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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Debut Trailer [Update: Leaked Screenshots In OP]

T

Toa TAK

Banned
Brick said:
Anyone else not feeling the design for the main character? All of the previous assassins have had really striking and strong designs, and this feels a lit more...plain.
Click to expand...

A little bit. If anything, his design reminds me a log of Alatir. A bit plain, but cool nonetheless.
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
JaseC said:
By returning the concepts of assassination to the core of the game. The franchise is a guilty pleasure of mine, however there's no denying that beginning with AssCreed 2 you were no longer an assassin but an omniscient and gaudy murderer.
Click to expand...

I speak as a big fan of AC2 and someone who hated the execution of AC1 (though was into the concept presented) so i don't know if i'd want them to revert back to the roots, but there's little doubt that what you suggest would be a much more niche product and a less flexible one, compared to the more generic adventure tale that Assassin's Creed 2 is the blue print for, where you can incorporate various types of missions, collectibles, chases and set pieces with little limitation.

That said, i think the most fun i've had gameplay-wise in the series, were either the linear platform tombs or the Borgia towers, both in Brotherhood.
The Borgia towers in particular were fun exactly because you had a specific objective, and you could approach it in many different ways, with several moves and tools, without cutscenes or forced cutscenes.
The forts in ACIII were a similar concept, but that game was all sorts of broken and buggy, so in the end those were just a pain in the ass for me.

I think you could easily integrate what you've seen in AC1 in the AC2 structure, if they were willing to let go some of the action oriented stuff, that ACIII pushed to the limit.
For example when in AC2 you have to assassinate 9 or so men aiding the De' Pazzi family, one of which is a priest in a convent in San Gimignano, that wasn't far off, from an assassination in AC1.
 
R

Replicant

Member
Brick said:
Anyone else not feeling the design for the main character? All of the previous assassins have had really striking and strong designs, and this feels a lit more...plain.
Click to expand...

After Connor's 'striking' design (who can forget his fug haircut towards the end of the game?), I welcome a more conventional design if it means he's not actually boring. On a second thought, I may just wait until someone tells me that the game has no Connor whatsoever and this Edward is a major upgrade over Connor in terms of personality.
 
M

Mario007

Member
UrbanRats said:
I speak as a big fan of AC2 and someone who hated the execution of AC1 (though was into the concept presented) so i don't know if i'd want them to revert back to the roots, but there's little doubt that what you suggest would be a much more niche product and a less flexible one, compared to the more generic adventure tale that Assassin's Creed 2 is the blue print for, where you can incorporate various types of missions, collectibles, chases and set pieces with little limitation.

That said, i think the most fun i've had gameplay-wise in the series, were either the linear platform tombs or the Borgia towers, both in Brotherhood.
The Borgia towers in particular were fun exactly because you had a specific objective, and you could approach it in many different ways, with several moves and tools, without cutscenes or forced cutscenes.
The forts in ACIII were a similar concept, but that game was all sorts of broken and buggy, so in the end those were just a pain in the ass for me.

I think you could easily integrate what you've seen in AC1 in the AC2 structure, if they were willing to let go some of the action oriented stuff, that ACIII pushed to the limit.
For example when in AC2 you have to assassinate 9 or so men aiding the De' Pazzi family, one of which is a priest in a convent in San Gimignano, that wasn't far off, from an assassination in AC1.
Click to expand...

I think the problem with AC2 assassinations, and ACB too, was that the assassination just became a mission where you were told how to kill your target and you basically came in and did it. No need to look for info, plan your attack etc.

The big change in the philosophy of the games can be seen in the differences between Altair and Ezio. With Altair you are an assassin, a member of an order that has a preconceived lore, connection, aim. With Ezio you are a dude whose parents get killed so he wants to go for revenge. Then his home gets destroyed and his family is killed so he wants to go for revenge again (ACB). There was just very little assassin's creed, for lack of better word, from AC2 onwards. I think ACR fixed this, somewhat, as the game is more focused on the order and lore of the assassins and Ezio is much better character in that game. After that though, from what I've seen of AC3, they are taking it to the extreme of making it a sandbox adventure game where your main character looks badass and these evil guys called templars are against you.
 
Trickster

Trickster

Member
are those screenshots from the vita version? Completely reminds me of the vita bullshots for that last assassins game.
 
O

OddworldBOY

Neo Member
Sex and nudity coming? Would love to explore islands and bury treasure. Need a good Pirate game. Wind Waker HD is coming tho...
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
Yeah but I did like in AC2 that you had a chart of all the targets to kill and their position in the order.

