Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag Review Roundup: Gameplay Highlights, PS3, Xbox 360 Release Date [Trailer]

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is set to be one of the milestone titles coming to both current and next-gen consoles in November. While the series may be at a crossroads concerning future titles in the series, Assassin's Creed 4 has fixed many of the flaws of Assassin's Creed 3 and offers players a fun high seas adventure.

Kotaku notes that while the story of the game is better than that of Assassin's Creed 3, it is merely an adequate excuse for the action found in the game:

"Edward's story is a mess, but it's a mess that's charming just often enough to offset the clumsiness. He's the series' most reluctant subscriber to the Assassins' cause and clan-he begins the game wearing the iconic robes out of convenience, and it takes him a good dozen hours to begin even grudgingly helping the Assassins in their ongoing battle against the power-hungry Templars."

The game looks absolutely wonderful even on current hardware, and the open world of the game is on par with the standard Grand Theft Auto 5 has set, according to IGN, which notes that like most open world games, there sporadic bugs and glitches that show up in the gameplay:

"Edward still occasionally disobeyed my commands by errantly jumping off rooftops and climbing up walls that I never wanted to scale in the first place, but those are minor nuisances. Also, the world's vast scope invites a handful of hiccups. For instance, the body of a guard who's holding a necessary key might disappear if you leave the area, meaning that you have to restart a mission. Black Flag is peppered with these sorts of annoyances, and though they certainly aren't deal-breakers, they had a tendency to pull me out of the experience a bit too often."

Naval battles are the highlight of the game, and much of the motivation for exploring the ocean is to find ways to collect money to upgrade the Jackdaw. Gamespot reveals that battles against enemies on the ship offer both chaotic and tactical combat that will give any player a rush:

"Both the storyline and side missions are full of tense sea battles, where strategic positioning and explosive cannon fire come together in exhilarating contests of naval supremacy. It's a system that allows for a variety of tactics while never getting bogged down in overly complex controls, whether you're picking off enemies from afar with a well-placed mortar strike or dumping explosive barrels into the path of an unsuspecting foe. Whatever approach you take, managing sea battles is an absolute blast."

Overall, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag offers (at least on the current consoles) one of the best looking and best gameplay experiences on the market, and the sheer amount of options players have is staggering. Throw in a solid multiplayer mode and a huge open world to explore, and the game could be one the year's best.