Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

"I once sailed for a king. I obeyed men of privilege and wealth. Now, I bend my knee to no man. My only oath is to my crew and together we will take back what is rightfully ours. With blood and steel, we shall stand up to the powerful. Captains will curse our flag, and kings will fear it. As long as empires generate wealth and riches, we will be there to bleed them dry."

- Edward Kenway, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's "Under The Black Flag" Trailer.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a 2013 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 see the player take on the role of an Abstergo Entertainment research analyst as they explore 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, with the three major cities consisting of Havana, Nassau and Kingston.

Development
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag producer Martin Schelling and Mission Director Ashraf Ismail both stated that they began the project in the summer of 2011, with a pirate game as their focus. Ismail also stressed that they aimed towards a more historically accurate take on the era, including staying away from the stereotypical image associated with pirates, such as parrots, Krakens and plank-walking. The pair also explained that because the game was so radically different from its predecessor and that the scope and open-world gameplay was so different from the previous game, they opted for the project to be a numbered sequel as opposed to a spin-off that followed in the footsteps of the last numbered game, Assassin's Creed III.

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

Writer Darby McDevitt began writing the game soon after completing Assassin's Creed: Revelations, after being suggested to do a game expanding the "Kenway family saga", instead of Connor's life story as they did with Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He considered beginning the story with Edward as a boy during the William Kidd and era of piracy, but decided he felt skeptical as to whether Assassin's Creed II convincingly portrayed a similar span of time, and so opted to simply focus on the Blackbeard era towards the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

McDevitt stated the game's primary history resources were  (1724) and The Republic of Pirates (2008). As a homage to the former book, the game's subtitles will render each noun with capital letters. Republic author Colin Woodard was invited to consult on the game.

Lorne Balfe, who was the sole composer for Assassin's Creed III and secondary composer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations, personally confirmed via Twitter that he would not be returning to score the soundtrack for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The score will instead be composed by Brian Tyler, the composer of Far Cry 3.

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. Furthermore, there are around 75 beaches and sandbanks, which can hold various treasures and marooned sailors to add to Edward's crew.

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 Edward's ship, swim to the shore and explore the land, as well as dive under the surface to loot underwater ship wrecks. Ubisoft also mentioned that 'exploration is the key' and would be the focus point in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

View Points will also be in Black Flag. As in the previous games, View Points have to be synchronized so as to reveal information about an area and its surroundings. Further, they will also serve the function of fast-travel locations.

Combat
Black Flag's combat has been upgraded to include free aiming. While previous installments relied on the game's built-in auto aim, in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, players will be able to just aim and fire, similar to third-person shooters.

Dual-wielding weapons has also been implemented, with Edward being able to carry four flintlock pistols and be able to use them all together, chaining up to four gunshots into a combo of attacks to take down more enemies. Aside from the pistols and his Hidden Blades, Edward can equip dual cutlass swords and chain their attacks together. Other weapons include a blowpipe with multiple effected projectiles and rope darts. Accompanying this, the stealth system has been stated to return and to be encouraged in the game. Full-on underwater combat system has also been developed for Black Flag, including animals such as sharks and whales.

Naval combat
The game will also include naval combat, with 40% of the story taking place on the water, which includes numerous side missions. After checking out a ship with Edward's spyglass from the Jackdaw ' s crow's nest and evaluating the information and statistics, players can launch an attack using various scenarios; one can simply shoot the opposing captain, board the ship by leaping from mast-to-mast and performing an air assassination, or charge into the fray to cut down foes using Edward's swords. Once the objectives for each boarding process, all of which include killing a certain amount of soldiers, are completed, the player has three options - reduce the Jackdaw's notoriety, send the ship to Edward's fleet or salvage the ship to repair the Jackdaw. Players will also be able to exploit weather patterns, luring the opposition into less than ideal conditions such as dynamic storms, to their advantage. Naval combat also features a trajectory-based aiming system that requires knowledge of distance and the speed of an enemy.

Upgrades
Players will also be able to upgrade Edward Kenway's vessel – the Jackdaw – through pillaging, taking over enemy ships and completing missions, granting the Jackdaw with new weapons and abilities. Of these, weapon upgrades include round shot, heat shot, chain shot, mines, mortars, swivel guns and a ram. Edward can recruit crew-members for the Jackdaw via side missions that include bar fights, and most importantly, through the battle missions, but the crew members are also expected to die in the game while braving storms and boarding enemy ships, forcing Edward to continuously recruit more members. The crew themselves can also be upgraded with new outfits, allowing for even more customization. The game will also have six different enemy archetypes at sea that all behave in vastly different ways and require the player to have different upgrades to deal with them.

