New Gameplay Showcases Stealth In Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Ashraf Ismail, the game director of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, recently released a gameplay video for the upcoming installment of Ubisoft’s hit series.  The video highlights what players can expect from the game and showcases what the next-gen consoles will allow Assassin’s Creed IV to do graphically.

Importance of Next-Gen for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

From the video, Ismail shows off two different landscapes that are possible only because of the new technology being released in the Fall.  The underwater cave scene and the dense jungle scene show off the capabilities that next-gen has provided Ubisoft.  From the video, the game looks stunning and aims to immerse the player into the Caribbean landscape.

Exploration of Underwater Caves

Assassin’s Creed has always been built around a large area to explore and now Ubisoft has added another facet to that aspect of the game.  The underwater cave shows Edward, the game’s main protagonist, submerging with the assistance of a diving bell to dispatch enemies and collect the treasure in that cave.  One of the interesting points about this scene is that when Edward dives, he does so without any of his weapons so players will have to rely on stealth to survive these encounters.  And with enemy soldiers and sharks to deal with, players might just miss their gear when they go spelunking.

The Cities of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

There are three cities in which players can expect to spend time in Assassin’s Creed IV when it releases this Fall.  Those cities are Havana, Kingston and the pirate haven of Nassau.  Ismail says in the video that Havana is a Spanish town that “was built as an homage to the cities of Assassin’s Creed II.”  That means players will have ample access to rooftops and will lead to plenty of potential free-running around the city.  Also, from looking at the map in the video, the area covered by the cities will once again give players much to explore and find while running around.

Assassination contracts will return to Assassin’s Creed and those will most likely be located in all three cities.  The contracts will not pertain directly to the main storyline of the game but do offer players the chance to earn some extra currency if they choose.  Assassination contracts will also be offering bonus currency to players who can complete the contract while remaining undetected.  This again seems to be pointing towards Ubisoft’s drive to make Assassin’s Creed IV focused heavily on the stealth elements of being an Assassin.  Not much was shown on the other two cities but Ubisoft does need to keep some secrets hidden for later. 

In Closing

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag looks to pick up where Assassin’s Creed 3 left off, and more importantly advance the series in more than just the story.  It will be interesting to see just how much Ubisoft can achieve with next-gen capabilities.  From the video, the graphics looks visually stunning and from Ubisoft’s track record you can bet that the gameplay will be good as well.  The game is set to release on October 29, 2013 in North America so Ubisoft has plenty of time to continue drumming up support for the title.