Ubisoft has decided to release another trailer that showcases the "open world" of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. This clip features more in-depth ship battles, treasure hunting, new tools to utilize, and the world of the Caribbean. Check out the trailer below.
I personally have an interesting relationship with the Assassin's Creed franchise. The games have design decisions that I have never understood and the franchise is too over-indulgent to fix problems that have been prevalent in the franchise's entirety. The games' scope are at odds with its mechanics. They are very intrinsically mechanical games despite what the amazingly realized open worlds would otherwise suggest. There's no 'real' flexibility to the game's combat, choice of behavior. You do it the game's way or you fail. Or you stop playing which would be entirely understandable. The game goes through so much effort of crafting these amazingly detailed worlds, only to be so restrictive and prescriptive about how you interact with them.
That being said this trailer has me absolutely psyched. First of all, we NEVER get pirate themed games. Sid Meier's Pirates is one of my favorite games of all time. It presented the life of a pirate of the seven seas better than any game since. I played it for hours on end, and when this recent trailer showed the boarding mechanics of the ship battles, it filled me with childish glees. Faction battles erupt at random on the open seas between the English and Spanish much like Sid Meier's classic. I hope the games side quests lend gameplay enhancements rather than just monetary rewards, much like it's predecessors, because the random treasure hunting, and exploring give you blueprints to upgrade your ship that lends gameplay variety, so hopefully that carries over to sidequests.
I am stoked for this recent outing of Assassin's Creed, and I didn't think I would ever say that, so take that as you will. What do you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below.
