14 DAY TRIAL // After quite a lot of leaks in the last few days, Ubisoft has unveiled the official details about Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, the next installment in the hugely successful action adventure series, which stars a new protagonist, Edward Kenway, and a new historical setting, of the early 1700s.
Assassin's Creed 3 attracted millions of fans with a new hero and a new time in history, in the form of Connor and the American Revolution, respectively.
Now, Ubisoft has decided to once again overhaul the series and add another character, Edward Kenway, Connor's grandfather, and a new historical setting that takes place about 50 years before the last game.
Edward Kenway is described, at least according to previews from websites like CVG, as a stereotypical cocky pirate but also as an efficient assassin who can easily transition from battling on the high seas using his own ship, the Jackdraw, to infiltrating different settlements.
Without a doubt the naval warfare mechanic, seen first in Assassin's Creed 3, will play a big part in the new title and according to Ubisoft, significant improvements have been made to it in order to allow for an even more impressive experience.
There are now way more enemy ship types, including ones that can ram the Jackdraw, and Edward can micromanage his ship, by upgrading different components, but also the crew, by getting more capable pirates.
The whole world will support seamless transitions from exploring a city to going on the sea and even boarding different enemy vessels. This can be done violently, by attacking head on, crippling the masts, and then reeling the ship closer, or stealthily, by infiltrating it and killing the captain.
Other things are also possible, like exploring the bottom of the ocean and visiting one of the 50 different unique locations.
Seeing as how it's an Assassin's Creed game, you'll still get to kill quite a lot of Templars and Ubisoft promises much more open-ended missions, in which the player can decide when and how to strike.
The modern day section of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag sees players take on the role of an unnamed research analyst working for Abstergo Industries, a front for the Knights Templar.
The game is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and various others teams from Bucharest, Singapore, Sofia, Annecy, Kiev, Quebec, and Montpellier are helping out.
Assassin's Creed 4 will appear on the PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U but Ubisoft promises an "enhanced" version for the PlayStation 4 with better graphics and support for the new DualShock 4 controller.