Assassin's Creed IV

[Drz]

Yeah i don't see all the hype. AC3 looked good too but all we got we're incredibly lousy side missions and more of the same old same old. This game needs to get very interesting side missions and whatnot.

 

[Frico]

I don't give a flying f**k if they release 6 AC games a year. If they look as bad ass as Black Flag, im all in.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

That's why I'm potentially more excited. It has a great graphics/combat engine as its basis but the devs have the ability to see what people didn't like about AC 3 and expand on it.

 

[SpideyVille]

To be honest, when I was waiting the trailer, I couldn't help but think, if you just put a silhouette around the protagonist in each of the games and have them run around random locations, I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between them, other than by looking at the setting.

All I know is AC Brotherhood looked like a rushed cash in and I loved that game whereas AC 3 had a long dev cycle and I was fairly disappointed by a lot of it.

I was really disappointed with Brotherhood because I had just gotten my PS3 and finished ACII the night before it was released and quickly pre-ordered it because I loved ACII so much. But I didn't really see as much of a change and it felt like a bulky DLC package.

I liked ACIII much more, but this seems to be the same case as ACB. The only things that intrigue me are all the underwater and exotic treasure stuff, but I have a strong feeling that those locations will be just as lackluster as stuff like the Mayan Ruins in ACIII.

 

[Frico]

Yeah, even Darby Mcdevitt mention how they "pissed off a lot of people" with AC3. Based on that alone I'm sure they're going to try and fix those wrongs with AC4.

(Responding to Wolvieboy)

 

[AxlsAppetite]

Orrrrr...maybe...they planned things out a bit better than you gave them credit for?

Maybe the fact that the naval focus of IV was going to come out, no matter what? That the fact that it was generally loved was just the happy result of a well-planned bit of gameplay?

Yea, just like ACB and ACR were planned as well. Oh wait, no they weren't. once ACII was out they realized AC3 wouldn't be out for 3 years so they went ahead and made 2 filler games. That's what Black Flag is. A filler game. That's my beef with it right now. If it was just "Assassin's Creed Black Flag", I wouldn't be having any problems with it right now.

If you call 2.5 years of work on a game "rushed," then you must LOOOOVE Duke Nukem Forever.

Devs have never been known to lie right. ACIII had a supposed 3 year development but for the first few weeks it was one of the glitchiest AAA title games out there. Things that wouldve been noticed in it's development. Like missions that could not be completed.

EDIT TO REPLY TO YOUR EDIT:

You DO realize that ACIII was ALSO developed by another team, all while AC Brotherhood and Revelations were being developed and released, right? This is nothing new, and frankly it's a brilliant way of having it so that you can develop a sequel for a game in seemingly rapid time, while still giving it the proper time to develop. For all you know, as soon as ACIII came out, V has already been in development. I don't know what you do, but I am a software engineer, and branching out code to have new eyes look at it and tweak it while the production code remains steady is a standard thing.

And that's why ACIII was a letdown for a lot of people. It's fine to bring on new people for things like advice and ideas but to just hand them a beloved series and say."Here you go. It's your turn now." is just wrong.

I know I'm being harsh and very critical but that's because I love the series and the story Ubisoft has created with this. I don't like seeing it mistreated. I've earned the right to call them out on their crap.

 

[James]

Yea that sounds believable. It just so happens they knew the naval aspects from AC3 would be so popular it warranted an entire game based on that. Even before the release of AC3.

Or maybe it's just a coincidence, right?

Um...yes? Game developers, especially seasoned ones like Ubisoft, have a pretty good idea of the kinds of activities their audience is going to enjoy. Will fans of the series enjoy naval warfare? It's a pretty safe bet. If anything they probably slapped that feature into AC 3 late in the day as a tease for AC 4.

That's exactly that what happens with CoD. They have two devs working on them so they can be released each year. The fact that they have multiple teams working on them is another sign that it's just being rushed.

It shouldn't be a completely separate team than the one that worked on AC3. Can you not see how that is a very bad thing. How soon before they just start half-assing it?

Other have already pointed this out, but in reality it's the complete opposite. It's not a sign it's being rushed at all. It shows that while one team were taking their time on AC 3, the other team was happily working on AC 4 with no undue pressure to get the game out.