It has definitely been a missed opportunity to feel like you are actually part of an assassin guild though. Especially when in ACB the guild is pretty much a but of buddies, instead of an actual order as in AC1, which would have worked perfectly for a game set in the renaissance with all the pagan/secret/conspiracy stuff. The assassins are almost supposed to be like the Templar in terms of organization, at least in AC1 they were, and it should have remained like that once Ezio rebuilt the order.

Fact is, especially since ACB, the game has been a bit to buffoon-ish story-wise, compared to the much more down-to-Earth feel of AC1. Doesn't mean there can't be humor, but there are pillars that have been damaged forever since. The present day became a mess starting in AC2 with the stupid characters, the way the assassin order works in the present, etc. It's all childish.

There was plenty of room to handle the series' assassins VS templars in a mature manner, but it won't happen. Heck, templars shouldn't even be refereed to as such after AC1, the name of the order should have changed more than once over time. Same with the assassins. It's been so poorly thought out. Why would this scooby-doo bunch call themselves assassins?

I hope it gets a 100% story reboot eventually, starting all over. So much potential with each era, underutilized to make room for stupid first-civilization crap, as if the eras themselves weren't providing enough material to make a great setting and story, which is completely wrong.
 
M

Mario007

Member
Ether_Snake said:
Yeah but I did like in AC2 that you had a chart of all the targets to kill and their position in the order.

It has definitely been a missed opportunity to feel like you are actually part of an assassin guild though. Especially when in ACB the guild is pretty much a but of buddies, instead of an actual order as in AC1, which would have worked perfectly for a game set in the renaissance with all the pagan/secret/conspiracy stuff. The assassins are almost supposed to be like the Templar in terms of organization, at least in AC1 they were, and it should have remained like that once Ezio rebuilt the order.

Fact is, especially since ACB, the game has been a bit to buffoon-ish story-wise, compared to the much more down-to-Earth feel of AC1. Doesn't mean there can't be humor, but there are pillars that have been damaged forever since. The present day became a mess starting in AC2 with the stupid characters, the way the assassin order works in the present, etc. It's all childish.

There was plenty of room to handle the series' assassins VS templars in a mature manner, but it won't happen. Heck, templars shouldn't even be refereed to as such after AC1, the name of the order should have changed more than once over time. Same with the assassins. It's been so poorly thought out. Why would this scooby-doo bunch call themselves assassins?

I hope it gets a 100% story reboot eventually, starting all over. So much potential with each era, underutilized to make room for stupid first-civilization crap, as if the eras themselves weren't providing enough material to make a great setting and story, which is completely wrong.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. The Assassin's order for some reason just disappears despite Altair's victory over Templars in AC1. The closest I've seen the games coming back to the idea of organisation of the order and the core ideals behind it is ACR, but I'm only at the start of it really.

What's worse is that while the assassin's have a common goal of protecting the world to allow for itself to decide its fate as established by AC1, Ezio don't give a shit about it in AC2 or ACB. Same can be said of Edward from that trailer, he's just a badass pirate murdered. I can't speak for Connor as there seemed to be an element of him trying to be closer to the ideals of the order but I haven't played AC3.
 
M

MoonsaultSlayer

Member
Ether_Snake said:
Yeah but I did like in AC2 that you had a chart of all the targets to kill and their position in the order.

It has definitely been a missed opportunity to feel like you are actually part of an assassin guild though. Especially when in ACB the guild is pretty much a but of buddies, instead of an actual order as in AC1, which would have worked perfectly for a game set in the renaissance with all the pagan/secret/conspiracy stuff. The assassins are almost supposed to be like the Templar in terms of organization, at least in AC1 they were, and it should have remained like that once Ezio rebuilt the order.

Fact is, especially since ACB, the game has been a bit to buffoon-ish story-wise, compared to the much more down-to-Earth feel of AC1. Doesn't mean there can't be humor, but there are pillars that have been damaged forever since. The present day became a mess starting in AC2 with the stupid characters, the way the assassin order works in the present, etc. It's all childish.

There was plenty of room to handle the series' assassins VS templars in a mature manner, but it won't happen. Heck, templars shouldn't even be refereed to as such after AC1, the name of the order should have changed more than once over time. Same with the assassins. It's been so poorly thought out. Why would this scooby-doo bunch call themselves assassins?

