The Assassin's Creed Topic - Vive les assassins! Vive la France!

[Gabz Girl]

Yeah, I hate those 100% sync missions. There's a horrible one early on in AC3, where you have to get into that fortress with Hatham and disable the cannons and stuff. I couldn't believe how difficult it was, especially that early on in the game! It took me almost an hour before I finally aced it!

[Speederino]

I actually don't mind the optional objectives in ACB and ACR. You only have to worry about one thing and they never took me more then two or three tries. AC3 is the only game where I really don't like them. It's hard to say which ones are the worst, but my top choices would probably have to be either "Conflict Looms", where you have to sneak onto two ships filled with soldiers and air assassinate two grenadiers without being detected, and "Public Execution". You know, the one where you have to save Washington and both of his bodyguards in a given time but also have to perform two running assassinations that only work whenever they damn well please. And even if you do manage to do the assassinations fine, odds are Hickey will already be lunging at one of the guards by the time you reach him.

 

You know what, I'm gonna have to say the latter is the worst. The "Conflict Looms" objectives aren't too bad once you know how to do it properly, but I *always* have to repeat "Public Execution" thirty dozen times before I manage it.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Speederino

[krazystitch]

Ehh..pirates? I mean, I love the idea of pirates and all, don't get me wrong, but...pirates? This doesn't fit too well with Assassin's Creed, and to use this as a main series title, I dunno. I honestly can't say I'm too fond of this yet. The trailer didn't really do all that much either. It looked nice, sure, but it didn't get me too excited or reveal anything I particularly care about.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of AC3, mainly because I didn't care much for Connor's personality and I absolutely hated the ending, but I don't want one game to ruin an entire franchise for me, so I'll keep an eye on this one for now, I guess.

[Detective Shadzter]

Various game sites have posted their previews and media up now. Seems with the continuing leaks Ubisoft lifted the embargo early. Can't link as I'm on my Xbox 360. Apparently 8 studios are working on the game.

[Doctor MK]

I can't quite decide whether this looks really cool or really stupid. I've never really been into (or played, for that matter) the Assassin's Creed series so maybe I'm not the best one to judge, but even just from that trailer I wouldn't have thought it was the best candidate for a pirate-themed game. The assassin himself looks rather out of place compared to everything else, at least when he has his hood up - in trying to keep the look the same between all of the games, they've also kind of alienated him from the new world he's meant to be in. Perhaps it won't stick out quite as much in the end, it just looks a little bit jarring at first glance.

 

On the other hand though, it does all look very gorgeous. This screen in particular I find rather phenomenal:

 

 

I just hope this turns out well, because as weird as the concept may seem to me, it looks like it has potential. Also it'd be nice to have at least one Assassin's Creed game on Wii U that doesn't run like ass.

[Detective Shadzter]

CVG: Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag preview: Charting new waters
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/393645/previews/assassins-creed-4-black-flag-preview-charting-new-waters/

Assassin's Creed 4 videos, details: New hero, 50 locations, multiplayer
Everything you need to know about Ubisoft's sequel
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/394142/assassins-creed-4-videos-details-new-hero-50-locations-multiplayer/

Edward Kenway trailer

US release date October 29th.
EU release date November 1st.
Edward Kenway trailer shows the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U packs and says it's coming to "Next generation consoles and PC". Notice the consoles, which must confirm it's coming to the next Xbox, too.

[TheOcelot]

Ac4 will need to be a marked improvement over Ac3 before I even consider buying it.

 

The story sounds kind of stupid.

Edited March 4, 2013 by -Bender-

[Patticus]

Shadzter, his name is Edward Kenway, not Kennedy....

 

Anyway, this...

Instead of Desmond, the modern day is centered around you, a 'research analysts' working at Abstergo and living out the past Edward Kenway

... makes the game sound even more like a spin-off, rather than a sequel deserving of a numbered title.

Liking the other details though.

[Stacy]

Shadzter, his name is Edward Kenway, not Kennedy....

 

Anyway, this...... makes the game sound even more like a spin-off, rather than a sequel deserving of a numbered title.

Liking the other details though.

 

Isn't that similar to how Liberation did it?

[Patticus]

Isn't that similar to how Liberation did it?

 

Exactly, and Liberation was a spin-off, which makes me pretty irritated that Ubisoft is treating this as another main series entry. It doesn't feel, right now before playing it at least, like it should be a main series entry.

 

 

For the new page and latecomers:

 

CVG: Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag preview: Charting new waters

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/393645/previews/assassins-creed-4-black-flag-preview-charting-new-waters/

 

Assassin's Creed 4 videos, details: New hero, 50 locations, multiplayer

Everything you need to know about Ubisoft's sequel

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/394142/assassins-creed-4-videos-details-new-hero-50-locations-multiplayer/

 

Edward Kenway trailer

 

US release date October 29th.

EU release date November 1st.