Sure, developers have been known to say the occasional lie from time to time, but your immediate reaction is that Ubisoft can't possibly be telling the truth all because it has a number in the title? Come on.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

In AC 3I think they put TOO much emphasis on historical references and truth rather than actual narrative. The most interesting parts of the narrative were Connor's relationship with Achilles and his role as a Native American but they spent too much time doing the 'Red Dead' thing where Connor goes from one influential white person to another doing fetch quests and taking orders.

That Paul Revere mission? Who cared? Sure it happened but why did Connor need to be there? Why didn't he spend more personal time with George Washington? From a narrative perspective, if you look at the Ezio games, they very expertly interweaved the historical stuff with the fictional stuff. In AC 3 it just felt like they very delicately placed the narrative and fiction on top of the historical stuff.

Great, it's realistic. But what do we end up with? 2 large but extremely similar and generic cities. A story high on politics and ethics but low on actual drama and narrative purpose. Then there are the missions themselves. I mean, how did they manage to make the missions set during a WAR over a native American warrior/assassin's whole lifetime LESS interesting than a 2 year period of a mid 60's Italian dude in Revelations?

It's great that they started development early on AC 3 but I think they REALLY needed to look more to the other games for guidance because as fantastic as I thought the combat and free running was this time around, it felt like there were heaps of design choices that just ignored the finely developed stuff of the previous games.

That's why I have hope for AC IV Black Flag. I think there is definite room for them to build. The game had a great solid basis for gameplay and with the right story and overall gameplay loop design, we could get something special.

I mean, just look at the naval combat. In AC 3 it was a fun idea but overall amounted to very little more than optional side missions. In AC 4, it looks like we're getting what people THOUGHT was in aC 3. Full control of a ship, naval exploration, freedom to board other vessels etc.

I'm really hoping they take this approach to the rest of the game and really try and push that envelope. The trade system, story, sidequests all need to be improved big time. From the gameplay trailer so far at least the cities seem distinct. Here's hoping for more than bland follow quests.

 

[Bruce Malone]

I know the "hood" is the trademark for the AC protagonists but edward seems a little out of place among the pirates and sailors in his hood.

I hope you'd be able to pick up an actual pirate hat at some point. It seems like a bit of a shame to miss out on that aspect.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

If you look in the bottom right corner, you can see a pre-order bonus costume that looks more pirate appropriate. That particular costume seems to come with most versions of the game too.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Are you talking about the "captain kenway's legacy" thing? Is that for sure a costume add-on?

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Yup, I got the official press release from Ubisoft. They also had this to say, which seemed interesting to me.

THE WATCH: A new VIP program accessible as a pre-order bonus
In addition to the exclusive bonus content for customers who pre-order any edition, a unique activation code will also be provided via retail, online stores or Uplay, granting access to the Assassin’s Creed VIP program: THE WATCH. The unique activation code will be given to customers on a physical Treasure Map (until stocks last) that will be distributed through EB Games, JB Hifi, UPlay and Mighty Ape.

THE WATCH offers unique content that goes deeper into the Assassin’s Creed Universe, granting exclusive access to additional information, bonus content, rewards and the opportunity to take part in an exclusive quest designed specifically for VIP members.
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
Customers who register for THE WATCH will become a member of a select community of Assassin’s Creed fans who can participate in online discussions, upload their own content and compare their skills and achievements!

 

[Wolvieboy17]

My bad. That's the MP skin. But the actual skin is listed above it. Looks more Jack Sparrow.

 

[Iceman]

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/...railer-and-Collector-s-Editions-Set-Sail.html

Gameplay trailer! (well some gameplay)

Lookl awesome anyway!

Edit: not sure if new. (noone even mentioning it in the comments section of that site)

 

[cherokeesam]

"Captain Drake's Outfit": likely Sir Francis, from the 16th century. I'm guessing Drake left a lot of treasure maps for Edward the same way that Captain Kidd did for Connor in AC3.

