Did anyone pick up Assassin's Creed: Black Flag?

[Teal]

If so, I'd love to hear some impressions...

[Macca00]

Same here, looks very cool.

[TCrouch]

Like I told Teal last night, I have a tough time recommending anything to anybody anymore. I can find enjoyment in pretty much any game I play on some level (I still have Madden 25, for crying out loud). But I will say that the only Assassin's Creed I EVER finished was Assassin's Creed 2. It had so much to do as far as exploring, collecting, upgrading the Villa, etc., that it was the only game in the series that I pushed through to the end and wanted to keep playing. Brotherhood, Revelations or whatever those other ones were called--I think I made it probably 3 or 4 hours and crapped out.

I enjoyed Assassin's Creed 3 (so that may discredit my opinion immediately based on what I saw on the web for it), even the "talkie talkie talkie" opening sequences. But Connor was a wooden cutout character, not very interesting, and I crapped out on that one about the time Paul Revere was doing his midnight ride. I really thought I'd "dig" the Native American setting and going through the countryside, etc. I did, but not enough to have a pull to keep playing.

Enter AC4. I was 100%, completely, totally, and hopelessly engrossed in it every moment I played last night. It starts with more of a bang (literally) than AC3, which I figured was because of all the complaints about the pacing in the previous title. But after it settled in a bit and I got to run around an island and start hunting for synch spots, it had a very AC2-mixed-with-Far Cry 3 vibe to it.

I cleared out as much as I could in the first island and continued with the story a bit until I got to the first major city. Holy crap. Shanty pages to find, animus fragments, chests, and hundreds of guards to kill Next thing I knew, it was 2 1/2 hours later and I hadn't really done anything except clear most of the city out of stuff to find. By the time I left that city, I had the 5th level upgrade of pistols and a pirate cutlass sword set, purely due to looting probably 100 guards, finishing assassin contracts, opening chests, etc.

Once I got further in the story and got to the naval battles, I will say the ocean stuff is fabulous compared to AC3. Even though it's not next-gen, the ocean is much better modeled, and turning in the open sea while blasting at other ships was a good time. My ship has crappy armor to start with, though, so you're very much limited to guerilla tactics in most cases. hit them, run and turn and strafe them and hope they can't get near you to blast you. I couldn't board them though, just blow them up, and you can loot crates and shipwrecked sailors out on the open ocean, which made for a kind of cool little hunting game on the sea, as well.

I wasn't really super excited about some of the early story missions. Tailing guys across a town and chasing people across rooftops didn't really do it for me, but it IS an Assassin's Creed game, so I'm not sure what I expected. But once I kind of deviated from that and got far enough to start hunting animals and finding treasure maps, as well as getting resources to upgrade the Jackdaw, it really kicked back into high gear. By the time I got to 5% story completion, I already had 3 separate health upgrades, 3 holstered pistols, an ammo pouch to hold more ammo, and better armor on my ship--just because I was island-hopping and hunting random critters. I knew most would allow me to craft SOMETHING, so I'd find 2 of each animal and kill them, and would get a message that I can now craft <insert item here>. In a cool twist, I actually managed to SKIP "Pistol III" and could still craft "Pistol IV", so I have 3 pistols, but using holsters 1, 2, and 4. So you don't have to go dot-to-dot, it seems.

All in all, I spent roughly 5 hours last night and absolutely loved (almost) every minute of it. It was much more like AC2 than any of the other games I've played. Most of my time was just sailing around, opening fire on random little ships (and I finally got the ability to board them near the end of the evening), and doing treasure map hunts. I liked finding synch spots and how it uncovers everything, so some of those little islands were gold mines. Nothing to fight, just show up, find a synch, hunt, collect, and hop back on the ship and go somewhere else.

Plus, the map is positively MASSIVE. I just see hours and hours being sucked away by this one for me, personally.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

[TCrouch]

I actually thought Gametrailers' review of this said everything I felt like saying. For what it's worth:

http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/cza ... lag-review

[RobVarak]

I actually thought Gametrailers' review of this said everything I felt like saying. For what it's worth:

http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/cza ... lag-review

Both your review and GT are excellent. Very definitely going to pick this up for the XB1.

[Zeppo]

I've been looking forward to this as an early Xbone showcase title. I'm glad to hear it's living up to its promises so far, and I hope the next gen version is more than just a better looking copy of the 360 game.

