WARNING: This journal is very long and has been edited to reduce the amount of spoilerish content for those who still have yet to play AC3. The EGM article is much longer and a link is provided at the end of the article for those who wish to read it.



"Its all about the style with these Pirates..."


Brought to you by Abstergo Entertainment

The Assassin's Creed series seems to be continually evolving. With new (completely fictional) technology comes new (completely awesome) possibilities, as Game Director Ashraf Ismail explains:

“The Animus technology has progressed forward, so that it allows anybody to go into the ancestry of someone else as long as the DNA is in storage somewhere. And the way this is presented to the player is through Abstergo Entertainment. Abstergo Entertainment is a subdivision of Absertgo Industries, who are the present day Templars. So this is a company that does research on historical figures and historical events for entertainment purposes—or so they say. This is the façade. There’s obviously a darker, deeper intent behind all of this. And then you are hired as a research analyst. You’re told to use the Animus to research the life of this great pirate, Edward Kenway. You’re not told why, but as you progress through the story you will find out that Edward had a major impact on the Assassin-Templar conflict. The Templars of the present day need information about what Edward did in the past. And this is why you’re doing all of this.”

For those who have not played Assassin's Creed III, Abstergo Entertainment was introduced as an immersion element in the multiplayer portion of the game. This will be brought forward into the campaign, much like the system in Assassin's Creed: Liberation. Instead of following our favorite team of Assassins, you are now the agent through which you witness the life of the Assassins of the past. It means that there are no more barriers between you and the action in the Animus.


The Kenway Legacy

Captain Edward Kenway is a man torn between two worlds. He lived in poverty for most of his early days, and like many less privileged men of the time, was attracted to the life of a sailor in the British Navy. After a short time, he (also like so many other men before him) was drawn into the life of Piracy. This is the conflict at the heart of his personal narrative. He must find a balance between the less than honest and ruthless life of a Pirate with a more honorable and equally dangerous life of an Assassin.

Captain Kenway also highlights Ubisoft's desire to create more deep and interesting content surrounding the Kenway bloodline. As Ubisoft probably never intended to create a trilogy for every Assassin that was introduced, this provides a great opportunity to create a great background story surrounding new Assassins.

“Really early on, in conception and before this game really was started, the brand was headed toward telling the Kenway story. The Kenway saga. This is something that’s important—that we always try to surprise fans with the hero, with the setting. So at some point it was decided that we’re going to do the Ezio trilogy, and then we didn’t want people to just naturally assume that we’re going to do a trilogy with every hero going forward. So we decided for the next round we’re going to surprise people with the Kenway saga. So that’s what we’re telling now. We’re telling Edward’s side of this saga,” said Ashraf.





"Brought to you by Kotaku, ruining images with watermarks since 2006."



Location, Location, Location

As with any Assassin's game, the world in which we find ourselves always finds ways to both surprise and fill us with awe. This iteration in the series will be no different as the vast oceans of the Caribbean and its lush, unique islands that fill it will provide a great backdrop to the action.

Assassin's Creed IV takes place in 1715 in the West Indies (the modern day Caribbean), and Edward is the Captain of the Pirate ship Jackdraw. He has a bit of a reputation with other infamous pirates of the period like Black Beard and Calico Jack.

“Our map is centered with Cuba and Havana being one of the major cities. We have Nassau in the Bahamas, Kingston in Jamaica, and we’re bordered by Haiti and Yucatán. This is our game world, and it has 50 unique locations. So this is really the most different and freshest AC game that we’ve ever built. This is the most drastically different world. So three major cities, the first being Havana, is a Spanish-colonized city, which has a European flavor to it. For us, we really referenced Venice from ACII, because we love the rooftop running from ACII, and this city is inspired by that. Kingston, this is a British-colonized city, it’s a very dangerous, very threatening environment. It’s probably the most different AC city that we’ve ever had, because it merges natural environments with the city itself. The city actually had a lot of foliage and trees in it. It’s the first time we’ve had a city that’s dense in mixing houses and buildings plus trees and tree navigation stuff. And finally we have Nassau, which is a pirate haven. And this is a city that goes through a transformation in the game. It begins as the pirate haven, but then becomes besieged by the British. So the player really feels a different mood and atmosphere, and the gameplay actually changes as well here. So those are the three major cities, but we’ll also have tons of other locations, like hidden fisherman villages, plantations, tucked away coves where smugglers hide their goods and you can go in and steal it, really dense and claustrophobic jungles to do an opposite of the really open seas, we have naval forts, Mayan ruins, coconut islands— which are the picturesque image people have of the Caribbean—and a new location, a new setting for Assassin’s Creed, is the underwater.”


One if by Land, Two if by Sea

As with AC3 before it, we will be seeing some time in the ocean. We will be seeing much more ship to ship combat and naval exploration this time around however, with a nearly even 60/40 Land to Sea ratio.



"What say you Templar!? WHOOOOOOUUUUOOUUUU...that was a whale noise."


To accommodate the extended time at sea, Ubisoft has taken some cues from the wildly successful Far Cry 3, and has implemented a random encounter system. Along with this new system, you are given more leeway this time around with how you tackle these new threats. There are also new mechanics that dictate whether or not you are able to loot their cargo depending on the varied methods of attack at your disposal.

Ship upgrades also make a return, but with a wider variety available to you. Harpoons for whale and shark hunting, and a "SpyGlass" to scout out enemy blockades and uncharted islands before you actually go exploring them.


Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Launch Trailer





Edward Kenway Trailer



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All in all, this seems to be a very interesting entry in the series, and we can't wait to see and hear more from our friends at Ubisoft Montreal. Tell us what you think in the comments section below!

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is coming to Current and Next Generation consoles as well as PC on October 29, 2013.


Here is the [link]  to the article for more details and information.