I never finished AC: Revelations and completely skipped AC III, but I thought the new interesting setting and naval mechanics etc. deserved a glance. So I bought the game. I must say it was the best 45 euros I’ve spent in a while. I’m not sure if the reason is that I hadn’t played Assassin’s Creed games in a while or if the game really is as awesome as my brains are telling me it is.

First of all, the game is extremely pretty. The setting allows for a much more colorful surroundings, and the water behavior done so, so very well.  Sailing in the night, listening to your crew singing, listening to the ocean waves and looking through your spyglass at other ships filled with the promise of loot, or seeing a huge strom coming at your way. During these sea voyages the game is very immersive - at least until you start the naval combats, because then you’re throwing realism into the bin. It does serve the fun in gameplay and keeps up the pace of the game.

Besides being pretty as a blushing bride the world is just massive. The ocean really does feel like an ocean.  There are many small and big islands that you can visit when you get bored of pirating on the seas (or your ship is full of cargo). Some of the smaller islands with only a chest on them feel like they’re there just to make the game longer for completionists - and boy is there a lot to complete, but overall every island so far has been an interesting one to visit.

While being massive the world of AC IV is filled with activities from harpooning sharks to raiding smugglers’ caves. With all the acquired loot you can upgrade your weapons or equip your ship with better cannons, sails or just slap some paint on the sails. Not everything can be unlocked immediately as you need to progress in the game before you can get your hands on those level 7 cannons. UNLESS you pay some real money for Unlock Everything DLC. While I think this is a rather cheap way of doing things, I can understand it. Not everyone want to play the game for the same reasons and some just want their paws on the fully fledged ship combat from the get-go, and that’s okay.

Speaking of cheap things. As you complete challenges you will unlock cheats. Cheats will not record your progression once you turn them on, so it won’t unbalance the game or its leaderboards (except hackers will take care of that, thanks internet). So far the cheats I’ve seen have been different than what people might consider as cheats. For example one ramps up your wanted level as high as it can go for good. You will be forever hunted by hug ships with enough fire power to bring down a city.

Anyhow, I’m just 11 hours into the game and still learning he ropes and unlocking new gear and areas. From what I’ve seen this promises to be a very good game. I’m getting a very strong vibe of what I felt when playing Assassin’s Creed II back in the day. Even the protagonist feels a bit similar: young, confident and flamboyant, just like young Ezio. I’m hoping Edward Kenway will pull his head from his ass at some point though, and not just chase the templars’/assassins’ riches while he’s sitting on a ship full of cargo that’s worth a small/big fortune.

More stuff on AC: IV will follow later once I’ve played it some more!