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Pre-order Assassin's Creed 4 in Europe, get access to 'The Watch' community app
Those who pre-order Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag in Europe will get access to ... more marketing! Okay, so technically it's "The Watch" a desktop, tablet and smartphone destination that brings centralizes information about the game.Players can also compete in "quests" that will unlock "specific missions, special rewards and bonuses." Just what those rewards and bonuses are hasn't been made clear.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag unveils gameplay trailer, collector's editions
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is shaking its booty today with a new gameplay trailer, and the unveiling of five different collector's editions to plunder; one for North America, and four for EMEA territories - that's Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Ubisoft also revealed a VIP pre-order program bonus for the UK and Ireland.As for North America, Ubisoft has the GameStop Edition which includes the 'Black Island Pack,' which offers a few in-game items to fill your boots with. It includes the Black Island quest, the Black Ship, Captain Morgan's silver flintlock pistols, and multiplayer items that include the good cap's costume, picture, and title. If you're after something more physical, GameStop pre-orders also bundle in a Todd McFarlane-designed collectible poster.Now onto the EMEA region, where the biggest treasure trove is the Black Chest edition, only obtainable via Ubisoft's Uplay service. It includes - take a deep breath - a 55cm Captain Edward diorama, an exclusive steelbook, an artbook, a soundtrack, two lithographs, two canvas prints, all "existing additional" in-game content that can be unlocked, a collector's box, parchment world map, and an "original Black Flag replica" - and breathe.If you can't hold your breath that long, you can always try the Buccaneer Edition, which includes the artbook, soundtrack, lithographs, in-game content, collector's box, and an Edward Kenway Figure. That's available at GAME in the UK and GameStop in Ireland. Another UK option that's market-wide is the Skull Edition, which swaps out the Kenway figure and collector's box for a "Jumbo Steel Case." Finally, the standard-price Special Edition comes with all the existing additional unlockable in-game doodads, and it can only be found at GAME in the UK and Xtravision in Ireland.On top of all those pieces of eight, Ubisoft has a VIP program as a pre-order bonus at GAME and Amazon in the UK, and GameStop in Ireland, or via uPlay. The program, rather menacingly called 'The Watch,' grants access to "additional information, bonus content, rewards," and an exclusive quest. You can find rustle up more info on The Watch here.
Report: Assassin's Creed 4 to feature 'connected' single-player systems on next-gen
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is a next-gen game (gasp!), and will feature a few new, special systems on console versions, such as a "connected" single-player mode, creative director Jean Guesdon says in an internal Q&A unearthed by All Games Beta."Next-gen versions will bring to the players new, connected features allowing them to feel that even if they remain 'single player,' it will be better to be a 'single connected player,'" Guesdon says. "I mean that next-gen Consoles will allow players to have a solo experience that benefits the presence of a huge community."Guesdon doesn't go into detail about the connected systems. He does outline a few more tidbits about the game, including the "horizon system," which provides characters aboard the ship with "pirate opportunities," side-quests specific to an individual player's progress. Ubisoft has six studios working on Black Flag: Montreal, Singapore, Sofia and Québec working on single-player content, and Annecy and Bucharest developing multiplayer.
AC4 director: Another leading lady 'wouldn't be surprising' in the future
The Assassin's Creed team at Ubisoft never imagined placing a woman in the lead role during the era of the Kenways, which spans Assassin's Creed 3 and Black Flag, director Ashraf Ismail told IGN."Really early on, we decided to tell the story of the Kenways," Ismail said. "So we already had in place the idea to tell Edward, Haytham and Connor. This was actually years ago, we had this." He continued, "We actually never thought, 'Could this be a woman?'"Historically, there weren't many famous female pirates, Ismail said, and he didn't want players to fixate on that detail. Still, there's a lot of history between pirates and now, and Assassin's Creed may explore a leading lady in another, main game. The lead character of Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation for Vita was a woman, and that story fed into directly the prime Assassin's Creed 3 narrative. Ubisoft may continue this trend with future games."I would say it wouldn't be surprising to see a female assassin coming up in a mainline Assassin's Creed," Ismail said. "But for us, for AC4, it was always Edward."If choosing the gender of protagonists was a business decision, it would fall to Ubisoft's brand team, and Ismail said he didn't know what they were cooking up for the "next few games.""But the concept of a female assassin, I can tell you it's not a no-no; it's not something we're trying to avoid at all."Epic Games art director Chris Perna, recently sounded off about selling a female protagonist, saying "it's tough to justify something like that," at least from a business standpoint.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag 'pushing hard' for more assassinations, less hand-holding
It has become necessary to ask about the prevalence of assassination in a series called Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft's massive franchise has grown to encompass different developers, protagonists, historical contexts, and design ideals. The central thrust of the hidden blade has been obscured by an ever-growing stack of systems, plots and economies, some of which suit the business of killing – and some that allow you to manufacture and sell barrels."Yes, we are a pirate game, and we advertise ourselves as a pirate game. It's even in our title," says Ashraf Ismail, Game Director at Ubisoft Montreal for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. "But it's an Assassin's Creed game, and this is very important, because this is how we're able to build a pirate game. We have this really solid foundation that is the core and the heart of the experience. The story is about a guy who is an assassin and the conflict he goes through to become this guy. We actually have more assassinations than AC1 had."Following a presentation at Ubi's offices in San Francisco, Ismail explains the "older philosophy" of Assassin's Creed as an important consideration for Black Flag, even if appearances suggest otherwise. "This is something we did learn, we do listen to our fans a lot," Ismail says. "We know that in AC3 there was a lot more handholding done, and we do want to go back to an older philosophy where we just present you with a simple objective and we let you choose the gameplay you want."