[TCrouch]

Zeppo, I think it will be exactly that--the same game with a new coat of paint. I read somewhere that it's essentially the same experience on all platforms. But the graphics ARE that big of a deal, IMO. On 360, it's gorgeous for a 360 game. I hit one section last night where I was crawling around in a jungle and suddenly I was on a cliff with about 5 waterfalls pouring into a single area, and it had the whole "rainbow mist" everywhere. Dense jungles, etc. I can only imagine what that will look like with a ton more VRAM.

But things that are on XBox One that aren't on the 360 are the ocean modeling and weather, as well as lighting and foliage moving. The bushes aren't very dense on 360, so it looks sort of silly that you can "hide" in plain view behind a stalk of corn. But the vids I've seen of next-gen, everything is very dense and the shrubs move as you pass through them. The 360, it doesn't. It will be much more immersive that way.

I got my own ISLAND last night, which just reinforces the thought that it's like AC2 to me. Instead of the homestead in AC3, which I never really did anything with, the Island in AC4 is something you can upgrade all over the place, much like the Villa.

Really, really digging this game.

[fanatic]

Zeppo, I think it will be exactly that--the same game with a new coat of paint. I read somewhere that it's essentially the same experience on all platforms. But the graphics ARE that big of a deal, IMO. On 360, it's gorgeous for a 360 game. I hit one section last night where I was crawling around in a jungle and suddenly I was on a cliff with about 5 waterfalls pouring into a single area, and it had the whole "rainbow mist" everywhere. Dense jungles, etc. I can only imagine what that will look like with a ton more VRAM.

But things that are on XBox One that aren't on the 360 are the ocean modeling and weather, as well as lighting and foliage moving. The bushes aren't very dense on 360, so it looks sort of silly that you can "hide" in plain view behind a stalk of corn. But the vids I've seen of next-gen, everything is very dense and the shrubs move as you pass through them. The 360, it doesn't. It will be much more immersive that way.

I got my own ISLAND last night, which just reinforces the thought that it's like AC2 to me. Instead of the homestead in AC3, which I never really did anything with, the Island in AC4 is something you can upgrade all over the place, much like the Villa.

Really, really digging this game.

Sounds great. And I don't even mind the whole "just a fresh coat of paint" thing, considering this game is probably the result of the learning from each AC game this generation.

[TCrouch]

For the next entry in my solo blog here:

I've begun attacking fortresses and assassinating officers. I now own about 1/3 of the map

Any time I plunder enough ships to call out the pirate hunting Brig class vessels, I lure them close enough to my converted fortresses and watch as they're pummeled by cannon fire from the shoreline. Then I plunder them too.

I've actually logged about a dozen hours so far, and as far as story goes, I'm only 25% in. But between assaulting fortresses, raiding shipping lanes, taking down convoys, exploring islands, harpooning whales and sharks, pillaging plantations for their stores (kind of cool little self-created mini-missions where I go all ninja and take out the alarm bells silently, then pick the dozens of guards off one by one...then walk nonchalantly up to the storage barn and take everything they have), scavenging for the collectible Mayan Stele and Templar Keys for the big treasure goal for each side, etc...I haven't hit the story much. Every one of those options is a random side activity that you can do as you see fit.

Game is just massive.

[Pete1210]

Appreciate all the gameplay impressions.

I think the thread is quiet since a lot of us are waiting for the next gen version.

[TCrouch]

So am I, but with the $10 Trade in deal, it's basically a $10 rental for 3 weeks and then I'll be able to tell definitively whether the next gen version looks much better than the 360 version. My curiosity won out on this one.

[Teal]

Well, I appreciate it for what it is, and purchased it today. It is quite beautiful, and I've only scratched the surface in Havana. Looking forward to more.

[Teal]

Thank for all the detailed impressions that finally talked me into buying this one. Amazing game. And HUGE!

[TCrouch]

Glad they helped. I am actually contemplating NOT playing any further, since I'm going to play the whole thing on XBO again in 3 weeks. I finished about 30% of the story and I have a pretty good idea it's a no-brainer for me to play again. I actually went back and started playing through AC3 again to maybe see the end of that one, since AC4 has some spoilers about AC3's ending.

[Teal]

Glad they helped. I am actually contemplating NOT playing any further, since I'm going to play the whole thing on XBO again in 3 weeks. I finished about 30% of the story and I have a pretty good idea it's a no-brainer for me to play again. I actually went back and started playing through AC3 again to maybe see the end of that one, since AC4 has some spoilers about AC3's ending.

I'm not getting a new console anytime soon, if at all, so I'm good. But I've been very pleasantly surprised at how good this is. I SO looked forward to AC3, but it was just not that great. Not bad, really, just...not what I was hoping for. So far, this has exceeded my expectations. I'm glad the series has gotten away from Desmond Miles, and that this one, story wise, is a little harder to predict thus far. The ocean is AMAZING, and even moreso in storms (the hurricane was off the chain!). I love how the crew sings classic sailing songs. I love how the ship combat is improved. The vistas on the islands have been breathtaking...it's just a great package.

