Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag: 7 Years Later

this video be sponsored by Squarespace much like the earth your websites looking a bit flat discover a new world of possibilities at the end in a world where pirates rule the waves these men will discover that nothing is sacred and everyone is committed ladies this summer Abstergo entertainment invites you aboard for the adventure of a lifetime so sharpen your cutlasses shine your hooks and sail with the demos of the Caribbean this virtual experience is not being read oh thank god it was all a dream perhaps you're wondering why on earth I've elected to talk about the sixth installment of a franchise out of the blue there's a simple answer to that I rewatched Pirates of the Caribbean but it's not such a random occurrence black flag sticks out even among those who aren't fans of Assassin's Creed it's the good one the one that really is worth playing are they right well let's find out Black Flag is reputation has been somewhat sullied by the series it finds itself in some hardcore fans lamented that it was a poor Assassin's Creed game and there's a lot of people out there who have nothing but disdain for this franchise a sentiment I do not share but nonetheless understand there are some aspects of assassin's creed's gameplay that great people they don't like tailing missions they don't like following NPCs for what feels like forever they don't like a shallow combat system they get bored before we get to nor into what is usually this franchise's strength the stories well Black Flag has a very long tutorial and yeah that involves a lot of following but it's not often you come across a game with this many facets all things considered I don't think it's at all slow in its teachings within an hour you've learned how to use a ship you fought done stealth tailed Park or blending used courtesans learned every assassination technique stolen from Templars and bonded with Edward it's a thrilling and surprisingly unique thing to play as a believable human being in a video game Edwards a homesick pirate only out for himself he's got a lovable analogy but just as it was with Captain Jack Sparrow a man with flaws is the most compelling of them all because we have flaws we're tempted to want some of them everyone has a compulsion for greed Jack Sparrow took versed and expressed it in the smartest way a writer could in his book writing the breakout novel Donald mast refers to larger-than-life characters as a key to doing just that people who do what we want to do say what we want to say but never would those are the most compelling Oh Edward is more down-to-earth certainly but the concept works the same although we shouldn't let that distract us from what's really important the modern-day plot after Desmond got his balls fried into a light vapor the next step for the modern day is an immersive sim apparently you're working for Abstergo it's first-person and you can read people's emails so just think human revolution but with no revolution in an arse load of French people Ubisoft does a decent job of introducing everything they need to in a very short time span but that doesn't change how inappropriate a pace break in an already slow-paced section felt is it really Olivier what's Olivier gonna show me how to pirate hentai this is not what I signed up for they then have the actual audacity to shove this in your face you're doing us off a modern-day section on my word you might have often heard a great pirate game a week assassin's creed or some variation thereof some may even go as far as to say Black Flag should not have been an assassin's creed at all well I disagree with that the overwhelming majority of Assassin's Creed conventions service a pirate game perfectly flashy over-the-top combat check bouncing around the place like a kangaroo prostitute excellent stealth kinda but a philosophical battle between order and chaos control and freedom isn't that just what being a pirate is about Assassin's Creed is perfect for a pirate game Anubis oft weren't a bad choice to make it they've always been excellent at designing a world and bringing it to life this rendition of the Caribbean is utterly immaculate the art is an immense factor in the game's charm the locations are all tantalizing despite being graphically dated thanks to frequent uses of verticality dense foliage waterfalls rainbows clean light blue water and a beaming Sun it sticks to a consistent yellow blue and green color palette but still manages to portray the feeling of a tropical pirate adventure when it doesn't storms are stricken with lightning and the art extends into gameplay with rogue waves and water spouts all stylized and amazing to behold unsurprisingly these graphics did not age well they were built to run on Hardware so old it used to get wedgies from Rosa Parks but the visuals will nonetheless stand the test of time and the Carribean isn't just surfaced deep you can sail into colossal naval battles between the Spanish and the British you can take sides and have yourself a Barney even at Wallsend would be jealous off you can find Mayan temples discover secrets and solve ancient puzzles which is aligning a pattern with some rocks but it still counts you can explore each of these tropical islands to your heart's content that's the Caribbean fantasy an r-rated wind waker but the pirate side of the coin is done just as well if you can think of it you've got it apart from struggle snuggles and hanging people of course exploring hunting looting treasure capturing forts boarding ships robbing ships selling their cargo off at a profit recruiting new crew building a fleet building a secret cove sending your fleet off on missions being chased by bounty hunters capturing forts upgrading your ship making it look sweet making yourself look sweet singing fighting mythical battles getting drunk playing board games harpooning whales which Peter didn't like I am gonna run out of breath but there's probably something I'm forgetting if you can think of it and it wouldn't get the game banned it's here [Music] [Music] [Music] black flags got gameplay ranging from strong to decent and an excellent story if all