I hope it gets a 100% story reboot eventually, starting all over. So much potential with each era, underutilized to make room for stupid first-civilization crap, as if the eras themselves weren't providing enough material to make a great setting and story, which is completely wrong.
Click to expand...
Well, the role of an assassin has probably changed over the years with increased security and new regimes and politics in place. So having spies on the inside, hackers, and a human encyclopedia are probably important for missions. The set up may not have been utilized that great in game, but would make a badass squad on a television show.
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
MoonsaultSlayer said:
Well, the role of an assassin has probably changed over the years with increased security and new regimes and politics in place. So having spies on the inside, hackers, and a human encyclopedia are probably important for missions. The set up may not have been utilized that great in game, but would make a badass squad on a television show.
Click to expand...

Except in the game it looked like a handful of geeks with a few PCs. I think the series should have never made it so comicbook-like. The actual order of the assassins should have been something that would have vanished later on, remaining only a relic of the past that people in modern day read into to figure out what happened and who the templars were and what their influence might be today. But by making it so in-your-face, it made the whole conspiracy/intrigue part pointless. It no longer can connect with the real world in a believable way, which takes all historical periods the games are set in away from reality. It weakened the brand's potential. The whole "relive historical eras and real locations" thing is no longer as meaningful when the games spend most of their time talking about cartoon scenarios; it clashes completely with the potential to tell history with a little bit of make-believe on top. At least visually it's still a trip in the past, but it pretty much stops there.
 
M

MoonsaultSlayer

Member
Ether_Snake said:
Except in the game it looked like a handful of geeks with a few PCs. I think the series should have never made it so comicbook-like. The actual order of the assassins should have been something that would have vanished later on, remaining only a relic of the past that people in modern day read into to figure out what happened and who the templars were and what their influence might be today. But by making it so in-your-face, it made the whole conspiracy/intrigue part pointless. It no longer can connect with the real world in a believable way, which takes all historical periods the games are set in away from reality. It weakened the brand's potential. The whole "relive historical eras and real locations" thing is no longer as meaningful when the games spend most of their time talking about cartoon scenarios; it clashes completely with the potential to tell history with a little bit of make-believe on top. At least visually it's still a trip in the past, but it pretty much stops there.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree. Perhaps a reboot can feature scholars in the know looking into the discrepancies between known history and actual history (game's lore) and stumble upon the secrets of the orders. Having people on the outside of the orders entering the animus* objectively would be quite interesting.

Edit: *Or some other way to relive the past like a relic or piece of eden.
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
MoonsaultSlayer said:
I don't disagree. Perhaps a reboot can feature scholars in the know looking into the discrepancies between known history and actual history (game's lore) and stumble upon the secrets of the orders. Having people on the outside of the orders entering the animus* objectively would be quite interesting.

Edit: *Or some other way to relive the past like a relic or piece of eden.
Click to expand...

Right, that would be much better IMO than an active bunch of scoobie-do geeks trying to fight the illuminati. It shouldn't even feature any character, just let the gamer be the one who is peering into history through the use of the animus (game console).

That would be much less intrusive and would allow anyone to jump into the series at any time. Basically, a growing "archive" of the real history with each game released, without altering so much that becomes comical. Leave it to the user to decide how much he wants to invest in connecting the dots, while others can just enjoy a great game reliving historical periods and locations.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
Kinyou said:
For AC3 they even bullshotted a canou into the game. Wouldn't be surprised if this whale never shows up in AC4.
Click to expand...

That or will only happen ONCE in the entire freaking game. Ubisoft likes to do that with their pictures too.
 
M

MoonsaultSlayer

Member
Ether_Snake said:
Right, that would be much better IMO than an active bunch of scoobie-do geeks trying to fight the illuminati. It shouldn't even feature any character, just let the gamer be the one who is peering into history through the use of the animus (game console).

That would be much less intrusive and would allow anyone to jump into the series at any time. Basically, a growing "archive" of the real history with each game released, without altering so much that becomes comical. Leave it to the user to decide how much he wants to invest in connecting the dots, while others can just enjoy a great game reliving historical periods and locations.
Click to expand...
What Ubi needs is a game that features a link to a new series so the Assassin's Creed moniker can become a subtitle or removed entirely if they have a usable subtitle attached to their "link" title. Generic example: 'Assassin's Creed: Secrets of the Past' with future titles falling under 'Secrets of the Past: Subtitle of Doom placed here'.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
UrbanRats said:
I speak as a big fan of AC2 and someone who hated the execution of AC1 (though was into the concept presented) so i don't know if i'd want them to revert back to the roots, but there's little doubt that what you suggest would be a much more niche product and a less flexible one, compared to the more generic adventure tale that Assassin's Creed 2 is the blue print for, where you can incorporate various types of missions, collectibles, chases and set pieces with little limitation.
Click to expand...

