Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a smart, sprawling sequel that wisely places an emphasis on freedom and fun while trimming most of the fat that bogged down Assassin's Creed III's ambitious but uneven adventure.

Epic scope; Great side quests; Lighter tone; Beautiful moments

Disappointing main story

Stealth kills, air assassinations, a lot of headfirst diving into water or carts of hay. Those are all instantly recognizable facets of Ubisoft's compelling assassin-themed franchise. Addictive combat and a lot of exciting free-running across rooftops, is but a mere taste of what players get.

Never has the life of a pirate been so vividly depicted in a video game; a huge world full of adventure and hidden riches awaits; Kenway is a great character; the narrative keeps you going; incredibly convincing weather effects; mesmerizing naval battles; swordfights and hand-to-hand combat is still...

Occasionally weird camera during combat; behavior Kenway the deadly assassin cannot crouch for some reason

Edward Kenway isn't particularly noble, at least as far as Assassins go. He doesn't have Ezio's thirst for justice, Connor's earnestness, or Altair's selfless devotion to a cause. In fact, for much of Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag , he isn't really an Assassin at all; he's just a pirate who puts on...

+ Engrossing storyline that capably straddles historical pirate fiction and sci-fi strangeness; + Rich open world with tons of fun side activities

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When a gaming franchise starts putting out release after release, just so they can become a yearly event, there's two ways that things can go. The first route is the easiest, the one taken by Call of Duty and 95% of sports games.

Assassin's Creed II was the perfect sequel. It bettered the troubled original in every way and delivered a game that was as much about exploration and the wonderful sense of discovery as it was its titular killing.

As near as I can tell, general fan reaction to the Assassin's Creed series hit its zenith with Assassin's Creed II: Brotherhood and seemed to level out with Revelations, before taking a rather precipitous dive with the release of Assassin's Creed III – a game that all but the hardcore fans found...

Assassin's Creed is a rather polarizing series. With elements of historical context and modern day sci-fi wizardry, the juxtaposition can be a bit much for some. When you combine that with elements of freerunning and perhaps a bit too much intrigue for one person to handle, and you have one rather...

A solid but ultimately uninspired instalment in the series, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is comprised of ideas that are starting to wear thin. Anything but a major overhaul will do for the next game, especially given the fact that next-gen is almost upon us, and another title in the same mould...

Games Xtreme boards the Jackdaw and finds out if Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is destined to live a pirate's life, or sink to the bottom of the sea.

Assassin's Creed swaps tall towers for poopdecks, but is this the pirate game we always wanted? Find out in our Assassin's Creed 4 review.