that sold you on the game then play it now this is the best pirate game ever made that was your spoiler warning but pirates beware Ubisoft as we well know carry their disadvantages and gameplay is on the chopping block see I know where the rums gone the guys in charge of bug-fixing have [ __ ] the entire keg down their throats look at this [ __ ] Rabbids weren't even involved in the caribbean conflict it is my actual bona fide real human being opinion that Assassin's Creed Black Flag is comparably bugged to unity not on launch I'm talking about post patch right now here's the thing I don't care if an animation is screwed up or someone's face is pissed off that's funny I care when I lose a man-of-war boarding because Edward clipped through what I'm trying to land on I care when Edward shaves his swords in the middle of a battle I care when it's ball stomping the drama out of the most action-packed scenes because I can't get over a [ __ ] tree stump [Music] you are without doubt the worst black flag is amazing but it is not finished I understand that a delay was next to impossible because 2014 already had unity and rogue lined up but I sure as [ __ ] don't understand how they had time for multiplayer and DLC when the foundations got 47 chromosomes keep in mind freedom cry is played with similar issues on PC the DLC Edition still has broken sound effects it's worth addressing now that many people won't even remember any technical issues and you know what I'm one of them I didn't remember them either they're not like unities moments of utter slapstick comedy it's small issues consistently so they don't tend to be as memorable but nonetheless accumulate to a significantly negative effect I guarantee that everyone did see something like this something like this and something like this their computer code must look like a ransom note for the game to be this clunky it distinctly affects every aspect of the experience whether it's noticed or not but let me tell you the rewards worth it time to dig into the gameplay Black Flag's flagship feature is a flagship feature in more ways than one but it was pioneered in Assassin's Creed 3 the jackdaws got three settings in a fight stationary mid sale and full sale you trade speed for maneuverability a decision you'll consistently have to make therein lies the depth PC a ships most dangerous weapons are its broadside cannons so you're looking to have yours pointed at them and there's pointed anywhere that isn't you you'll seek to stay with the front or the back of the enemy you'll speed up or slow down to avoid a broadside strike but you may even rotate lengthways simply to reduce the proportion of their balls that make contact then factor in being able to avoid recharge times by swapping sides useful for group fights the heavy shot that trades close range for better damage the front mounted chain shot that vitally slows an enemy's speed and rotation and the RAM also giving you a reason to mix up your tactics there's a lot of options each with a risk reward like trying to get eaten out by Davy Jones this combats shaping up mortars and the swivel guns aren't related to sides of the ship nor do they come with drawbacks so they don't contribute interesting decisions to the system in the same way but they're not without purpose swivels simply provide something satisfying to do to break up broadside and mortars add a small layer of depth through aiming there's a delayed impact so you want to fire just ahead of where the enemy is moving this combat isn't as deep as the ocean it's set on but it's close it'd be a lot closer if the heavy shot didn't exist them to put it simply the recharge rate of the heavy shot is far too quick it reloads so often that if you can kill the enemy faster than it can kill you there's no reason to not default to the following strategy mortar from afar chain shot when in range and then heavy shot repeatedly until board a ball for the health recharge it's objectively safer and quicker to pull off than using standard tactics with broadsides which is a big deal because it takes so much less thought broadsides like you hold the shot for better accuracy you can arc them and you can actually use movement to defend yourself because they answer restricted by range heavy shot needs you in the same place just park your ass next to the enemy and go sicko mode on the trigger there's less depth to the best strategy that's a serious flaw I highly recommend avoiding upgrades for the heavy shot if the reload rate wasn't so generous you wouldn't have superior dps to broadsides but even a much tighter ammo limit would have done the job here if you could only have two or three at a time they'd just be a cool thing to do when in range a real shame but mercifully it has no effect on the most important part of naval combat that doesn't sound right does it but it's true all who wish to storm their decks and take their ship stomp and shout I all who oppose whimper nay you get four ropes to swing from top ones have the best range bottom ones are quicker but at the end of the day it's all about style you may want to open up with pepper rings of swivel fire but you're gonna need to dive in to complete the objectives on frigates and men a wall you might need to kill the captain the officers the scouts blow up the powder kegs or climb to the top of the mast and cut down their flag it's got to be the best part I've ever seen so it would seem varied boarding objectives stick a roadblock in front of stagnation and Brian Tyler's incredible music makes this a supremely exhilarating experience every time it is unmissable and believe it or not it's not the only way you can take your ship I discovered this on my latest run if you find a ship with its sails down one that's part of a blockade for example you can park up nearby and swim right over if you take out the crew personally a single hit from the jack door is checkmate and you'll win the boarding as soon as you begin it unless it's a Manowar of course in which case you'll have to do something stupid like shoot three barrels but you still avoid all conflict the option alone to take a ship personally or if you're a masochist stealthily is fantastic