I don't feel that the series returning to its roots would inherently preclude what you've listed. Bear in mind that when I say as much I'm not advocating a rigid adherence to formula of the original, but rather Ubi should consider the underlying concepts and improve upon the in-game manifestations of those ideas. Using mission variety as an example, the investigative mechanics being reworked, improved and contextually different to some extent would do well to break the monotony of the sequels where it's a simple matter of watching a cutscene and running to your target; additionally, assassinating the key target of an area could result in assassination contracts becoming available that offer a mini-story in relation to the Templars attempting to regain a foothold, and guild membership could be more organic not unlike how one accesses the thieves' missions in AssCreed 3 (by pick-pocketing a certain amount of people). Although I'd like to see the series return to the defining premise of, well, the assassin's creed, there's still wiggle room to include some of the ideas implemented in the later games.

That said, i think the most fun i've had gameplay-wise in the series, were either the linear platform tombs or the Borgia towers, both in Brotherhood.
The Borgia towers in particular were fun exactly because you had a specific objective, and you could approach it in many different ways, with several moves and tools, without cutscenes or forced cutscenes.
Click to expand...

I agree on both counts. The assassin tombs are actually one of my favourite elements of the series overall and I was greatly disappointed that they were so brief and few in number in AssCreed 3.

The forts in ACIII were a similar concept, but that game was all sorts of broken and buggy, so in the end those were just a pain in the ass for me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the forts were poorly designed the lack of incentive to overtake the structure via means of stealth was an unfortunate oversight.
 
R

rockman zx

Member
The rumor out there it's that Alex Amancio is the creative director of the game, he was the creative director in Revelations. We will see today if it's true.
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
JaseC said:
Although I'd like to see the series return to the defining premise of, well, the assassin's creed, there's still wiggle room to include some of the ideas implemented in the later games.
Click to expand...

I think Ubisoft is not clear on where they want to go.
I'll go out on a limb and say that AC1 was a mostly driven by Desillets' vision, after the backlash, he refined the whole thing and launched a more conventional AC2 (with a setting that he though seemed still very passionate about, going by the interviews).
Brohood was created with the scraps of AC2, and Revelation was an up-port from a portable game, just to fill in the gap before ACIII.
ACIII is the first, real, full game of the series without the footprint of Desillets, for better or worse, and i think Ubisoft as found themselves with a huge brand on their hands, the gamedesign of which they don't fully understand, so they try to juggle all this elements while trying to appeal to more people possible.
Results may vary, but i don't think they intend to go back to what Desillets had in mind, and i don't think they will; even with Black Flag i think they'll just try to create a thrilling action blockbuster.. thing, while PRing their way through the fans of the more stealth side of it.

With all that said, i still think this brand is one of the most interesting around, if anything for the setting that is not common sci-fi/fantasy/modern/cyberpunk/pickyourpoison.
It has the ability, or should i say the "potential", to always stay fresh and reinvent itself very easily (whether they'll do that or not, it's anyone's guess) so i most definitely do not want it to die out.
 
G

GillianSeed79

Member
I'm assuming from those screen shots that dual wielding swords is in. Here's hoping ACIII was one giant beta for this game. Who knows, maybe we'll get another AC: Brotherhood. I'll wait for impressions this time, though, as I was let down by ACIII.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
UrbanRats said:
I think Ubisoft is not clear on where they want to go.
I'll go out on a limb and say that AC1 was a mostly driven by Desillets' vision, after the backlash, he refined the whole thing and launched a more conventional AC2 (with a setting that he though seemed still very passionate about, going by the interviews).
Brohood was created with the scraps of AC2, and Revelation was an up-port from a portable game, just to fill in the gap before ACIII.
ACIII is the first, real, full game of the series without the footprint of Desillets, for better or worse, and i think Ubisoft as found themselves with a huge brand on their hands, the gamedesign of which they don't fully understand, so they try to juggle all this elements while trying to appeal to more people possible.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with this.

Results may vary, but i don't think they intend to go back to what Desillets had in mind, and i don't think they will; even with Black Flag i think they'll just try to create a thrilling action blockbuster.. thing, while PRing their way through the fans of the more stealth side of it.
Click to expand...

This is certainly apparent at this juncture, and I've mentioned in the past that, much to my chagrin, I don't expect Ubi to pull back the franchise from the action-orientated nest it's settled in.

