It’s not without a few issues, such as a midpoint that forces you to grind through it in order to be able to face the suddenly overpowered enemy ships, or the parkour which suffers the classic Creed problem of being all over the bloody shop all the time. The ship battles and plantation raids are highlights, but you can also lose yourself searching for lost treasure and exploring sunken wrecks, or chasing shanty pages through the streets of Havana and Nassau. It’s also helped by a great cast of supporting characters like Anne Bonny and Adewale, Kenway’s first mate whose standalone DLC ( Freedom Cry, included in this collection) is one of the best pieces of extra content Ubisoft has ever created. Kenway is one of the more likeable protagonists to grace the series, too, his roguish charms making him a kind of lovable dick whose poor decisions are counterbalanced by a quick wit and dry tongue. These are historical figures, yes, which is nothing new in a Creed game, but the near mythological status of each is such that you feel a greater sense of wonder working with these guys and gals than you did working alongside the likes of even daVinci or Thomas Jefferson. There’s a sense of pure adventure in Black Flag that’s unrivalled by any other entry, as you take Welsh Heath Ledger lookalike Edward Kenway on a journey of exploration and redemption across the Caribbean, meeting legendary pirates such as Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, “Calico” Jack Rackham and Charles Vane. Cracks begin to show when playing docked, but it’s nothing that ruins the experience.
#ASSASSIN'S CREED SWITCH REVIEW 720P#
The Switch port lacks some of the graphical polish of the PS4 and Xbox One versions, sure, but it appears to maintain a solid 30fps, and looks pretty impressive in 720p on the Switch’s smaller screen. The port included in Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection is my third time reviewing Black Flag, and very little has changed. In short, I don’t much care for the increasingly forced modern day stuff or the actual Assassin versus Templar conceit. I can overlook a multitude of gameplay sins and iffy design choices if I’m swept along in the adventure, which is telling considering my favourite entries focus less on the assassinating and more on things like pirating, leading gangs, and fighting mythical creatures. For me, the Creed games live or die by dint of only two things: their protagonist and their setting. I enjoyed Brotherhood, loved Syndicate, and spent hours and hours on Odyssey, but Black Flag’s focus on high seas hijinx in the Golden Age of Piracy still holds a special place in my heart. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag remains, to this day, my favourite of the series.