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[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":752942,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"C"}']LOS ANGELES — The man who is about to be beheaded above (well, not really) is Darby McDevit, the lead writer for Assassin’s Creed IV, the next big sequel from Ubisoft in the continuing series that pits the Assassins against the Templars over the centuries.
The man above McDevit is Assassin’s Creed new main character, Edward Kenway, who grew up in England but was dissatisfied with his lot. He became a privateer and sailed to the Caribbean, where he’s found a new home and a new calling: a pirate. He is the first hero in the series who is more of a mercenary than a crusading Assassin, and McDevit says that produces a new tension in the game. Assassin’s Creed IV is set in September 1717 at the end of the golden age of piracy. Kenway will take out targets for money, but he’ll always see what’s in it for himself.
We saw a preview as McDevit narrated what was happening. You can chase your assassin targets across land or sea now, and much of the combat takes place aboard ships as you roam the open world of the West Indies. Kenway can lead his pirate’s ship into battle, ramming his enemies and boarding them in a pitched battle among the decks and the masts. He can also lead attacks on island forts and storm ashore. But this is also about stealth movement and sneaking past guards. Kenway makes his way in the demo we saw through small islands like Misteria, where he looks for hidden treasure, to the bustling streets of Havana in Spainish-held Cuba.
Ubisoft is showing the game off at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles this week. Here’s our video interview with McDevit.