With all that said, i still think this brand is one of the most interesting around, if anything for the setting that is not common sci-fi/fantasy/modern/cyberpunk/pickyourpoison.
It has the ability, or should i say the "potential", to always stay fresh and reinvent itself very easily (whether they'll do that or not, it's anyone's guess) so i most definitely do not want it to die out.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned earlier, the series is one of my guilty gaming pleasures, and I'd say as long as due attention is paid to reconstructing aesthetically and architecturally enchanting historical settings as accurately as possible (or rather as can reasonably be expected), I'll continue to be there on day one. A large part of why I enjoyed doing the menial tasks in AssCreed 2 and, to a lesser extent, Brotherhood, is due to how superbly realised the Renaissance Italy setting is.
 
G

GillianSeed79

Member
Ice King said:
It just dawned on me. Why didn't they make this a new ip? I mean, there is no real competition for pirate games, and then they could make the game play different from ass creed.

Just, you know, a thought I had.
Click to expand...

I've thought of this too, but sadly it makes too much business sense to slap the AC name on there. You don't launch a new IP this late in a gen and it's guaranteed to get a few million sales on the name alone. I still can't believe that Pirates of the Carribean game got shit-canned. That looked awesome. But, I agree. There needs to be more pirate games.
 
O

Ozzykamikaze

Member
Ice King said:
It just dawned on me. Why didn't they make this a new ip? I mean, there is no real competition for pirate games, and then they could make the game play different from ass creed.

Just, you know, a thought I had.
Click to expand...

Same reason why the next Bioshock is called Bioshock: Infinite. I know it's supposed to be brand recognition, but I'm with you this one, I think it's brand dilution.
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
JaseC said:
As I mentioned earlier, the series is one of my guilty gaming pleasures, and I'd say as long as due attention is paid to reconstructing aesthetically and architecturally enchanting historical settings as accurately as possible (or rather as can reasonably be expected), I'll continue to be there on day one. A large part of why I enjoyed doing the menial tasks in AssCreed 2 and, to a lesser extent, Brotherhood, is due to how superbly realised the Renaissance Italy setting is.
Click to expand...
I feel the same way.
Hopefully they'll be able to improve the game itself, too.

Despite the Caribbean pirates setting being trite (as i said, i would've liked something more Sandokan-esque) i gotta say that i played a LOT at Pirates of the Caribbean on Xbox, despite being a deeply flawed and rushed game.
The feel sailing the seas was just too good.
Of course i played the Sid Meier one, too, but that was a very different thing.

I hope we'll have the possibility to sail and roam around the sea without necessarily being in a battle/mission like in ACIII.
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
UBI finally uploaded the trailer to their channel

untitledcpqpv.png


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdkm9TKSxyI

Does the "also coming to..." suggest that the PC version won't be released alongside the current-gen versions?
 
G

glaurung

Member
LOL that WiiU box is HUUUGE!

So I guess the overall idea of the next generation consoles for Ubi is the current version's PC port. Makes sense though.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
assassins-creed-iv-black-flag-wii-u_002.jpg_640.jpg


jbu8j59weT4Im8.jpg


These two images alone have my hype renewed and rekindled. I love underwater shit - and given my recent Tomb Raider write up I thought it was sorely missing.

I hope Ubi does it right. AND SEA MONSTERfn ewfcvebiufencewhnufe I'm excited again *.*
 
B

BurnOutBrighter

Banned
With all the non-assassin-related things going on, this could've been the perfect game to showcase an exciting new pirate-themed IP, just like the original AC did for its console generation.

So much for that.
 
S

Stasis

Member
Love the visuals, love the pirate setting, but I'm really just not a fan of AC in general =/

I'd love to see a new IP based on pirate lore, an RPG maybe.
 
TGO

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Lime said:
Kills dude. Steals girlfriend.

What a douchebag.
Click to expand...
Looked more like killed douchebag, tells prostitute to continue
walking with him like nothing happened

Can we expect the Nextgen/PC versions to be Nextgen or just currentgen on PC high settings
 
S

Squire

Banned
glaurung said:
LOL that WiiU box is HUUUGE!
Click to expand...

They just staggered the boxes. Wii U used standard DVD cases.
a
BurnOutBrighter said:
With all the non-assassin-related things going on, this could've been the perfect game to showcase an exciting new pirate-themed IP, just like the original AC did for its console generation.

So much for that.
Click to expand...

To be fair to Ubi, they're still doing the "new generation, new IP" thing with Watch_Dogs.

BurnOutBrighter said:
Wait, did the release date change? Wasn't it October in the leaked trailer?
Click to expand...

Oct. 29 in NA, Nov. 1 in EU.
 
A

Alpende

Member
Ubisoft sure knows how to make badass trailers. I was sceptical at first but the trailer was great and the screenshots look good too, new underwater stuff. I just want to know how it looks on next gen consoles.
 
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