though I certainly wish there was a way to summon the Jack dorso you didn't have to spend so long swimming a deployable rowboat on every ship would have been perfect my only other gripe with the naval combat is something similar there's an issue with how you choose what to do with the ship once you've got it picking between health notoriety or the fleet is a great idea but that's not what I'm talking about you make this choice in a completely separate set of cutscenes and these cutscenes do not adapt to your situation if for instance I'm in the naval equivalent of World War 3 what I want to do is get back to the jackdaw as soon as possible what neither I or Edward would want to do is sit everyone down and smugly organize transfers as someone in the backgrounds getting their insides mangled up like Shrek sat on a lasagna it's a real immersion breaker and a demonstrably unnecessary one because you can avoid it if you stealth bought small issues though in the wake of what this system provides black flags piracy is so well built that it supports the entire game the end game and countless hours of prancing about with the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack thereafter you could very well say that the best part of this game is the one least like assassin's creed most of which were entirely set in cities well let's have a closer look it's time to make port anyway but where there is a wide selection you can settle for a beautiful Caribbean island to drink on and plunder there's a good chance of finding some buried treasure animals to hunt and it's completely seamless no loading whatsoever from Jack door to land can't say the same for cities Havana Kingston and Nassau that's certainly a higher count than previous games but only have matches previous efforts in scale and sadly quality Havana's got beauty landmarks a great range of buildings to parkour across what's Kingston got some fields it's forgettable it's got no personality Nassau does oh it may be tiny but as the pirates independent city it's bleeding with life sometimes literally bleeding they've got no medicine and quite a bit of syphilis the Fortin PABA memorable landmarks it's a gorgeous place to behold but also more so than Kingston it serves parkour excellently there's the way to get there on the ground and there's the way to get there like an assassin if you can get where you're going directly with more parkour than streets it's a good bet the city's well-designed there's got to be trees bars ledges ropes buildings close to each other to facilitate a consistent use of parkour but sometimes you got to have open space for the sake of believability think of it like this parkour is about getting from A to B in a complex environment in the fastest and most efficient way possible so if you can get where you're going with maybe 50% parkour significantly quicker than you could using only the ground something's been done right I can speak for Havana and NASA or that this is true but unlike all previous Assassin's Creed's black flag does something more it's tried its very own version of crackdowns orbs plentiful damn near addicting tokens that you'll find just about anywhere they're called animus fragments the idea being that you intentionally make your route a little harder to collect these blips on the way there by extracting a little more mechanical fun from moment-to-moment gameplay the sea shanties or free skinned manuscripts from Assassin's Creed 3 work the same way just with a little chase beforehand the disadvantage of fragments is that the completionists among this go looking for them specifically for them which results in very low-level gameplay it doesn't complement a route you were already going down it simply becomes the root and that insights far less thought sea shanties past the mark you can even try to predict which way they'll go when you get close enough but I would have preferred animus fragments one counted at all towards an islands completion they simply don't have enough of a material benefit and it is worth avoiding Dragon Age Inquisition syndrome it's an acute condition patients present with a manic compulsion to chase completion at the cost of their own enjoyment the uncorking animation on notes in a bottle is way two long and more often than not resulted in my complete avoidance but with fragments sea shanties chests Mayan Stella and treasure maps I found myself consistently engaged during exploration either through the mechanical fun of parkour or the satisfaction of appropriating hidden booty a huge markup for black flag scrambling about the place like a rocket-propelled hamster is good fun but let me tell you something mastering it isn't is next to impossible ya miss the buggers again I don't think I've ever touched an assassin's Creed with parkour this inconsistent you can't know which bits of the environment induce a minor seizure and which Edward will glide over like water but a seizure is the least of your worries what about when he outright refuses to climb things for no apparent reason resisting this inconsistency more often than not as he Swan diving into who knows where death unless you get lucky if it's from the masts of a man-of-war and a guaranteed detection in a stealth encounter none of this is to say that your skill can't grow at all though it's simply a matter of understanding the [ __ ] the jump button for example can be used to noticeably improve your play so long as you use it in the right places to skip a corner to start off a climb with a greater height than usual if there's anything else you can think of ill probably fail for no other reason than inconsistent design most polls are to be avoided sure with time my skill improved but only because I learned which objects the jump tends to work on and which it doesn't it's better than no skill ceiling at all but not by much with the wind thoroughly out of our sails let's catch up with the story so far commandeering the drank door was an unforgettable moment well why the hell didn't you put the intro there then but following that you're subjected to numerous tutorial missions for about four or so hours what needed to happen now is action action action