[0:04] When it comes to remakes of popular
[0:06] games, it can be quite hard to tell when
[0:08] one project is going to make meaningful
[0:10] adjustments to capture what made the
[0:12] original special, or which will have
[0:14] aged poorly or are just being given
[0:16] cosmetic upgrades that don't make a
[0:18] replay worth it. Based on my time
[0:21] playing through some revised missions in
[0:23] Assassin's Creed Black Flag Reync, I'm
[0:25] feeling more confident that this second
[0:27] voyage on the high seas of the Caribbean
[0:29] will be the former.
[0:32] After playing through a few missions
[0:33] recently, I now have a better
[0:35] understanding of what to expect from
[0:37] this ambitious remake, which included
[0:39] narrative editions.
[0:40] >> Where can I find him? By the docks.
[0:43] >> New options for carrying out my
[0:44] assassinations.
[0:47] and other bits and bobbles along the way
[0:49] that have increased my interest in
[0:51] replaying through Kenway's epic tale of
[0:53] pillaging and unloading flint locks into
[0:55] the chests of unsuspecting lawmen.
[1:07] The missions I played took place during
[1:09] the early part of the story,
[1:11] specifically during sequence three, as
[1:14] Edward is still settling into his new
[1:16] life as a sort of kind of assassin and
[1:18] full-blown pirate captain.
[1:21] If you've played the original recently,
[1:23] you'll recall the part where you tail
[1:25] Julian Ducass's Spanish Gallion before
[1:27] tracking him through a jungle to
[1:29] assassinate him. But this revised
[1:31] version had a variety of changes, some
[1:33] lesser and some greater, which did a
[1:35] pretty good job of showing off just how
[1:37] much work has been put into bringing
[1:39] this classic up to modern standards.
[1:41] These ranged from narrative additions,
[1:43] side quests, boss fight changes, and
[1:46] even the odd collectible to snap up
[1:48] along the way. The biggest update came
[1:50] in the form of tweaks aimed at making
[1:52] the mission more open-ended. For
[1:54] example, the path you take through the
[1:56] jungle in this version is a more scenic
[1:58] route that leads you to a mansion
[2:00] instead of straight to the ship where
[2:01] your quarry hides. Here you can get up
[2:03] to new kinds of mischief, like an
[2:05] optional encounter with some captured
[2:07] pirates you can free to help serve as
[2:09] muscle or just a distraction in your
[2:12] pursuit of Ducass. Doing so causes quite
[2:15] a commotion as they arm themselves and
[2:17] make a run at their captors and take the
[2:19] fight to the beach where Ducass' ship is
[2:21] docked. You can join them in the fight
[2:22] or use the distraction to slip past the
[2:25] guards and get aboard the gallion
[2:26] undetected more easily. This was only
[2:29] one small example on one short mission,
[2:32] but if it's indicative of the added
[2:33] opportunities to approach quests in your
[2:36] own style and are allowed to get
[2:37] creative, as seemed to be the case when
[2:39] I played a handful of hours from a
[2:41] different part of the game last month,
[2:43] then that alone could sell me on
[2:45] spending several dozen more hours
[2:46] playing through this adventure in full.
[2:49] There were some other mostly cosmetic
[2:51] changes to the mission that I noticed
[2:52] along the way, too. Like some new lines
[2:54] of dialogue and story bits from the
[2:56] guards at the mansion.
[2:57] >> We can take him together. I I'll catch
[3:00] you up.
[3:01] >> A newly refurbished interior of the
[3:03] mansion itself, and even a collectible
[3:06] portrait of none other than Ducass
[3:07] himself.
[3:08] >> Ducass is a bit of a dandy.
[3:10] >> Which will be a helpful artifact to
[3:12] remember him by once you've gutted him
[3:14] like a fish and thrown his lifeless
[3:15] corpse into the salty waves. Remember
[3:18] the gift you gave me?
[3:20] >> Well, it answers just fine.
[3:22] >> Small things like these are probably
[3:23] more along the lines of the standard
[3:25] stuff you'd maybe expect to find in a
[3:27] more traditional remake versus this
[3:29] seemingly extra as heck evolution that
[3:32] Ubisoft has planned for Black Flag. But
[3:34] it's still nice to see little touches
[3:36] like this added alongside stuff like
[3:39] modernized combat and massively updated
[3:41] graphics. Of course, we already know
[3:43] that it's not just small added lines of
[3:46] dialogue they've got in store. Since
[3:48] last week, the developers shared with
[3:49] IGN one of the new cutscenes being added
[3:52] to flesh out Kenway's story.
