[Gonzo]

Assassin's Creed - Black Flag: PS4 Edition

Ahoy you skuttle****s.
I be writin' this hear review for thee on AC Black Flag. A game about booty, cannons, ale and wench-titties. So sit back you mangy bilge rats and enjoy me writin's.

Ok... For starters:
I really actually enjoyed ACIII (the previous title) on my PS3 a couple years ago. The revolutionary war aspect was a winner in my book. While the lead character was a complete douche, the detail in the game and the storyline was awesome. I really kind of disliked all the other AC games. They have a good premise but fail in repetitive gameplay and boring stories. I just couldn't get into them. It was really the same type of missions over and over again. They also missed the boat a little on ACIII when they touted that the lead character would cooperate in large battles... He did not. This false advertisement is a cheap, shitty way to sell games.
Anyway, enough of that. Let's move forward.

Black Flag centers around fictional pirate Edward Kenway and his passion for privateering.
ACIII Touched a little on the pirating aspect with a few sailing missions. This newer game has expanded on that idea by giving you the entire Caribbean Ocean to navigate. Kenway is the captain of a ship called the Jackdaw. As you open the world up and play the story, you amass cargo and money to upgrade your ship. More cannons, mortars, strengthened hull, etc. It's a pretty awesome upgrade systems. It does get a bit monotonous having to blow the shit out of a thousand schooners, frigates and brigs before you can finally take on a Man O' War but it's worth it. Sailing the high seas and battling these ships is wonderful and I'd say it's 75% of the game. The water is gorgeous in this game and there are quite a few diving missions where you explore shipwrecks via a diving bell and weighted barrels full of air. Sharks, eels and other dangerous critters will attack you so watch your ass.
The game has so many little extras that it makes it well worth the asking price, (40 bucks new for PS4 right now). The music is excellent. Your crew sings old shanties from the 1700's that you collect over time.
What they got wrong:
Unfortunately, the game lacks in one glaring area. Enemy AI. It's the same two-three button combo it's always been when in a fight. In the previous games, you would utilize stealth a lot to get around fights but this version demands you fight each time you take a prize on the high seas. It's so damned monotonous. "Objective: kill 5 enemy crew members" in other words, wait for them to swing a sword, block, attack. Rinse and repeat.
They tried to improve on it a bit but the land missions are the same shit. Jumping in bushes, get yelled at on rooftops, "synchronize viewpoints" blah blah blah.
This aspect of the game is exactly like every previous one.
AI is stupid, wear your hood in a restricted area, sit on benches to blend in and assassinate your target. You can hunt and fish/harpoon critters for large paydays and bonuses so that's pretty damn cool.

The multiplayer aspect of this game is actually pretty entertaining. You can either play on a team and try to assassinate the others or play a free for all death-match style and move slowly within a crowd to kill your target. You can also amass a fleet of ships, upgrade them and take on other people in a huge ship battle. Pretty cool, right?
The graphics are beautiful, especially while sailing. (Next gen especially)
Water hits the deck, the storms are awesome and explosions are realistic as hell.
One thing that is glaring here, the story tries it's damnedest to once again get you to give two shits about the lead character, (or the secondaries) but they're just stale. Blackbeard was the only guy that I really liked.
So... Final thoughts. Yes, the missions are pretty much the same old stuff there. However, the sailing feature makes the game truly original. It's the best sailing/pirating game I've ever played. I just hope they stick with the feature and maybe even try some ancient Chinese/Japanese naval missions. That would be something pretty sweet. Greek or Roman, maybe? Possibilities are endless.
I'm giving this one a 7.8 out of 10. If they could improve the combat mechanics and update the game as a whole, it would be one of my all time greats. If you only play the sailing missions, it's a 10.
Good game, great graphics, ok story.
You mangy sea dogs. Now walk the plank, matey.