Edward Kenway trailer shows the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U packs and says it's coming to "Next generation consoles and PC". Notice the consoles, which must confirm it's coming to the next Xbox, too.

[Eternal EX]

*sees shadz post*

 

Eh. So it's not Desmond, but a random abstergo character. Okay, that is passable.

[Speederino]

Honestly I think this is awesome. This basically sounds like Assassin's Creed mixed with Wind Waker with more realism tossed in. So long as stealth doesn't take a backseat again I'll be happy.

 

 

Anyway, this...... makes the game sound even more like a spin-off, rather than a sequel deserving of a numbered title.

 

Maybe? I actually always thought that a more player-focused modern day character was what the franchise needed. Because Desmond, while not as cut and dry as people make him out to be, was still rather bland and at times boring. Kind of like Ubisoft meant for him to be the sort of character the player could project themselves onto but decided to give him a voice. Though I would have also been happy to hear that they were going to put more effort towards making a more interesting protagonist. I guess I need to see where they're going with this.

[Crash]

I honestly thought I was the only one to see the PS4 logo.

 

I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about. Pirates could work and it seems to me like for the most part we will be exploring islands, hopefully using stealth and jumping from tree to tree and hiding in bushes and haystacks as usual.

 

So this obviously means that Edward Kenway cannot be killed in this game. Due to Haytham being around and this...

 

 

   

 

If they ignore this then we have some major continuity issues going on.

[LATER BUDDY]

Just got to see the trailer.

 

Honestly I think it looks super boring. Granted I've never owned an Assassin's Creed game, but they're kinda my best friend's favorite series, so I've watched all of them front to back XD. Going by cinematics only, AC3 was by far the most interesting and appealing looking. It looked like it broke some new ground in a generally interesting way (forests, tomahawks, etc). Now with this all I see is a redo of AC3, but glorifying the ship sailing parts, which I thought was the most boring (to watch anyways, and my friend didn't really seem to like them either).

 

Anyways, I'm sure a lot of the game will be visiting remote islands via Wind Waker, but I can bet a vast majority of the game is fighting via ships. Whether that's cannon fire or raiding, they both just feel so "off" to the series for me, idk. I guess I've always been a bigger fan of the towns and such.

 

So to put it simply, yet another installment that won't make it to my house probably. I've been eager with them skipping a little ahead in time, like the early 1900s or something, or even just give me a full on modern day one. That'd prolly wreck the series, but I guess I just want a drastic change of pace in the series if I ever hope to be interested enough to play it.

[Eternal EX]

Just got to see the trailer.

 

Honestly I think it looks super boring. Granted I've never owned an Assassin's Creed game, but they're kinda my best friend's favorite series, so I've watched all of them front to back XD. Going by cinematics only, AC3 was by far the most interesting and appealing looking. It looked like it broke some new ground in a generally interesting way (forests, tomahawks, etc). Now with this all I see is a redo of AC3, but glorifying the ship sailing parts, which I thought was the most boring (to watch anyways, and my friend didn't really seem to like them either).

 

Anyways, I'm sure a lot of the game will be visiting remote islands via Wind Waker, but I can bet a vast majority of the game is fighting via ships. Whether that's cannon fire or raiding, they both just feel so "off" to the series for me, idk. I guess I've always been a bigger fan of the towns and such.

 

So to put it simply, yet another installment that won't make it to my house probably. I've been eager with them skipping a little ahead in time, like the early 1900s or something, or even just give me a full on modern day one. That'd prolly wreck the series, but I guess I just want a drastic change of pace in the series if I ever hope to be interested enough to play it.

 

You've never tried....er played ACB and AC2? You are really missing out on some of the best and my favorite games of this generation.

[The Kid]

I haven't had any real interest in the series since Brotherhood and this game doesn't look like it'll change that.

[Patticus]

Looks like stealth fans are going to be in for a real treat here:

 

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag “not the legacy of AC3 only”

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will not simply import mechanics from much-criticised Assassin’s Creed 3, preferring to cherry pick from the franchise as a whole.

In an internally produced interview with creative director Jean Guesdon, Ubisoft described Assassin’s Creed 3′s gameplay mechanics as not “attractive or not introduced properly”, asking how the development team will ensure that “the player has a fun, intelligent and progressive experience from start to end”.

“AC is a great franchise that allows us to learn from previous iterations. We’ve identified some areas of improvements and will definitely make sure that all systems are properly introduced and relevant to the player’s own motivations. We’re not the legacy of AC3 only but of all previous AC games and we spent a lot of time analysing the best things we could use from all of them,” Guesdon said.

One of the features the team is hoping to bring back is stealth, which has gradually decreased in importance and was somewhat poorly implemented in Assassin’s Creed 3.

“We are putting a lot of effort to improve that pillar of the franchise. Being a pirate was also about taking places by surprise, and this would require stealth abilities,” Guesdon said.

