Ubisoft has revealed information about the companion cube... errr... app that will accompany you on your journey as a mighty pirate of the seven seas in Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag. In addition, we learn more about a location that will be featured in Black Flag namely Havana, the capital city of Cuba, which at the time is a Spanish colony.

The companion cube, damn it, app, will be a useful tool for those with an Android or iOS Tablet (and compatible Smartphones) and will allow three to four-armed humans to access all the information you normally would through the pause screen, while you are playing. You simply use your second set of hands and eyes to pick up your Tablet and you will instantly have access to important tools and information that is also available through the pause menu. For example, players can open up the world map in the App and see their current position and even set waypoint markers that will then be activated in the game.

This will allow these four-armed mutant humans to experience the entire game without ever having to pause the game! For those without four-arms and two sets of eyes, you can also ask a friend to use the App to mark positions on your map that look interesting for you to investigate. This App will especially come in useful for completionists such as myself and thus allow players to go onto their computer and find hidden collectible spots using their laptop or desktop computer and instantly mark that spot with their iOS or Android device.

The App also includes something not found within the game, namely the "fleet metagame" which is a kind of Tablet game where players can control and manage the fleet they gain through the game itself. All ships you board and claim as your own will become part of your fleet in the App, using the App players can then send their fleet on missions to earn rewards and other loot. All money earned in this metagame will go to your main game on all Black Flag release platforms.

As for Havana, for those who did not know yet, Black Flag will feature a seamless open-world that Ubisoft is promising will be even larger than any previous Assassin's Creed world. During the period the game takes place, Britain and Spain were in the thick of their war, allowing Pirates to roam, raid and pillage. Havana captures the real spirit of Spanish resistance to British influences. While roaming Havana, players will experience the embodiment of Spanish culture in terms of AI behaviour and the way in which the city looks and behaves so-to-speak.

Ubisoft also explains that Edward Kenway will no longer be able to call on recruits for aid, as his day-job is a Pirate and thus his crew are simply that, his crew and thus not a Brotherhood of Assassins. This also will add to the sense of his life, as a Pirate he is a Captain of a ship out to raid and pillage (and brawl against sharks), as an Assassin on foot he is alone and must use his wits and skill to win.

All-in-all Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag is shaping up nicely and despite the oversight with the Companion App, namely that humans do not (yet) have the ability to use a mouse and keyboard or console controller and at the same time use a Tablet device (or Smartphone). The App should still offer some interesting uses for those fortunate enough to own one. The addition of the fleet management metagame on the App should also be interesting.