The wait for official Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag news is over. In an official reveal of the game, Ubisoft has confirmed select details about the game, while unveiling new revelations about the next story in the franchise.
As rumored, the protagonist of the game will be Edward Kenway, father to Haytham and grandfather of the hero in the third game, Connor. While Connor was a stoic, serious hero, Ubisoft is trying to make Edward more charismatic and charming. This will be in stark contrast to the world around him, described frequently by Black Flag director Ashraf Ismail as influenced by the gritty motorcycle gang television show "Sons of Anarchy."
Ubisoft is ambiguously seeking to create the "first true naval overworld." The goal is to have Edward be able to get off his ship, onto the roughly 50 or so locations planned for the game, and start exploring with no load times. The three main cities of the game will be Havana, Nassau, and Kingston. While Nassau will be riddled with pirates (it was the capital of the so-called Republic of Pirates), Havana will be more neutral, and Kingston will be controlled by hostile British forces. Several developers from Far Cry 3 have also joined the team. It is estimated that land-based missions will compose of 60 percent of the gameplay, with the rest being naval-based.
During Naval combat, the main goal will to be eliminate the enemy captain. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, from blasting away at the target with cannons, shooting at him with a variety of handguns, or going for the traditional assassination attempt. This kind of flexibility is a new goal for the development team, which is aiming to let players figure out for themselves how they want to play the game.
The gameplay has been tweaked a little bit, and the notoriety system has been discarded, as the open world setting on the high seas wouldn't logically carry a worldwide alert system. The modern storyline of the game has been changed significantly, as the Desmond Miles story arc has been completed. Instead, the players are the character in modern times, asked by the Templar-owned Abstergo Entertainment to research Desmond's past.
The game is set to come out on the PlayStation 3 (with exclusive content), Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and the PlayStation 4 (though the release dates for the system and this version of the game are unknown at this point). Fans can gear up for the game's release on current-gen systems on October 29th.
Check out the full scoop on the game on IGN.