplayer is no different from ''Cawadoody'' or whatever the **** the only good thing to do is piss around. Worse than that, for this game it pivots entirely on naval free roam and pretending like you're some kind of Blackbeard wannabe. But that gets boring really fast, too; after you beat the legendary ships (which provide ZERO tacticalComplete and utter **** The story sucks, multiplayer is no different from ''Cawadoody'' or whatever the **** the only good thing to do is piss around. Worse than that, for this game it pivots entirely on naval free roam and pretending like you're some kind of Blackbeard wannabe. But that gets boring really fast, too; after you beat the legendary ships (which provide ZERO tactical challenge), you learn a ram attack that pretty much turns you into Jesus. When the Man o' War ships start going down faster than your mother on a Saturday night and you easily gain massive profits on a regular basis, upgrading your ship to 100%, that's when you need to think about snapping your disk. No, seriously.

    Plotline? Utter nonsense. Some linear **** regarding pirates partaking in their usual antics, before getting hanged and then what's left of the Assassins **** and whining about how Edward is so much better than all of them put together. Incidentally, they still haven't adjusted this game to reality, so whilst every NPC in-game is a total **** the man character is still supernaturally overpowered by comparison.

    Even small features such as combat- which really gave a bonus to all the other games in the franchise, except Revelations, of course- are completely massacred in this pile of poo. Why the **** did they even bring back the multiple- counter- option feature if every enemy it works on can be counter-killed? The only other one you'd ever need to use is the ''disarm'' feature if you need to take some guy's rifle off him so you can shoot when you're out of ammo, but otherwise pointless. We've also apparently gone back to relying heavily on kicking someone in the balls like a coward, since in this game ''Officer'' class enemies can't be defeated in melee combat without doing so.

    In conclusion, this is the worst game I have ever played in my entire life and if you disagree you're wrong, sorry. Now I'm off to pwn some noobs in Modern Warfare 3.    … Expand
  13. MeAD
    Nov 4, 2013
    2
    To those of you giving this game a 10, I'm guessing you're those people giving every call of duty installment a 10 as well. Honestly, what the hell. Zero character development (your dude just makes Ezio-esque one-liners and is somehow super-badass from the beginning, killing an assassin with no effort) story falls totally flat, and textures haven't even improved since AC2. Blood spraysTo those of you giving this game a 10, I'm guessing you're those people giving every call of duty installment a 10 as well. Honestly, what the hell. Zero character development (your dude just makes Ezio-esque one-liners and is somehow super-badass from the beginning, killing an assassin with no effort) story falls totally flat, and textures haven't even improved since AC2. Blood sprays still look awful, and visual bugs are rampant. No kidding; I understand there's more stuff in the open world, but little of that is interesting and it's mostly just more grinding crap to do. It's fun as a hack-and-slash game, but the stealth mechanics are lackluster considering it's supposed to be based on assassins. Not nearly as much historical alternate-timeline appeal as the other games. I basically agree with every other low review, that Ubisoft is now just cashing in on a yearly installment. Don't buy until sale, you're not missing out on anything except some brainless chain-killing. Why not just play the Arkham series, it's the same goddamn thing with a more interesting backdrop. Even if you sincerely enjoy the gameplay and don't care about story, a 10/10? You've got to be joking.… Expand
  14. JackBounce
    Nov 13, 2013
    3
    AC3 was a bad game but this is so much worse. I've enjoyed this series a lot but unfortunately it has been downhill since AC2, which still is the best one in the series. AC2 spinoffs with annoying Ezio character were just following EA template for yearly sporting games: minor changes with full price.

    The latest yearly edition of the AC series is primarily Ubisoft's Pirates! and all the    AC3 was a bad game but this is so much worse. I've enjoyed this series a lot but unfortunately it has been downhill since AC2, which still is the best one in the series. AC2 spinoffs with annoying Ezio character were just following EA template for yearly sporting games: minor changes with full price.

