‘Assassin’s Creed’ Won’t Revisit Connor’s Story; Modern Day Setting Unlikely

Sorry Assassin’s Creed 3 fans, but it looks like Connor’s story will not be receiving the same type of closure that Ezio and Altair’s stories did. This according to Ubisoft’s Lead Writer Darby McDevitt, who revealed that there are currently no plans to wrap up, or revisit, the Connor story.

While Connor wasn’t exactly the most compelling character seen in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, there were still elements worth exploring in a future experience – be it an additional game, a novelization, or film. Unfortunately, the mostly negative reaction to Connor as a character, especially when compared to Ezio Auditore di Firenze, seems to have turned Ubisoft off to the idea.

When asking about a Connor epilogue, one Reddit user cited the live-action film Embers, which provided a conclusion to Ezio’s story, as one way Ubisoft could do it. However, McDevitt was quick to nix the idea by explaining the amount of time it took to make Embers, but he wouldn’t rule out a future live-action effort either.

“Not at this time. Embers took [six] months to make. [I]t was a big project, and beloved by all, but those teams are busy with other things right now. But we loved the project, so maybe we’ll go that route again one day.”

Additionally, McDevitt squashed fans’ hopes that the Assassin’s Creed franchise might ever make it to the modern day, showing the Templar/Assassin battle in a contemporary open world. McDevitt cites the amount of mechanics Ubisoft would need to consider as a major obstacle to any modern day setting, specifically getting all of those moving parts right.

“I doubt we would do a modern day AC. There are just too many mechanics we would have to develop to make it [believable] … vehicles, plausible modern cities, a huge array of ranged weapons, etc. The modern day will most likely remain as a ‘context’ for all future games, something to tie them all together.”

While Assassin’s Creed 3 did feature some modern day exploration, it was fairly linear. If Ubisoft were to approach the modern day world in the same way they do the Caribbean in Assassin’s Creed 4, for example, there would presumably be a lot more time and effort required.

Luckily, Ubisoft has Watch_Dogs, which offers an open world experience set in a modern day, to fill that void. Granted, there’s a decided lack of verticality inWatch_Dogs, but the two are apparently connected so there’s no reason not to think some type of crossover might occur.

The entire Reddit AMA with McDevitt, Game Director Ashraf Ismail, and Lead Multiplayer Designer Tim Browne is a fascinating read. It delves into the decision not to put player in control of Desmond in the game, a controversial choice among AC fans, and provides some interesting insight as to how Assassin’s Creed 4‘s “outside the Animus” experience could better inform the in-Animus stuff.

As well, the Ubisoft devs had quite the scathing review for their current-gen development experience, saying that working with current-gen hardware was “nightmarish.” Comparatively, working with next-gen hardware, the PS4 and the Xbox One, has been “easy.”

While we don’t know what’s in store for the Assassin’s Creed franchise next year, we can cross two potential items off the list: revisiting Connor and a modern day setting. That leaves only about 3,000 years (give or take a couple thousand) that Ubisoft could cover.

Or are there clues in Assassin’s Creed 4 as to where the Assassin’s Creedseries will go next? There definitely are clues, but they might be red herrings.

Do you think it’s smart of Ubisoft do avoid a modern day setting for Assassin’s Creed? Would you like to have seen more of Connor’s story?

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Multiplayer Trailer Gives Power To Players

As one of the many games straddling the current-gen/next-gen line, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag sits in a unique spot; many players have already dove headlong into the campaign (read our review), but others are awaiting the boost in store for the game’s release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

But in all that fervor over graphics supremacy – and the allure of the game’sprawling open world – the changes made to the multiplayer portion of Black Flag might be overlooked. To ensure that doesn’t happen, and to let players known just how seriously the game’s online multiplayer is being taken, Ubisoft has released a new trailer detailing the increased customization, new perks and abilities, and increased player control.

The Assassin’s Creed series first made waves when it shaped a multiplayer experience around stealth like few other games had: to blur the line between human and computer-controlled players, granting the ability to hide in plain sight. That idea was surrounded by standard Deathmatch and other team-based modes, but the formula has remained largely the same since.

For Black Flag, the developers have made plenty of changes that inch the experience closer to other forms of multiplayer, which they hope will help their online community thrive, and turn more power than ever over to their players.

First and foremost, that means allowing players to customize their own multiplayer characters like never before, from clothing, color, hairstyles, and more. Sure, those might not change the overall experience, but the addition is a welcome one that seemed increasingly odd not to allow. But those changes pale in comparison to the real improvements.

Previous trailers had implied that the Black Flag multiplayer experience would be extremely similar to that of Assassin’s Creed 3 – albeit with a more swashbuckling flavor. While that might be the case, the new Perks and Abilities players are able to choose from not only allow even greater customization for specific play styles, but from our hands-on time with them, are entertaining from the start. Ubisoft has shown a knack for introducing surprisingly inspired and elegant multiplayer tricks and strategies, and the latest seem to be no different.

The chance to slow time in a specific area of the map might be a problematic design for some studios, but nobody can claim that Ubisoft isn’t open to experimentation. But experimentation only works if the player community is similarly inclined; and with the introduction of Game Lab, the developers are giving Black Flag players the chance to create their own matches, with their own goals and restrictions.

