I was a big fan of the old "Pirates of the Caribbean" and I used all my connections to get this game as soon as humanly possible. Since then I’ve been playing the original game for over a week. I also played the Russian K3 v.9.1 moded game for the past 3 days. I feel that people eagerly waiting its delivery in US should know what to expect as some of the game reviews I’ve read tend to be either overly caustic or highly enthusiastic.
<b>Graphics 6/10</b>
The graphics are unimpressive to say the least. I remember games made in late 90’s with graphic engines that put this game to shame. If you make the mistake of switching from Oblivion to this game you will easily understand why Russia is technologically, in some areas, in the Stone Age. The water effects are highly disappointing. At this very moment the only “perfect†3D models are those realized for simulating water but Akella refused to use any of the powerful models available.
The Russian mod adds usable buildings, a residence you can buy, houses you can explore, fighting grounds (mini arenas) etc.
<b>Sound 4/10</b>
The sea, weather and battle sounds are decent but can be further improved.
The lack of voice-overs for quest givers and various NPCs takes away from the RPG feeling of the game. The music themes are tiring and after a few hours of play I switched off the music and played my favorite CDs.
Once in a blue moon you will hear one of your officers demanding more money. I can only imagine the Russian version of the game is richer in voice dialog.
The Russian mod adds some cute music for various areas and buildings.
<b>Controls 3/10</b>
For people that previously played any kind of pirate sim the controls are easy to master but the lack of customizable short-keys for fast town travel to various buildings will make you use the arrow keys more than you might like. Also the stores need short keys for increments of 100 and 1000 units of bought/sold cargo as the 10 unit short-key is not enough; try keeping 5,000 cannonballs out of the 30,000 plundered from the bloody English and you will be forced to make over 500 mouse clicks for a task that should take only 2 seconds.
<b>Learning curve 10/10</b>
The game starts with a brief “how to†provided by the interaction with different NPCs. In the game you get small quests (you don’t have to though), sink/board/plunder/capture ships, conquer/raze towns, repair ship, sell the extra cargo or the captured ships… rinse and repeat. A nine year old will have no problem understanding and having fun with the game.
<b>Story 2/10</b>
The whole story revealed by this game can be easily written on the back of a 1c stamp. There are about 7 steps in the whole main quest. If you are looking for a game with an intricate plot you might as well look somewhere else.
<b>Game play 6/10</b>
You have the freedom of attacking almost anybody and anything while still having the chance of patching up the diplomatic relations at a later time. Strategy in approaching various sea combat situations is important and finding the right solution can be a challenging but highly rewarding process especially at the highest difficulty setting.
The AI is laughable in many cases in both sea and hand-to-hand combat.
The game has serious balance issues in many areas: sailor payments after trading, fort conquering, experience rewards, cannon firing distance… just to name a few. Last but not least: upgrading your conquered towns is completely useless since even the strongest fort can be defeated by enemy with pretty much no effort.
The game has all kinds of bugs: interface bugs, quest bugs, save bugs etc. Save as often as you can. The F6/F9 keys (quick save/load) come in handy.
The game crashed a few times daily, every 2-3 hours in a system that had no problems running much more demanding games.
Once in a while you will wonder why you paid $30 (plus shipping) for a game in its early Beta stages.
I added one point for the good ship movement algorithm.
Only some of the problems have been corrected by the Russian mod.
<b>Multiplayer 7/10</b>
It can be fun as long as you find enough players to join the servers. The last time I played I waited 1 hour to find 3 more players. Things will probably improve as more people get the game.
<b>Replayability 7/10</b>
You can be hired by the various nations present in the game or you can play the game as a pirate from the very beginning. You can experiment with career changes more than a few times. The game can grow old faster than you think if played at the easiest two levels. Climbing the difficulty ladder will enrich your gaming experience.
<b>Overall Entertainment Value</b> <b>6/10 </b> (original) <b>7/10 </b> (after applying the Russian mod)
The privateer sim/RPG is a successful combo; it's amazing how easily you can get hooked by sinking ships, plundering towns, gaining skills, titles, gold and fame.
Akella’s final product is a mediocre budget game that lacks finesse, polish and has more bugs than a windshield on a hot summer night.
The lack of support from Playlogic is understandable from a company that has a very hard time minimizing its huge financial losses, while the lack of support from Lakella gives me hope the “Age of Pirates: Captain Blood†will be an improved version of this game.
