2014/6/29: Playstation 4: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

[VideoGameCritic]

I've been trying to enjoy this game for months.  It just didn't do it for me.

[Rev1]

Well damn... Totally unexpected this time around. Never been a big Assassin's Creed fan but this is definitely a review that will cause some controversy. I am looking forward to see what everyone says about this review.

[velcrozombie1]

Your review is fine overall (I haven't played enough Assassin's Creed to know if I enjoy the series or not, although this is regarded as the second-best game in the series behind 2), but the bit about the modern-day sequences taking you out of the action bothers me a little. The interaction of the virtual world of the past with the modern-day world isn't anything new to the series; in fact, the very first game (the only one I played for a significant amount of time) begins in the present and spends a considerable amount of time explaining what's going on. If these sequences are boring or unsatisfying then you should definitely mention it (I heard that they handled these sequences with a sense of humor in this game), but you writing the about it the way you did makes it look like you have no knowledge of the conventions of this series.

[Vexer1]

Not surprised, this looks bland as all hell, never been a fan of the AC series and this dosen't sound like an improvement over the others.  Also the VR thing in this series has always been really stupid, what motivation do you have to keep playing if you know that the characters don't even truly exist in the game's world? 

Risen 2 isn't really what i'd call good, IMO it's a bland and boring RPG with lots of tedious grinding.

[knoll3601]

I can definitely understand what the VGC was getting at. The issue with  "going back" to past events via virtual reality is that it takes away the impact. Anything you do in the "past" changes nothing. Those events are set in stone and cannot be changes. In other words you are an observer so other than information collecting what is the real point of going out of your way to do much of anything? At least from a plot perspective.

[MrLuck871]

Your review reminds me of the experience I had with Ass Creed 2.  Lots of potential but ultimately overrated garbage because the gameplay is so awful.  I was kind of interested in Black Flag because of the pirate theme, and because it's named after an awesome band, but it sounds like it's more of the same.  Pass.

[DaHeckIzDat1]

I'm genuinely surprised. I figured you'd love this game, especially since you're so into pirate games
I've played the first two AC games, and enjoyed them, but nothing after that. I do know that a ton of people who live at the school with me own and love this game, and I was considering playing the rest of the way through the series to get to it. By the way you talk about going to the real world, I'm guessing this is the first AC game you've played. They do that in all their games, and a lot of people don't like that aspect, but I think most of them have gotten used to it after five games.

[velcrozombie1]

Let me try to clarify my previous post with an example: if I read a review of, say, one of the Matrix sequels from a critic I didn't didn't know and he said something to the effect of "All the action was really fun and exciting...and then they had to take me out of the moment with all that garbage about A.I. and stuff! Where did that come from?", I'd immediately know that they had never watched the other film(s) in the series and would be bothered that they didn't acknowledge it. There's nothing wrong with playing a video game series out-of-order  - I'd hope that a sequel to a game could stand up without the other installments to some degree - but when you don't acknowledge that it's your first game in the series and then you treat an integral part of the series as something that came from nowhere , it makes it seem like you lack credibility.

[VideoGameCritic]

I think there's something to be said for judging the game on its own merits and not having to take into account its predecessors.  That's why even in my reviews of Ms Pac-Man and Sonic 2 I will still describe the gameplay; I can't assume the reader knows the history of the series.

Yes, this was my first Assassin's Creed game, and I probably should have stated as much.  But if something bothers me, what difference does it make if it was or wasn't in the previous games or not?  It still sucks!

[crimefighter1]

I think you're all missing the big issue - he is complaining about the bad controls of the game, which completely ruins the fun factor if you are having to constantly wrestle with doing the mere basics.