Granted, being able to create custom matches with unique (or ridiculous) prerequisites has been around for some time in the world of online shooters. But the video makes a strong case for why the addition could be a worthwhile one forCreed‘s brand of multiplayer. Customizable matches have always proven that there is just no telling what some dedicated players will come up with next, so hopefully Ubisoft will give players enough tools to do something truly groundbreaking.

We’re all in favor of giving players more power over their own play style and experience, but whether that can attract more players to AC‘s online than are already playing remains to be seen.

Where do you stand? Are you a fan of Black Flag‘s multiplayer, or are you waiting to see if players can concoct a game mode that you simply have to play? Sound off in the comments.

‘Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix’ Logo Discovered in ‘Black Flag’

What is Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix? No really, tell us, we have no idea. This mysterious title first cropped up earlier this year in a leaked image of undetermined source, showing the name and very little else, and since then any further information regarding Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix has been virtually non-existent.

For those who think this sounds like a great way to build up hype and interest, you are probably right. If Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix is anything other than a red herring, then we can probably expect an official reveal or announcement from Ubisoft somewhere down the line. In the meantime, however, another tease has been found planted in the modern-day section of swashbuckling pirate adventureAssassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

The eagle eyes at iGoGaming have spied a sticker in one of the Abstergo Entertainment offices bearing the Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix logo over a background that is easily recognizable as Abstergo HQ, where fans of the series will have many fond memories of running around, entering codes into elevators and stabbing people. This clears up any doubt as to whether or not the previously leaked image was legitimate, and also opens up a whole new world of questions. Let’s start asking a few of them.

With a symbol of resurrection as potent as a phoenix, it’s hard to ignore the Desmond-shaped elephant in the room. After an ambiguous magic button killed Desmond off at the end of Assassin’s Creed III, it was subsequently revealed that his body was picked up by Abstergo and DNA was extracted from it in order for the Templars to continue exploring the ancestral memories of “Sample 17,” meaning that his genetic legacy can live on for many more games to come.

The first glimpse of the name Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix showed the title in front of a location that appeared to be the lair of Erudito, a collective that opposes Abstergo Industries and which also sent Desmond useful information, such as the passwords to all of his friends’ e-mail accounts. Without Erudito, we may never have known about the dispute over stolen yoghurt in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, so this is definitely an important entity within the Assassin’s Creeduniverse.

The question, therefore, is what a title that has been previously connected to Erudito is doing in the headquarters of Abstergo’s entertainment division. Of course, other encounters in Assassin’s Creed IV have shown that Abstergo Entertainment is far from immune to enemy infiltration, and it would make sense for a member of the Erudito Collective to be operating from inside Abstergo and passing information to the outside.

Back in the real world, Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix seems like a plausible title for either Assassin’s Creed IV DLC or a handheld title like Assassin’s Creed: Liberation, which will soon be getting an HD release for PC, PS3 and XBox 360. Given Erudito’s past interest in Desmond and the subtle hint that the collective may have moles inside Abstergo Entertainment, could we possible see Desmond resurrected for another game?

That could well just be wishful thinking, since I’m of the (unpopular) opinion that Desmond was an interesting modern day protagonist who didn’t get enough screen time in the previous games. It’s not like the Assassin’s Creed franchise is short of possible routes for the resurrection motif; the central conceit of the series involves reviving the memories of long-dead ancestors. However, since Ubisoft is unlikely to use a modern-day setting for any of the main games now that the historical aspect has been established as a key selling point of Assassin’s Creed, it would be nice to get a small spin-off title based on the modern storyline of the games.

Ubisoft Removes ‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Online Pass, Discontinues Program

It took them a little longer to come around, but Ubisoft has finally followed Electronic Arts’ lead and cancelled their Online Pass program, Uplay Passport. This in response to the gamer backlash over Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag‘s limitations without the Passport.

For those that might not know, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag offered a system similar to previous Assassin’s Creed games whereby players could send their comrades off on missions to accrue loot, money, and experience. However, rather than a troupe of assassins, the player was sending off pirate ships.

As any Assassin’s Creed fan can attest, this feature, while a little micro-management heavy, is extremely useful for accruing money among other things. Which makes the fact that it was locked behind an Online Pass all the more troubling.

But, when gamers caught wind that the feature was trapped behind the Uplay Passport, the backlash soon spread. To which Ubisoft replied with this message:

“In Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Edward’s Fleet is an innovative online feature that allows a single player to interact with multiple players on consoles or via the game’s companion app. Every new copy of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag includes the Uplay Passport code needed to unlock this online feature.

“However, we listen to our community and understand that there are concerns over some players’ ability to access this feature, so we have decided to eliminate the cost of the Uplay Passport for Black Flag. This ensures that everyone will be able to use the companion app, Edward’s Fleet, online multiplayer and available bonus content at no additional cost.

“What’s more, Uplay Passport will not be a part of any future Ubisoft games.”

That means any gamer who purchases (or rents) a second hand copy ofAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will have unfettered access to all of the game’s features, including the use of ‘Edward’s Fleet.’ More importantly it also means that highly anticipated games like Watch_Dogs or The Crew will not have locked content.

Over the past year, the much-maligned Online Pass has gone from a viable economic strategy to an almost unspeakable addition. Both Electronic Arts and Sony distanced themselves from the feature – hopeful that their strategy might boost next-gen sales – which left Ubisoft as one of the lone remaining adopters of the Online Pass.

