The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the millennia-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and depicts the player as an employee of Abstergo Industries (a company used as a front by the modern-day Templars), who is manipulated into uncovering secrets related to the Assassin-Templar conflict and the precursor race known as the First Civilization. The main story is set in the West Indies during the Golden Age of Piracy from 1715 to 1722, and follows notorious Welsh pirate Edward Kenway, grandfather of Assassin's Creed III protagonist Ratonhnhak:ton / Connor and father of antagonist Haytham Kenway, as he searches for fortune and a mythical location called the Observatory, which is sought by both the Assassins and the Templars. A major plot element concerns the attempted establishment of an independent Pirate republic in the Caribbean.
Unlike previous games, gameplay elements focus more on the ship-based exploration of the seamless open world map, while also retaining the series' third-person land-based exploration, melee combat, and stealth system. Multiplayer also returns, albeit with only land-based modes and settings. The game's setting spans the West Indies with the three main cities of Havana, Nassau, and Kingston, along with numerous islands, sunken ships, and forts. Players have the option to harpoon large sea animals and hunt land animals. For the first time in the series, naval exploration is a major part of an Assassin's Creed game, where Edward captains the Jackdaw, a brig he captures from a Spanish fleet in an early game mission. A number of downloadable content (DLC) packs were released to support Black Flag, including Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry, a story expansion that was later made available as a standalone game in 2014. Set over a decade after Black Flag's main campaign, Freedom Cry follows Adwal, Edward's former quartermaster who became an Assassin.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag received critical acclaim and became one of the best-selling games of 2013, with over 11 million copies sold as of 2014[update]. Critics praised the open world gameplay, improved naval combat, side-quests, graphics, narrative, characters, and pirate theme. However, the modern-day story and combat received a slightly more mixed response, while criticism fell on aspects of the historical story missions which were considered repetitive. The game received several awards and nominations, including winning the Spike VGX 2013 award for Best Action Adventure Game. It was followed by Assassin's Creed Rogue and Assassin's Creed Unity in November 2014.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is an action-adventure, stealth game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The game features three main cities: Havana, Kingston, and Nassau, which reside under Spanish, British, and pirate influence, respectively.[9] In addition, locations like Port-au-Prince and Greater Inagua are used as main story points. It also features 50 other individual locations to explore, including atolls, sea forts, Mayan ruins, sugar plantations, and underwater shipwrecks, with a 60/40 balance between land and naval exploration.[7] The game was designed to be more open than previous Assassin's Creed titles, with a map of a large section of the Caribbean from where the smaller, individual locations may be accessed. It also features fewer restrictions for the player compared to Assassin's Creed III, which had very scripted missions and did not give players the freedom to explore until the game was well into its first act.[9][10][11][12] The player will encounter jungles, forts, ruins, and small villages, and can engage, board, and capture passing ships or swim to nearby beaches in a seamless fashion.[7][13] In addition, the hunting system has been retained from Assassin's Creed III, allowing the player to hunt on land, and fish in the water, with resources gathered used to upgrade equipment via a crafting system.[7]
A new aspect in the game is the Jackdaw, the ship that protagonist Edward Kenway captains. The Jackdaw is upgradeable throughout the game, and is easily accessible to the player when needed.[10] In addition, a new underwater component has been added, allowing players to explore shipwrecks at several marked locations.[9] The player has access to a spyglass, allowing the examination of distant ships, along with their cargo and strength. It can also help determine if an island still has animals to hunt, treasures to find, high points to reach for synchronization or additional side-quests to complete, such as assassinations and naval contracts.[9] An updated form of the recruit system introduced in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is present in the game,[9] allowing Edward to recruit crew members. While Kenway's crew will remain loyal to him, they can be promoted to captain acquired ships, and are needed to assist in boarding enemy vessels. They cannot assist in combat or perform long-range assassinations, as in previous games; Ubisoft removed this aspect of the Brotherhood system, believing it allowed players to bypass tense and challenging scenarios too easily.[14]
