Ever since Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag‘s official announcement we have known that the PlayStation 4 and “other next-gen consoles” (i.e., Xbox 720) versions of the game would have a few features that set them apart from their PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Wii U counterparts. Ubisoft hasn’t detailed exactly what those features will be, however, they have indicated that it will go well beyond a simple bump in graphics.
According to an internal Ubisoft Q&A with Black Flag‘s creative director, Jean Guesdon, the next generation console versions of Assassin’s Creed IV will feature some kind of new system that allows for a “connected” single-player experience.
“ACIVBF will also be available on Next Gen consoles. In addition to improved graphics and physic, 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”. I mean, that Next Gen Consoles will allow players to have a solo experience that benefit the presence of a huge community.”
Unfortunately, Guesdon did not expand on exactly what this “Single Connected Player” experience consists of, however, he did comment on a few other features that will be standard to every version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
For starters, the entire naval combat and navigation system has been overhauled from ACIII, so that if feels “more intense, realistic and fun”. The ship has an improved sense of weight while sailing, and there are five new weapons to try out with an all-new “trajectory based aiming system”. This new aiming system is no longer just timing-based, as it now requires players to judge “the distance and speed of the enemy” to score perfect hits.
Additionally, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag has a feature called the “Horizon system” which allows players to pull out their spyglass and survey the world around them at anytime. The Horizon system guarantees that players will always see “2 or 3 pirate opportunities” available though the spyglass. These could include things like attacking a merchant ship, whale hunting, or rescuing fellow pirates.
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 for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U. Ubisoft has not officially announced the release dates for the game on the PlayStation 4 or Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox, however, the company has confirmed that the game is timed to be available for each platform holder’s launch plans.