(There are spoilers regarding previous installments of games in this particular series. The paragraph in this review that contains these spoilers is clearly labeled)
Assassin's Creed is a series that at this point I can only begrudgingly love. The first game was a master-stroke of an unconventional approach to stealth gameplay, and while it lacked a lot of crucial elements (variety being a big one), it did so much that was new and different, and showed that the concept was an excellent foundation for a series. Assassin's Creed II was the sequel we all wanted, adding so many interesting new mechanics and experiences, all while preserving the tight focus on stealth and action gameplay that the original so carefully crafted. Then we got Brotherhood, a nice expansion of the universe and story with a brand new setting that didn't add much to the experience, opting instead to add more content to an already wonderful universe. Then there was Revelations... things started to go wrong. We needed a new direction for the series. Then Assassin's Creed III was released and, rather than showcasing all the wonderful things that the series was known for, it stood as a showcase for all the mistakes Ubisoft made in trying to cast a net so wide there was nothing left in the ocean by the time they were done. New mechanics were introduced and tutorialized even after twenty hours of gameplay, and some of the mechanics were so bizarre and convoluted, I normally didn't even bother. And through the whole series, we had to deal with a contrite and boring sub-narrative involving the world's least interesting human, Desmond Miles. The series needed something new. And there was one mechanic in Assassin's Creed III that they absolutely got right, and they knew damn well they got it right.
Sailing.
Yes, sailing. Introduced as something of a side activity (aside from a few bits where it's mandatory), it's now on full display as a primary part of gameplay in Assassin's Creed IV, and it changes a whole lot about what makes Assassin's Creed what it is. Is this a return to form for a series in need of a few new ideas, or has that ship disappeared behind the horizon?
In Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, we play as Edward Kenway, the not so far-removed ancestor of Haytham Kenway (Connor's father from ACIII), a down-and-out nobody from England in the 1700's. Married to the woman of his dreams- but unable to find work despite his ambition- he decides to leave his beloved to behind to pursue a life of privateering (crown-sanctioned piracy against the enemies of your country) in the Caribbean for a couple years in an effort to provide for his family. The game opens our stalwart protagonist on a boat at sea that is destroyed by a Spanish ship. He pursues a survivor who offers him cash in exchange for help getting to Havana. He kills the stranger and finds a note on the body saying that the stranger was an assassin en route to Havana's provincial governor to deliver an object of incredible value, a transparent cube with a crimson center. Detecting an opportunity, Edward dons the stranger's clothes and assumes his identity. He shortly finds his way into a ship and a crew, and this serves as the backbone of our tale.
(Spoiler warning)
At the same time, this being Assassin's Creed, we have a present-day story shoehorned into the narrative. With the death of Desmond Miles at the end of Assassin's Creed III, we now play as a nameless new hire at Abstergo Entertainment, a front corporation run by longtime series antagonists, the Knights Templar. The sections of the game that take place in present day are refreshingly unique, and thankfully optional. Should you desire to perform the present-day missions, you will be treated to some of the most interesting plot points of the game, involving corporate espionage and general sneakiness. Ubisoft even writes themselves into the narrative of the game as being partnered with Abstergo, unwittingly implying that they are in cahoots with an evil shadow organization bent on world domination.
(End Spoilers)
The game's story is as contrived and convoluted as any in the series, to be sure; but, the characters' motivations are clear, and we never really lose track of their goals and motivations. Each character deserves to be there, and they provide a well-written tale. There's Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, and a number of famous characters of the day, and as the captain of your own ship, the Jackdaw, you can freely roam around what is undoubtedly the largest Assassin's Creed world yet*
There was an asterisk at the end of that last statement for a good reason. Yes, the game world is huge, but most of it (like 75% of all explorable area on the map) is water. Comparatively, I would say that the on-foot area available in the game world is comparatively tiny to previous games in the series. The towns are very well constructed and the jungle areas and other land assets are carefully crafted and very unique, but you will be looking at your boat for most of the game. That's not a bad thing by any means, because sailing is a blast.
If you've played any game in the series, you know that a good part of the gameplay revolves around doing story missions that often involve tailing a suspected Templar or engaging in other activities to gather information about a target before you kill them. There are plenty of other types of missions, but they are mostly in service to the main goal, which is assassinations of your enemies. The mission design in this game is quite good. There are one too many "follow and don't get caught" missions for my taste, but there is a healthy dose of good freerunning segments, night-time stealth missions, and some other really unique main story bits that all feel good and keep enough variety to keep you interested through the game's 20+ hour campaign. Without giving anything away, the story felt like it ended a bit too abruptly, and in true Assassin's Creed fashion, it didn't strike me as having made a lot of sense.
