Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag gets a 13-minute long commented gameplay video

Ubisoft are on a roll today, following up the Splinter Cell: Blacklist trailer with a 13-minute long gameplay video of their sandbox action-adventure set in the Caribbean, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. In the following clip, Game Director Ashraf Ismail shows off the open-world nature of the multiplatform title, which allows you the freedom to roam the sea – both its surface as well as underwater – and seamlessly move from ship to ship or sea to land and vice versa. The video starts off with protagonist Edward Kenway in the West Indies in September 1717 performing the series’ iconic eagle dive, and taking on an assassin contract, which involves hunting down the Thomson Brothers – Templar Smugglers – on the Cayman Islands.

Ismail reveals how there are around 50 locations around the Bahamas, Cuba and Florida which Kenway can travel to and explore. He also explains how the fishermen village – where Kenway is currently located – acts as a hub for upgrading the player and the ships equipment, acquiring contracts/missions; it also contains a tavern wherein one can hire crew members, and as in the previous game in the series, play mini-games and drink beverages. While Edward successfully takes out one of the targets at the site, the second one attempts to escape leading the player on a chase sequence on land and father, as the enemy boards his ship.

Kenway helms his vessel and pursues the enemy, and decides to capture, board and plunder the frigate due to its cargo of rum instead of destroying it outright, resulting in an additional haul of wood and crew members. We also see how at the end of such a sequence, one can choose to recruit crew members, capture and send to his fleet or salvage the vessel to repair the Jackdaw if it has been damaged. Ashraf also reveals the existence of more than 75 playas, which are small uncharted locations containing something of value which can be used to upgrade the player or his ship. Looting the corpse of a sailor on the island, he discovers a treasure map marking a location called Misteriosa.

On the way to Misteriosa, Edward encounters a storm and has to traverse past a tornado – deadly to the ship and its inhabitants; Ashraf reveals how this element of nature can be utilised to lure enemies to their watery demise. After reaching the island, Kenway explores Mayan ruins and follows a side path avoiding a contingent of guards to make his way to the top of the temple – silently taking out patrols using his swords and blowpipe. He rescues two captured pirates, noting that doing so successfully requires stealth, adding them to his crew. The treasure turns out to be a blueprint which can be utilised to upgrade the Jackdaw with the heavy shot. Finally he moves to the nearby synchronise point, which also acts as a fast travel point.