Assassin’s Creed is back with its fourth official numbered release, this time set during the golden age of maritime piracy. The story arc that starred Desmond Miles ended in the last game and now we control a hero with no identity who in today’s world collects information for a pirate movie, while in the memoir we relive the exploits of Edward Kenway, a pirate with his own intentions who get involved with the order of murderers after stealing the clothes of one of them. This is the Assassin’s Creed for those who like pirates.

In the previous installment of AC finished the saga of Desmond, the protagonist of that series – through the memories of their ancestors – was from the time of the crusades to the American Revolution, from the old to the new continent, jumping roofs, riding horses and driving ships. It seems Ubisoft was left wanting to explore more of the latter, and for this new game, they invented a story centered on a theme and period of history that could be exploited to the full; what better than the golden age of ship piracy?

In Assassin’s Creed IV we control Edward Kenway. Edward is not only a pirate, but he is also a man who loves his partner, a British man tired of the difficulties and complications of everyday life; therefore, he will get involved with the creed of the assassins, he will fight the Templars and, at some point, his descendants will beget Connor (protagonist of ACIII). But before any of those things, Edward Kenway is a pirate. And as a pirate, Kenway is a man devoted to the sea, to unreliable customs and to his quest for fame and wealth who knows no rest and no price too high. Kenway’s attitude to life is reflected in the player and is one of the most magical features of BlackFlag. Many of us were very interested in the pirate adventures of the character and were a little worried that the “Assassin’s Creed” part of the character would deprive us of the possibilities of that promising premise. Fortunately, this was not the case. BlackFlag balances rather than balances both of the components that make up the game’s story and even gives more weight to the memoir part, the pirate life, by subtracting even the parts developed today, so much so that we’re now a faceless, nameless subject, we interact as if the developers had thought about the possibility of eliminating these segments of the game altogether, but hadn’t dared to do so. Kenway is much more interesting for the simple fact that it is free or takes its pursuit of the ideal of freedom very seriously.

The bet with BlackFlag is ambitious, and we would certainly like to see its potential reached, perhaps in a sequel to this same arcade. We have yet to see how much it improves on next-gen consoles, but for now, it leaves us with a very good impression. If the pirates don’t like it, do as I do and keep waiting; eventually -and if Ubisoft keeps treating the series like it has until now- the Assassin’s Creed will come along with ninjas, zombies or dinosaurs that will give them right on the spot.