When EA first announced they were dropping the Online Pass, speculation ran rampant that the next-gen consoles might block used games, but we know now that will not be the case. Granted, Sony does require a PlayStation Plus subscription for online play, but Microsoft has been asking gamers for a yearly fee for several years now.

This switcheroo by Ubisoft and the recent backpedaling by Microsoft show that gamer feedback is stronger than it has ever been, and suggests that every company will do whatever it takes to win gamers’ favor in the next-gen. We’ve already heard about Ubisoft’s plan to dominate in the next-gen, and this decision certainly puts them in a better place.

Are you glad that Ubisoft finally got on board with the anti-Online Pass initiative? Do you think we will ever see a similar feature in the future?

Exclusives for ‘Watch_Dogs’ and ‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Tied to Sony for 6 Months

Although many times the value in choosing one version over another is lost on the consumer, for the console maker exclusivity, especially in pre-order bonuses, can mean a significant advantage. So much so that publishers will pay top dollar for the right to special content, be it additional missions, new multiplayer maps, or special characters.

However, exclusivity in many cases is just a temporary thing, lasting only long enough for one console to get a head start. Case in point: the PS3 and PS4 exclusive content for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs.

In a new trailer for the PS4 (seen above), a footnote reveals that the pre-order bonus contet for these highly anticipated games – which is said to total up to 60 minutes of additional gameplay – will only remain exclusive to the PS3 and PS4 consoles for 6 months. After that, the content might become available on those title’s other platforms, namely the PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and the Wii U.

Assassin’s Creed 4‘s Sony-exclusive content, as some know, features Assassin’s Creed: Liberation‘s Aveline – the first female assassin to headline a game. The 60 minutes worth of content is said to continue Aveline’s story from Liberation, which concluded with the female assassin asserting her dominance in 18th Century New Orleans.

In Watch_Dogs, the additional content will consist of four extra missions in which hero Aiden Pearce fights alongside one of the game’s many factions. And after completing the side content, players will unlock a new suit for Pearce.

Side Note: Ubisoft delayed Watch_Dogs into Spring 2014, which leaves plenty of time for gamers to switch their pre-order.

So, those gamers who have already pre-ordered copies of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs on non-Sony platforms have hope that they will be able to purchase the exclusive DLC at a later date. There’s no guarantee Ubisoft will do so from the fine-print in the trailer, but not porting the DLC to Microsoft and Nintendo’s platforms seems like a missed opportunity for additional revenue.

At the same time, Ubisoft chose not to port the PS3-exclusive Assassin’s Creed 3 missions to any other platforms, so there is precedent. But that was not in the middle of a console war – one that Ubisoft hopes to profit greatly from.

Console exclusives like these become a sticky situation for publishers, as they sign deals with console makers to push sales in a specific direction but don’t want to lose out on any potential sales if possible. We’ll see how Ubisoft plays this one in about six months.

Did you pre-order Assassin’s Creed 4 or Watch_Dogs for the exclusive content? Do you think Ubisoft should keep that content exclusive to the consoles?

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag releases October 29, 2013 for the PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360; November 15th for the PS4; November 19th for the PC; and November 22nd for the Xbox One.

‘Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD’ PS3 Release Date, Price, & Details

Fans of reliving fictional memories are no doubt gearing up for the high-profile release of the latest adventure in Animus adventuring, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – featuring sea dog, Edward Kenway. Despite tempered expectations from the developer, Ubisoft‘s sixth triple-A console Assassin’s Creed installment is already one of the most preordered games of the year.

Yet, if you’re a PS3 player, Black Flag isn’t the only Assassin’s Creed game set for release on Sony‘s current generation hardware, as the PS Vita exclusive, Assassin’s Creed: Liberation was previously announced for an HD remakewith significant gameplay tweaks, along with new missions and personas. At the time of the report, the game was teased as “coming soon,” but Sony has now unveiled an official release date for Liberation‘s console debut.

According to a post on the official PlayStation Blog, the HD title revision will arrive via the PlayStation Network on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, at a price of $19.99.

If you don’t own a Vita, or simply weren’t interested in a handheld Assassin’s Creedgame at the time, check out the trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD below to get an idea of the story and updated feature set.

While the amount of content will pale in comparison to a full-fledged Assassin’s Creed experience, given that Liberation was originally developed for the Vita, the $19.99 price point is a full $20 cheaper than the game’s original launch price – and includes a variety of new features and refinements.

In addition to the HD upgrade, we also have new missions specific to Aveline’s Personas. Aveline is the first Assassin with such clearly different character types — Assassin, Lady, and Servant. Each persona has its own advantages and disadvantages when playing missions, and each generates a different reaction from the city life around Aveline. That’s a total of 15 missions delving deeper into Aveline’s story.

The timing of the release makes sense, especially considering that Liberation‘s protagonist, Aveline de Grandpré, will be featured as a playable character in at least one Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag mission. Meaning that interest in the character’s backstory will, in theory, be even higher after gamers (that didn’t playLiberation) have been introduced to her in the latest numbered AC title. Additionally, with next-generation hardware less than one month away (from the time of this writing), the clock is definitely ticking for an HD update of Liberation - which looks good now but will likely start to appear pretty dated as more and more PS4 and Xbox One titles are introduced throughout 2014.

That said, the Ubisoft team has, without question, made good use of the added PS3 power – as Liberation boasts sharp visuals on the console hardware. Our VitaLiberation review was mostly positive but cited a lot of room for improvement, especially when it came to mission variety and combat encounters. So, it’ll be interesting to see if the developer has successfully improved the core gameplay experience as much as the onscreen assets.

