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The last time I played a pirate-based video game was Sid Meier’s Pirates and it was fantastic. It blended the pirate lifestyle, swashbuckling and general role-playing to a degree that was constantly rewarding and fun to play. Fast-forward to 2008 and Flying Lab Software have brought the pirate genre into the MMORPG present day. Set in the Caribbean during 1720 the developers are promising a rich, detailed online RPG with as many poop-decks as you could want. With a unique approach to the fantasy obsessed MMO kingdom, does Pirates of the Burning Sea find the hidden treasure or does it sink beneath the waves of expectation.

Pirates of the Burning Sea (PotBS) is definitely distinctive in its gameplay and setting and I can guarantee you that you’ve never played a MMO like this before. It combines strategic ship on ship combat with the standard avatar (swashbuckling) approach which means that it’s a varied experience. You can hit the open sea at any time (so the freedom is there) or you can hang around in a port, in the tavern talking to fellow players (the social). As with nearly every MMO, you start the game by choosing a server and then subsequently creating a character. First off is the choice of your nationality and on offer is Britain, France, Spain or a Pirate. The choice affects where you start and what careers (classes) are available and which ports can be visited. There’s space for six characters on one server which means that you’ll have plenty of option to try out what’s on offer, well within the limit of one Nation per server.

Following on from your nationality is your choice of career. Unlike World of Warcraft or even more extreme, Everquest 2, there are only four careers on offer. These comprise of; The Navel Officer, who focuses their skills and attention on upgrading their ship. The Privateer prefers to outmanoeuvre their enemies with quick ships. The Freetrader is a class interested in economic gain and tends to evade combat. Finally there is the Pirate, only available to the Pirate nation and can take command of defeated ships. Subsequently comes the customization of your avatar’s appearance and the selection of clothing, colours and styles is extremely deep. There are thousands of combinations on offer, with different hats, jackets, hair styles, trousers, boots etc. It’s great to see a game with more than four hair styles and it means you can most likely get your character looking exactly how you want.

Following on from character customization are the tutorial missions that introduces ‘foot-combat’ aptly named swashbuckling, ship combat and the general interface. First up is Swashbuckling and it consists of three types of fighting styles; (and the skills associated with them) Dirty Fighting, Fencing and Florentine. Each fighting style has 45 skills to its name so there’s plenty of diversity in the combat. This continues to ship combat which unlike avatar combat, allows manoeuvrability, different ammo types and the ability to focus your attack on specific parts of your enemy ships. There are 55 ships to own and they can be all be customized and named to your liking. There is a problem with all this depth as it can be very daunting to new players as the amount of information can be overwhelming.

If you’re a fan of pirates and the age of the ship then you’ll be over the moon with the amount of options that are available, but if you’re used to the fantasy setting it may be a bit much in one go. As soon as you start the tutorial, you’re given a full skill bar and only a semi-helpful handout which results in some confusion. The same occurs when you’re taught the basics of ship combat, but it’s all the more overpowering because of the ammo types and the active input the combat requires. It’s not a simple pressing of buttons while your ship stays still but a constant outwitting of your opponent and it becomes even more involving and complex when you bring in a PVP human adversary. When you finish the starting tutorials and enter your first post as affiliated to your nation then there are NPC’s that can be talked to which give you helpful advice but often it’s just bland text and can be boring to read. Despite all this it’s still a fulfilling game once you get past the steep learning curve, just lacks that initial user-friendliness.

PotBS definitely looks the part if it’s slightly lacking in its initial pool. The towns are bustling with unique NPC’s and obviously other players and they really feel as though they’re a busy Caribbean port. Architecture is unique for each setting and it certainly is polished in its appearance. The ships are realistic and teeming with activity; men loading cannons, steering and hoisting sails. The sea glimmers with the sunlight and the islands successfully look interesting enough so they don’t get repetitive or monotonous. There are plenty of graphical options on offer, but the game won’t kill your system and most people should be able to run it at a decent quality setting and resolution. It’s a solid engine and doesn’t experience slowdown or any similar difficulties.

PotBS will not pull the hordes playing World of Warcraft over to its game, but then again, I doubt that the developers ever had that aim in mind. Flying Lab Software wanted to make a unique pirate based MMO with naval combat and all the trappings that accompany the genre and they’ve done just that. It’s got a distinctive economy (where players create everything for sale by producing through owned plots), in-depth and rewarding combat and a customization system of limitless possibilities. It’s only just the beginning but PotBS is looking like it’s found which X marks the spot.

Score: 8/10

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