Memories
Instead of Desmond Miles, the modern day portion will be centered around the players themselves, who act as "research analysts" working for Abstergo Entertainment and reliving the memories of Edward Kenway. The Animus will no longer constrain the players with its barriers whenever they attempt to interact with an environment the ancestor has not; instead tougher enemy ships will block the way, with the only way around them being to actually explore the world, and finding things that can go towards upgrading the Jackdaw. In addition, players will be able to connect with other players in the modern day, which will allow them to interact and share information with each other.

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.

The notoriety system featured in previous Assassin's Creed games was removed from Black Flag, as a "worldwide alert" for a pirate sailing between islands was deemed illogical. In its place, a system of pirate hunters will be introduced, with four tiers of increasingly difficult ships appearing to attack the Jackdaw depending on how many robberies Edward has committed.

The new "Horizon" open-world system will dynamically create side missions, such as merchant ships to rob, whales to hunt or pirates to rescue, dependent on an individual's playing style.

Edward will put his hood on when in a restricted zone or in a city, and take it off when on the open seas.

Multiplayer
The multiplayer aspect of Black Flag will include cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes from previous games, alongside new maps and new characters.

To date, the characters are as follows:
 * Adventurer
 * Blackbeard
 * Buccaneer
 * Cutthroat
 * Dandy
 * Duelist
 * Firebrand
 * Huntsman
 * Jaguar
 * Lady Black
 * Mercenary
 * Navigator
 * Night Stalker
 * Orchid
 * Physician
 * Puppeteer
 * Rebel
 * Wayfarer

Adding to this, the locations are:
 * Havana
 * Saba Island
 * Saint Lucia
 * Saint Pierre
 * Portobelo
 * Prison
 * Palenque
 * Tampa Bay

Furthermore, players can create custom game modes alongside default and Game Lab modes and share it to their friends.

Marketing
Ubisoft has confirmed that – as with its predecessor Assassin's Creed III – Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will have an additional 60 minutes of downloadable gameplay for Sony's PS3 and PS4 consoles, which features Aveline de Grandpré.

During the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Ubisoft hired the  to stand in for the Jackdaw.

' action figures of characters from Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III come with unique codes to unlock in-game weapons, outfits, and sails for the Jackdaw.

Other media
A Japanese manga adaptation of the game, written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kendi Oiwa, will begin serialization in Shueisha's Jump X magazine on 10 August 2013.

Controversy
After this screenshot (right) was released, issued a statement condemning Black Flag as "disgraceful" as it "glorified" whaling.

A Ubisoft spokesperson provided this response to IGN.
 * "History is our playground in Assassin's Creed. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a work of fiction that depicts the real events during the Golden Era of Pirates. We do not condone illegal whaling, just as we don't condone a pirate lifestyle of poor hygiene, plundering, hijacking ships, and over the legal limit drunken debauchery."

Editions
Ubisoft announced several collector's editions of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

Black Chest Edition= Buccaneer Edition= Skull Edition= Special Edition= Gamestop Edition= Limited Edition= Lethal Pirate Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
 * A collector's box.
 * A steelbook case.
 * A copy of the world map.
 * An artbook.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * Two exclusive lithographs.
 * Two canvas prints.
 * A black flag.
 * A 55 centimeter Captain Edward Kenway diorama.
 * Three exclusive single player missions, Black Island, Hidden Mystery, and Sacrificed Secrets.
 * Access to all pre-order packs.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
 * A collector's box.
 * An artbook.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * Two exclusive lithographs.
 * A 46 centimeter Captain Edward Kenway figurine.
 * Three exclusive single player missions, Black Island, Hidden Mystery and Sacrificed Secrets.
 * Pre-order pack: Captain Kenway's Legacy.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
 * A jumbo steel case.
 * Two exclusive lithographs.
 * An artbook.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * Two exclusive single player missions, Hidden Mystery and Sacrificed Secrets.
 * Pre-order pack: Captain Kenway's Legacy.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
 * An exclusive single player mission, Sacrificed Secrets.
 * Pre-order pack: Includes Captain Drake's Outfit, dual swords, and dual flintlocks.
 * Pre-order pack: Captain Kenway's Legacy. Includes golden dual swords and the Treasure Hunter costume for the multiplayer.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
 * An exclusive single player mission, Black Island.
 * Access to the Black Ship.
 * Special silver flintlock pistols used by Captain Morgan for single-player, and additional Captain Morgan items for use in multiplayer.
 * Todd MacFarlane poster.
 * 18-inch statue of Edward Kenway
 * Pirate flag measuring 28 inches by 48 inches, embroidered with the Assassins' crest
 * Art book
 * Steel game case
 * Original soundtrack
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
 * Black Bart action figure by McFarlane Toys.
 * Digital wallpaper by Todd McFarlane
 * Black Bart Sails for the Jackdaw
 * Hidden Mystery mission
 * Stede Bonnet's ship

Winner

 * Best Action/Adventure Game

Trivia

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

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