[3:54] >> Walk with us, Kenway.
[3:56] There's trouble brewing.
[3:59] >> Another fairly big change to the Ducass
[4:01] mission was the boss fight against
[4:02] Ducass himself. There are a bunch of
[4:05] changes to this fight versus the
[4:06] original, including a proper boss fight
[4:09] health bar and a significantly longer
[4:11] battle against a now beefy due cast
[4:13] versus the original's wimpy version who
[4:15] goes down in a few hits.
[4:17] >> Sorry about this, mate, but I can't risk
[4:19] you telling your Templar friends about
[4:21] me still kicking around.
[4:23] >> Ducass also has some interesting tricks
[4:25] up his sleeve as he whips out pistols
[4:27] and just starts blasting at you with
[4:29] reckless abandon. Pretty much what you'd
[4:31] expect from an armsdealing Templar who
[4:33] taught Kenway how to fire a gun in the
[4:35] first place.
[4:40] >> Though, if you're like me and prefer
[4:42] stealth, you probably just want to slip
[4:44] in unnoticed and kill off all DAS
[4:46] without any fight at all. I did this
[4:48] during my playthrough as well and can
[4:50] confirm that it's still a completely
[4:51] viable option. Though, it does mean you
[4:53] miss out on a pretty neat fight
[4:55] sequence.
[5:01] One interesting note is that in the
[5:03] original, when you engage in this
[5:04] encounter against Ducass, there's
[5:06] nothing preventing you from just leaving
[5:07] in the middle of the fight to go catch
[5:09] your breath or continue exploring the
[5:11] island. But in this version, the
[5:12] developers have disabled the ability to
[5:14] flee until the encounter is ended. It's
[5:17] an interesting change because it feels a
[5:19] bit weird to remove some of the freedom
[5:21] available in the original. Removing
[5:22] freedom is a Templar thing after all,
[5:24] and we're assassins, damn it. But at the
[5:26] same time, it's a pretty small
[5:28] adjustment that mostly serves to up the
[5:30] challenge of the combat encounter and
[5:32] prevent the silly option to just goof
[5:34] around with the boss by taking off and
[5:36] coming back for no reason. To be honest,
[5:38] I doubt this change or others like it
[5:40] are likely to have any impact on my
[5:42] playthrough at all. But it does make me
[5:44] wonder what other things they've reigned
[5:46] in as they've streamlined encounters and
[5:48] tightened up missions. Here's hoping
[5:50] that there aren't any areas where
[5:52] they've made decisions like that which
[5:54] might take away some of the creativity
[5:55] and freedom offered in the original. If
[5:58] anything, I'd like to see them expand
[5:59] upon the options available to me as they
[6:01] did with the Ducass Mansion examples.
[6:09] >> Every time I've played Black Flag Reynct
[6:11] leading up to its launch, I felt more
[6:13] heartened about this remake, and this
[6:15] time was certainly no exception. I look
[6:17] forward to diving even deeper into its
[6:19] deep blue seas when it comes out next
[6:21] month. For more, check out our interview
[6:24] with lead writer of the original Black
[6:26] Flag, Darby McDevit, or check out our
[6:29] interview with Edward Kenway's voice
[6:30] actor during IGN Live. And for
[6:32] everything else, stick with IGN. Got
[6:36] you. I got
[6:52] I can't lie, that one felt good.
[7:04] Remember
[7:10] the gift you gave me?
[7:13] >> Well, it answers just fine.
[7:15] >> Feist
[7:16] as bold as a musk ball and still have a
[7:19] shark.
[7:21] >> I'm sorry about this, mate,
[7:23] >> but I can't risk you telling your
[7:24] Templar friends about me still kicking
[7:26] around.
[7:28] >> I pity you, Bukeni. After all you have
[7:30] seen, after all we showed you of our
[7:33] order, still you embrace the life of an
[7:35] ignorant andless rogue.
[7:38] >> What's this? His petty lassen the extent
[7:41] of your ambition. Have you no mind to
[7:44] comprehend the scope of ours? All the
[7:46] empires on earth abolished a free and
[7:50] opened world without parasites like you.
[7:57] the torance.