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'Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag' promises 'mutiny, cruelty, and debauchery'

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
The newest installment in the "Assassin's Creed" franchise is all about a pirate's life.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag / Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
The newest installment in theAssassin's Creed IV: Black Flag / Ubisoft

The "Assassin's Creed" video game series has long shown a unique devotion to historical source material. Ever since the game's developer and publisher Ubisoft decided to turn the series into an annual release like, say, "Call of Duty," or "Madden NFL," however, historical authenticity (not to mention narrative cohesion) has been understandably, albeit lovingly, compromised.

Take, for instance, "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag," a game that features "a pirate trained by assassins" as its protagonist and player character. Did the phrase "a pirate trained by assassin's" made you roll your eyes and shrug that "Assassin's Creed" has officially jumped the shark? Well, then Ubisoft is still doing its best to win you over and convince core "Assassin's Creed" fans that "Black Flag" will still do what the series does best.

In a new trailer released today, the studio fleshes out the vibrant world of "the golden age of piracy" that serves as the setting for the latest assassin-fueled adventure. In the early 1700s, an uneasy series of truces between France, Britain, and Spain begin to devolve into chaos as many disenchanted sailors resort to piracy in the hopes of reaping greater reward than their home countries can afford them.

That's where Haytham Kenway, the "pirate trained by assassins," comes in. As Kenway, "Black Flag" players will travel around a Caribbean archipelago, searching for booty and fighting real-world pirates like the infamous Blackbeard.

"Men of fortune they call themselves," a narrator says of the pirates who inhabit "Assassin's Creed IV" in the new trailer. "And their life amid these bountiful islands is a brutal one filled with betrayal, mutiny, cruelty, and debauchery."

Gamers will be able to experience this cruelty and debauchery first hand come October 29, when "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" launches on the PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox 360, Windows PC, Wii U, and any "other next-generation consoles." Watch the new trailer below.