Liberation is unlikely to be a system-selling Sony exclusive but the game is not expected to make an appearance on Microsoft or PC hardware right away (though Xbox 360 and Windows versions have been announced). As a result, it’s possible that more than a few die-hard Assassin’s Creed fans may end up picking-up a PS3 to get the full AC experience – now that they can enjoy the game on a console. If so, Sony will not only manage to draw consumers to their PS3 hardware, they’ll also open up an all new group of potential players to additional exclusive game sales (i.e. the Uncharted and Killzone series, to name a few).

Assassin’s Creed 4: New Infographics Show Players How To Be A Stealthy Pirate

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag has a somewhat contradictory premise, at least on the surface. Pirates are often depicted as loud, drunken, eccentric men out for gold and glory. Assassins, especially as depicted in the series so far, are generally honor bound, silent and agile shadows. The two are near polar opposites in terms of their stereotypical depictions and the historical context for each is equally distant making the concept for the game quite an oxymoronic amalgam.

Not that that will stop fans enjoying an assassin’s life on the high seas. The chance to explore the pirate-ridden Caribbean and marry it together with the often compelling Assassin’s Creed gameplay could be a winner after the last game in the series failed to live up to some fan’s and critic’s expectations.

Emphasizing the Assassin’s Creed gameplay that fans enjoy, Ubiblog has released a series of ‘infographics’ that show off the weapons and techniques to remain stealthy in the game. Each outlines one of the game’s methods to remain hidden while also accompanying it with a pretty picture.

The mechanics will be familiar to fans of almost any Assassin’s Creed as each has played a part somewhere in previous games, seemingly confirming that players who plan to play unnoticed, the gameplay and combat can do so as they did before.

Ubisoft reassures players that using these well-founded stealthy mechanics aren’t the only way players will be able to make use of Edward Kenway‘s abilities:

“Like any great open-world game, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag is set up to work with all kinds of play styles.”

So whether you want to go in guns blazing and upgrade your ship into be a war machine pirate style or go undetected like an assassin, Ubisoft puts the choice in the player’s hands.

What excites you most about Assassin’s Creed 4? Do you want to strap on the hidden blades and embody an assassin or are you looking forward to getting the pistols out and channeling your inner-pirate?

‘Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag’ Offers 80 Hours Worth of Content

It’s rare these days that a game gets by without gamers knowing approximately how long it takes to complete the experience. With dozens of games to choose from and each of them costing $60 a pop, gamers want to know that their investment will be worth it.

With that in mind, we bring news of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – one of the most anticipated releases of the Fall season, if not the year – specifically regarding the game’s completion time. And let us say, that those who want to explore all that Ubisoft has packed in to the game will have their work cut out for them.

According to Assassin’s Creed 4‘s Lead Game Designer Jean-Sebastien Decant, the main campaign in Black Flag should take gamers somewhere in the vicinity of 20 hours to complete. That includes killing all of the game’s captains, which Decant says are like in-game bosses, completing all of the Animus sequences, and playing through any of the present day missions/levels.

As far as seeing/completing/collecting everything the game has to offer (a.k.a. getting to 100% completion), Decant says that there is between 50 and 60 hours of additional content not directly tied to the main campaign. Gamers will need to complete some of those side missions in order to upgrade Edward Kenway’s ship, the Jackdaw, but most will be purely optional. Just sailing from one side of the game’s sprawling map – which includes 3 main areas, a handful of islands, and plenty of nooks and crannies – will take players, on average about 15 minutes.

Clearly, Ubisoft has packed plenty of content into Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, enough to keep gamers busy for several days. It always takes some time for me to get acquainted with the landscape – to poke and prod at all the various side content – before it becomes clear just how long I want to devote to the game. And, with Assassin’s Creed 4 taking players to the Caribbean, there’s a very real possibility that gamers will spend hours exploring the seaside – getting into naval battles and whatnot.

Of course, 80 hours of content does not take into account the multiplayer experience, which could offer several more days worth of entertainment. In other words, for those who want to dig deep into Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – either on current-gen or next-gen platforms – plenty of content awaits.

How much time do you plan to invest in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag? Do you mainline the campaign or explore some of the side content?

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Director Interested in Ancient Egypt Setting

Up until the announcement of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – released later this month – Ubisoft’s time travelling, Templar-stabbing franchise had always maintained a measure of rough chronological certainty. Linear, straightforward hops through history have already taken series protagonist Desmond Miles from the 12th Century Holy Land, to 15th Century Italy and onto 18th Century America. Now, the game’s developers are counting back the AC III clock – just a bit – to delve greedily into the Golden Age of Piracy.

With the Assassin’s Creed opus now confirmed to move both forward and backward in time, many previously missed eras are right back in contention for a fifth core outing. Classical Greece; blood-soaked Sparta and enlightened Athens, murderous Mongol hordes and hidden Ninja warriors are all available for play, should Ubisoft so choose to include them, but where does Assassin’s Creed 4director Ashraf Ismael hope to take the series next?

Speaking to Examiner this week, Ismael revealed his fondness for the Ancient Egyptian era, an iconic civilization hidden beneath the sands of time and rarely explored by modern day video gamers.