    The latest yearly edition of the AC series is primarily Ubisoft's Pirates! and all the good things of the AC series have been lost. All the fascinating secret society i.e. assassin/templar fights, great puzzles, all the great Lara Croft like tombs and especially the scifi-side: modern day main story is all gone. AC has always been a series about modern day and the past is just used to reveal information. Now it's all gone and what happens today is irrelevant and uninteresting. Thank you for ruining it for us!

    The open world approach doesn't fit here at all, as AC game should be a tight, strict story that drives you forward. Now the story is a side product, as you will spend most of the time just sailing around the sea. Which gets boring after two hours. Luckily you can do a fast trip to visited sites, which helps a lot.

    As a AC game this is 3 out of 10, as a pirate game maybe 7/10. The pirating works nice but gets very repetitive. I spent 30 hours for this and still have at least 20 to go for 100%. Too much the same, not worth your time.The length of the previous games was good, now it just is too much. I will not play it to the 100%, that is for sure.

    The controls suck again (I thought AC3 was better, what happened???) so much that it is practically impossible to run in a city or on a ship without the game doing something else than you wanted to do. You often start climbing ladders or drop down from a rooftop when you are running away from guards which is really annoying.

    There is however one great thing and this is the Second Screen feature of the game. We've already seen slow and cumbersome SmartGlass in action but this is a real, native iOS/Android app and it works perfectly. You can even continue playing without the console game, great job UbiSoft! I really hope we will see more of these in the future.    … Expand
  15. eldiabs
    Nov 1, 2013
    4
    Created an account to review this game. Will start with the good. It's a VERY pretty game... especially the water. And since you'll be looking at the water most of the time, it's a good thing they got that right.

    Now onto the other stuff. I really wanted to like this game. Perhaps I'll go back and try it again in a few days. It became extremely repetitive after about 15 hours. The story    Created an account to review this game. Will start with the good. It's a VERY pretty game... especially the water. And since you'll be looking at the water most of the time, it's a good thing they got that right.

    Now onto the other stuff. I really wanted to like this game. Perhaps I'll go back and try it again in a few days. It became extremely repetitive after about 15 hours. The story was predictable and somewhat pointless, other than to drive you across the huge map of mostly empty islands (unless you want to stop to grab a worthless chest). The environments are more or less the same everywhere you go. You have to either fast travel or sail huge distances to work through the main story line, with a lot of water and repetitive BS in the middle. The cities feel empty and disjointed compared to AC3. The combat has been simplified (repetitive kill animations, ho!), and the AI is borderline retarded. Even the ship fights are fairly easy once you get a wee bit of armor and cannon upgrade. You can take on a fleet of frigates at the same time while sustaining very little damage after about halfway upgrading your ship. About to die, no worries, just board a defeated enemy ship and all the enemies call time out. Feels more like you're a god of the sea than an actual pirate. The choice of weapons has been reduced drastically. No more daggers or blunt weapons. You can't even pick up the daggers from fallen enemies. I actually really enjoyed the environments and seasons in AC3. There will be none of that in the Caribbean, but you'll see plenty of lush green trees, sand, rogue waves, waterspouts, and pretty sunsets. The hunting has been given a back seat compared to AC3, unless of course you like sailing to a different island to hunt for different animals. And you'll either fast travel everywhere, or spend a vast majority of your game time collecting lost sailors and barrels or rum on the open seas (didn't know the open seas were so full of flotsam), or encountering a constant respawn of enemy ships. I could go on, but this should get the point across.

