A week before my PlayStation 4 showed up, my PS4 copy of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag arrived. I spent the week staring lovingly at the box until the actual console arrived three days late (thanks Game), at which point I unleashed myself upon the surprisingly good amount of games I had to play. It feels only right to do a quick comparison between the PS3/360’s generation and the next, so if you wondered whether re-buying the game for your shiny new system would be worth it, this should help. You can see my review of the previous gen version here.
Gameplay-wise, it is the same game, as  you might expect. It is identical in handling, all the way down to accidentally going into corner cover when you meant to open a chest. Going from sailing, to boarding, to fighting, to forts is just as loading screen-free as it was on the previous generation. The next gen versions do not remove the loading screen when sailing up to the proper cities, so no change there.
As you might expect, the improvements are almost entirely graphical. ACIV, which was pretty when I played it on the 360 for review, is always gorgeous and routinely staggering on PS4. It is a game where I stop and look at the environment, or find myself muttering “wow” mid-fight as a storm descends. The game looks more vivid than the 360 version did, which is almost murky and rough in comparison with the bright colours and sharp edges of the next gen.
Textures in general are much improved, especially on the wooden planks that make up the Jackdaw which are all particularly sharp. The few textures that have not been improved as much, such as those on a few rocks or walls I encountered, stick out a little but are forgivable all the same. Aliasing in general is much less common, appearing only on the thinnest of ropes as seen in the above screenshot. Reflections on the sea have been improved, as well as shadows in general, though there are still a few lower res shadows lying around if you pay attention.
A big improvement are the stalking zones, areas of high vegetation that render you pretty much invisible to enemies, though they will search them if they know you are nearby. In the previous gen versions of the game these zones are static plants through which you should obviously be very easy to see which ruins your immersion a little bit. In the next gen versions, however, these are very dense bushes of vegetation that hide you from view as you move through them. Crucially, you are actually difficult to see in most of these stalking zones, though you can see where you are by following the little bump in the leaves. There are a few zones that aren’t high enough and due to my spotting a few stalking zones that were actually floating a foot or two above the ground it seems they were placed incorrectly.
In addition to all of the improved graphical elements there are some additions that were not present in the previous gen version of the game. Beautifully rendered thick smoke billows from your broadside cannons when firing, obscuring your view a little bit and lending additional weight to the pirate-y atmosphere that pervades the experience. The same smoke is now unleashed by the smoke grenades but sometimes doesn’t look anything like enough to obscure you from view, stretching your suspension of disbelief a little. It’s definitely prettier than the big dome of white that appeared in previous gens and games, though.
Character models are even more detailed than they were, too, particularly for the main characters. It is most evident when in cutscenes but noticeable even during gameplay and while Edward’s sword still clips through his clothing half the time you can easily rationalise it by imagining that it’s very, very sharp. After swimming or while it’s raining you can see that Edward’s cloak is noticeably wet and sodden, whites turning to gray and just looking otherwise slick and shiny. It quickly dries up over a few seconds once the rain has gone but it’s a nice touch all the same. It’s a wonder his swords don’t rust with all this water, though.
If you are worried about missing out if you only have the PS3/360 version of ACIV I am glad to put your mind at rest: all you are missing is graphical improvements. The gameplay experience is almost identical regardless of the system you are playing on. That said, if you enjoy ACIV as much as I do (i.e. you’re going to sink ridiculous amounts of time into it all over again) and you like smoke, plants, or just general prettiness then you can’t go wrong with the next gen version.
The below video is actually me playing the game, but it was uploaded to Facebook, then downloaded from Facebook, then uploaded to YouTube, so the quality of the video has been compromised a little. Regardless, you can see some of the game’s additions, such as the smoke from the cannons, improved textures and Edward’s drenched clothes should you care to watch.
double-o-dave
I’m glad you’ve stated the differences as I found this game is a bit of a strange one in respect to the old v new gen. I’m playing the PS4 version but when I’m running about in a mission I sometimes think to myself it probably looks pretty much the same on the PS3, it’s only when I pause and take a proper look around I start to notice the high res textures etc that I don’t think the PS3 version would be able to produce as well. It’s almost like I’ve already got used to the new gen graphics and I’m already taking them for granted. However… Every now and then I’ll be sailing & it’s takes me by surprise how impressive the sea looks.
