10 Things We Know About "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag"

Aside from the cues in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, we haven't seen historical pirates portrayed to a large degree. Assassin's Creed 4 will dive into the overlooked past of infamous pirates like Blackbeard, Calico Jack and TK NAME. The gameplay will mimic actual pirate life and the obstacles they were faced with.

Edward Kenway is blood related to Connor Kenway from Assassin's Creed 3. Our main character for Black Flag is the grandfather of Connor but we're not sure how deep the references will be in-game. Think of it as a prequel sequel.

First and foremost, Edward Kenway is a pirate. What makes him relevant to the story is that he's been trained by members of the brotherhood. This means that he's not particularly bound by the strict codes of the assassins. Like any other pirate, he's in it for himself and his homies.

All other AC games were mostly land based except for Assassin's Creed 3 where we saw a little bit of ocean action. In the upcoming title, a large part of exploration will be on the water where you will face other pirate ships--some stronger than your own--along with nature's bullies like fierce hurricanes and sharks. There will also be hunting with harpoons. Gotta eat right?

Ubisoft devs were vague about exactly what we can expect for the next generation console but they did say that the graphics will be way more intense and the rest of the development team was very excited with what they have to work with.

Like everyone else, we wondered how was it that Ubisoft was able to crank out another Assassin's Creed game so fast. The fact is that the team has been working on it since 2011. Even with that amount of lead time, it's amazing to see how much they've accomplished so far.

According to the devs working on AC4, Ubisoft has been doing tons of focus group testing to study the habits of the franchise's fans. This has allowed the team to open up gameplay a lot more. Things like being able to attack an enemy ship any way you want will be possible. If you want to ram your victim's ship or fall back and blast it to pieces with your cannons is all up to you.

If you want to make a quick stop at an island to free slaves, recruit crew members or just explore you can do so without waiting for it to load. It will be as simple as just turning the ship around and sailing right to it and getting off.

As captain, you will we responisble of managing your crew of swashbucklers. Some will die or get injured in battles and it's up to you to keep your team together if you want to survive the seas. In the unlikely event of your crew getting reduced, it will be possible to go out and look for new members. That can happen through recruitment or by taking an enemy's ship and making your foe's crew your own. Whatever you want to do with the ship (keep it or sink it) is all up to your own cruel or benevolent mood.

While there are a few changes like instead of Desmond Miles going into the Animus, a researcher from Abstergo Industries will be test subject. Other than that, you can expect certain mainstays from all the other AC titles. There will be the hidden blade, the "Leap of Faith" is in along with the iconic hood. Our favorite is the pirate flag that uses a skull and the Assassin's Creed emblem. Critical hit!