Assassin's Creed IV - Black Flag (XBox One)

Reviews

"Less AC + piratey goodness = win" by Deon D. - 11 January 2018

I have now finished Black Flag TWICE - once on the 360 when it first came out, and again recently on my Xbox One. To say that I enjoyed this game is a huge understatement - I freaking LOVED it. And that's because this is less an Assassin's Creed game than it is a pirate game with some AC-like elements. I don't care too much for the Assassins vs Templars bollocks, but I appreciated how it framed Edward Kenway's journey from treasure-seeking rapscallion to full-blown pirate overlord. The journey itself is also a lot of fun. The fun for me came because I spent more time on the open seas hunting ships down with the best naval combat system I've yet seen in a game, than I spent on land, doing Assassin-y things. The Jackdaw controls smoothly, the battle controls are intuitive, and ship-to-ship battles are so rewarding that I happily took down ship after ship in the pursuit of materials to upgrade her, while exploring the beautifully-rendered Caribbean. When on land, however, Edward controls at times like a drunk man attempting a whiz - he's all enthusiasm, but no accuracy. One of the core mechanics of any AC game has long been its free-running mechanic, but this time around, your Assassin doesn't respond particularly accurately to your input. At least, that's how I felt - Edward would OFTEN jump in directions I was pretty sure I wasn't sending him in, resulting in several annoying deaths. I also ruined several stealth sequences and failed some missions outright because my input resulted in him doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time, to the wrong person. I'm 95% sure it wasn't me. While that was certainly frustrating, I found that there's just something special about the swashbuckling, the ship boarding, the world exploration, the achievements, and the characters in this game that kept me coming back, even though I promised myself I'd attack my backlog these holidays (I didn't). If the controls had felt a little better, this would be one of my all-time favourite games, if not my number one. The story itself is a bit meh, with the AC vs Templars gumpf getting in the way of a good pirate romp, but at least it adds to the AC lore Ubisoft has crafted and clears up one or two questions, so there's that. So, if you want an Assassin's Creed game with beautiful graphics (thanks to the Xbox One, stay away from the 360 version), a likeable main character, and to feel like you're a pirate off to find some booty but you also like stabbing people with wrist blades and learning more about the intriguing AC universe Ubisoft has built, this is the game for you. Graphics: 8 Replayability: 10 (since I've FINISHED IT twice and loved it both times) Control: 3 Assassins vs Templars Story: 2 Edward's Story: 7 Value: 10

"Briliant" by Anja B. - 12 March 2018

I love the Assassin's Creed franchise, and this is definitely one of my favorites. Brilliant story line, great graphics and a lot of fun. The multiplayer isn't that great, but the campaign is amazing. Definitely worth the money.