“There’s a lot of interesting periods and time places we haven’t been to that I would like to see […] I’m not saying we are going there, but one day I would love to explore Egypt as a setting for this game. Ancient Egypt could be a really cool place. We have a really cool explanation for how we can do this, and it is with this Animus device that allows us to go to anytime in history.”

Given the typical demands of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, namely famous faces playing out infamous conflicts, the best bet for any Ancient Egyptian-set outing is likely to be around 30BC, i.e. the dawn of Roman rule in Egypt. Starring the likes of Cleopatra, Marc Anthony, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Brutus and Cassius, and revolving around the doomed love affair of the former three parties, the plot would leave plenty of room for assassination, intrigue and full-scale conflict.

Interestingly, the wider Assassin’s Creed timeline already takes many of these events into consideration, naming Caesar a Templar tyrant, and his slayers as members of the early Assassin’s Order.

Where would you like to see the Assassin’s Creed series head next? Is the animus device the greatest narrative conceit in all of gaming? Have your say in the comments below, and be sure to check out Assassin’s Creed 4‘s pre-launch loot right here.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag arrives on October 29th 2013, for Xbox 360, Wii U and PlayStation 3 platforms. Xbox One & PS4 versions are slated to debut alongside their respective consoles.

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Includes An Epilogue To Desmond’s Story

Ask any fan of Assassin’s Creed to name their most memorable experiences with the series, and it’s unlikely they’ll mention anything other than a sequence starring Ezio Auditore, set centuries in the past. The developers of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag are aware that not every player enjoys being pulled from a rich history back into today’s cubicle-filled world, and are taking steps to alleviate the problem.

Make no mistake: Ubisoft isn’t getting rid of the narrative conceit – explaining that for good or bad, “it’s part of the brand” – but with Black Flag, players will choose whether to spend minutes or hours unraveling the mysteries of Abstergo – finding some significant answers if they dig deep enough.

As much as players may criticize the Assassin’s Creed series for sticking with their premise of ‘modern day people re-living ancient memories’ instead of simply producing historical action games, Ubisoft has their reasons. They still claim thatthere is one massive story in the process of being told, and for our part, the closing scenes of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations alone proved that the dual timelines can offer something unique.

Even so, Ubisoft isn’t blind to the fact that the contemporary story of the series isn’t a high point for every player. For Black Flag, the writers have crafted a brand new twist on the fiction: players are no longer Desmond Miles, but themselves a recruit of Abstergo Entertainment, the secretly Templar-run company letting test subjects re-live genetic memories for recreation.

Even with the new Abstergo digs, there’s no question that fans aren’t particularly thrilled by office architecture. That’s the reason, explains director Ashraf Ismail, that they’re leaving it up to the player this time around to determine how deep they’d like to dig in today’s world:

“In total, if you were to do everything in the present day – find everything, hack every computer, access every room – it’s a solid three to five hours. For the main path – the stuff you’re required to do – it’s somewhere between 20 and 25 minutes. You leave the Animus five times during the game’s main path and each time you’re there for about three to four minutes.”

And with that, skeptics or Desmond-haters can breathe a sigh of relief. But what about players who actually want to know how the modern-day Assassin/Templar conflict will play out? The story (and conclusion) of Assassin’s Creed 3 proved quite divisive among fans, but either way, the centuries-old war didn’t simply stop once credits rolled.

Ismail promises that fans who actually value the greater story won’t be left out in the cold either, as there is definitely a mystery to uncover in the Abstergo offices – and even some closure for the game’s previous protagonist (spoilers for Assassin’s Creed 3 ahead):


“It’s there to progress the story because there’s this meta story that we’re telling. Why are you researching Edward? Why him specifically? What did he do that’s interesting? There is a story that connects everything together. We pretty much tried to boil it down to its most core essence because we know there are people out there who really don’t like the present day, and that’s okay. You don’t have to like it, but it’s part of the brand. For the people who like the present day and are big fans, we put in a lot of fan service and a lot of fun optional content. You get to choose if you want it or not.

“You have to hack computers and figure out how to access certain rooms and get through security. There is gameplay in just being able to access that stuff. When you access it, the content you find is a reward for us. Through this content you see what happens to Desmond after Assassin’s Creed III. We used it as an opportunity to say goodbye to Desmond.

“The First Civilization, Juno… all that is part of the brand and yes, there’s progression in it. It’s not just a nod that we make to it. It’s actually part of the meta story. You see what happens after Assassin’s Creed III – you see the ramifications of that, and we push it further.”

That tease might be enough to convince players on the fence to do a bit of extra digging once the game is released, since the ‘First Civilization’ allusions throughout the series have ranged from jaw-dropping to confusing. We can only hope that the gameplay required to unlock the information is less frustrating than the ‘Memories’ portion of Revelations.

It seems that the modern-day setting won’t exist only to deliver facts or story details to diehard fans, but a few laughs, as well. The parallels between modern video games and Abstergo Entertainment are easy to see, but Ismail confirms that the developers took the opportunity to take a few shots at the games industry as a whole, and their own studio in particular (note the Montreal skyline outside of Abstergo’s offices, the same city in which the studio is located).

All that being said, Ubisoft has been featuring the pirate-centric action surrounding Edward Kenway in their marketing, with little to no reference of the Assassins or Templars. At this point, it’s even unclear how Edward Kenway factors into the core story at all. We expect Ubisoft to employ some clever writing to connect the dots between not just Edward, but his first mate Adewale, and the return of AC3: Liberation heroine Aveline in her own PlayStation exclusive missions.