not non Singh around with James kid for two hours as the game tries to shoehorn the assassins into the story the game's pace takes a serious hit after having kicked a notorious Templars head in James leads Edward to the assassins stronghold you screw around in stealth until you make it to the assassin leader a man so forgettable I can't remember his name his one character trait is stoic but he allows Edward and James to venture into the Mayan temple where you solved the stupidest puzzle in history and rush out to find a templar attack on the bright side it's Edward's fault his bullheaded recklessness kick to the hornet's nest and now the assassins are paying for it even after freeing as many as possible he can't redeem himself an important and very engaging part of his development but that can't save this act from its pace nor can Edwards motivation at the time where pining for a sage otherwise known as Bartholomew Roberts Edward knows nothing about him nor to win with nothing to latch on to you in the highest stakes being an observatory MacGuffin we also don't know anything about this part the story is Darla best but bar follow me Roberts is a mysterious man he blossoms into one of the most charismatic characters this franchise has ever seen which isn't a way a personification for the story as a whole once the motivations and complexities of the characters are on the table once the plates are spinning everything comes together as if by magic Blackbeard isn't going to be a captain for much longer he wants to play the devil now against the others wishes but he'll still respect their tactics if they get the job done nobody wants to go against that but he is pushing the British further and further every day hornigold meanwhile views Nassau was a totally lost corpse the King's offering a pardon hornigold wants to take it give himself and the other pirates a chance at a life that doesn't end in the gallows this splits the pirate brethren but Edward is still the idealist trying to find a way to maintain their way of life without pissing off the Empire that doesn't always work out this game doesn't pull punches there are so many conflicts all happening at once everyone wants so many things a lot of writers would have taken the easy way out they'd have all these issues resolved themselves through the heroics of the main character not here consistent characters are common to all the best stories ever told these pirates are not so romanticized that they're like The Inbetweeners of the Caribbean some of them are senseless violent thugs and most of them are your friends Charles vane doesn't have a sensible thought in his head which was the power of you on a desert island Keira Knightley isn't there to save you you don't make up because he loses his mind leading to a depressing fight to the death Assassin's Creed has always portrayed its characters brilliantly Black Flag is the best it's ever been not only at the Pirates decently loyal to their real-life counterparts but they might as well not be dead for all the way Huber softs done the voice acting is second to none and I don't say that lightly even the greatest RPGs are put to shame by huge names like Ralph's innocent as Charles vane Matt Ryan is Edward and Mark Banaras Blackbeard I'd bet good money that their lines were recorded at the same time as well one sentence bounces off another like it were a real conversation and the voice is just a single part of it the facial models are incredibly expressive despite running on ancient tech and the motion captures just as good these characters move as people do when they're angry drunk or whatever the time a call for angry and drunk are the only ones that matter anyway from a presentation standpoint they're unquestionably perfect it brings the story to life so well that every word written lands with ten times the impact and with a higher attachment to the characters the plot strengthens like red-hot steel stakes fly through the roof when they're put in danger and conflicts are found everywhere ideology dominance empires hearts my patience oh there was a sudden transition kinda took you out of the moment huh appropriate bugs undermining drama is frequent and infuriating you know what else is frequent and infuriating tailing missions I wouldn't say this undermines the drama but it does perhaps weaken the story there's a reason is the community's biggest complaint it's one of the many downfalls of the early game but it doesn't ease with time you see normal stealth allows complete freedom there's a vast range of possible because you can approach from any route you could become distracted by something irrelevant that means variation but the additional benefit is navigation becoming a huge aspect of gameplay the route is another thing to consider it's very important to tailing meanwhile forces you down a scripted pathway with frequent preordained obstacles you might blend or use the roofs or hide in a [ __ ] cardboard box anyway you have it navigation has made like the rum and gone you also completely lose the option to enter open combat killing anyone at all can be too great a risk is this worth the advantage you got a greater degree of challenge overall and I do enjoy the tension of needling my way through sight lines on the clock but that's not enough to make up for this mission types flaws over the course of an entire game and certainly not when you account for the fact that tailing in a ship is even more restrictive it's certainly a problem but not this game's biggest one not in my opinion it's combat I've got a bone to pick with well actually I don't because there's only three weapon types combat is without question the weakest part of black flag I even felt that way back in 2014 when I loved this franchise like a religion you might have me surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered lads but there's one very important thing you've seemed to be forgetting i'm captain edward kenway savvy so I'm just gonna exploit my extremely generous counter windows kill train over run over and over and over everything that gave Assassin's Creed 3 any crumb of challenge is gone enemy population is way the hell down it's like the