Assassin's Creed IV' ad plays up pirate fantasy

Casting players in the fantasy role of pirate leader Edward Kenway, the "Assassin's Creed IV" TV trailer proposes a more roguish and perhaps more varied follow-up to previous games in the series.

Casting players in the fantasy role of pirate leader Edward Kenway, the 'Assassin's Creed IV' TV trailer proposes a more roguish and perhaps more varied follow-up to previous games in the series.

Shunning the ancient monuments and cultural artifacts of the Middle East and Europe for an island-hopping, treasure hunting, looting, pilfering, and pirating life in the Caribbean, 'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag' also steps a generation back in time compared to the American revolutionary era setting of 'Assassin's Creed III.'

And just as 'AC IV' intends to integrate the best aspects of previous games -- hence the prominence of naval warfare, first introduced in 'AC III' -- Captain Kenway's personality is, on the face of it at least, as well suited to the swashbuckling nature of an 'Assassin's Creed' game as any of his predecessors.

Publisher Ubisoft would, of course, prefer would-be Kenways to employ non-piratical methods of acquisition once 'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag' releases on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 the week of October 29, and on PC, Wii U, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 when the two new consoles launch in November.