Assassin's Creed 4's hero is a "counterpoint" to AC3's Connor

Cynical, jaded pirate Edward Kenway of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is only in it for the wealth and power the assassin's might bring him - a major sea change from Assassin's Creed 3's hero, Connor.

"Edward is almost a counterpoint to Connor in some ways,” lead writer Darby McDevitt told the Ubisoft Blog.

“Connor begins very idealistic and the experience he has through Assassin’s Creed 3 starts to make him really jaded. He’s doing all these things he believes are right and they don’t pay off in all the right ways.”

Meanwhile, Kenway joins the Assassins because he wants to become a rich, famous pirate captain, and believes the tools and techniques of the Brotherhood will help him.

“I started with a guy who was already jaded. He was cynical. He’s out for himself. He has this marriage that’s really rocky. He’s estranged from his wife. He wants to try to prove he’s a man worthy of her affection, so he goes to the West Indies to become a privateer, and that falls apart really fast and he falls into piracy," McDevitt explained.

The Templars attempt to woo Kenway away, and he isn't inetrested in obeying the Creed, but the Assassins stick by the captain as he comes to learn what's important.

"He kind of bounces between the Assassins and Templars for a time, trying to find something that makes his life more meaningful,” McDevitt said.

“At first he has all these selfish goals but his experiences focus him on what is and isn’t important in life.”

The full blog goes into further detail on the new hero's personality and story. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is due on PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 at the end of October and early November, and is coming to PC shortly thereafter. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release will follow.