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Age of Booty

Thagarr

Thagarr

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Ran across this preview while I was looking for some other stuff. I love a good RTS, and ya can't have better subject matter than Pirates! ...unless of course it's Vikings! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->As we've reported previously, Age of Booty is an accessible real-time strategy game of sorts in which teams of pirates compete for control of island towns while doing battle with each other. The maps are hex-based, which might seem a little intimidating at first, but moving around really couldn't be easier because all you have to do is click on the tile where you want to move. Landmarks on the maps include the towns that you need to capture, native villages that can be destroyed, and a base for each team where you can dock and get your ship repaired much more quickly than at the towns you control.

Another thing to look out for as you sail the hexagonal seas are crates containing resources (wood, gold, or rum) that can be used to fortify controlled towns or to upgrade your vessel with better sails, cannons, and armor. Patrolling merchant ships are arguably an even better find because, although they put up more of a fight than the aforementioned wooden boxes, they drop special "curse crates" containing power-ups. There appear to be four different power-ups in the game, including a bomb that can be dropped onto any empty tile on the map to cause damage to adjacent ones, a whirlpool that sucks boats in and spews them out elsewhere on the map, a "ghost ship" ability that makes you invisible for a time, and a one-time chance to pilfer resources from your opposition.

When Age of Booty is released later this year for Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and (later) the PC, you'll be able to play against a varied roster of AI characters or up to seven other players. The console versions support up to four players in split-screen mode, and if you manage to get a group like that together, you can all go online against any configuration of up to four other players. Halo 3-style party support will give you an opportunity to stick with people who you enjoy playing with across multiple maps sorted into playlists.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You can find the whole article here :
<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/plunder/news.html?sid=6193974&mode=previews" target="_blank">http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/plunde...p;mode=previews</a>

Gameplay video and interview here :
<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/strategy/plunder/video.html?sid=6195483" target="_blank">http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/strategy/plund...tml?sid=6195483</a>

Official CapCom site :
<a href="http://shop.capcom.com/DRHM/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayProductDetailsPage&SiteID=capcomus&Locale=en_US&Env=BASE&productID=106872400" target="_blank">http://shop.capcom.com/DRHM/servlet/Contro...uctID=106872400</a>
 
I thought it had to do with females and their body parts... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /> but noooo, Another rig game! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/24.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rofl" border="0" alt="24.gif" />
 
you really should tone that down a little. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
I TONED IT! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
Sounds interesting <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/me.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="me.gif" />
 
I agree. Looks like fun. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />
 
For all you Xbox and PlayStation owners!

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Age of Booty Coming to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network
09/29/08
A pirate-themed RTS is coming to Xbox Live Arcade in a couple of weeks -- but no, it's not Bungie's Pirates at Sea. Instead, it's Age of Booty, an RTS from Capcom that's also going to go live on the PlayStation Network.

On Oct. 15 (XBLA) and Oct. 16 (PSN), Age of Booty will let players team up with other online players or AI-controlled pirate ships to raid, pillage, sink and destroy their way to high-seas dominance. Manning the helm of their own pirate ship, would-be pirates will raid villages, sink merchants, seize towns and steal gold.

Although it's an RTS, Age of Booty skips all the minutia such as resource gathering, base building or giving multiple orders to unit groups. Instead, Age of Booty is built for the casual videogame player with action-oriented gameplay and simple controls.

Pricing for Age of Booty was not announced.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Original story here :
<a href="http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/008354.php" target="_blank">http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/008354.php</a>
 
The beta version of the PC game is available to Fileplanet users. I just signed up for a free account to give it a try, downloading it now. You don't have to pay for a file planet subscription, but for a free account you have to wait 30 minutes to be able to download it. I'll let you know my impressions of the beta after I play for a bit.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Age of Booty open beta now available for Fileplanet users

by Griffin McElroy Sep 20th 2008 5:00PM
Filed under: PC, Strategy

If we could somehow produce an audio version of this particular post, you'd hear a distinct gruffness to our characteristically un-gruff voices -- an unfortunate, though not completely unforeseeable, result of our enthusiastic observation of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Capcom had their own way of celebrating the seafaring holiday -- yesterday, the open beta for Age of Booty (formerly Plunder, even more formerly Pimps at Sea) went live via a free download for all Fileplanet users.

You probably don't need us to tell you that the beta is for the PC version of the game -- those hoping to buckle their swashes on Xbox Live Arcade will have to wait for the game's yet-to-be-decided 2008 release date.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Announcement here:
<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/20/age-of-booty-open-beta-now-available-for-fileplanet-users/" target="_blank">http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/20/age-of-b...leplanet-users/</a>
Download the beta here :
<a href="http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/ageofbooty/" target="_blank">http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/ageofbooty/</a>
 
Avast ye scurvy dogs! As promised, here is a quick review of the Age of Booty Beta I downloaded from Fileplanet!