There is a lot of gameplay packed into that campaign, with the loose freerunning that the series is known for, and a much bigger focus on verticality than last time around. There are more large buildings and rock faces, Mayan temples and even the crow's nests of ships give you a sense of dizzying height that seemed to be lost in Assassin's Creed III. The fighting engine hasn't received much of a makeover, but one thing that is appreciated is the fact that enemies no longer come at you one at a time, and your execution moves aren't the instant kill affairs they used to be. Now, you have to strategically break the defense of some enemies while effectively blocking others all at the same time. One cancerous combat mechanic rears its head again however, which is the chain kill. Any time you effectively perform an execution move, you can run around and one-hit any enemy in the immediate area. You can clear a ship's deck in no time flat. And you will be clearing a lot of ship's decks, because there is a lot of pirating to be done. At pretty much any time while sailing, you can enter into combat with any ship you see. If you cripple the ship with cannon/mortar fire, you can board the ship, where you are given a few random victory conditions to take the ship. You may have to kill a certain number of officers, destroy a few barrels of gunpowder, or cut the flags from the mast. You then gain the cargo the ship was carrying (which you can sell to harbormasters for cash), and you are given a few options. You can salvage the ship and repair the Jackdaw; invite members of the enemy crew to join you; or, add the ship to your fleet. There is a fun minigame that involves you sending ships from your fleet on trading missions all over the world. Different ships are good for different jobs, and it's reminiscent of the Assassin's Bureau minigames from the previous games. You get tangible rewards and engage in silly little mini combat games (once you have galleons, you can't lose), and you can get rewards for helping people on your friends list. It's a nice distraction, but it's not the main attraction.
While sailing around, you'll have to contend with foul weather, pirate hunters, enemy forts, and other hazards, and there are a lot of side quests to engage in as well. You can take enemy forts by assaulting them from sea and then killing their commanding officer, which will unlock its entire area on your map. You can go spearfishing, engaging in a fun mini-game to kill whales and sharks. You can find treasure maps where you have to follow obscure clues to get some of the best upgrades for your ship the game has to offer. You can play checkers and other games with tavern patrons. And there are a few side quests where you hunt down Templar keys and Mayan tokens. Completing either of those quests will unlock a special suit of armor. You can also craft a variety of items using resources gained from hunting and whaling, and there is a pirate island you can upgrade for nebulous benefits. You certainly won't be hard-up for things to do.
I played the game on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Of course, PC is going to be your best bet as far as graphics go, but the other versions will suit you just fine. You're going to have largely the same experience regardless of your platform of choice. The graphics are the best the series has seen regardless of console, and there is a lot of density to the environments and level design. It's got a lot of the design sensibility of Assassin's Creed II, and that's certainly not a bad thing.
But in the end, I have to make a choice about whether or not I should recommend this game. I would give it a yes. It's a good game, but for all the things it does that are novel and unique, it's showing its age. They learned from Assassin's Creed III that losing focus can make a game too much of a slog to care about, and feeling empowered goes a long way to making the player feel invested. We didn't care about Connor, so we didn't want to live vicariously through him. He was a boring character who lived in a world that- while fabulously crafted and extremely underutilized in games- ultimately exerted too much control upon the player. Connor's world felt like it was trying to be too open and cluttered with game mechanics, while Edward's open seas offer more of what we want in a game, and what we want is fun. All that being said, Assassin's Creed IV isn't the reinvention of the series that we needed two games ago. It's prolonging the series while Ubisoft finds a way to rekindle the spark that enchanted us with the first game all those years ago. It's a small part of a large narrative. It's a fine entry, and it will certainly keep you interested if you give it a chance, but this series needs more than a few shiny new mechanics. Yes, the core is solid, but it was solid four games ago and hasn't changed much since then. Don't let that leave a bad taste in your mouth. For all the sameness you're likely to experience throughout the lengthy campaign, you're going to experience some truly memorable moments in one of the most jam-packed open-world games in quite some time. The first time your crew breaks out into song while on the high seas, you'll find that the pirate's life is certainly worth living for a while. It's just a same the "Assassin" part of the series seems to have taken a back seat to high seas hi-jinks.