And Wolvieboy, I gotta disagree with your list of grievances against AC3. I thought there was plenty of variety in the areas you explored --- there's Boston as the "main" city; New York as a mainly ruined city; a vast wilderness to explore; a homestead to develop and protect; Caribbean islands to explore and plunder; and a whole ocean to command for some very exciting naval battles.

I get that a lot of people don't find the era and setting of AC3 to be as romantic and dashing as AC1 and 2, but there's plenty of drama and story there. I think the problem with Connor is that they've got a potentially very interesting character with a great backstory, but they don't infuse him with any personality at all. Like most white writers, they turned him into a stereotypical "wooden Indian."

For those who weren't interested in the Daniel Fenimore Cooper style of gaming, I'm sure AC4 will bring back what attracted them to the series in the first place --- the swashbuckling hero, the parkour, and....hopefully....the mystery and mystique of the Creed again. I think that AC3 made a mistake in not building that up again: to Connor, the Assassins were a dead order told as "fairytales" by some eccentric old black man, and Connor was only interested in learning some assassin-fu to use for revenge against the men who wronged him. There was none of the sense of historical place of the order, no sense that there was a larger war going on; just a small clique of British d-bags who were trying to oppress the natives and the settlers.

 

[AxlsAppetite]

My bad. That's the MP skin. But the actual skin is listed above it. Looks more Jack Sparrow.

I really wish they would stop trying to shove multiplayer down our throats. I know it's a lost cause at this point, but just imagine how much better the story would be if they didn't have half their teams working in the mp.

So the Black Chest Edition as of now is the one with everything included? And it's only available in EMEA terrtories? That's a load of crap. They need to have that in the US.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I wonder what the differences will be between say the PS3 version and the PS4 version of the game. I might end up waiting until i get a next gen console before picking this up

 

[carrrnuttt]

So the Black Chest Edition as of now is the one with everything included? And it's only available in EMEA terrtories? That's a load of crap. They need to have that in the US.

I will be SO pissed if I can't order some kind of Limited Edition with pre-loaded extras and maybe even a statue, like I did with ACIII.

I mean, it's not like there isn't market for that here in the US.

 

[James]

I know the "hood" is the trademark for the AC protagonists but edward seems a little out of place among the pirates and sailors in his hood.

I hope you'd be able to pick up an actual pirate hat at some point. It seems like a bit of a shame to miss out on that aspect.

I was saying the exact same thing a few pages back. The hood will work fine in the cities, but when you're swinging from ship to ship and sword fighting atop the mast, Kenway is going to look pretty silly next to all the other properly dressed pirates. That said, cool as it looks I've never been a big fan anyway, a hood must cut down your peripheral vision like blinders on a horse.

 

[jacobed]

I really wish they would stop trying to shove multiplayer down our throats. I know it's a lost cause at this point, but just imagine how much better the story would be if they didn't have half their teams working in the mp.

So the Black Chest Edition as of now is the one with everything included? And it's only available in EMEA terrtories? That's a load of crap. They need to have that in the US.

Story would still be the same, as would the game plus the Assassin's Creed multiplayer is awesome

 

[TX85]

I love the hooded look But I think it'd be better IF the characters had a domino mask like Zorro during missions and change outfits&remove the mask when wandering around OR just having an option to switch whenever..Damn I really want a Zorro game with AC influence!

 

[misjuevos]

i still like my captain of the aquila outfit for ship combat.

 

[Spider-Vader]

I wonder how big of a difference there will be between the current gen & next gen versions of this game. I don't want to wait, but I might have to if it's anything like Watch_Dogs. WD is being ported down to curren gen consoles, which I heard work for hasn't even started yet, so I assume te current gen versions of that game will suck (next-gen version looks great though).

 

[TX85]

I'm guessing it'll just be a a small boost in graphics/faster load times&better performance&frame rate,I also want to know But it doesn't matter to me much since I'm keeping my PE3 while getting a PS4

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I wonder how big of a difference there will be between the current gen & next gen versions of this game. I don't want to wait, but I might have to if it's anything like Watch_Dogs. WD is being ported down to curren gen consoles, which I heard work for hasn't even started yet, so I assume te current gen versions of that game will suck (next-gen version looks great though).

Haha i asked the same thing a few posts up.