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag confirmed for PS4
As the prior week's leaks suggested, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will boast next-generation ports ... rendered by the PlayStation 4. (Here you go.)Speaking to Joystiq in San Francisco last month, Assassin's Creed 4 game director Ashraf Ismail said the AnvilNext engine, which powers Ubisoft's pirate game and debuted with Assassin's Creed 3 in 2012, was built for platforms beyond the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U.Ubisoft hasn't confirmed a launch date for the PS4 version yet, since the exact timing is entwined with Sony's guarded launch plans. All other versions of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (that we know of) are due on October 29 in North America.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag debut trailer sets sail, screens too
No need to worry about leaks anymore, shipmates. Blackbeard's here to introduce you to the newest hero in the Assassin's Creed lineage, one Edward Kenway, as well as the latest, piracy-stuffed entry in the series. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag docks on the shores of North America on October 29, and Europe on October 31 (UK November 1). The game is coming to PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and next-gen consoles (at some point) including the PS4. %Gallery-180322%
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag screens leak, trailer sails again [Update]
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag's reveal is leakier than a boat with no hull. This morning the screenshots that were likely to be associated with tomorrow's intended reveal have leaked on AllGamesBeta.Not only that, but the site has the game's debut trailer up too, which leaked yesterday, but was quickly plugged up again.Go check it all out before Ubisoft has its lawyers set sail again. Or, who knows, maybe by this point even they've given up.[Thanks, Michael]Update: NintendoEverything has its hands on another leaked trailer, this one introducing the character Edward Kenway. Head there to view the video before it's forced to walk the plank.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag debut trailer leaks [Update: It's gone!]
Update: In what must surely be a new land-speed record in the art of damage control, the leaked trailer originally embedded above has already been set to private. Meanwhile, Ubisoft has also eradicated the small handful of mirrors that were uploaded to YouTube before the original was pulled.Come back on Monday, though, and there's a chance you may be able to see the whole thing. In the meantime, we've tucked the once-working embed after the break, in case it somehow comes back. Original: The (potentially not safe for work) debut trailer for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag has leaked onto the internet like water into the bowels of a poorly-built schooner. As our first look at the new game's setting and characters in motion, the above trailer details the game's hero, Edward Kenway, and all of the various ways in which he is, apparently, even cooler than Blackbeard.As we learned yesterday, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will launch on October 29 and will also be coming to "next-gen consoles."
Assassin's Creed 4 dated Oct. 29, confirmed for next-gen consoles
Ubisoft's official Asssassin's Creed site reveals a launch date for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag by use of some technical wizardry that involves replacing a letter in the URL.As DarkZero discovered, heading to the official AC4 site for the world premiere trailer, which will launch in four days, and then simply adding a "v" to the end of the url reveals the above image.The Ubisoft site notes an October 29 release date for AC4 and states it's "also coming to next-gen consoles." Sony announced the PlayStation 4 last week, Microsoft is expected to announce the next Xbox within a few months.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag hoists new hero onto PS3, 360, Wii U, PC
Ubisoft has announced Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, which introduces a new coarse heir to the century-spanning action series. As you can gather from the artwork, the sequel shifts to the Caribbean in an era of piracy and formidable pistol-to-hand ratios. The game is so far confirmed for PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U, with the PS3 version including "60 minutes of exclusive gameplay."Joystiq will have more information and opinions about Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag on Monday. We'd love it if you checked back then to learn about the game's protagonist, goals, and guiding principles. %Gallery-180118%