But Ismail makes it sound as if these disparate elements might not be so haphazardly included after all:

“She’s not from the same time as Edward, of course, so her story is not really directly connected to Edward. There is a connection in the brand but I won’t say what it is. You get to see it when you play as Aveline. Aside from Aveline… There are awesome cameos. Let’s put it like that.”

And on that note, we’d ask any of you to throw out your own theories on what the secret could be. Will you be interested in solving these mysteries from inside Abstergo? Or is it the pirate’s life that catches your eye? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Season Pass Unlocks ‘Freedom Cry’ Campaign

The developers at Ubisoft haven’t been afraid to delve into history to bring added drama to the Assassin’s Creed series, and with Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, they’re keeping the tradition alive. Most notably, in their plans to make the most of the expected DLC Season Pass.

But rather than simple weapons or costumes, owners of the Season Pass will be able to play through “Freedom Cry,” a standalone Black Flag campaign starring Edward Kenway’s first mate Adewale, as the escaped slave is forced to confront his past, and bring punishment to those who most deserve it. Ubisoft certainly looks to be breaking the mold with their new hero, and from the trailer for Adewale’s campaign, he’ll be earning some fans as well.

Read on for the full description of the nine-mission “Freedom Cry” campaign, straight from Ubisoft:

Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate aboard the Jackdaw where he became Edward Kenway’s second-in-command. Now, 15 years later, Adewale has become a trained Assassin who finds himself shipwrecked in Saint-Domingue without weapons or crew. He starts to meet locals in an effort to assemble a crew and steal a ship. The more he helps, however, the more he is drawn into the Maroon slave community. Forced to face his past, Adewale sets out to free the slaves and bring death to their captors.

The announcement also brings a few screenshots of Adewale in action, showing he has put his years of service at Edward’s side to good use, and implying he’s just as good at assassinating soldiers as his captain. Take a look:

In addition to the 3-hour long campaign, the developer also has the standard variety of add-ons and perks fans have come to expect. It seems like more unlockable locations and multiplayer skins aren’t going anywhere, but the ability to bring some added style to Edward’s ship, the Jackdaw, may tempt pirate enthusiasts:
Exclusive Kraken Ship Pack – Only available to Season Pass owners, this pack includes a sail, wheel, and figurehead inspired by the legendary sea monsters known for swallowing ships, men and whales
A Deeper Single Player Experience – Additional single player missions, weapons, skins, and collectibles for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
More Multiplayer Mayhem – Unlock new characters for an even more expansive multiplayer experience

Ubisoft is going all-out to prove their franchise still has staying power, and the expansive open world alone looks like a good enough reason for some on the fence to pay attention. Coming in at just $19.99, the Season Pass price isn’t as steep an asking price as some we’ve seen. Even if fans decide to invest only afterthe reviews start to pour in.

While Adewale may be starring in a few missions of his own for owners of the Season Pass, PlayStation 3 and 4 players can look forward to another date with Aveline de Grandpré. Her campaign only clocks in at around 1 hour, but continues her storyline from Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation. 

These campaigns may not have the immediate hook of AC3‘s “Tyranny of King Washington” campaign, but if Adewale makes a mark, there’s no telling how long he might stick around. Ubisoft seems interested in expanding the franchise onto every platform available, so every supporting character could be a potential star at this point.

Will you be picking up a Season Pass? How interested in you are the idea of giving secondary characters their own turn in the spotlight via DLC? Share your thoughts in the comments.

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Trailer Shows Off Edward Kenway’s Ink

It seems like it was only a matter of time until Ubisoft took their Assassin’s Creedfranchise to the seas; after all, what embodies the series’ brand of high-flying, swashbuckling gameplay more than the life of a buccaneer? But with Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, the developer is taking the core gameplay into an open world unlike any other in the series.

New hero Edward Kenway’s mission may seem destined to cross that of the Assassin Order, but the latest trailer shows – through the inked skin of Kenway himself – that his rebellious spirit and love of freedom will distinguish himself from his predecessors.

Those who’ve been keeping up to date with the numerous Black Flag cinematic trailers know just how strongly Edward Kenway feels about authority figures, having cast off British laws to seek out freedom (and wealth) during the Golden age of Pirates. In this newest trailer, Kenway is shown to quite literally wear that rebellion as a badge of honor, promising to chart a new course for the series in terms of leading men.

The star of the previous game, Connor Kenway (Edward’s grandson) was the subject of much criticism from both fans and critics. Ezio Auditore was going to be a hard act to follow for any play-controlled character, but Connor’s lack of personality, humor, and general naiveté was one of the game’s most glaring issues.

Ubisoft seems to recognize the shortcomings of Assassin’s Creed 3, planning to receive feedback from fans on mission design in-game, while crafting a hero that bears little in common with Connor. Since players found that protagonist a bit dry, the developers have shaped Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag around a character who is the polar opposite; jaded, cynical, and as this trailer shows, keen on enjoying all the pleasures piracy has to offer.

The publisher still expects Black Flag to sell fewer copies than AC3, but that doesn’t seem to have lessened their resolve of raising the bar for the franchise as a whole. With a strong cast of actors, an open world larger than any experienced in the series thus far, and apparently just as much content to discover on your own than is contained in the main campaign, Ubisoft seems to be courting even disappointed fans back to their brand.