birds of prey showings out here but that's just a start half of threes troopers carried muskets so they could form firing lines dynamically in combat we've also lost horses that could kick your ass if you didn't pay attention and you can now fit the entire Assassin's Creed movie in the counter window with easily enough time left over to watch a movie that doesn't suck all we're left with now is the parts of three that were easy enemies who are immune to a kill chain sure as hell aren't immune to bright defense which results in an instant kill window if you're using the swords you should be there objectively the best option I wouldn't be surprised if Jimmy Carr's accountant was responsible for this balancing you're allowed to instantly kill them what in the name of pegleg Hornswaggle is the point of doing anything but that certainly nothing extrinsic no reason to break defense out of a counter you only do that before they've attacked no point in counter throwing because even if you do hit someone it would have taken less time and less inputs to just kill everyone there's obviously no point in using an item it's a complete waste of resources which leaves us with this arm useful when you've got no weapons so that's about twice it's kind of funny even if black flakes combat reliably worked and it doesn't it still wouldn't be good let's have a look at the aforementioned not working this game's unreliability puts a boot up any dream of high-level play have fun teleporting enjoy counter inputs being ignored in your crew hitting you in group fights Edward frequently sheaths his swords in spitting distance of enemies for no reason at all and he doesn't immediately attack when you run into someone which has you doing circles around them like Barry Allen trying to solve this week's predicament good luck maintaining stealth when Edward randomly does an open combat takedown on an unaware enemy resulting in instant detection it's not as if this only works against you either enemies kill themselves enemies instantly die in a kill chain even if you barely graze them resulting in death by poltergeist I almost enjoy the chaos but boy it can get frustrating Black Flag trades off depth and challenge for the sake of high paced highly accessible combat with consistently flashy animations is it worth it maybe it is a pirate game I can't imagine Assassin's Creed 2 or unity system when you're boarding a man-of-war is too slow too small-scale but the real answer is no it isn't worth it I don't think sacrifices were necessary feeling like a badass and being challenged are not mutually exclusive look at shadow of war you're the lord of the rings' cutting through armies like buttah but to compensate the game busts out these insane enemies captain's war Chiefs nazgûl [ __ ] dragons things balance out you're an all-powerful badass so are your enemies no sacrifices so where's the tough enemies in Black Flag why can't additional ships show up during aborting to help out your enemies Assassin's Creed 3 was no less flashy but I remember frequently running away from the guards I remember viewing them as a threat it's not just depth we've lost it's a core element of the franchise - running away you don't play defense in this game you weren't scared of being overwhelmed a notoriety system similar to that of Assassin's Creed 3 could have done most of the legwork here but even that is gone a consistent element of the franchise that delivered at the very least variation is trashed and with it goes part of being a pirate - pirates ran away they weren't immune to musket fire neither in real life nor in the fantasies wasn't jacket his best when he was making his escape but clearly in spite of all of this people are still finding some enjoyment from sections of the game that involve combat heavily the boarding for example and plenty of a campaign I sure did so what's happening what's happening is intrinsic motivation let me ask you this is it still depth if you're making interesting decisions forsakes besides simply winning fun is derived from creating a successful outcome in an uncertain system so what if to you a successful outcome is winning in the coolest way possible this combat system isn't unusable it's just needlessly nowhere near as good as it could be intrinsic motivation is violent let's play along if you quickly switch to fists in a fight then some counter you get the one-handed sword which provides a lovely variety in animations Edwards pistol multi kills were a feature of the marketing so they're here to encouraging you to take out multiple small targets at the same time the special attack on the axe is a ridiculously brutal way of opening a fight and I only found this recently but there's also a hidden mechanic that Nets you these badass double kills I assumed they were in three two but I only noticed the standard doubles if you're in a kill chain you can pull this off by using either the pistol or the rope dart while targeting two other close by enemies it's no easy task which makes getting it right all the more rewarding all there's plenty of badassery to commit in Black Flag there analyze the source of our fun but valid or not it's still a regression no small weapons means none of among Conners best animations the frequency of double counter opportunities feels 1/10 of its previous rate it's buggy and you can't get around the fact that things are simply more satisfying when they're challenging three has the edge in depth and flair what four does well Latos three and four what it does poorly we can only blame itself coming into the late-game the spinning plates are starting to drop shatter by shatter the game draws you in tighter and tighter and for no brief moment what I assume it would be a conclusive third of the game ended up being a conclusive half of the game blank flag is long long enough in fact to match up very nicely with the various progression systems of the game so time to ask the real question why is the rum gone one because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable of men into complete scoundrels two because we're selling it to the highest bidder but why is the rum gone listen mate this games got an excellently