Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a big game. At any moment you might be running across rooftops in Havanna trying to catch a pickpocket, dueling with a great white shark at sea, or simply gambling away your last few pieces of gold in a no-name tavern on a no-name Caribbean island.

But what makes Black Flag so impressive is the level of cohesion and harmony that binds all those activities together. This is one of the most ambitious open-world games in years, and it's one that's constantly encouraging you to run off and explore new locales. There's always some new activity or endeavor to try, and most of them have some sort of reward to help nudge your journey forward. It all comes together to create a spectacular and deeply immersive adventure.