When game director Ashraf (Ash) Ismail talks about Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, an inevitable sense of pride beams across his face—a trait that immediately displays the passion he and the team at Ubisoft are putting into the blockbuster title due out later this fall. This passion is heavily reflected in the game itself, which displayed an impressively vivid world in the demo at PAX Prime.
GenreAction
Platforms ps3
DEVELOPER Ubisoft Montreal | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Reviews ps3
escapistmagazine.com review
On land, sneaking is usually preferred to straight-up combat. There’s a lot more opportunities to hide in thickets of foliage or haystacks to avoid detection. Holding a shoulder button or trigger lets Kenway free climb up most buildings and obstacles, letting you parkour like a YouTube champ. Ubisoft has improved the climbing algorithm so that you’re not running up unwanted surfaces very often. If you don’t feel like running or hiding, guards can quickly overwhelm you, but clever use of counter attacks can usually defeat large numbers quickly. Combat is virtually unchanged from previous games, with swords, pistols and special items like smoke bombs you can use to great effect. In general, the combat system lacks nuance and patience is all you need to kill your foes.
Read Full Review
3djuegos.com review
No Synopsis Available
Read Full Review
ausgamers.com review
The greatest compliment I can afford Black Flag, though, is that I wanted more at the end of my time with it. With such an expansive map to explore and so many alluring distractions on offer, this is the kind of game a player could easily lose scores of hours exploring. I didn’t get to take the multiplayer for a spin, but the solo experience has enough on offer to ensure engagement long after the credits roll on the main quest.
Read Full Review
hardcoregamer.com review
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the very definition of escapism, offering a mindbogglingly large amount of content. One could spend upwards of fifty hours exploring the world without completing more than a few introductory missions in the main story — which itself can offer over twenty hours of gameplay. The game does occasionally suffer from the shortcomings of its predecessor, and doesn’t quite feel like a sequel — as you’re less of an assassin and more of an imposter — but it is in fact the best and most accomplished entry to date, with a massive world to conquer, ships to plunder, rum to drink and leaders to assassinate. If you’re in the mood for killing, stealing and boarding some vessels illegally, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the greatest pirate simulator of all time. “Piracy is the way o life. Ahoy.
Read Full Review
thesixthaxis.com review
Black Flag is more than just a return to form for Assassin’s Creed, it is an overall improvement and probably the best game in the series yet. Wherever Ubisoft take us next, it will have serious difficulty living up to this instalment. It has taken the gameplay of the previous games, refined it, and combined it with a huge open world that is packed with enough content to literally last for days. If you have ever wanted a proper pirate game, this is as good as it gets.
Read Full Review
games.tiscali.cz review
No Synopsis Available
Read Full Review
laps3.com review
No Synopsis Available
Read Full Review
theglobeandmail.com review
Black Flag still has a few niggling problems – some long sequences require you to completely replay them if you fail, while the naval battles can turn into impossible missions if more and more enemy ships keep showing up – but otherwise it’s one of the best entries in the series. While some franchises are merely pumping out the same stuff every year with simply a new coat of paint, Black Flag is a welcome and well-done reinvention that adds new large-scale elements to an already solid base.
Read Full Review
gameblog.fr review
No Synopsis Available
Read Full Review
gamerevolution.com review
Though the cracks with stealth and freerunning are starting to show with time, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag does the one thing it means to do surprisingly well: pirates. Sailing the high seas, finding hidden treasure chests among gorgeous tropical archipelagos, letting the waves of turquoise water crash into the Jackdaw, plundering enemy ships without remorse, and hearing your crew sing authentic sea shanties has never felt better.
Read Full Review
playstationlifestyle.net review
Assassin’s Creed has been an annual release since the launch of the PlayStation 3. It’s evolved with immensely each iteration, though it peaked with Assassin’s Creed III in terms of story and characters. Kenway’s tale and the other Pirates of legend take a back seat to the gameplay, notably the time at sea, in Assassin’s Creed IV. The series is in its prime with Black Flag—and in it there is much treasure of hours of stellar gameplay to be found.
Read Full Review
godisageek.com review
It’s fitting that the final Assassin’s Creed on this generation should be the best yet, and Black Flag makes up for the perceived shortcomings of ACIII with a bullet; the fresh start and new modern day sub-plot even make it a great entry point to the franchise. Held back from true greatness by a smattering of small issues, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a staggering achievement and a successful transition into fully open-world gaming. Spectacular.
Read Full Review
eurogamer.net review
And of course, once the credits have rolled, you can guess where the game leaves you. Out on the deck of the Jackdaw, clear skies and rolling waves as far as the eye can see, a wiser man under your thumbs and a sea of icons left to sail between. Edward doesn’t have the impish wit of fan favourite Ezio Auditore, against whom all Assassin’s Creed protagonists are destined to be measured, but in the end he felt more rounded to me. The revelation, though, is the treasure of a game he stars in.
Read Full Review
canadianonlinegamers.com review
In a time where sandbox style games are becoming more and more prevalent Black Flag stands on top of the pile with its own unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Ubisoft Montreal has crafted a vibrant world and the strangely endearing Captain Kenway will also likely be your favourite assassin yet. Engage your inner swashbuckler and become the most feared pirate to ever sail the seven seas. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is an experience not to be missed.
Read Full Review
pushsquare.com review
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag lacks the spit and polish of prize plunder, but it certainly doesn’t deserve to be cast back into the ocean. This is as much an enjoyable on water excursion as it as an exceptional stealth game, and while not every mission in its protracted campaign will leave you as buoyant as the Jolly Roger, you’ll find more than enough riches here to keep you coming back for more.
Read Full Review
cheatcc.com review
Another example of refinement comes in the hunting. You still hunt the various animals. You still collect goods and various other things. While the system is satisfactory in Assassin’s Creed III, in Assassin’s Creed IV, it exceeds expectations. In fact, I think Ubisoft Montreal carried over many of the lessons it learned from Far Cry 3. There is a level of fluidity here that makes the hunting process more enjoyable. It is also necessary to scour for the right animals in order to enhance some of your equipment. This, coupled with the open-sea exploration, really adds up to a pirate experience so enticing it can draw you away from the main story for hours.