SPLICED GAMING /
REVIEW / ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG
into the larger ports and towns like Kingston
and Nassau. Furthermore, islands are not
completely open for exploration (like Assassin’s
Creed III’s Frontier was). This sounds like a
negative, but I hardly found myself longing to
explore the distant hills that were cut off by
invisible barriers. This is largely thanks to the
very open nature of the ocean.
There’s a glut of side
activities in Black Flag, with
the Templar Hunts providing
fairly meaty distractions
complete with mini stories
told over a series of brief
missions. They’re a little
hit or miss, but they’re
still definitely worth your
attention.
170
F
rom the moment you take the
helm of The Jackdaw (Edward’s
commandeered ship) it becomes
abundantly clear where the
majority of development time was
spent. The naval portions of Black Flag are a
terrific amount of fun and one could quite easily
spend dozens of hours sailing the Caribbean seas
and getting lost in the extensive network of side
activities the game has on offer. Every pirating
fantasy you’ve had playing through your mind
since you were a child is here in Black Flag. There
are sunken galleons to explore, treasure to dig up,
Mayan ruins to unlock, animals to hunt, British
and Spanish forts to conquer and an endless
supply of merchant ships and enemy vessels to
attack and plunder. This all plays out on an ocean
that is azure-coloured and beautiful the one
moment, and dark and stormy the next. This is
undoubtedly the most atmospheric Assassin’s
Creed in the franchise’s history. Excellent sound
and the terrific original score play a big role in
capturing the feel of the pirate fantasy, but for me
the most outstanding atmospheric element was
the sea shanties sung by your crew.
ISSUE 02