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Pirates of the Burning Sea
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Graphics & Sound:
Though not the first MMO pirate ship out of dry dock, with Pirates of the Caribbean Online getting a few months head start, Pirates of the Burning Sea has a full sail and is gaining speed. Comparison between the two games may well be a comparison between apples and oranges, with two different feels for each game. I have had limited exposure on Disney's pirate MMO, but it had a very childish entry and handholding feeling. Not to tip my hat too early, but Pirates of the Burning Sea has everything I was looking for except the real parrot to sit on my shoulder while playing.
This will be the only area where I feel that someone needs to have walked the plank. Starting from the fact that I got some major graphical flickering on settings my computer should have been more than capable of handling, I was forced kick my settings down to compensate. The colors were great, but everything looked like it was sunset in play mode, and there was a huge graphical styling difference in sailing mode. I only say this because it left a feeling of it being two separate games and not parts of the same. I also felt that we should be past all of the snap animations and there would be cleaner transitions. I actually felt like I was looking at the first Neverwinter Nights animations, as robotic as they were. There, I have gotten the only cross words I had for the game out of the way.
The sounds were no more and no less than everything I expected. There could have stood to be a better randomization script run in some cities as you could time out the gull cries on cue. But all in all, the sound for this game is very well done and immersive. |
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Gameplay:
In Pirates of the Burning Sea, you take on one of the various monikers of a ship's captain and take to the high seas to earn your living. Now, of course, how you earn that living is up to you. You begin by choosing the flag under which you will sail. The Spanish, British, and French all had stakes in the Caribbean seas, or there is the obvious choice of a pirate, who will sail for no one but themselves. Should you choose to sail under a pirate's flag, well let's face it, that is all you are. If you choose to fly something other than the Jolly Rogers, you have the choice to be a Naval Officer, Privateer, or Freetrader. Once you have chosen your flag and rate, it is time to choose a look. I was very happy with all of the choices made available in the character selection screen. You will be hard pressed to cross another soul who looks just like you.
You have two distinct navigation modes. You have your avatar view while you are on land and the ship's view while at sea. While on land, you have the standard fare for all of the same tool, status bars, and HUD windows. There is nothing to deviate from what you would expect from an MMO. I will not say the same about the Sailing HUD's, though. Here there is a great deal of streamlining as all of your information about actual sailing and firing is given to you in a more graphical interface. This works out well as a ship's fighting actually has more to do with a player's understanding as skill than just the ship's level or armaments. You have to become familiar with the basics of sailing and how to gain speed and position on your enemy. This might initially sound daunting to a new player, but as complex as it sounds, it is very easy and extremely well done. It only further deepens the immersion and enriches the gameplay.
From here, it is up to you the direction you want to take. This game is about exploration and discovery. I think this was emphasized by how simple and basic the tutorial is compared to how much immersive gameplay will undoubtedly continue to emerge in this game. All of your dreams lay just at the horizon with the sun's set. Go get them. |
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Difficulty:
Pirates of the Burning Sea is a simple game to get into and very safe from many aspects. It is, however, very difficult very quickly if you go looking for trouble. As this is an MMO, there is a huge PVP aspect and diving in against vastly superior opponents too soon will, of course, prove fatal quickly. Take your time to build up your ship and get the deck beneath your feet before you take on the world. The missions all have a standard degree of difficulty. For the most part, they are the tedious fare of bring me this, take this, find them, and/or kill them. Don't let this get you down too quickly, because the more true conflicts in the game of flag vs. flag and a good economics system run by players and merchants makes the emergent gameplay very satisfying.
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Game Mechanics:
Pirates of the Burning Sea has all of the sweet goodness that you would expect in a pirate game. I was surprised at how well the player-run economy was making out in real time. I expected overbalances to occur more often. Setting up resource storage houses and crafting all play in very well. Crafting is a weird beast in MMO's. No matter how much energy a developer puts into the intricacies of crafting, they can't please everyone. Well, they pleased me. It is simple, layman and practical. There is a need for the wares and a use for everything. If you are looking to stick solely to the crafting and economic aspects of the game, then I would stick with Freetrader, as they are tailor made to the rate.
The bar has been set by many good pirating games from the past. The fact it took this long to get a good pirate MMO out is a little surprising. You have everything you need to do a great game with already made up conflict, trade, and glory mongering. Merchants and economy play a huge role. There is plenty to craft. The possibilities as well as the expectations are huge, and to date I have not been disappointed. The measure of an MMO is hard and takes time, but this is off to a great start. I have high expectations when I revisit this game later. See you on the seas.
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-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd |
Minimum System Requirements:
Minimum Machine Spec: Windows(r) XP, Pentium(r) IV 1.5 GHz or greater, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 9 Compatible video card: NVidia(r) GeForce(tm) FX 5700, ATI(r) Radeon(r) 9600, or equivalent with 128 MB of texture memory, DirectSound compatible audio hardware
Broadband Internet connection, 16x DVD-ROM, 4 GB Hard Drive space
Recommended Machine Spec: Windows(r) XP/Vista, Core Duo 2.0 GHz or greater, 1024 MB RAM, DirectX 9 Compatible video card: NVidia(r) GeForce(tm) 6600, ATI(r) X850, or equivalent with 256 MB of texture memory, DirectSound compatible audio hardware, Broadband Internet connection, 16x DVD-ROM, 4 GB Hard Drive space |
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Test System:
Dell XPS DXP061, XP Pro, Intel Core Quad, 2GB Ram, Gforce 8800GTX |
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