The ship-to-ship combat in Assassin’s Creed 3 was most definitely just the tip of the iceberg. In a new gameplay demo for Blag Flag that VG247 have got their mitts on, the full extent of Assassin’s Creed’s reworked naval system is shown off in full broadside glory.
The last entry in the franchise has been rightly criticised for being too serious and lacking in the charisma of its Italy-set older brothers. The same criticism looks like it certainly won’t apply here: the video shows Edward running through an exploding dockyard before taking up the wheel of his ship, the crew ‘yarging’ amongst themselves whilst jolly pirate music plays over the top. It’s a seamless transition between land and sea as we were promised, and there’s no loading between boarding enemy ships either (which Edward does in a very cool Indiana Jones-style swing from the rigging).
It seems like a gleeful injection of pirate madness is exactly the innovation the series needed, and this video is evidence of the strategy that Yves Guillemot has spoken about previously to ensure the franchise doesnt suffer fatigue.