Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Reviews
Frustratingly shallow and hamstrung by underdeveloped gameplay mechanics, and yet somehow the fact that that an open world pirate game exists at all is enough to provide a certain amount of fun.
Flawed yet addictive, Assassin's Creed may be in need of a change.
It feels odd and slightly insulting to be given the option to rate missions, as it implies that the designers still don't know what works or, worse, that they want to better pander to gamers.
A fun, gorgeous-looking high seas adventure that improves on the Assassin's Creed formula while letting us live a fantasy life as a pirate.
If the series insists on keeping this modern day hook, this is the way to do – unobtrusive, quick and painless but with the capacity for exploration. Assassin's Creed III was sadly something of a disappointment, but Ubisoft Montreal must be commended for learning from its mistakes. The endless problems of easy combat and sticky, simple running may return but the rest is entertaining enough to make up for it. An energetic new protagonist, a focus on piracy and pillaging, excellent naval combat and a huge, beautiful open world make Black Flag an easy game to recommend, and a decent way to kick off the next generation.
It's the best Assassin's Creed yet! Which is 90% because Black Flag, a a third-person action adventure about pirates in the Caribbean, isn't really an Assassin's Creed game in the traditional sense, and 10% because the lead character is from Swansea.