Reviewed by Brandy Shaul
Aye, thar be pirates!
While Sony Online Entertainment impressed me with all of their games at this year’s Gen Con, it had to be Pirates of the Burning Sea which showed the most promise.
Set around 1720, in the “New World” of the Caribbean, players will embark on a massive journey as one of four “classes”, the privateer, merchant, naval officer, and of course, pirates. When not playing as a pirate, players will also have the option of choosing a country to which they will set their alliance, those choices being England, France or Spain.
After you have chosen your class and your country, if applicable, you can then begin to create and enhance your actual character, in basically every way imaginable for an MMORPG. The customization options found in the game are staggering in number, and not just in terms of tricking out your character. I was given the opportunity to demo the character creation process, and I could have easily spent hours choosing from the large array of costumes, patterns, colors, etc. that are available.
Not only do you have the option of choosing your own shirts, pants and other elements of your costume, but you can pick the patterns on those costumes, plus the colors of both the actual background fabric and the pattern itself.
And when I say color, I don’t mean just the small block of 28 you might find in Microsoft Paint, I mean dozens of colors making up every shade of the rainbow. Moving upwards, you can choose from dozens of hairstyles, hats and hair colors as well as change more overall aspects like skin color.
For people like myself, who love to tweak every aspect of our characters this is like a dream come true, but, for those that want to get straight to gameplay, there is also a “randomization” option that will outfit your character in an obviously random fashion, allowing you to jump right into action.
Speaking of action, there are two distinct modes of combat in Pirates of the Burning Sea, naval (ship vs. ship) and melee (man vs. man). Offering players even more choices, you have three different melee fighting styles at your disposal, ranging from the classic fencing to the more flamboyant Florentine.
As for naval fighting, you can simply ram your boat into others, causing damage to both parties involved, or you can take a more strategic approach and launch cannons at your opponent from afar, the sound effects of which are very impressive to hear.
After having a chance to hone one’s skills in both naval and melee combat, players can take their new expertise and use it to not only capture up to 80 ports within the various Caribbean islands, but also to build a fleet of ships up to 30 strong. These ships can be both historical representations that are placed within the game from the beginning, or can be those that other players have taken the time to create and customize themselves.
Like in other games, there are also options available for players who don’t wish to concentrate so greatly on combat. Building an economic empire, for example, is one way players can learn the ropes in terms of player manufactured goods and services within the game. While Pirates offers PvP environments when naval battles are taking place, and when ports are being conquered, the majority of the game is presented in a PvE format.
Since the game offers so many different ways to spend ones time, especially when it comes to port economy and building one’s legacy, there are an almost limitless number of combinations available in terms of commerce. And with the possibility of thousands of players all having the same idea, finding ways to beat the competition is key, if you wish to survive.
With over 1000 missions to complete, and other systems that provide for limitless amounts of gameplay, it’s great to see that Pirates presents us with a downright beautiful game. The sun reflects off of the waves in the ocean in a stunning fashion that literally made me gasp. The fabrics, textures, etc. found in both character attire and in the ports are filled with bold and vibrant colors, which fit with the tropical, Caribbean nature of the game.
Even though there has been no official release date or price set for Pirates of the Burning Sea, it was pretty evident at Gen Con that the excitement has already begun to build. In a world where it seems nothing can really compete with the likes of World of Warcraft, I am happy to say that Pirates just might be able to do the trick.
More details on Pirates of the Burning Sea in our E3 preview.