Tuesday, November 5, 2013

ASSASSIN'S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG

Many things have been said about this game long before it saw the light of the day. I myself stated several times among friends that I don't think a Caribbean flair could fit to the franchise, how disappointed I have been by the last part due to its enormous lack of QA and that this alone would be a reason not to dive helter-skelter into Black Flag.

Well,... although this new game doesn't remove the stench of its predecessor and it won't get me to play the previous installment of the franchise again, one thing is as clear as the Caribbean sea: I was wrong. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a great game in every aspect as far as I can tell after about 15 hours of playing. Actually it seems that the last part was more of a beta for this game, regarding the new mechanics implemented in Assassin's Creed III, similar to what we can see at certain operating systems.


The atmosphere and the environment is simply gorgeous. I think it's safe to say we all love the Caribbean and also the pirate life, although quite different than depicted in hundreds of movies and stories, has a certain appeal to us. So far, I haven't seen one single location in that game that didn't make me ooze into my couch because of joy. Although I am not the guy to go just with graphics, but if they are good it should be mentioned. And in this game they are not only good but actually perfect. For me the graphical aspects of a game don't start with pixels and end with frames - no, everything has to be coherent, harmonious and to fit to the experience. The world of Black Flag we can see, makes me dreaming.


YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM



Given the vast portfolio on moves that Ezio - sorry, Edward - can perform by now, it's an absolute pleasure to run and jump around palm trees and beautiful beaches on one side and - finally again - great rooftops on the other. Yes, it's still Assassin's Creed! Additionally another feature of the last part has been well implemented and taken to the next level in Black Flag: Ship battles. Actually it doesn't stop at battling, but the ship has become kind of your main travelling and exploration tool. But what would a good pirate game be without a pirate ship, right? And you will need it! The map - or rather the world - of this game is gigantic! You have smaller islands with treasures to find according to old-school pirate-style treasure maps, as well as bigger islands with beautiful cities. There are forts to bomb and fierce corvettes to sink, whales to catch and sharks to avoid. Whether the sun shines on your ship or you find yourself in the middle of a brutal storm, the sea never rests and neither will your heart.

Unfortunately I can't tell too much about the story right now, since I only played a part of the seemingly endless campaign by now, but I think it's safe to say that it is there. I don't know how they did it yet, but yes, even the core story of Assassin's Creed (Desmond, Aliens, Templars, etc.) is there. Since you would most likely not want to read spoilers, let's leave it at: We will see how it plays out.

I feel like I have to control myself not to get dragged into the game too much. Actually I have decided to postpone the rest of the game for now, because it is simply too big for me. I am still not done with all the challenges in the new Batman, and after so much hardcore Batman gaming, I am not ready to play the next two weeks nonstop on Black Flag. If this game has one crucial flaw I can tell for sure at this point, it is that it's just too big! Seriously, I don't want play right now because this would consume too much of my time... and three other games I'd like to play at the moment. I guess, sometimes we gamers are sick, right?

Maybe I should get me that bottle of rum...

Play more! Rum more!

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