Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag by Oliver Bowden

I am guilty. As soon as I heard “pirates” and saw the trailer, I wanted this game. I have never played AC before and thought this might be a great way to get into it. Lo and behold, I cannot put this sucker down for even a minute. Finished the story in about 4 days and I’m in the process of getting synchronization complete. I even purchased 3 for the WiiU and some of the other games on my PC.

Everything is super easy to control, including whistling with your gun (they share the same button area, don’t ask). The crafting system is very nice, allowing you to update what you are wearing as soon as you upgrade anything. Wearing 4 guns is just fun. Being able to use the WiiU unique feature of having a map on your controller or just the whole damn game on it is super wonderful. Hell, the graphics even look better on the controller.

I’m not a very multiplayer kind of person, but they do encourage you to try it (especially if you have a UPlay account). They even give you lessons in how to play, how to possibly consider winning, etc.

The only major downside to getting it on the WiiU is that it’s been confirmed to NOT get DLC. Freedom Cry – the first DLC – is already readily available on the other platforms. It’s a shame that we have to get the game on the PC or elsewhere as well if we wish to get more use out of it.

Something else that is nice about this game, but is not limited to the WiiU: they just launched AC Initiates (which you can unlock free stuff from or do bonus missions within the games you have) AND there’s a companion app for AC4, that enables you to do Kenway’s Fleet on the run once you’ve synced your game at least once. Having the ability to play while nowhere near your captain’s cabin is bound to be distracting for a while, but I definitely love the feature regardless.

Llego en tiempo y forma, ampliamente recomendado el vendedor y el producto, totalmente satisfecho. No tengo queja alguna, ni del producto, ni del vendedor.

What a fantastic game Ubi ended up with here. ACIII was a good game in my opinion. But, it was held down in some ways by featuring a lackluster protagonist in Conner when compared to his predecessor in Ezio. ACIV rectifies that greatly with Edward. Edward is fun to play as, has a great personality, and fits his role perfectly. One of the biggest pluses is that the naval battles (one of the highest points of ACIII) are back in Black Flag and even more plentiful. The Wii U specifically, once again, has the advantages of the Gamepad. Always having a full map readily available, not having to go into a separate menu, is a big plus for me. Also, like in ACIII, I enjoy watching the cutscenes on the Gamepad when they happen then looking back to the TV for gameplay. Visually, it’s a step up from the X360/PS3 versions, but not as good at smaller details like PS4/XBO in areas like water effects and plants.

Of course one of the biggest things in this game’s favor is…You get to be a pirate! It’s almost baffling to see that no other big AAA games have really gone down this road before. It is so much fun just taking a break at times and sailing the ocean. Listening to your crew singing their shanties is so much fun. Then, being able to customize your ship is a huge win. Obviously, the more you progress the better you can make your ship, thus the bigger the battles you can get into and get bigger loot and more equipment for upgrades and such. One complaint I will give about the game, and this is just me, is that they went with the first person perspective during the “present day” sections. Getting rid of the character to identify with during those sections like you had previously with Desmond. Not a big deal, just something I wasn’t a fan of. But, other than that, it’s really nothing I came across that I find I can complain about.

Overall, this is a fantastic game. Even though, I enjoy all the games in this series, this is the best installment since ACII, which is my favorite of the entire series. But, now that i’ve finished this, ACII may be knocked to second place. If you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed this is a game you should absolutely pick up. If you’ve ever wanted to live out the life of a pirate in a big open world environment you should absolutely pick this up. Great job by Ubisoft.

…Now if they can just give us that Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan we’ll be all set 🙂