Review - Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

G'day there guys and gals!

Warning! This review has possible spoilers ahead!

It's no secret that I've been a fan of the Assassin's Creed series since the beginning, the Creed tattoo on my arm isn't much of a hint.  But as much as I do enjoy the series in a whole, I write these reviews in order to give you folks an unbiased review on the games in question. So with a clear conscience I can say that Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag is definitely a game to buy this year.
Before I continue this review any further, let me say that I have played the game on both Xbox 360 and the Xbox One and I do highly suggest playing the game on the next gen consoles.

First off, into the gameplay. Over the years of AC titles, Ubisoft has been able to perfect and fine tune the performance of their A Grade titles and Black Flag is no exception. Veteran gamers will feel the familiar movements of its predecessor Assassin's Creed 3 with the play style of Assassin's Creed Revelations. New gamers will have no trouble finding them easy and quick to learn, as Black Flag gives often reminders on control schematics. Of course, the big change in gameplay would be the Jackdaw and exploration. Fans demanded more sea battles after the success of the mini missions in AC3 and Ubisoft delivered with excellent results. Taking control of the ship gives a sense of being in control, with movements and commandeering very well similar. This new change has been praised so much that Ubisoft is now even considering making a standalone shipping game. With the weather and sea changing, making each trip a danger, you will definitely be wanting to explore the world. Mass exploration will lead you into legendary ships, restricted areas, diving for treasure, whaling, capturing enemy outposts and much more to see.
The storyline is set almost 40-50 years before the events of Assassin's Creed 3 and players take control of Edward Kenway, grandfather to Connor and father to Haytham; a once average sailor turned pirate, seeking riches and gold to make a wealthy life for himself and his wife back in Wales. A different character gives new shades to the AC series, but fans looking for classic Assassin storyline will be slightly disappointed. Edward is not the standard Assassin, let alone follows the Creed or Order's wishes, to which you'll find out very soon as the game progresses. While modern day gameplay has been reduced, players take the lead of a nameless Abstergo Games recruit, beginning his work on the project from "Sample 17". Since that's way too big of a reveal already, I'll stop myself there. 

Voice acting is extremely well done by a wide ranged cast of virtually faceless voice actors, each giving a well rounded performance that gives the game a larger experience overall, especially with the interaction with Blackbeard, Calico Jack and other legendary pirates. The modern day acting was especially interesting, even with a few surprises along the way, and while there is a lot of pirate vocalisms and expressions that are definitely cringe worthy, their portrayal is what makes it great.

Sound effects are averagely normal when it comes to an AC game, the musical score is definitely a strong point in the game. While the sound effects are beautiful in the forests and on the open ocean,the music sticks to the roots of the series while living up towards the pirate theme. Particularly my favourite is the sea shanties: during gameplay the crew members will begin to sing old fashioned songs which are very catchy and fun, even so to the point of myself tracking down more shanties in my free roaming time.
Multiplayer is a definite improvement since the last game: with new modes, weapons and even a "lab" option to make a game style to how you like to play, the multiplayer offers a lot by yourself or with a group of friends. The customisation options, while similar to the previous title, are a lot more diverse and have plenty of options with profile pictures, titles and larger options to customise your favourite character from clothing colours to weapons. You can unlock these options through progress of playing the game or you do have the option to use microtransactions.

So far, I have personally experienced several bugs in the campaign such as enemies not dying, enemies not despawning on the Jackdaw and so on. There have been other larger bugs such as the Jackdaw sinking randomly or the AI spawning through the world but I have yet to see any large multiplayer issues and these issues I've stated above won't affect the gameplay entirely.

In summary, the sixth game in the series offers much more than the sneak and stab ways of the past. The last seven years has seen a massive change to the series and one that Ubisoft has made well.

Out of 10, I give Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag a 9/10

+Well developed storyline
+nostalgia for fans
+Gameplay is incredible
+Rounded game overall
-Few bugs here and there
-Campaign ends abruptly