“So yes, stealth will be back. Infiltrations, tails and exploration of islands are all part of it. We are making sure that the level design not only support but encourage stealth. We’re working hard at providing missions and environments that always allow the player to choose this type of play.”

Guesdon said the key challenge of Black Flag is delivering a realistic, fun, open world naval and pirate game while remaining true to the pillars of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

“Ultimately my objective with [black Flag] is to provide a very good, polished and fun game that players will enjoy as much as we enjoy creating it,” he said.

“I would be thrilled to receive testimonies telling us that the way we’re depicting this period in history helped some of our audience to realize what the Golden Age of Piracy was really like.”

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is headed to PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U and Xbox 360, and is also expected on Microsoft’s new console.

 

http://www.vg247.com/2013/03/05/assassins-creed-4-black-flag-not-the-legacy-of-ac3-only/

[Speederino]

^ Good. I wonder if they might return to the more open-ended assassination approaches of the first game? But what is all this talk of stealth having "gradually decreased in importance?"  Revelations was by far the most stealth-heavy game in the series, AC3 is really the only one where I feel they squandered it.

[Patticus]

It'd be bad form if they just came out and said, "We screwed the stealthy pooch in AC3, sorry."
 
Edit: Is it worth playing the Tyranny of King Washington DLC now (I bought it at release), or should I just wait for the rest of it to launch first? Speaking of which, is there any word on when the rest is due?
 
Edit #2: Predictable old PETA is having a ragefit over AC4's inclusion of whaling. Ubisoft has issued a response:
 

Ubisoft responds to PETA’s anger over whaling in Assassin’s Creed 4

Yesterday, the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued disgusted comments over the fact that in Assassin’s Creed 4 you’ll have the ability to go hunting for whales. Today, Ubisoft’s Stone Chin defends the game’s depiction of this old practice.



In a statement to Polygon, Chin said:

“History is our playground in Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is a work of fiction that depicts the real events during the golden era of pirates. We do not condone illegal whaling, just as we don’t condone a pirate lifestyle of poor hygiene, plundering, hijacking ships, and over-the legal-limit drunken debauchery.”

That’s an amusing spin to put on it, but it’s a logical one. Just because a thing is depicted in media does not mean it is being “glorified.”

 

http://www.vg247.com/2013/03/06/ubisoft-responds-to-petas-anger-over-whaling-in-assassins-creed-4/

Clever and funny. Nice one, Ubisoft.


Edit #3: Looks like the present day sections are, as I expected, returning:

 

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag won’t ignore Desmond

Former Assassin’s Creed protagonist Desmond has been retired, but Ubisoft has promised to continue the franchise’s meta-story in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.



“Desmond has been the main protagonist of the franchise so far. This won’t be the case in [black Flag],” creative director Jean Guesdon said in an Ubisoft-produced interview.

“That being said [black Flag] is not a reboot, neither is it a spinoff and we’re continuing to develop a consistent mythology. So yes, Desmond will be referred to as a very important legacy of the AC universe.”

There will still be present-day gameplay sections, but Guesdon retreated into canon to cagily give an idea of what we can expect.

“Abstergo Entertainment is a subset of the Abstergo conglomerate. It’s a division specialised in Entertainment providing historical content for games or movies. Abstergo Entertainment has worked closely with Ubisoft to deliver Assassin’s Creed Liberation the Multiplayer of Assassin’s Creed III,” he noted.

“Abstergo Entertainment is [black Flag] present playground and players will be immersed like never before in the AC universe. They will become part of the AC universe, able to meet some already known protagonists of the AC franchise.”

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is headed to PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U and Xbox 360, and is also expected on the NeXtbox or Xbox 720 or whatever the wretched thing ends up being called.

 

http://www.vg247.com/2013/03/05/assassins-creed-4-black-flag-wont-ignore-desmond/

Edited March 6, 2013 by Patticus

[MykonosFan]

I'm assuming PETA didn't notice the hunting aspects of AC III then.

[Patticus]

Did Liberation have much in the way of present day gameplay shenanigans going on?

[Speederino]

From what I understand, all they do in Liberation is have Erudito help the player/ambiguous Animus character.

[Patticus]

Well then, perhaps we're looking at the beginning of a new story arc? I mean, there'll be modern day gameplay sections (more than just 'walk around the facility', me thinks), and we'll be playing an Abstergo employee undergoing Animus training. I hope the modern day plot arc is more interesting than the last one.

[MamboCat]

Ahahah, so essentially back to square one? You're a lab rat in Abstergo again?

 

That's pretty funny...

[Patticus]

Yeah, except you'd be a willing lab rat, indoctrinated by the Templars, being trained like an Assassin to infiltrate and take out the remaining Assassins. And the plot twist is, after being trained to kill the last Assassins by undergoing all this Animus training, when you find them, you go ahead and join forces with them, tell them the Templar plot, yadda yadda yadda, two games later, whole game is set in the modern era and everybody loves it.