I was just a bit annoyed at having to wait 30 minutes to download the game from Fileplanet, but I knew that going in. I have dealt with Fileplanet before so I won't hold that against this game. The beta it's self was 170 meg to download, so I can understand why these files weren't included in the setup package. I have a cable connection, so it didn't take me long at all to download. My first impressions of the game came from the setup, witch required me to install Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5, annoying! I was Also required to install Gamespy Comrade, which of course wanted to set it's self to load every time windows started, REALLY annoying! Ten minutes after I launched the setup, and I still haven't started installing the game yet! Ok, finally got all that done and the actual install started with a full color splash screen, which actually looked pretty good, and had a rousing upbeat sea shanty playing in the background. Nice! The actual game install it's self is pretty straight forward, and the only thing you really have to do is agree to the terms and conditions, no biggie there.

After the game installed, I launched it manually from the start menu and it popped up in a window and started the opening credits. Those take a bit to go through, and unfortunately you can't hit escape and skip them, you are forced to watch them every time you launch the game, again annoying! The default play mode is windowed, which I don't particularly care fore myself, but you can change it to full screen later from the settings menu. The main menu it's self looks functional, with some items grayed out, because this is after all a beta. There is a Multiplayer option which I did not try out, I just played the tutorials to get a feel of what the game was like. When you start a mission, you start at your home port, if your ship gets sunk that is also where you will respawn. The main map is laid out in a hexagonal pattern, with islands and towns and villages scattered throughout. You are you are pretty much able to sail anywhere on the map by just using the pointer and clicking on a hex. This can get fairly annoying in windowed mode, at times it is hard to tell exactly where your pointer is. As I said before, you can switch to full screen mode and it is a lot easier to navigate, at least it was for me. The problem with full screen mode is you can't just Alt-Tab out of it, and there is no way to change the video settings unless you are at the main menu. I didn't see a way to get to the main menu without finishing the current mission. I didn't really play that long, so there may be a way and I just missed it. I'm hoping this is just a flaw in the beta, and the actual full version of the game will have this fixed. As many other programs I have running in the background, I need to be able to switch back and forth quickly. For me, this is a game killer.

The actual game play is pretty simple, it's mainly just a lot of point and click. There are a few keyboard commands when you go to upgrade your ship or your home port or captured towns. to capture a town, you simply sail up to within one hex of it and your cannons automatically start blasting away, the towns cannons do the same. After the towns defenses are taken to zero, you start the process of capturing it. This only takes a few seconds, but if you don't stay in port and start to leave because you are attacked by another ship or one of your towns is attacked, the towns defenses will start to rebuild and you will have to capture it again. When you capture a town, you gain that towns resources, mainly rum and wood and gold. You can't capture villages, but you can plunder them and take whatever resources they have. You can also collect resources by way of picking up floating crates that appear randomly from time to time spread across the map. When you have acquired enough resources, you sail back to your home port to refit your ship with either better sails, better armor or better cannon. You can also upgrade your home port's defenses and cannon.

Naval combat is pretty much the same as capturing a town, simply sail up to within a hex of another vessel and your cannon automatically start blasting! There are other pirates to contend with as well as merchant vessels to plunder. When you sink a merchant vessel, a little crate floats up from the deep withe special resources, such as Pilfer Curses, which let your pilfer some of your opponents resources. That's pretty much all I can think of for this review right now, I will play some more and if I come up with anything new I will come back and reedit this post. As I stated before, I didn't play past the tutorials, I wanted to get a review up as soon as possible, so there may be a lot more to the game than I have seen so far. Based on what I have seen so far though, this is not an in depth strategy game, but mainly just a good game to kill a few hours when you have nothing better to do. For $10, I would say it's worth a few spare pieces of eight!

I'd give it 3 cutlasses out of 5!

You can find the Capcom forum for Age of Booty here :
<a href="http://www.capcom-unity.com/aob_beta/go/forum/viewboard" target="_blank">http://www.capcom-unity.com/aob_beta/go/forum/viewboard</a>

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It's a friggin' beeland! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=280157:date=Sep 30 2008, 10:32 AM:name=Thagarr)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thagarr @ Sep 30 2008, 10:32 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=280157"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'd give it 3 cutlasses out of 5!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Well then.. judging from your review... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

I'd give it 3 salty-butts out of 5. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
That's an excellent review for the main page. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbs1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":2up" border="0" alt="thumbs1.gif" />
 
Yes, a very good review. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/me.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="me.gif" />
 
Fred Bob be downloadin' de beta from FP as we be a speakin'! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
I've Been working all week, haven't had a chance to get back to play it yet, I should get some time this weekend.

Fred Bob, I'm very curious to get your opinion.
 
Dis silly game be a lookin' kinda fun in de arcady sorta way! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

Cain't find no takers on GameSpy! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dunno.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shrug" border="0" alt="dunno.gif" />

Sent ye a Comrade invite tew both yer account, Thagarr! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/onya.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="onya.gif" />
 
I think arcady describes this game perfectly! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbs1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":2up" border="0" alt="thumbs1.gif" />

I didn't see your invite Fred Bob, but I sent you a comrade add request.
 
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