Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Here In October And On Next Generation Consoles, Too Soon?

You don't mess with pirates.
Everybody knows that.

Between the Assassin's Creed 4 leaked trailer (which as of now has been pulled off most sites), and of course the game itself on the way so soon, I can't help but feel both excited and wary. I've spoken about this before, and I feel like in some ways the concept and announcement of this latest installment in the series has proven me wrong, but in other ways it has surely enforced my opinion on the serialization of games.

 

Basically, this is the way I feel: Serialization is fine, as long as it does not put a damper on creativity.

 

Now then the question is, has the serialization of Assassin's Creed put a damper on the franchise's creativity? It seems to me that at the very least, Assassin's Creed is playing to its strengths more than ever. It is a game that has relied heavily on history and all the potential it provides in a story telling capacity.

So what am I saying? I'm saying that pirates are great for fiction.

In any case, the series has been to many places, and each has been interesting. That has always been the staple of Assassin's Creed. It took you to Renaissance Italy, Colonial Era United States, 16th Century Constantinople, and of course, Crusade Era Israel. And now it is set to take eager gamers to the world of the Carribian Pirates. New character, new setting - a new setting, I might add, that just screams great graphics.

 

This, as far as I am concerned, is all good and well. The very point of the games thus far has been to throw you into these stunning times of the past and infuse them with a story that has quite a many layers and a gameplay experience that is truly fun.

The only thing that bothers me is that it all seems to be happening too quickly. It all seems to be rushed, and that makes me wonder whether the gameplay and story can be improved in a meaningful way with roughly a year of development time between each game. In a way it seems almost unrealistic, but I have been proven wrong before.

Obviously, as gamers we want our content as quickly and efficiently delivered to us as possible. However, a development period of roughly two years seems more fair. It seems like the correct amount of time to really get a game to the best that it can be. I know that some games are developed for four years or more, and I don't think that such a long time is a good thing either. However I do think there is a balance, where instead of rushing a game and compromising on various aspects of it, it can be released in its best possible state.

With all of that being said, however, I don't necessarily think that Assassin's Creed has been a victim of such things. I have faith in the series. Sure, we have gotten the same core gameplay several times in a row, but each iteration has been consistently solid and a fun experience, expanding on the story of its predecessor rather significantly, and developing the gameplay even further by polishing it and adding various new features. The developments that we saw between Assassin's Creed 1 and Assassin's Creed 2 were truly monumental and the difference was day and night. Not to mention that Ubisoft have stated that they would in fact be using a brand new team to develop this installment, as well as the fact that it would be released on next generation consoles.

So I suppose we will have to see if Ubisoft can pull it off once more. It will be interesting, that is for sure. And the idea of an Assassin's Creed game running on a next generation console is an exciting one without a doubt.

Let me know how you feel about the announcement of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag in the comments!