The main character of the game is Edward Kenway (voiced by Matt Ryan),[16] a Welsh[17] privateer-turned-pirate and eventual member of the Brotherhood of Assassins. Edward is the father of the future Colonial Templars Grand Master Haytham Kenway, and grandfather of the Assassin Ratonhnhak:ton, the two playable characters of Assassin's Creed III. During the game, Edward meets and interacts with several real-life historical figures, including notorious pirates Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch[note 1][18] (Mark Bonnar),[16] Benjamin Hornigold (Ed Stoppard), Mary Read (Olivia Morgan), Stede Bonnet (James Bachman), Anne Bonny (Sarah Greene), Calico Jack (O-T Fagbenle), and Charles Vane (Ralph Ineson).[16]
As is the case in previous Assassin's Creed games, the story is divided into two intertwined halves, with one set in the present day and the other in a historical setting. Although the present-day story had previously established that an Animus was required to view one's ancestors memories, the ending of Assassin's Creed III reveals that Abstergo can now view a host's genetic memories simply by sequencing the host's DNA. As such, the unseen player character is hired by Abstergo Entertainment to investigate a pivotal character in Desmond Miles' ancestry, Edward Kenway.[19] A notorious pirate and privateer operating during the Golden Age of Piracy, Kenway's story is set in the Caribbean, and mixes open-ended ship-based exploration with combat and land-based adventures in Cuba and Jamaica, and on a number of Caribbean islands, parts of southern Florida and eastern Mexico.[20][21][22]
Eventually, Edward and Roberts uncover the location of the Observatory and retrieve the artifact powering it. Roberts betrays Edward, and the British arrest him. He is imprisoned, but escapes when Ah Tabai (Octavio Solorio), the Assassin Mentor, infiltrates the prison to rescue Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Mary soon dies in the aftermath of childbirth, and a disheartened Edward decides to join the Brotherhood. Chasing down and eliminating Roberts and the Templar conspirators, Edward retrieves the artifact and returns it to the Observatory, sealing it away. He receives a letter informing him of the passing of his wife and the imminent arrival of his hitherto unknown daughter, Jennifer Scott. Edward returns to England, promising Ah Tabai that he will continue fighting the Templars. Years later, Edward attends The Beggar's Opera at the Royal Opera House with Jennifer and his son Haytham.
In the present, John Standish, Abstergo Entertainment's information technology manager, persuades the player to investigate what their employers are trying to hide from them. Under John's guidance, they hack several Animus terminals and deliver the information to Shaun Hastings (Danny Wallace) and Rebecca Crane (Eliza Schneider), undercover Assassins who have infiltrated Abstergo. When the facility is locked down after the hacks are discovered, John instructs the player to access the Animus' core, at which point Juno (Nadia Verrucci) materializes into an incorporeal form. She reveals that the world is not ready for her yet, and that she is unable to possess the player as her agents intended. John is revealed as the reincarnated Sage and attempts to murder the player to cover up Juno's failed resurrection, but is killed by Abstergo's security, implicating him as responsible for the hacks. During his time as Roberts, the Sage admits to Edward that he owes no allegiance to the Assassins or the Templars and instead uses whoever represents his best chance of achieving his ends. With the Sage dead, the player is contacted by the Assassins, but neither side is able to explain the Sage's presence or identify his followers, the Instruments of the First Will.[note 2]
In early February 2013, during its quarterly financial call to investors, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that the next Assassin's Creed game, due for release some time before April 2014, would feature a new hero, time period, and development team.[23] On February 28, 2013, Ubisoft posted their first promotional picture and cover for their next Assassin's Creed game, following leaked marketing material days before.[24] It announced the title of the game as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and featured an unnamed character holding a flintlock and a sword with a black flag in the background containing the Assassin's symbol with a skull.[24] A reported glitch on the official Assassin's Creed IV website suggested the game will release on next-gen consoles and October 29 as the release date,[25] which was confirmed by the first trailer for the game, released on March 4, 2013 (originally leaked on March 2, 2013, but was quickly pulled by Ubisoft).[7][26][27]
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