Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Whether or not you're a fan of Assassin's Creed, it doesn't matter. This game will satisfy both fans of the series and those who just want a damn good pirate game. Everyone wins. For those who wanted both of those things, your luck is well and truly in.

Black Flag is an ambitious game but has a truly great pay-off at the end. The sense of exploration and freedom found in this game isn't something that you would find in most other games. With the north part of the Caribbean as your world (including but not limited to places like Jamaica, Cuba and Barbados) you can sail as pirate captain Edward Kenway on your ship, the Jackdaw, through the open seas taking on British and Spanish ships to steal their cargo, hunting sea creatures and exploring underwater shipwrecks. There's just so much to do. The sense of progression in this game is really great too. In previous AC games there was often an issue of having too much money and not having anything to do with it. Well here you can use that money to upgrade your character as well as your bad-ass pirate ship. As the game progresses you'll be able to take on larger and larger vessels with bigger prizes and even take on the Legendary ships. The characters are mostly based on real historical figures of the period and all are interesting as well as well produced in every respect.

Issues with the game however are that combat is still to easy, stealth is not refined enough and regardless of being a fan of the franchise, the story really didn't do it enough for me. I honestly preferred the story in AC3.

I would recommend picking up this game. It's fun, well made and engrossing. Even if the story doesn't really float your boat, there's so much more to do in terms of side quests. I therefore give this game a 9 out of 10 and would argue that it was one of the top 5 games of 2013.

Thanks for reading this review I hope you found it helpful. If you enjoyed it please feel free to read my other reviews.

Hounestly amazing, what a technical wonder, one of the best games I've played it's so open and beautiful with beautiful islands and seas and waves and storms, theres harpooning and hunting, one of the best games ever

Best AC game, such beautiful graphics and open world gameplay, the game completely surprised me with so much to do, it even gives me pirates of the Caribbean nostalgia

A memorable and fun game, basically pirates of the carribean the game, this is without a doubt the crow favorite ac game

Before this game, all previous Assassin's Creed games felt the same. It even made WatchMojo.com's top 10 most overrated games list due to Assassin's Creeds 1-3 all playing extremely similar. The latest installment, however, added a new feature that took up half the game. This feature, of course, is the Naval aspect. Fans got a taste of this in Assassin's Creed III, but it is nowhere near the level Of 4. Whether it's hunting sharks, collecting cargo, sailing to an island, seeking treasure or engaging in Naval Battles, sailing pirate ships in AC4 is an incredible and well polished gameplay mechanic. Aside from that, it also made the world feel more real, since you could almost all of the Caribbean sea. Not only is this a must have for any Assassin's Creed fan, but it's also a great game for new players to start, since the story no longer follows Desmond Miles.