Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article three months after release.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is an upcoming action-adventure game, and the sixth main installment in the Assassin's Creed series. A sequel to 2012's Assassin's Creed III, the game will tell the story of Edward Kenway - father to Haytham Kenway, grandfather to Ratonhnhaké:ton and an ancestor of Desmond Miles. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will be set primarily on and around the islands in the Caribbean Sea during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early 18th century. The game will take place in three major cities - Havana, Nassau and Kingston.

Development

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag producer Martin Schelling and mission director Ash Ismail stated that they started the project in the summer of 2011 and wanted the game to be a pirate game. Ismail also stressed that they were focused on making the game into a more historically accurate take on the era and staying away from the stereotypical image associated with pirates such as parrots, Krakens and plank-walking. They also explained that because the game was so radically different from the one that came before it and that the scope and open-world gameplay being so different from the previous game, they opted the game to be a numbered sequel rather than a spin-off following the footsteps of the last numbered game, Assassin's Creed II.

Ubisoft's Montreal-based team, in conjunction with 7 other studios from Singapore, Sofia, Annecy, Kiev, Quebec City, Bucharest and Montpellier, along with with developers of Far Cry 3 are working on the completion of the game with each studio focusing on different elements.

Gameplay

Locations and navigation

About 60% of the game will take place on land. Players can explore 50 locations ranging from fisherman villages, plantations, jungles, forts, islands, Mayan ruins and exotic Coconut Islands. Other activities include hunting, harpooning and exploring underwater environments. The game aims to blend between its land and aquatic experiences seamlessly, to the point where players can simply dive off of his ship, swim to the shore and explore the land.

Combat

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's combat has been upgraded to include free aiming. With the previous installments relying on the game's built-in auto aim, in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag players will be able to just aim and fire, like in any other third-person shooter.

Dual-wielding weapons has been implemented with Edward being able to have four pistols and be able use them all together, chaining up to four gunshots into his normal attacks to take down more enemies. Full-on underwater combat system is also developed for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag including animals such as sharks.

Naval combat

The game will also include naval combat, with 40% of the story taking place in water, which includes numerous side missions. After checking out a ship with your spyglass (which will give you more information on its cargo and capacity) from the ships crow's nest, players can launch an attack using various scenarios - with players able to simply shoot the opposing captain, board the ship leaping from mast-to-mast and performing an air assassination, or charge into the fray to cut down the foe using sword. Players will also be able to exploit weather patterns, luring the opposition into less than ideal conditions such as dynamic storms, to their advantage.

Upgradation

Players will also be able to upgrade Edward Kenway's vessel the Jackdaw with new weapons and abilities through pillaging, taking over enemy ships and completing missions. The crew of the Jackdaw can also be upgraded with new outfits allowing for even more customization. The game will so have different enemy archetypes at sea that all behave in vastly different ways and require you to have different upgrades to deal with them.

Modern Day elements

Instead of Desmond, the modern day will be centered around the players themselves who act as a 'research analysts' working at Abstergo Industries and reliving the memories of Edward Kenway through the Animus, by using Desmond's DNA.

Other

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will include many historical figures such as Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Charles Vane along with Blackbeard.

Trivia

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is unique within the series in two ways; it is the only main game to have both a Roman numeral in its title and a subtitle, and it is the only main entry to have the historical element set before the previous one.

Gallery

Videos

• World Premiere Trailer
  World Premiere Trailer
• Edward Kenway Trailer
  Edward Kenway Trailer

Promotional media

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Concept Design

•