Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
One of the more unique entries in the Assassin’s Creed series, Black Flag decided to drop the Desmond storyline in favor for a more direct and light-hearted approach. This helped the fourth entry stand out among its predecessors, as it simply used the Templar/Assassin conflict as a backdrop for the crazy missions around newcomer Edward Kenway. While the usual combat and stealth sections were implemented, it was the variety of side missions and activities that helped breath new life into this series. Hunting whales and diving for treasure worked wonderfully, and made for nice breaks between the sections of combat.
Yet, it was controlling a pirate ship that made Black Flag feel like something special. Sailing across the gorgeously rendered high seas while your crew sings a variety of songs helped sell the idea that you were in the Caribbean hunting for treasure. Boat to boat combat was engaging and surprisingly well laid out, allowing players to make use of the environment, storms, or their varied arsenal of weapons. There hasn’t been another Assassin’s Creed game that felt so wholly different from the series, but we can only hope that someday we’ll return to this time period.