balanced economy you're always in need of coin for something upgrading the jackdaw hiring meat hiring pirate booty or buying weapons and armor it's never too easy to get the most you'll consistently pocket is the profit from halls of rum and sugar but it's conversely never too hard you can search for buried treasure ambush convoys plunder not buried treasure robbed people accept contracts it's just good business the contracts were quite a surprise interestingly naval and assassin contracts both are essentially a plentiful supply of enjoyable gameplay scenarios naval might have you break through a blockade blow up a man-of-war sink so many ship assassination on the other hand simply has you kill a single target in the midst of a group it's basic certainly but it gets the job done this doesn't apply to cities but pay attention to the locations of your target this is where Assassin's Creed gets to make use of its newfound size they'll take you to places you didn't even know existed and that is why I love them I remember diving into a shipwreck swimming past jellyfish and surfacing inside a hidden Smuggler's den I had to kill my target and fight my way out with no equipment to speak of before finding myself overlooking the jackdaw for an easiest game sure a [ __ ] wouldn't have seen all that if the contract didn't take me through it naval is naturally not as creative with the locations but you can nonetheless expect entertainment from high-end encounters hell yeah I want the opportunity to sink an entire blockade with stealth warning it's a numerous supply of excuses to engage with Black Flag's gameplay at its best there's not a single one I didn't enjoy its a considerably better game for having them and I can say the same thing about the chase for elusive sets of legendary armor so frequently featured in Assassin's Creed I've loved them all they're a fantastic way of getting you into the side quests and chasing collectables thereby presenting a solid endgame goal they came with a true feeling of mastery when you finally got your hands on them yet even to this day it's not been done better than it was in Assassin's Creed 2 we had these incredible tombs dedicated to each piece of the puzzle and we've never seen anything like that since Black Flag's taken the rudimentary approach do the bog-standard side quest for the Templar armor collect collectables for the Mayan armor functional but not as compelling thankfully both of these sets live up to their rarity in style and substance Templar offers significantly increased defense and Mayan allows you to deflect all bullets Gunners are the most dangerous enemies in the game by a longshot and because of their long shots - so yeah Mayan is kind of insanely overpowered but I approve completely the journey matches the destination killing Templars dressed as a Templar did make some scenes quite weird but hey I wanted to cosplay che and as death stranding taught us sometimes the cool outfits are worth being the bad guys huh bad guys are they at a fining feature of the Kenway era is a moral ambiguity it was strong in three that are finding feature of rogue and it's certainly present here too the pirate an assassin philosophy aligned quite well freedom at all costs but so often has their brutish lifestyle hurt everyone around them the Templars on the other hand want to build a better world from behind the scenes control everyone and direct them onto the right path but to do this requires the sacrifice of freedom though interestingly that doesn't intersect with slavery Grandmaster Torres despises the practice and demands all Templars to step away from it it certainly makes them look a lot better huh smart no one's going to consider what slavers have to say take that away you might not be so reluctant to bend your ear I questioned myself for killing hornigold sure he's a traitor if thatch could have seen him but he makes a strong point you made your Society and you pissed it away drinking whoring killing the Templars offers something real a chance at genuine peace not a cesspit whose lack of civility led only to disease and death some level of conflict within the player is a fantastic narrative driving force behind the entire Kenway saga this game included with hornigold dead though and Torres in arm's reach the story shifts to focus on Edward if there's one thing you've a soft have a talent for it's bugs but if there's two things its bugs and endings there's a remarkable sense of finality of drama of raw emotion to the ends of Assassin's Creed games and this is no exception missions are grandiose and straight to the point but never completely predictable I didn't see Torres's body double coming nor the special boss fight there after Havana is locked down completely and they effectively opted for the stormiest whether the engine could muster something similar is true for everything else - there's no doubt the climax of the progression and equally the most challenge the game has to offer are black flags legendary ships you best start believing in ghost stories mr. Kenway you're in one for unique boss fights hiding in the mists silently waiting for Edward to creep too close yes they are just met a war but impressively each one has a unique quality LaDonna no dammit I'm sorry I'm not getting demonetised for that LaDonna black in Spanish has a special mortar it can fire without warning HMS princes heavy shot comes out in a single devastating blow these quirks contribute to an intense challenge even with the elite hull genuine sense of legend there fantastic and it kind of sucks that it ends there honestly this game delivers on the promise of nearly every pirate fantasy with a major exception being there's no Kraken no Leviathan you don't have to worry about believability when you're so deep into the endgame it got away with ghost ships why not B's I understand it might have been slightly irritating to stowaway all the enemy women every time it showed up but this games proven itself with regards to naval combat it's also a shame you never get to use the legendary ships powers for yourself but if you sink all four of them you do get a special Ram ability it's an incredible leap in power