The default resolution of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is set to 900p. Well, that’s not what Ubisoft announced! Now, you don’t need to worry as there’s a day one patch that gets downloaded automatically to bump that resolution to the promised 1080p resolution. Honestly, moving from 900p to 1080p isn’t noticeable if you are playing on TV sets that are less than 40″. Those who have a HDTV that is like 50″, you will see the slight bump in its visuals as it is much smoother looking.
Before you get to play Assassin’s Creed 4, you will need to install the full game onto your hard drive. What this long installation is going to do with the performance of the game is it will reduce load times and the pop-ins that are noticeable in the last-gen version. Since the PS3 version has several pop ins at some parts of the game, you will not be seeing as much in the PS4 version.
The multiplayer portion of Black Flag didn’t evolve much. The same ones found in past titles are in Black Flag with only little improvement and additions added to it. It felt like the multiplayer feels the same one but it was still fun nonetheless. One change implemented in Black Flag’s multiplayer is Gamelab that allows you to create your own custom multiplayer maps – it’s fun for those who want to add flair to it but it’s not good enough to entice people. If you are fond of the Wolf Pack, you will be pleased to know that it’s back and yes, it’s still fun to play. My only gripe is that maps aren’t expansive enough to give players freedom to really move around.
In addition to the multiplayer portion, there’s another new feature that Ubisoft implemented and it’s the feedback system. For every memory that you complete in each sequence, you will be able to rate it and give a score up to five stars. This feature will allow gamers to give feedback to the developers and see how they did in terms of the gameplay design for every memory, as long as you are connected online through their UPlay servers.
Gamers who patiently waited for the next-gen version of Assassin’s Creed 4 will be pleased that they did. Many of the faults that we found in the PS3 version have been improved or fixed; primarily the pop ins, loading times, and some of the visual hiccups. In terms of the game as a whole, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag may feel more of the same as past Assassin’s Creed games but Ubisoft did so many things to make it stand out so that people will be enticed in picking it up. Adding Naval Battles, a vast open seas where you can explore and a plethora of things to do like underwater treasure hunting and collecting treasures will surely keep fans busy for a long time – just don’t expect the story to wow you as it’s simply not the best in the series.
[Editor’s Note: Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag was reviewed on the PS4 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
Raffi
November 18, 2013 at 4:37 AMThe 1080p patch hasn’t come out yet according to Ubisoft. It’s coming soon from what they say. That along with some better anti aliasing. Waiting for that patch before I open up the game.