Originally Posted by
i_amtrunks
If you disliked the "at sea" parts of ACIII then you'll most likely dislike most of ACIV. The sailing and sea battles are vastly improved from III but it is a very large portion of the game. There is still plenty of building and ruin climbing, and the overall design of these parts is fantastic, but the sailing is how you get from island to Island, and requires you to do so in order to open up "fast sail" options and to unlock most areas of The Caribbean. It's too bad there are not many places that hire games out, as this sounds like a certain " try before you buy" situation for you.
Personally I loved the game, could not get enough of the sailing and hunting down Spanish and English ships to raid for cargo, climbing the mast and then assassinating captains from above.