Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag PC Video Game Review

By Steven Iglesias-Hearst

Manufacturer: Ubisoft Entertainment
Product Name: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (PC)
ASIN: B00BMFIXZG
Price As Tested: $49.99 (Amazon – multiple platforms)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by NVIDIA.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is powered by a wide range of NVIDIA technologies that allow it to deliver striking graphics and an exhilarating gaming experience. In addition to using long-standing NVIDIA technologies like FXAA and TXAA to improve image quality, it also leverages newer technologies like NVIDIA HBAO+, God Rays, and Percentage-Closer Soft Shadows (PCSS) to enhance the game’s overall atmosphere. Combined with rich object detail and being the first game to ever launch with 4K textures, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag takes advantage of the best graphics technologies and architectural features available in GeForce GTX 700-series graphics cards.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag carries on the legacy of previous Assassin’s Creed titles; in that players are projected into the world of the assassin via the Abstergo Animus system. Black Flag takes the series in a new direction but stays true to what made the series popular among avid gamers. Vast open worlds with beautiful vistas captivate the player and provide seemingly endless and challenging gameplay.

Game Modes

Assassins Creed IV features three game modes: Singleplayer, Multiplayer, and Co-op – and a Game Lab mode that allows you to create your own shareable content. The singleplayer campaign is the main bulk of the game but the multiplayer and co-op modes offer players an alternative approach to the more tailored Assassins Creed style of gameplay.

Singleplayer

Become Edward Kenway, a charismatic yet brutal pirate captain, trained by Assassins. Edward can effortlessly switch between the Hidden Blade of the Assassin’s Order and all new weaponry including four flintlock pistols and dual cutlass swords. Discover the largest and most diverse Assassin’s Creed world ever created. From Kingston to Nassau, explore over 75 unique locations where you can live the life of a pirate including: loot underwater shipwrecks, assassinate Templars in blossoming cities, hunt for rare animals in untamed jungles, search for treasure in lost ruins, and escape to hidden coves. Command your ship, the Jackdaw, and strike fear in all who see her. Plunder and pillage to upgrade the Jackdaw with ammunition and equipment needed to fight off enemy ships. The ship’s improvements are critical to Edward’s progression through the game. Attack and seamlessly board massive galleons, recruit sailors to join your crew and embark on an epic and infamous adventure.

Crafting items and upgrading your ship keep the gameplay interesting as will the side quests that increase your scores. Players can also exit the pirate simulation and wander the offices and corridors of the Absetrgo Entertainment offices in a non combat role. Finding notes, eavesdropping conversations and hacking systems will build  a picture of exactly who and what Abstergo is, and what secrets they have to hide.

Multiplayer

Put your assassination skills to test and embark on an online journey throughout the Caribbean. Discover a brand new set of pirate characters, and explore exotic and colourful locations. Additionally, create your own game experience with the new Game Lab feature – craft your own multiplayer mode by choosing abilities, rules and bonuses. Play and share your newly created mode with your friends and the Assassins Creed community.

Co-op

Fight against or cooperate with your friends in the ruthless and acclaimed multiplayer experience. Choose from an eclectic cast of characters and fight to the death in exotic themed maps. Discovery is a story based mini campaign that teaches players the ropes of co-op. It’s available for up to four players.Once players acclimate to that, there’s Unleashed mode, which tasks players with working together to guard chests, eliminate disguised foes, pull off synchronised kills, and kill “infected” enemies that can only be harmed once you’ve retrieved a package.