Metareview: Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

Assassin's Creed 4, according to our review, will have "you leap between the roles of assassin, pirate and one-time whaler wracked with guilt." But we aren't the only fish in the sea, let's see what others thought.

• Gamespot (90/100): "A story that keeps you invested throughout the whole thing. If there was ever any question that Assassin's Creed needed something ambitious to get the series back on track, Black Flag is that game and then some."

• Edge (90/100): "We never felt like we had enough gold to buy everything we wanted, which seems engineered to push you out to sea to do what pirates do best: raid other ships. You peer through your spyglass to see what cargo they are carrying, then decide whether to engage in naval combat. The choice can be a fraught one. "

• Game Informer (83/100): "Black Flag is ultimately better than Assassin's Creed 3. Some elements seem crafted directly in response to criticisms about the previous game. You get to the piracy rather quickly, without the need for several hours of tutorial missions."

• Polygon (75/100): "For all of its mechanical improvements; for the wonder I felt as I sailed the ocean, with orca, dolphins, even great whites breaking the surface to my port side as I outran a royal trade armada; for the excellent performances and character moments throughout ... it felt disjointed."

• VideoGamer (70/100): "There's only so many times, however, that you can tolerate the poorly-defined stealth and terrible AI. Eavesdropping returns, and is as poor as before, and most missions devolve into 'follow the man, kill the man' repetition. "