appropriate for the greatest trial of them all the Mayan armor and these four ships once you've done those you feel like you've not just beaten the Caribbean but mastered it only thing left for Edward to prove is himself it's been an incredible journey so many people so many memories so much growth in ways much like other games were familiar with Black Flag greatly benefits from its surprisingly lengthy runtime the sense of team camaraderie believably in harshly fades over time with every member all of whom you had enough time to bond with being picked off one by one from the various hardships of that criminal lifestyle in sequence eleven you share a moment with Anne Bonny one of the only surviving pirates Blackbeard Charles Jack Benjamin Mary all dead all gone similarly character arcs are allowed to stretch over so much time in so many events that it feels far more believable than it would otherwise remember Edward is a prideful stubborn man he's actually prideful of the fact that he's prideful and stubborn he's not malleable a man who was brought up in a selfish world who only ever lived for himself who's proud of the free society he created is gonna take an immense amount of time to look at himself in the mirror it helps that when he finally does it's one of the most brilliantly performed moments in franchise history it's a drink induced stream sequence after yet another of his friends deaths and it felt remarkably true to the process of change at least based on how I've experienced it myself memories of others illusions of what they'd say no I wish so badly that they'd shut up a part of me knows there's some truth behind them and that's why they won't someone new stands up from that fight whatever the conclusion I love that you only got to play as assassin Edward for a couple sequences a pirate assassin sounds like a ten-year-olds short story premise and yet it's written so smartly that I begged for the story not to end so I could spend more time with him it's a shame about how the assassins were integrated initially but who ever would have thought that they could portray the pirate philosophy becoming the assassin philosophy as elegantly as they've always told the conflict between assassin and Templar are the villains in this game might not be the most memorable but I couldn't agree less with the statement that this story is no good as an assassin's creed sadly our time with Edward must come to an end after finishing the Templars and protecting the first civilizations Observatory Edward has time to reflect in the Pirates Cove he is now a true assassin and more driven than ever to right his wrongs pride turned to guilt and that's what I would guess a lifetime of guilt does to a crushing impulse to make amends maybe not with those you've hurt but the world he'll head for London to help the assassins but first it's time to rebuild with the people who he owes it to most I [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] that in context of the whole game in my opinion matches revelations one of the best endings the franchise has ever seen how beautiful a simple flower plucked from the ground only seconds before that in giving to this little girl Edward has never met represents his growth from the start of black flag to the very end it's quite abrupt but it's simple beauty is evident enough that the gold isn't to be found in some buried treasure but in this game's heart isn't that the very message in a world without gold we might have been heroes this is Edward's chance and too much benefit I think you get to spend a little time with Jenny on the jackdaw while Edward does his best to be a decent father Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag is the best pirate game ever made it's also one of the best pirate stories ever penned the way they manage to craft unique lively and interesting characters with complex ideas and believable growth while adhering to actual history and upholding this game's individual theme is worthy of endless praise it innovated in ways no Assassin's Creed fan could have dreamt of and though it was bogged down by bugs and tailing missions replete it established the single best naval combat system gaming has ever seen with one of the planet's most incredible settings lovingly realized as the backdrop smarter mission design far improved combat and a god damn bunk perch with those I wouldn't hesitate to call this brilliant game a masterpiece it's not but like all of the best entries in this franchise its hidden weapon is its salt thank you for watching if you'd like to see more on assassin's creed let me know and if you'd like to hear a fun fact keep listening funnily a lot of pirates used to believe that the earth was flat I know it's hard to believe they actually thought that the space they occupied was square you know what that reminds me of Squarespace have you ever wanted to make a website well if you're a pirate the answer is probably no but that's actually one of the reasons Pirates went extinct now what does a pirate need a pirate needs offense a means of selling his or her prize you can do that with square spaces integrated commercial features it's never been easier to sell your product rats got their skull and crossbones much from somewhere how did they vote in their next captain boom community features need a new crew schedule posts duh just set it up to put out an ad whenever you make port it's never been simpler to achieve such functionality in web design which is a big deal because most pirates can't even read sail to Squarespace calm for a free trial and then you can use squarespace.com slash white lights to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain it's just good business thank you to Fabian flack effectively mamuh Marty mr. t with some tea gurney or Kang ballistic rainbow sim John lammle Bishop Nelson Benjamin Carter dominic Jaworski Lex Williams L Hudson Joshua double new Shriner HM javi Rowan Rob mercy sigh sleepy bear Trixie lulamoon captain excellent shade chance Tucker drop ZZ combat wombat Jura spirits holy shift Noah be certainly Leon cotton doll Abbey and Douglas Griffith [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Whitelight

