By: Adam Coleman
Once again, let us turn back the clock and dive into the
role of our favorite Templar fighting Assassins. In this installment, we play
the role of a ruthless, cut throat privateer turned pirate named Edward Kenway.
For those of you new to the series (or who have been playing the previous games
in the dark without any sound, weirdoes), this is the grandfather of our last
protagonist, Connor, and the father of Haytham Kenway. Edward is a great
character. He comes to life, in the same way Altair and Ezio did in their
respective games. He fits the role of a swashbuckling pirate through and
through. He’s sly, less than graceful, always looking to make a quick coin or two. This
all takes place during the Golden Age of Piracy, a 100 years before Connor’s
time I’d say and you play your way through a massive Templar conspiracy
(surprise, surprise) and move throughout the Caribbean, and if I may, It’s
F*****G MASSIVE. I mean, if you thought that playing in New England was hard to
navigate, then you better bring a second map and a third navigator to help you
out on this one.
Believe it or not I didn't have any rum before this
In this installment,
the map is just enormous and far from empty. Aside from the main story, there
are just so many things you can find yourself distracted with before you move
on to the next main mission. There are just so many islands, little
settlements, and hidden coves strategically placed all around the map, it’s
nearly impossible to see them all. Among the chaos of the Caribbean, there are,
like all of the Assassin’s Creed games, three main cities you travel between.
They are not as important in this game like they are in AC, AC2, and AC3, but
they do start out as the center of focus. What really takes center stage
throughout most of the game is the mighty Jackdaw. There are so many things you
can do to upgrade the Jackdaw. Things like the broadside cannons, to the swivel
guns, and you even get mortars to hit your enemies before they can even get
close. All the customization is great
too. You have a choice to customize the type of sail, the wheel, and your
ship’s figure head. You have a plethora of choices. Everything from pieces of
Blackbeard’s ship, The Queen Anne’s Revenge, to styling you’re ship to tribute
the pervious assassin’s before him (or after in Connor’s case). The only
downside is that the upgrades cost a significant amount of in game money.
The Black Pearl’s
got nothing on me.
As for the naval battles,
they have improved immensely. It will take a bit of adjusting at first, but
once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to fight every single ship you see on
the horizon. Once you have your ship and you know how to battle, the last thing
you’ll really need to know is where your home base is. In AC3, you have the
Homestead. At the Homestead, you make improvements by completing side quests. What
has changed is in Black Flag, you get your own freaking island, and it’s pretty
big too. Like before, it holds an unlockable armor, a bunch of other hidden
secrets, and can be upgraded. What is different is that you have to upgrade it
by, again, spending some more in game cash. Seems to be the only real flaw from
what I have seen throughout my time playing. But I know what some of you are
thinking: “If Desmond is dead, how can we go on?!” I’m here to tell you to give
the present day story a chance. I was skeptical at first, and the present day
story was a big, fun part of the game for me. Desmond’s story was mostly what
kept me coming back (aside from the awesome assassinations). I was afraid that
without Desmond, there would be no present day story. There is no way they
could replace him. Move on, and play as another character. But that’s the
thing, he hasn’t been replaced, and the Assassins are still out there, just
play it through, and if you’re anything like me you’ll love it. All you have to
do is take that Leap of Faith.
Good:
- Great story line
- Enormous map of the Caribbean to play in
- More side quests and things to collect than
there are letters in this review
- PIRATES!....and you get your own ship
Bad:
- Free running movement can still be a pain at
times
- Everything costs some outrageous amount of
money, and that takes time to collect
- NO DESMOND!!
Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment