Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag

My daughter loves this game, just as she did with the previous ones. The graphics are even better than previous ones, yet it seems to run just as smoothly. She would definitely recommend it.

A very nicely balanced game which goes beyond the previous titles by adding elements that add interesting diversity in game play.

The previous titles had such incredibly rendered versions of historical cities and even opportunities for a bit of education while you play. And while I did enjoy playing them for a time, they got a bit (dare I say it) boring over time. While initially interesting, the missions became too similar. And no matter how historically accurate and interesting the building, climbing up my 30th ancient edifice only to dive into yet another cart of hay from an improbable height and after assassinating my 99th bad guy from the safety of said concealment, I wanted to move on.

Black Flag adds a lot of interesting elements that eliminate the boredom factor. Sailing around the world engaging in naval battles is an entirely new and welcome addition. And if and when this ever becomes a bit dull, there are plenty of cities, towns and jungle settings to explore and, yep, people to assassinate. Combat is much improved as well. While I really enjoy the stealth aspect of the game, it’s nice to occasionally attack adversaries head on. In previous games you’d quickly become overwhelmed with more than a few and combat was a bit difficult to master. This game stays true to its swashbuckling pirate nature by allowing you to run into a hoard of enemy sailors and hold your own while waiting for the rest of your crew to come to your aid. But you will become overwhelmed eventually (as you should) but you can choose stealth or a more direct assault as it fits the situation. In addition, there are other entirely new aspects to the game like crafting that actually means something, hunting, and underwater expeditions. And the ocean feels alive! The occasional storm pops up along with devastating water spouts (which incidentally scare the bejeesus out of me 🙂 and tsunamis which are pretty frightening themselves. And the story itself is entertaining and actually seems to go somewhere.

There are a few minuses that don’t detract significantly from the game – Examples include the inevitable stalk / listen in on a conversation missions (annoying as all heck) and those times when you get pulled out of the animus back into the real world for a tack-on story that you’re absolutely not interested in. (Is it just me that would rather stay in the assassin world and never go back to the real world? Is the entire idea of the animus kind of a pointless complexity? Yeah, maybe it’s just me.) Fortunately, though, you do get to stay within the story for the vast majority of the time in this one.

Overall, great addition to the franchise and a huge step forward.

This is my absolute favorite game. I have an HP Envy Laptop with an i5-3210M (integrated graphics) and 8GB RAM and I get about 20-25 FPS at medium-low settings at 720p. Definitely not the greatest. As far as the actual gameplay goes, it’s really versatile, because you can choose to take a lengthy approach to the game with all the side activities and exploration throughout the beautiful environment. I would highly recommend getting an Xbox 360 controller for PC ($35) with this game if you have not already. Definitely head over to YouTube and watch IGNs video review, so you can see the visuals and get an in depth review of the game. If you are interested in this game, make sure you have a decent gaming desktop with a nice graphics card and a 1080p monitor. A really awesome addition to this sequel of AC is the naval combat aspect, which is a really phenomenal experience. The storyline doesn’t really seem to captivate nor interest me, but I don’t buy games for the story. Depending on how you choose to play it, you should get at least 30-50 hours out of the game. Happy Sailing 😀

Drop a vote on this short review or i’ll make ya walk the plank matee! Thanks for reading 😉

EDIT: I recently finished the game and found that the storyline is frankly garbage. I found myself wondering what I was doing here and why. However, the gameplay is so superb, I will only -1 star.

Many thanks! Item in perfect conditions. Fast shipping. A+++++