The only game I have compared side by side between the PS3 and PS4 is BF4 (multiplayer) and the PS4 version is far superior. Saying that, I did think the PS3 version was graphically a bit poor. PS4 version looks great though.
Bilbo_bobbins
I agree with this, I still sometimes stand back and watch the explosions/heli spinning etc in the game, because it looks so impressive. BF4 looks absolutely amazing to me, I can’t wait for a few years down the line, it could look even better.
chall5
any screen tearing ?
Gareth Chadwick
None that I’ve noticed.
dizwod
This game is so pretty.
I did the same, had the game a week before and stared at it waiting for the console to come through.
The sea looks amazing and the rain wow, just makes me wonder how games will look ina few years time when they full utilise the PS4
beeje13
Maybe the devs didn’t get enough credit for the current gen versions, after all, the PS4/X1/PC versions were all ports of the current gen ‘master copy’
double-o-dave
Apart from the characters in cutscenes, I’ve always thought AC games look great. Apart from AC3, just didn’t like anything about it. I need to erase it from my mind.
djdustb
I agree with you on this, even in AC2 the graphics were great I thought, until a cut scene when faces and features just looked all wrong.
I am back in love with AC now after failing to play the last two, I watched my girlfriend complete them but they just seemed to be lacking and I had no interest. This one I cannot stop playing at all, it is the only game I play on the PS4 at the moment.
Addicted.
mclarenrob2
These graphics should be the minimum for next gen. Will future AC games use the Snowdrop engine?
double-o-dave
As pretty as some bits look, I agree. There’s definitely still room for improvement, I wouldn’t expect anything less. Especially when you take in account what I’ve seen of the Snowdrop engine.
beeje13
I’m thinking they might use Disrupt, which is what the watch dogs team has made, seeing as its more like AC. Using snowdrop would be awesome though, looks outstanding, just like the Division itself.
duke
Isn’t this new generation basically just a graphical improvement with few social media additions thrown in?
double-o-dave
I guess so, yeah. What else would you like it to do? Make you a warm glass of milk and feed the dog? :)
duke
Feeding the dog would be ace if I had one :-)
Maybe that’d make up for the loss in media streaming and mp3 playback. I jest, I’ll be picking up a PS4 as soon as I can, to sit alongside my PS3, until the media issues are sorted. Then the PS3 will be gone.
double-o-dave
Oddly enough, when I got the PS4 I packed away the PS3. The next day I realised I was stupid and my TV has more than 1 HDMI port – The PS3 was then placed next to the PS4 and set up again and still being used now.
double-o-dave
I’ve also noticed my dog appears to be losing a lot of weight since the PS4 was released and I seem to be over stocked with Pedigree Chum.
Bilbo_bobbins
well it is, but it has more power too, for example playing with 64 players in Battlefield is such a massive improvement.
Greg Turner
Cool write up – I have held off of playing this and now have it for my PS4 so I’m looking forward to experience it the best way possible (even if that only applies to the graphics!)
JR.
I’m so impressed with this game. I bought three games with my PS4 (AC4, Killzone + Knack) but I haven’t even opened the other two because AC4 is so good. One of my favourite games ever and definitely the best in the series.
KeRaSh
I’m constantly taking screenshots of beautiful bays when synchronizing from viewpoints. I can’t imagine how great it could look if it wasn’t a cross gen game.
TSBonyman
I haven’t had enough time to play much of this yet due to working six-day weeks up to xmas, but what i’ve played looks good. As good as it looks though i would expect the next game to look even better on next-gen hardware.