Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag is the game that took the series to sea. Ubisoft Montreal's 2013 pirate action-adventure makes you Edward Kenway, a brash privateer turned pirate captain, and turns him loose across the Caribbean at the height of the Golden Age of Piracy. There, a hunt for easy fortune drags him into the long war between the Assassins and the Templars.

The Story of Edward Kenway

Edward is no believer when the story opens in 1715. After a sea battle leaves him shipwrecked, he takes the robes of a traitorous Assassin and, with them, the chance of a Templar payday. The disguise pulls him into a search for the Observatory, a legendary site both orders would kill to control. It is the story of a man who wants gold and freedom and only slowly learns what either one costs.

Along the way Edward drinks, fights and plots beside the most infamous names of the era: Edward Thatch (better known as Blackbeard), Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane, Calico Jack Rackham and Mary Read. Together they try to build a lawless pirate republic in Nassau, and the game does not flinch from the corruption, greed and cruelty that came with it. A modern-day thread set inside Abstergo Entertainment frames Edward's memories as raw material for Abstergo's latest entertainment project, and it carries a quiet conspiracy of its own.

Command the Jackdaw

The Jackdaw is the heart of Black Flag. Sailing her feels fluid and physical: you set the sails for speed, ride out storms, rogue waves and waterspouts, and bring your guns to bear as a Spanish or British warship comes about. Naval combat rewards reading the wind and the enemy's position as much as raw firepower.

A Full Naval Arsenal Rake an enemy with broadside cannons, shred its rigging with chain shot, lob mortars from long range and drop fire barrels in your wake for anyone foolish enough to give chase. Every weapon earns its place once the larger warships start hunting you. Boarding Actions Disable a ship, bring the Jackdaw alongside, then swing across with your crew and fight hand to hand on its deck. Complete the boarding objectives, from cutting down the enemy crew to taking out its captain, and the cargo is yours. You also choose whether to patch up your own hull or lower your notoriety with the navies hunting you. Upgrades, Forts and Legendary Ships Plundered wood, metal and cloth pay for stronger hull armor, heavier cannons and a sturdier ram. You will need all of them. Coastal forts guard key waters until you storm them, and a handful of legendary ships waiting in the far corners of the map are the toughest naval fights in the game.

An Open World From Kingston to Nassau

Black Flag's Caribbean is a single sprawling world, and one voyage can take you from a busy colonial port to a jungle cove to open water. It is dense with things worth stopping for.

• Three major cities, each with its own character: Spanish-held Havana with its fortified streets, British Kingston on Jamaica, and Nassau, the ramshackle pirate haven at the center of Edward's story.
• Underwater shipwrecks explored with a diving bell. You slip past sharks, eels and jellyfish to reach sunken treasure, and a limited air supply keeps every dive tense.
• Harpooning from a rowboat as you go after sharks, orcas and even a white whale. What you bring back becomes crafted outfits and gear upgrades, alongside skins from animals hunted on land.
• Treasure maps, Mayan ruins, Templar keys and hidden sea shanties are scattered across the islands. Players who wander off course are rewarded with loot, lore and new songs for the crew to sing at sea.

Blades, Pistols and Stealth

On land, Edward fights like a pirate who has picked up an Assassin's tricks. He carries dual cutlasses, up to four flintlock pistols and the Hidden Blade, and chains them into fast, brutal combat. A blowpipe loaded with sleep and berserk darts turns a guard into a problem for his own comrades, while tall grass, rooftops and crowds give you room to strike unseen. The series' free running feels right at home in the jungle canopy and across the rooftops of colonial towns.

Multiplayer With a Pirate Cast

Alongside the campaign, Black Flag includes a multiplayer mode built on the series' cat-and-mouse formula. You choose from a new cast of pirate-era characters, blend into crowds of lookalikes across exotic, colorful locations and hunt your assigned target while someone else hunts you. Patience and stealth earn the best kills, not a sprint across the map, so it is a sharp test of the skills the campaign teaches.

If you have ever wanted to stand at the wheel as the black flag goes up and a Spanish galleon turns to run, this is the game that delivers it. Take command of the Jackdaw, set a course for Nassau and find out what kind of pirate Edward Kenway becomes.