Pirates of the Burning Sea (PC)

Take one part Sid Meier's Pirates, one part High Seas Trader and one part Eve Online, and you end up with Flying Labs' new MMO Pirates of the Burning Sea.
2/1/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

It should be noted that Pirates of the Burning Sea is a gorgeous game. On even a moderate system it looks fantastic (outside of the sword fighting animations). You can clearly see masts fall, hulls explode, and the puffs of smoke after cannons blaze. The player avatars are also nicely done and there are enough options that you will rarely see the same player twice. Granted, there are some funky-looking pirates running around, but variety goes a long way. Because that the design isn't about collecting a bunch of .loot and donning weird-looking armor sets, your avatar is what he or she is, although you can visit a tailor inside a port to change your clothes if you so desire.

There are a few hiccups, many of which can be attributed to new-MMO growing pains. The game remains somewhat crash-prone, and the lag inside certain port cities is unbearable at times. Hopefully Flying Labs will continue to iron these issues out, and it is issuing patches to get things up to speed.

To get the most out of Pirates of the Burning Sea you're going to have to go all-in. This is not a game for the casual fan, and if you're looking for a lazy cruise around the Caribbean, it's best to stick with Sid Meier's Pirates. This is pure cutthroat, and it is also the type of MMO that gets significantly better the more you play it, as the ins and outs of the design became more apparent. It's still rough around the edges, and the PvP portion might frustrate some, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a highly satisfying MMO and certainly worth a trial run.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.