Only time will tell if the series has reached its peak, or if Black Flag packs enough pirate fun to win over skeptics. Either way, it would seem Edward’s character will bear a majority of the load. What do you think of his odds? Is a cynical, morally grey character just what’s needed, or do you remain on the fence? Sound off in the comments.

Ubisoft Seeking Player Feedback Through ‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Mission Ratings System

A well-earned reputation is all that separates history’s greatest pirates from other ragtag raiders of the day. Infamy might win you a ship here, control of a port there – not to mention the everlasting fear of the locals – but sooner of later a bigger fish will try to fry you. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag knows all about the pratfalls of piracy – the dizzying heights and the thunderous lows, as a privateer’s rep continually ebbs and flows – and has taken steps to maximize your time in the limelight here.

Revealed during a recent Ubisoft gameplay event, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag now looks set to include an optional mission-rating mechanic, a 5-starred system intended to provide feedback for the series’ as-yet unspecified future entries.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Associate Producer Sylvain Trottier outlined the feature as a simple, anonymous feedback tool, already being put to good use during the game’s internal playtest sessions.

“It’s fully optional, it’s a way for our players to tell us directly whether they liked or not the mission. It’s a survey if you prefer. It will help us know which missions are the favorites and which one people like less. […] It’s the first time as far as I know that we are doing this. It’s a test, we don’t know how much data we will collect from there and don’t know if people will use it or not but we think it was worth trying it to get the direct feedback from our players.”

Interestingly, early impressions of the system seem to indicate that criticisms are limited to a hard star rating, with no room for any written additions. While being able to rate an insufferable “tail the suspect”-type mission a lowly 2 stars might have its uses, the lack of any further feedback options could prove limiting. If fans were to turn on Ubisoft, for whatever reason, then these ratings could be artificially lowered by a group of disgruntled gamers, ala Metacritic’s user score system. Likewise, an otherwise good mission could be weighed down by one or two moments of frustration, leading to low scores, and little clue at Ubisoft HQ as to their cause.

Will Black Flag‘s optional mission rating system catch on across the industry? Will the move lead to less or more gameplay variety? Have your say in the comments below, and be sure to check out the game’s pre-launch loot right here.

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Walkthrough Talks Taverns, Treasure & Pirate-Hunters

The first Assassin’s Creed title to directly target fans of open-world piracy is almost here, but to make sure they’re keeping all of their audience as interested,Ubisoft wants to remind fans that Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will be a step forward for the franchise, not just a pirate-themed side story.

To help with the task, the studio has released another walkthrough video – with commentary from the game’s director Ashraf Ismail – this time detailing the life of Edward Kenway. As one of the Caribbean’s elite pirate community, Kenway (and players) will have plenty of ways to fund their illegal ventures – and plenty of people trying to stop them, if the video is any indication.

Ubisoft has been touting from the start just how expansive and seamless the world of Black Flag will be, and while that’s expected when promoting an open-world adventure, the amount of walkthrough videos back up their claims. Although Kenway would presumably be the hero of the game, the writers have pulled no punches, with the cast of actors seeking to bring history’s most infamous pirates to life, warts and all.

That includes Kenway, who, according to the previously released walkthrough videos, will be spending his time attacking cargo shipments throughout the Caribbean, taking on private assassination contracts, and reducing naval forts to rubble with the help of his own ship, The Jackdaw.

Although much of the gameplay has been seen elsewhere, the underwater treasure-hunting continues to be surprisingly well-polished. We’ll forgive the length of time that Edward Kenway appears to be able to hold his breath, given just how impressive the visuals of the aquatic aspect of Black Flag appears to be. Especially given the risks (beside drowning) that players will be dealing with.

We’ve known for some time that Kenway would be engaging in shark battles during his underwater exploits, but the walkthrough video shows that the mammals actually model the same behavior as traditional guards; following their patrol routes, growing suspicious when spotting the player, and becoming aggressive once a corresponding meter is filled. We’re not quite sure how fans will react to the design, since guard aggression in the series has consistently been criticized as an interruption (not a challenge) to more enjoyable gameplay.

That might change once the guards become sharks, but we’ll reserve judgement. Frankly, we’re still wondering if Ubisoft has found a means to successfully include stealth gameplay into their traversal. Players have always had the ability to sneak around corners and avoid detection, but even this brief gameplay video shows a number of times when players will obliviously walk face first into a guard’s line of sight. We remain optimistic, but maybe Kenway’s steal shortcoming will be easier to take this time around, since pirates are more known for their theatricality than assassins.

Of course, players could go the other route and try to reach the highest level of infamy, attracting entire fleets intent on bringing them to justice. The video doesn’t give a look at that level of carnage, but implies that ship combat may be an aspect of the game’s progression that players won’t be able to ignore. Ranking up one’s ship means raising money, which raises the need for treasure-hunting… you get the idea. That’s a risky means of getting players to experiment with new mechanics, but if the side content is worthwhile, it could work in the long run. Only time will tell.

Which aspects of Black Flag‘s open world are you most looking forward to? Has this walkthrough gotten your interest piqued, or are you already sold on the sheer variety of gameplay options? Sound off in the comments.