    I can't recommend buying this game unless you want a ship simulator. If it was titled, Charming God Pirate of the Caribbean, I'd give it a 9, but it's supposed to be an Assassins Creed game, which it really isn't.    … Expand
  16. LouCypher666
    Nov 17, 2013
    2
    I played AC2/ACR/AC3 in the past. Generally AC4 is just refreshed AC3 game imho woth moniro changes in game code except extended gameplay on the sea there is nothing new from AC2 through ACR, AC3. All the same type off tasks/challanges, all the same game mechanics and the same ridiculous fight with enemies when you use swords etc (most of them satys behind your back instead kill you withI played AC2/ACR/AC3 in the past. Generally AC4 is just refreshed AC3 game imho woth moniro changes in game code except extended gameplay on the sea there is nothing new from AC2 through ACR, AC3. All the same type off tasks/challanges, all the same game mechanics and the same ridiculous fight with enemies when you use swords etc (most of them satys behind your back instead kill you with one move...). I dropped singleplayer just after 30 minutes of gameplay. Multiplayer after some changes right now is more random in terms of results you can achieve, completly broken abstergo ladder makes this competition absurd. In game contracting/respawning algorhytm seems to be not changed from ACIV and is now very weak when gameplay became more dynamic you lose 2-3 sometimes more contracts before you even cpuld see who your contract was... respawning seems to be fully random and sometimes you respawn all the time in the same position... AC3 MP was good change vs ACR. But AV4 vs old MPs is much weaker. What I did not like beside the gameplay in MP is fact that UBISOFT proposed all extra ouftis just from the beginning to buy to everyone just for bunch of from the beginning. So it is not real gameplay achievement anymore.

    As a summary lack of innovation in singleplayer, lack of vision in multiplayer. From such company like UBISoft I expect more then this. Specially for money I pay for such a game....    … Expand
  17. KrazyCrayon
    Jan 15, 2014
    1
    This is the worst AC ever made. The story is crap, the multiplayer is sorta crap and the difficulty scales from easy as hell one mission, the next it is hard and impossible the next. The difficulty takes the fun out of the game as a whole. The story in itself is boring and hard to follow period. Honestly gonna just trade it in tomorrow
  18. netcoder
    Nov 3, 2013
    3
    So clearly Ubisoft has put "Assassin's Creed" in the title to make it sell, because like AC3, it's not really an AC game. It's a pirate game, and a pretty boring one at that.

    After the disappointment of AC3 I promised to myself I'd never buy another AC game. I'm glad I did: I rented this one, mainly because I was curious. I still feel cheated of my $5. It's a 3 days rental, and returned    So clearly Ubisoft has put "Assassin's Creed" in the title to make it sell, because like AC3, it's not really an AC game. It's a pirate game, and a pretty boring one at that.

    After the disappointment of AC3 I promised to myself I'd never buy another AC game. I'm glad I did: I rented this one, mainly because I was curious. I still feel cheated of my $5. It's a 3 days rental, and returned it after 3 hours. It's unbelievably a big bore of a game.

    I feel all major developers (you too Rockstar) really aim their game at retards now or something. There is no sense of reward in the supposedly AAA games that comes out lately. I can get an upgraded pistol holster? That's great, but I didn't need it because the game wasn't difficult with the low grade holster anyway. What would I waste hours of my life hunting virtual ocelots to upgrade gear I don't need in the first place?

    Nowadays, either it's too easy, or it's just frustrating because of glitches and bad game design. I'm not spending any more money with you Ubisoft. I'll be encouraging the indie and small time developers that make low budget, cheap to buy, yet actually fun games instead.    … Expand
  19. Thug1992
    Oct 29, 2013
    4
    One of the worst entry in the series.. many pointless things to do and a cheap story. AC was all about the story and now it's a complete mess. I hope in a better future for the series.. but i lost faith.
  20. kirkkaboom
    Mar 15, 2014
    0
    Repetitive as hell, terrible controls, boring story. I have honestly not played such a terrible game since the first Assassin's Creed. Will not be trying any games from this franchise again, 2 disasters is enough.
  21. ishtar
    Nov 24, 2013
    0
    This is possibly the worst Ubisoft major title ever. They've ruined the controls, made most mandatory missions dumb "tail/follow the person" missions with little interactions, and added very little since the previous version.
  22. misterduck
    Sep 14, 2014
    3
    The setting is great, but gameplay-wise it's more or less the same than Assassins Creed 3. Same sounds, same game mechanics, same sounds, same enemies, same missions, same collect-everything and get a new uniform for it.