I finished AC3 (the story part, anyway), so that's cool that there is some tie-in. Looking forward to seeing what's what with the story, but damn...just exploring the vast world is so much fun...it may set a record for how long it takes me to finish a story...lol

[Teal]

Just amazing. Sailing from one corner of the map to the other takes FOREVER, and the storms are absolutely EPIC. If you're getting a shiny new gadget, I can't imagine how much better it'll look...wow. Everything I've done has been loads of fun.

[TCrouch]

Yeah, I'm struggling. All I want to do is keep playing it, yet I don't want to see the entire game before I get it on PS4.

It's gorgeous, especially for a 360 game. The ocean looks great, but when you see the PS4 version's ocean, it's insane. Foliage in particular is the only weak spot on the 360 I've seen, when comparing it to the PS4. Weather and lighting, of course, kill on next gen. But the game itself is the same experience, from everything I've seen/read.

[Teal]

Sign of a truly great game...I have to MAKE myself stop and go to bed. LOL

[TCrouch]

Another sign: it made me go back and play a far lesser game (AC3) to the end just to make sure I didn't miss anything in AC4. I'm on the final sequence of that one, finally.

[Teal]

Another sign: it made me go back and play a far lesser game (AC3) to the end just to make sure I didn't miss anything in AC4. I'm on the final sequence of that one, finally.

Yes, this game has made me realize how much I propped up AC3 just because I didn't want to admit it was not that good. Honestly, I wanted it to be, because of the historical background. But it just wasn't. However, knowing the story of all AC's is critical, so...trudge onward! lol

[TCrouch]

Agreed. Especially with how smoothly you can aim and carry multiple pistols in AC4. The combat of rock-paper-scissors still exists, but I feel like the ultimate badass when I'm in a zone and I can fire off 4 shots from multiple pistols in succession. When I'm surrounded by 8 guys and a couple are readying pistol shots, I can instantly move from wristblade-to-the-eyesocket to pistol shots at surrounding members without having to spend 10 seconds reloading the single-shot stuff in AC3. Granted, it's the same in AC4--but you have FOUR single shot pistols to use

But combat is smoother, and aiming with LT and pulling the RT to fire? Who'd have thought of such a new control scheme? To this day, I still have no idea how to use the LT to aim in AC3. I pull RT, nothing happens. If I use Y sometimes it fires, but why take my thumb off the RS to fire with Y? It's just silly.

[Teal]

Agreed. Especially with how smoothly you can aim and carry multiple pistols in AC4. The combat of rock-paper-scissors still exists, but I feel like the ultimate badass when I'm in a zone and I can fire off 4 shots from multiple pistols in succession. When I'm surrounded by 8 guys and a couple are readying pistol shots, I can instantly move from wristblade-to-the-eyesocket to pistol shots at surrounding members without having to spend 10 seconds reloading the single-shot stuff in AC3. Granted, it's the same in AC4--but you have FOUR single shot pistols to use

But combat is smoother, and aiming with LT and pulling the RT to fire? Who'd have thought of such a new control scheme? To this day, I still have no idea how to use the LT to aim in AC3. I pull RT, nothing happens. If I use Y sometimes it fires, but why take my thumb off the RS to fire with Y? It's just silly.

I think my favorite edition to the franchise is the ability to rate the missions independently. I love that these guys are taking feedback to heart, and to such specificity. Makes me excited for the future of the series.

[Pete1210]

Another sign: it made me go back and play a far lesser game (AC3) to the end just to make sure I didn't miss anything in AC4. I'm on the final sequence of that one, finally.

Yes, this game has made me realize how much I propped up AC3 just because I didn't want to admit it was not that good. Honestly, I wanted it to be, because of the historical background. But it just wasn't. However, knowing the story of all AC's is critical, so...trudge onward! lol

I skipped the last two. I'll just read the story online before I start AC4 in a few weeks.

[Bakes]

Never played an AC game before - will it matter jumping right in with this game? Tempted to grab it for the xb1.

[TCrouch]

Some of the extra story stuff and the premise itself will be odd at first. Playing in 1715 and then suddenly you're in 2013 walking around a high tech facility will be a bit odd unless you have some basic understanding of the premise.

But overall, nah. Some of the details given to you won't make much sense, but they're more for the people who are fans of the series anyway. You won't miss much but not being some AC die-hard.