Ubisoft released the first gameplay trailer for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag today, giving us a good look at all the fun pirate-type activities that we will be engaging in when the game launches later this year.
Players take on the role of Edward Kenway (the father of Assassin’s Creed III‘s Haytham Kenway, and grandfather to Connor). Edward is a British-born pirate trained by Assassins, who has a hunger for infamy and riches that makes him feared by the authorities and pirates alike. Fighting alongside infamous characters like Black Beard and Calico Jack, the game will also feature many historic events, such as the gold-laden Spanish armada shipwreck off the Florida coast, and the marooning of Charles Vane.
Being a pirate-themed game, much of the new Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag trailer focuses on ship-to-ship combat and boarding techniques, but there are also plenty of other interesting gameplay aspects on display. Several segments in the trailer show off the game’s underwater exploration segments — which apparently includes having to fight off sharks in addition to searching for treasure on sunken ships — and there is no shortage of combat footage.
As is typically the case, GameStop has secured some exclusive bonus pre-order items for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, including; the Black Island single-player mission, an unlockable Black Ship, Captain Morgan’s gun and pirate costume (sorry, you will have to supply your own rum), and a collectible poster drawn by Todd McFarlane.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will be released on October 29th in North America, October 31st across Europe, and November 1st in the UK. The game is being developed for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and the next generation of consoles (which, at a minimum, consists of the PlayStation 4). Check out the first gameplay trailer embedded below, and let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments. Is it too soon for another Assassin’s Creed, or does the pirate-theme shake things up enough to keep it interesting?