‘Assassin’s Creed 4′ Stealth Trailer & Gamescom Screenshots Released

It’s the one nagging criticism about the Assassin’s Creed series: while the developers at Ubisoft have made their name in the third-person action genre, their heroes are more accurately described as one-man-killing-machines than ‘deadly assassins.’ While the hero of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag may be a pirate above all else, that doesn’t mean they won’t be countering old criticisms.

The previously-released stealth walkthrough video showed that a few gameplay additions make stealth a legitimate strategy – but can it still be as coolas running in, guns blazing? That’s the task falling to the newest Black Flag stealth trailer from Gamescom 2013, making the case that Edward Kenway is as much a sly predator as he is a swashbuckler.

The new trailer won’t convince every skeptic that simply running into combat with swords swinging isn’t the most efficient way of approaching missions – especially since Edward Kenway seems deadlier than previous protagonists – but there’s no reason to give up hope that the new stealth mechanics won’t right many wrongs.

We watched during our E3 demo of Black Flag as the developers chose to bypass a dozen guards instead of fighting them; perhaps this time around, with the chance to sail the Caribbean aboard your very own ship, and take out seaside ports with endless volleys of cannon fire, players might actually appreciate a few subtle combat tactics.

Whatever the case, the many tropical locations – hidden and charted – to be found in the game will be nice to look at – a fact proven in the newest screenshots and artwork. Take a look:

So far there has been some evidence that naval exploration, treasure-hunting, stealth and combat can be combined into some potentially exciting results, but it’s hard to believe that all of the issues surrounding Assassin’s Creed‘s stealth can be solved at once. We won’t bet against the developers, but perhaps they’d be better off focusing on elements of gameplay that most fans haven’t just accepted as par for the course.

What do you think of Ubisoft’s chances of injecting competent stealth strategies into the Creed formula? Could they streamline the systems enough to make stealth a legitimate option, or is the true covert gameplay contained mostly in the cinematic trailers? Sound off in the comments.

Every ‘Assassin’s Creed’ is Part of the Overall Story Arc & Ubisoft Knows the Ending

Over the course of the last six years, the Assassin’s Creed series has become one of the most popular (and most profitable) game franchises on the market. Growing from the promise (but clunky mechanics) of the original Assassin’s Creed back in 2007, Ubisoft has managed to iterate on their stealth-action format year-after-year – pulling in more and more gamers with each (now annual) entry in the series.

Still, some players have become concerned about the over-arching series storyline – once a relatively straightforward (albeit mysterious) narrative about protagonist Desmond Miles and his ancestral adventures in and out of the animus machine, the trajectory of the series plot has become increasingly meandering. Assassin’s Creed 3 reportedly put an end to Desmond’s storyline and, instead, Assassin’s Creed 4 will feature a nondescript protagonist who accesses archived copies of Desmond’s ancestral memories – somewhat muddling the strength of the core story for the purpose of giving developers more narrative wiggle room. However, according to a new interview with Ubisoft game director Ashraf Ismail, the developer is still working the franchise toward the planned ending – even if there are an increasing amount of detours along the way.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Ismail made sure to clarify that each entry in the Assassin’s Creed story has a place in the larger series canon – and that franchise overseers have a cohesive endpoint in mind:

“We have multiple development teams, then we have the brand team that sits on top and is filled with writers and designers concerned with the series’ overall arc. So there is an overall arc, and each iteration has its place inside this. We have an idea of where the end is, what the end is. But of course [Ubisoft co-founder] Yves [Guillemot] announced we are a yearly title, we ship one game a year. So depending on the setting, depending on what fans want, we’ve given ourselves room to fit more in this arc. But there is an end.”

According to Ismail, that overall arc also allows for different Ubisoft studios, working on Assassin’s Creed games, to coordinate story elements and add links and “seeds” that help connect each entry to the unfolding series plot:

“We’re now able to seed stuff earlier and earlier in our games. So for example in [Assassin's Creed 4] we have Edward, who was seeded in AC3. But there’s a lot more stuff in our game that is hinting at other possibilities.”

As mentioned, Assassin’s Creed remains a strong performer each year. Assassin’s Creed 3 was the fourth “best selling” game of 2012, managing to move over 12 million copies worldwide in just four months on the market, and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag pre-orders suggest the upcoming installment is also on track for another strong performance. As a result, it’s unclear when (if ever) we’ll get to see Ubisoft’s planned “end.”

That said, franchise fatigue is becoming a concern in the video game industry – especially in the case of annualized game releases. Despite coming in at number one on the aforementioned pre-order list, Call of Duty: Ghosts numbers are down, compared to Black Ops 2, suggesting that the series may have finally peaked. Yet, considering neither the Xbox One or PS4 have announced release dates, it’s possible that 2013 holiday pre-order figures aren’t the most reliable metric – given that some people might be waiting for concrete console launch info before pre-ordering games set to release around that time.

Still, with one Assassin’s Creed title coming out each winter, and a host of similarly open-world offerings in the pipeline (Watch Dogs and The Division), it’ll be interesting to see if the franchise can maintain its annualized release schedule – especially if longtime fans become underwhelmed by the increasingly drawn-out series storyline.

Even if the franchise becomes eclipsed by new IPs, when would Ubisoft realistically enact that end game story? Few video game seres are ever really dead – making it hard to believe the developer will actually provide a definitive end to series. Of course, even if Ubisoft did wrap-up the current Assassin’s Creed plot, they’ve created an extremely rich and complicated world, which would make it pretty easy to explain away post-planned ending storylines – and setup an entirely new ending altogether.