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One Part Of Black Flag’s Single-Player Requires Online Pass

Ben-Dutka 20 Comments

Basically, the Online Pass is pretty self-explanatory:

If you want to enjoy the online portion of a game, you either have to purchase the game new (new copies include a code for the Online Pass), or you have to buy the Pass separately. But what business does the Pass have in dictating certain parts of the single-player experience?

According to Game Informer , players will have to have a Uplay Passport if they wish to enjoy the Kenway's Fleet mini-game in the campaign. Kenway's Fleet lets you send assassins-in-training on various missions in the hopes that they bring back some loot. It's a variation of past mechanics that have allowed your assassin prodigies to earn experience. It's all about ships in ACIV.

So why is it only available to those who have a Passport? Well, basically because if your Friends are also playing the game and tackling missions, missions you undertake can be completed faster. It's not a bad idea but in my eyes, it's just another example of so-called "connectivity" invading the single-player space. For my part, I've never activated the Uplay Passport in any AC, 'cuz it's useless to me, and I don't feel like having my progress tracked for any reason.

Now, it seems I'll have no choice if I want to experience all that Black Flag offers…in the single-player offline mode . Whatever.

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The Massive Effort That Was Black Flag Required 900 People

John-Shepard 5 Comments

Gigantic AAA video game productions require a huge amount of resources.

Ubisoft's anticipated sequel, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag , is a perfect example. According to what director Ashraf Ismail told Examiner , over 900 people were involved in the making of the game. He was answering the question as to whether or not Ubisoft would consider creating an all-encompassing MMO-type Assassin's Creed that featured numerous big worlds:

"From a pure production standpoint, it would be very, very difficult to do something like that. On this game, we've had over 900 people working on it. With the Assassin's Creed machine and being the game director, even I am sometimes amazed. It takes 900 people to create the content for this game, so to try to do multiple worlds that are all big and fleshed out with unique characters in them, I'm not sure it would bring that much to the player."

Eight Ubisoft teams assisted with the blockbuster title (Montreal, Singapore, Sofia, Annecy, Kiev, Quebec, Bucharest and Montpelier), so there was no shortage of people or resources. However, Ismail said they really don't see themselves doing anything like one cohesive game that includes multiple worlds. But Ismail says there is another possibility:

"So I don't see us ever doing that where we have multiple, big worlds. I do see this idea where you are playing in different mini-worlds and you are playing as different assassins, but I don't think you'll ever see America with Connor, Ezio in Italy, and the Caribbean with Edward in one game. I don't think it makes sense for us to do."

After the unfortunate Watch Dogs delay , Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag stands alone as Ubisoft's prime holiday competitor. It's slated to launch worldwide on October 29 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U, while the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions are set for next month.

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New Black Flag Story Trailer, Euro Launch Date Moved Up

Ben-Dutka 4 Comments

The Golden age of Pirates wasn't so "golden" for a great many victims, but for kids growing up in the 20th century, pirates were cool .

And if you still have a love for the dastardly buccaneer, you'll love the theme and setting of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag . Ubisoft has released a new Edward Kenway story trailer, which shows how a pirate adventure is all about living hearty. Loot, danger, women; it's all here.

Furthermore, it was revealed that the game will receive a global launch for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It will arrive on October 29 in all regions; previously, it wasn't set to release in Australia until October 31 or in Europe until November 1. So, enjoy the extra day or two! As for the next-gen iterations of the game, those are still set to be launch titles for the PlayStation 4 (November 15) and the Xbox One (November 22). The PC version will also launch in November.