When I started writing this, I initially rated this game as a "9". However, I felt compelled to downgrade the rating to an "8". AC:Black Flag offers a game that essentially revolutionizes naval combat games, but suffers from the aging game mechanics of the rest of the Assassin's Creed series. However, given the amazing attention to detail, and the immersive story line, Black Flag is still incredibly fun and engrossing.
I am not normally a fan of naval combat simulators. There is rarely much else to do other than float about the water, knock off increasingly tougher fleets, and pray that you don't get sunk. However, Black Flag is a naval combat game with the Assassin's Creed series operating in the background, and there is no shortage of things to do and see in this beautifully crafted world.
What was somewhat of a novelty in AC3 becomes the "flagship" feature of this game. Most of the game play is spent terrorizing the Caribbean, pillaging resources, and exploring new settlements and deserted atolls. For some, upgrading the protagonist's ship, the "Jackdaw", becomes more important than upgrading pistols and swords! Raiding and looting ships is the quickest way towards earning money and resources, and despite the fact that you can spend hours becoming the scourge of the New World, it doesn't seem to get old.
A major positive for the familiar feel of Assassin's Creed is that the veteran player feel rights at home, and most of the missions are pretty easy. However, a major negative of this familiarity is that many of the same missions that irritated us in the previous editions of AC are still there, and most of the missions are pretty easy... Unfortunately, this is the one area where the game is starting to get stale. However, the incredibly detailed storyline and the naval components make this pretty forgivable.
Hopefully, the next installment of Assassin's Creed will retool the land-based game, mission types, and off-map play, and keep the engaging stories and incredible artwork.