Sights & Sounds
- Even after all this time, the game still has moments where it looks pretty good (particularly when you're firing off grapeshot in a hurricane). Outside of that, you can definitely see the age with the clunkiness of some character animations and dated textures. Still not too shabby for a decade old game
- The setting is refreshing. AC games are pretty good in choosing interesting points in (usually Western) history to explore, and this one is no different
- The music is pretty great. Everyone loves a good sea shanty
- Being a AAA game, the voice acting is what you'd expect. Good performances all around
Story & Vibes
- I'll be frank, I stopped paying attention to the overarching AC story sometime midway through ACII: Revelations. It's mercifully shoved way in the background and mostly (outside of a few scenes) optional in this game
- Unfortunately, the in-Animus story is sort of a let down as well. You just kind of sail around the Caribbean as Edward, being sent from waypoint to waypoint to sneak into a fort and kill a revolving door of bad guys. Someone being conflicted about his relationship with his wife for a decade before deciding to raise his kid and become an assassin doesn't make for much of a story
- There are a few worthwhile characters. Blackbeard is an interesting character study, and Captain Kidd has the most motivating story arc in the game
- Despite the story being negligible in nearly every regard, sailing around can be relaxing if you're into that sort of thing
Playability & Replayability
- Refusing to change, enhance, iterate on, or improve either the stealth or combat gameplay in any noticeable regard was a bold choice. Not a good choice, but bold
- At least the sailing and naval combat are nice. Sailing felt clunky in AC3, but it's much more polished this time around given that it's a core component of Black Flag
- Despite all the ship upgrades, I found myself just relying on the regular cannons and the heavy shot. The other stuff like mortars and mines were situationally useful when I remembered that I installed them, but I never felt like they were actually necessary. Just buy armor, crew, and heavy ammo
- This is a replay (played it around release in 2013 on the 360), and I think this is my last go-around in this game. Hey, at least they managed to finally get me to care about collectibles (gotta hear all the shanties)
Overall Impressions & Performance
- A lot of people seem to remember this one fondly due to the sailing and naval combat, but neither of those really save it from feeling like just another AC game at heart
- Being a 10 year old game, it ran very well
- You will, of course, have to use Ubisoft's terrible, frivolous, and clunky launcher to play this game. Lécher le cul, Yves
Final Verdict
- 7/10. Compared to the preceding AC games it's roughly on par with AC2: Brotherhood (story/characters are worse, but gameplay is better). Black Flag is a pretty good game, but I'll always feel like this series never reached its full potential
- Even after all this time, the game still has moments where it looks pretty good (particularly when you're firing off grapeshot in a hurricane). Outside of that, you can definitely see the age with the clunkiness of some character animations and dated textures. Still not too shabby for a decade old game
- The setting is refreshing. AC games are pretty good in choosing interesting points in (usually Western) history to explore, and this one is no different
- The music is pretty great. Everyone loves a good sea shanty
- Being a AAA game, the voice acting is what you'd expect. Good performances all around
Story & Vibes
- I'll be frank, I stopped paying attention to the overarching AC story sometime midway through ACII: Revelations. It's mercifully shoved way in the background and mostly (outside of a few scenes) optional in this game
- Unfortunately, the in-Animus story is sort of a let down as well. You just kind of sail around the Caribbean as Edward, being sent from waypoint to waypoint to sneak into a fort and kill a revolving door of bad guys. Someone being conflicted about his relationship with his wife for a decade before deciding to raise his kid and become an assassin doesn't make for much of a story
- There are a few worthwhile characters. Blackbeard is an interesting character study, and Captain Kidd has the most motivating story arc in the game
- Despite the story being negligible in nearly every regard, sailing around can be relaxing if you're into that sort of thing
Playability & Replayability
- Refusing to change, enhance, iterate on, or improve either the stealth or combat gameplay in any noticeable regard was a bold choice. Not a good choice, but bold
- At least the sailing and naval combat are nice. Sailing felt clunky in AC3, but it's much more polished this time around given that it's a core component of Black Flag
- Despite all the ship upgrades, I found myself just relying on the regular cannons and the heavy shot. The other stuff like mortars and mines were situationally useful when I remembered that I installed them, but I never felt like they were actually necessary. Just buy armor, crew, and heavy ammo
- This is a replay (played it around release in 2013 on the 360), and I think this is my last go-around in this game. Hey, at least they managed to finally get me to care about collectibles (gotta hear all the shanties)
Overall Impressions & Performance
- A lot of people seem to remember this one fondly due to the sailing and naval combat, but neither of those really save it from feeling like just another AC game at heart
- Being a 10 year old game, it ran very well
- You will, of course, have to use Ubisoft's terrible, frivolous, and clunky launcher to play this game. Lécher le cul, Yves
Final Verdict
- 7/10. Compared to the preceding AC games it's roughly on par with AC2: Brotherhood (story/characters are worse, but gameplay is better). Black Flag is a pretty good game, but I'll always feel like this series never reached its full potential