Unless you are a hardcore pirate at heart with too much time to waste you can save $30+ by skipping this Akella experiment and wait for a better game.
<b>Graphics 6/10</b>
The graphics are unimpressive to say the least. I remember games made in late 90’s with graphic engines that put this game to shame. If you make the mistake of switching from Oblivion to this game you will easily understand why Russia is technologically, in some areas, in the Stone Age. The water effects are highly disappointing. At this very moment the only “perfect†3D models are those realized for simulating water but Akella refused to use any of the powerful models available.
The Russian mod adds usable buildings, a residence you can buy, houses you can explore, fighting grounds (mini arenas) etc.
<b>Sound 4/10</b>
The sea, weather and battle sounds are decent but can be further improved.
The lack of voice-overs for quest givers and various NPCs takes away from the RPG feeling of the game. The music themes are tiring and after a few hours of play I switched off the music and played my favorite CDs.
Once in a blue moon you will hear one of your officers demanding more money. I can only imagine the Russian version of the game is richer in voice dialog.
The Russian mod adds some cute music for various areas and buildings.
<b>Controls 3/10</b>
For people that previously played any kind of pirate sim the controls are easy to master but the lack of customizable short-keys for fast town travel to various buildings will make you use the arrow keys more than you might like. Also the stores need short keys for increments of 100 and 1000 units of bought/sold cargo as the 10 unit short-key is not enough; try keeping 5,000 cannonballs out of the 30,000 plundered from the bloody English and you will be forced to make over 500 mouse clicks for a task that should take only 2 seconds.
<b>Learning curve 10/10</b>
The game starts with a brief “how to†provided by the interaction with different NPCs. In the game you get small quests (you don’t have to though), sink/board/plunder/capture ships, conquer/raze towns, repair ship, sell the extra cargo or the captured ships… rinse and repeat. A nine year old will have no problem understanding and having fun with the game.
<b>Story 2/10</b>
The whole story revealed by this game can be easily written on the back of a 1c stamp. There are about 7 steps in the whole main quest. If you are looking for a game with an intricate plot you might as well look somewhere else.
<b>Game play 6/10</b>
You have the freedom of attacking almost anybody and anything while still having the chance of patching up the diplomatic relations at a later time. Strategy in approaching various sea combat situations is important and finding the right solution can be a challenging but highly rewarding process especially at the highest difficulty setting.
The AI is laughable in many cases in both sea and hand-to-hand combat.
The game has serious balance issues in many areas: sailor payments after trading, fort conquering, experience rewards, cannon firing distance… just to name a few. Last but not least: upgrading your conquered towns is completely useless since even the strongest fort can be defeated by enemy with pretty much no effort.
The game has all kinds of bugs: interface bugs, quest bugs, save bugs etc. Save as often as you can. The F6/F9 keys (quick save/load) come in handy.
The game crashed a few times daily, every 2-3 hours in a system that had no problems running much more demanding games.
Once in a while you will wonder why you paid $30 (plus shipping) for a game in its early Beta stages.
I added one point for the good ship movement algorithm.
Only some of the problems have been corrected by the Russian mod.
<b>Multiplayer 7/10</b>
It can be fun as long as you find enough players to join the servers. The last time I played I waited 1 hour to find 3 more players. Things will probably improve as more people get the game.
<b>Replayability 7/10</b>
You can be hired by the various nations present in the game or you can play the game as a pirate from the very beginning. You can experiment with career changes more than a few times. The game can grow old faster than you think if played at the easiest two levels. Climbing the difficulty ladder will enrich your gaming experience.
<b>Overall Entertainment Value</b> <b>6/10 </b> (original) <b>7/10 </b> (after applying the Russian mod)
The privateer sim/RPG is a successful combo; it's amazing how easily you can get hooked by sinking ships, plundering towns, gaining skills, titles, gold and fame.
Akella’s final product is a mediocre budget game that lacks finesse, polish and has more bugs than a windshield on a hot summer night.
The lack of support from Playlogic is understandable from a company that has a very hard time minimizing its huge financial losses, while the lack of support from Lakella gives me hope the “Age of Pirates: Captain Blood†will be an improved version of this game.
Unless you are a hardcore pirate at heart with too much time to waste you can save $30+ by skipping this Akella experiment and wait for a better game.
" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> Thanks for taking the time to do this, sounds so much like potc <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="
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