Views: 2,687,803

Keywords: assassin's creed, assassin's creed black flag, ac4, ac4 black flag, ac4 review, assassin's creed review, assassin's creed 4 review, assassin's creed black flag review, black flag review, video essays, edward kenway, black flag ps4, black flag pc, charles vane, blackbeard, jack rackham, anne bonny, mary read, adewale, jackdaw, whitelight, black flag critique, whitelight assassins creed

Id: xTIIU357YaA

Length: 43min 12sec (2592 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 13 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/cloudsheep0]

Wait 7 years? Holy I swear it feels like Black Flag just released a few years ago!

[u/velour_manure]

I downloaded black flag for free thinking it would be fun to pass the time.

I spent 3 or 4 months playing it - it was so good.

I feel like Sea of Thieves would be so much better if it was done in the style of black flag. A realistic pirate MMO would be amazing honestly.

Everything about black flag was done very well. Even the sailing was fun. Side missions. Blending in with crowds of people to lose enemies. Climbing to the top of towers and seeing the lay of the land. Sneaking into castles and assassinating royalty. Dealing with shady characters in bars.

All of these things would translate extremely well into an MMO. Treasure hunting. Animal hunting. Fortifying strongholds. Taking over enemy ships. Cosmetics for both your character and your ship. Discovering uncharted islands. Singing sea shanties.

[u/energ1zer9]

Imo, best AC/ pirate game i've played. Origins is pretty good too.

[u/a1ic3_g1a55]

It would be a timeless masterpiece if it wasn't an AC game. Wish they focused on pirates and pirating and trading instead of assassinations.

[u/SuperHornetFA18]

Topping blackflag would be hard for any Assassin creed game. It truly was an amazing experience, especially coming from 3 and revelations

[u/menimex]

I reinstall the game every now and then because there is still nothing quite like it :)

Would love if SKULL & BONES was a true third person action adventure game with story missions and not just world of pirate ships

[u/Verdelion]

One of the few ACs that actually tried doing something fresh. Honestly, if they made a pirate game based on BF's seafaring and exploration mechanics, only much more expanded, they'd have a huge hit on their hands.

[u/Grizzled--Kinda]

LOVE me some Black Flag!

[u/CursedJonas]

Did this man really just say that the strong part of the Assassin's Creed games is the story?