4 out of 5 stars.

The Assassin’s Creed series has always been known for its cunning innovation, dynamic and often cryptic storytelling, and eagerness to explore the numerous exploits of history. The latest game in the series, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, diverts from the land-based gameplay of former games in the series, opting for a focus on naval combat as you live the life of a pirate.

From the start, the idea of involving pirates in the Assassin’s Creed plotline seems almost as odd as adding the forefathers of America as they did previously. Black Flag manages to pull off the elements of gusto and mystery that have always made the series fun to come back to.

Black Flag was built up to be more of an open world game than previous titles, with the ability to do countless mini-games, side missions, and other miscellaneous tasks. The game is divided almost evenly between land and sea areas, and both are delicately crafted and make for a surprisingly immersive feel.

There are some problems with the open world, though. Of course with a game centered on pirates, one of the main focuses should be capabilities in the water. The water looks excellent and naval combat is very exciting, but the water sections become dull very quickly when you aren’t sailing. The ability to enter the water is restricted to certain areas which place you into the water. You can’t go back and forth from the sea to the land; you have to load each one. Besides this, the game has an excellent feel of freedom, which is key for a game as large as Black Flag.

Surprisingly the present-day sections set in the Abstergo labs are very well done. The game creates a decent sense of action without the use of combat and the hacking seems much more refined than in previous games.

Back to the main setting of the game, the Caribbean based towns are all amazingly well researched and provide a great backdrop for the game’s integral themes. Comparing Assassin’s Creed III with Black Flag makes the two seem like games from two different series.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag lives up to the hype surrounding its release. A standard for the series, but still a knockout when compared to other games on the market, Black Flag builds upon the already complex Assassin’s Creed story in ways not previously imagined and pulls it all off elegantly.