Ubisoft has officially unveiled Assassin's Creed 4 and we've got a list of need-to-know details on the seafaring sequel.
For our full impressions, read our lengthy Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag preview, and read below for the key information.
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- Freedom underpins everything in Assassin's Creed 4.
- There are eight studios working on the game. Ubisoft Montreal is leading, with Singapore, Sofia, Annecy, Kiev, Quebec, Bucharest, and Montpellier assisting.
- AC4 is set in the West Indies in 1715, the world is totally seamless.
- There are 50 unique locations including cities, jungles, ruins, coves, and caves, all with hidden treasure and adventure.
- You can harpoon whales, go diving, and loot ships
- There will be proper assassinations with targets that you choose how to approach and take out.
- You'll fight against, and alongside, infamous brigands like Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack, and Anne Bonny.
- Major cities include Kingston and Havana, and there'll be dozens of smaller settlements and port towns scattered around the world to explore and pick up missions from.
- The new hero is Edward Kenway - father of AC3's Haytham. He is selfish, cocky, and charismatic.
- Edward owns his own ship, the Jackdaw. It can be upgraded, repaired, and customised, and you can manage her crew.
- As you sail the high seas you can climb the crow's nest and use a spyglass to search for ships on the horizon. This tells you how strong they are and what cargo they're hauling
- Weather and physics will play a larger role in naval combat
- There are different classes of enemy ship, including 'chargers' who'll try and ram you and shatter your hull.
- There aren't any interruptions in the transition between naval combat and boarding a ship
- You can approach ships from any angle, weaken them with your cannons, then attach grapples to pull them towards you and storm the deck. Or swim around the back unnoticed and slit the captain's throat for the stealth-loving players.
- Instead of Desmond, the modern day is centered around you, a 'research analysts' working at Abstergo and living out the past Edward Kenway,
- Many of the multiplayer modes from previous games will return
- It all looks fantastic. The waves are especially impressive, tossing ships around as lightning streaks across the sky.
- Footage shown was likely running on a development PC
- Ubisoft are planning an 'enhanced' PlayStation 4 version that will make use of the new controller, and have much better visuals
Over the weekend Assassin's Creed 4 trailer and screenshots leaked onto the internet.
Comments
11 comments so far...
cupoftea on 4 Mar '13 said:
I could tell by the yearly release of these titles r rushed like cod. These guys should take there time to make a decent game i men ac is ok but the every year release is putting me off but if it works for there bank balance then fair enough
xxstalker24xx on 4 Mar '13 said:
Well not really. When the start of the development team have done their job, they will move onto other projects or new games of the franchise. Its a waste if they just sit around waiting for release as they most likely wont be used as the teams are so big.
Barry316 on 4 Mar '13 said:
That makes it sound like another one that'll barely move the overall plot any further. The way 3 ended you wouldn't expect the next numbered sequel to be about somebody at their day job. At this rate it might get some closure by Assassin's Creed 213 on the PlayBox64.
Unition on 4 Mar '13 said:
Ubi are a huge developer with multiple studios, and no doubt they have the tools to build AC games at an efficient pace. I read an article on Far Cry 3 and they could build an outpost in 20 minutes! Although it seems that annual releases should hurt the quality of their games, if anyone can buck this trend it's Ubi. They have an extremely rich and diverse world within the AC franchise.
I think Ubi know where they went wrong with AC3. It sounds as though they have listened to the community, and I think AC4 on next-gen consoles is going to be jaw-dropping. Imagine if it's a next-gen launch title alongside Watch Dogs ... Two AAA games from Ubi, show some love!
xxstalker24xx on 4 Mar '13 said:
Just read this on eurogamer "Black Flag began development in summer 2011".
Moribundman on 4 Mar '13 said:
I don't think people seem to realise exactly how long AC games are bubbling away for before they are even announced. I think a lot of people assume that the devs sit around twiddling their thumbs and whistling until someone thinks up an idea, then the announcement is made and then it's all hell for leather to produce the game. I strongly suggest that there is a build of this game (on a dev PC) that can be played from start to finish already. And they announced it (officially) today. The rest is just optimisation, conversion, voicework, PR etc.
You can bet your bottom dollar, the next AC game (after the piratey one) is out there somewhere in a somewhat playable state...
qSPARTANp on 4 Mar '13 said:
What a shame, I was a huge lover of the first game and enjoyed the second apart from having chapters removed for me to then have to pay extra for which I DIDNT! I have not purchased an Assassins game since No2. Now all I see is a once great intelligent story/franchise now being pooped out without any care or love, go go go GTA-ssassins creed.
budge on 4 Mar '13 said:
That's why I don't like the AC series any more. In the old games it was all about stealth gameplay first and all out action being the optional second. Now it's the other way around.
DiamondDogs on 4 Mar '13 said:
It gives you the option to do either. At least there is a choice, so assuming from your comment you like stealth? Go around back and slit his throat.
The Bossman on 6 Mar '13 said:
I'm not ruling this out entirely yet, if it's been in development for over 18 months it deserves a look at the forthcoming gameplay vids at least.
Saad Tariq on 7 Mar '13 said:
Haters gonna hate, what I really like is pirate's life.