    I don't even care about graphics, the Caribbean is put in scene very nicely and for "last-gen" this is pretty good looking! Character models are great and the whole    The setting is great, but gameplay-wise it's more or less the same than Assassins Creed 3. Same sounds, same game mechanics, same sounds, same enemies, same missions, same collect-everything and get a new uniform for it.

    I don't even care about graphics, the Caribbean is put in scene very nicely and for "last-gen" this is pretty good looking! Character models are great and the whole scenery, jungle or ocean feels very alive.

    What I care about that nothing has changed or is new. Some things are even worse than before, like the fights, they don't feel as "raw" as in AC3, it's just smashing buttons and get your kill. Naval battles are the same as in AC3, the only change in being able to board enemy ships. Which gets very repetitive after a short wile. Smart tactical elements like the chain canon balls have been left out.

    As a DLC Black Flag would have been great, as a stand-alone game it is very disappointing since everything in the game is well-known.    … Expand
  23. whats_this
    Aug 29, 2014
    1
    Wow. First off, let me say that this is not just the worst Assassin's Creed game, but one of the worst games I have ever played. Do NOT listen to all of the positive hype about this game. They are obviously coming from the people who made the game. I am so glad I bought this after it dropped below $20. Here's a few observations:

    1. Bad story-line, terrible characters. (REALLY BAD)    Wow. First off, let me say that this is not just the worst Assassin's Creed game, but one of the worst games I have ever played. Do NOT listen to all of the positive hype about this game. They are obviously coming from the people who made the game. I am so glad I bought this after it dropped below $20. Here's a few observations:

    1. Bad story-line, terrible characters. (REALLY BAD) It really makes AC III look amazing.
    2. I played several hours through, only to end with an anti-climactic scene and boom, credits roll. It will catch you off guard.
    3. SAME missions over and over. So boring.
    4. Nothing makes sense about this game at all.

    It is crap. Don't buy it. This was easy money for Ubisoft, and they had to do nothing. Shame on you for destroying what could have been a good game.

    Sadly, I don't think I will buy another AC game- off to Ebay I go.    … Expand
  24. Aidgrand
    Nov 28, 2014
    4
    This game did not feel like an assassin creed game,sure the gameplay is fine and the visuals are above mediocre but I just didn't enjoy it as I was expecting an assassin creed game,not a pirate simulator.I didn't enjoy naval combat in the third game and didn't here eventhough I do realize that it is better than the assassin creed 3 naval.If, it was a different title and not under theThis game did not feel like an assassin creed game,sure the gameplay is fine and the visuals are above mediocre but I just didn't enjoy it as I was expecting an assassin creed game,not a pirate simulator.I didn't enjoy naval combat in the third game and didn't here eventhough I do realize that it is better than the assassin creed 3 naval.If, it was a different title and not under the assassin creed name,I would consider a fairly good game… Expand
  25. lopuxilo
    Feb 11, 2023
    1
    Дерьмеще с невозможностью нормального сохранения. Такое ещё поискать надо.
  26. Z3pplin
    Jun 20, 2020
    3
    This game is just trailing missions, do not buy this, people dont know a good game like Resident Evil 4.
  27. sontopo98
    Sep 10, 2023
    4
    Never seen such a horrible game like this. Really horrible experience with the ships, very boring story. Def top 1 of the worst assassin's creed for me.

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2013
9
#9 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
12
#12 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 11, 2014
    92
    The sun, the waves, the smell of salt in the air. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag offers an amazing pirate adventure experience. [Nov 2013]
  2. Level7.nu
    Jan 3, 2014
    80
    Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a game that feels locked between two worlds. Not only between to generations of consoles but between a run of the mill AC-game and an astonishing pirate game. It’s not only a well needed spark to the series as much it’s a redefining of it. Everything that is use is great and everything old feels like it should be thrown overboard. Try it regardless of your thoughts about earlier Assassin’s Creed games.
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  3. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Dec 7, 2013
    80
    Black Flag tightens enough screws and adds enough cool new stuff to make it the best in ages. [Issue#105, p.79]
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