Age of Pirates Caribbean Tales Review
Playlogic and Atari, PC, 2006
Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales Review by Raffman, September 26th, 2006

Did you hear what that new pirate game for the PC is rated? It's rated aaargh! Actually I lied; it's rated Teen for alcohol and tobacco referencing, mild language, and violence, but I really like lame jokes so I just felt the need to "trow" that one in there. So what's this new pirate game called anyway? It's called "Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales", and it really doesn't fall into one particular genre. In Age of Pirates you'll be fighing massive naval battles, storming and conquering colonies on land, and oh so much more. This immense game is part simulation, part adventure, and part RPG all rolled onto one DVD. Inbetween the action you'll be hiring new officers to captain your other vessels, managing how much food you should bring along on your next voyage, figuring out how much to pay your crew members so that they don't bring a mutiny on your ass, and deciding what new buildings you want constructed in that new colony you just took over. There's a lot to do, a lot to think about, and a lot of booty to collect. The question is, do you have the patience for it all?

I always thought it'd be cool to live the pirate lifestyle, but I didn't grow up in the 17th century; I grew up in the 1980's so there's not much I could really do to pursue that dream. When AOP arrived at my doorstep a few days ago I got excited because of just how intricately deep this game really is. After a quick installation and a thorough read-through of the 51 page instruction manual I was ready to set sail to find some booty. So there I am, running around Bridgetown Port in tights trying to find Keira Knightley only to remember that I need to hire a crew for my ship. Remembering the manual, I headed over to the bar to find some unemployed, charismatic officers looking for work only to be utterly confused. Enter issue number one: absolutley horrendous menus. For a game with a fantastical amount of options and information, menus that are easy to use and understand are simply critical. Age of Pirates has incredible potential to be a very solid title, but when you start playing you'll find yourself saying, "What the hell is going on?"



This leads us on to the gameplay, which I could probably talk about for years just because there's so much involved here. Since you'll be fighting naval battles with multiple ships, attacking forts, and storming colonies on foot it'd be nice to know what you were doing before you started loading the cannons. Enter issue numero dos: complete lack of a much-needed tutorial. Most games I play I usually skip the tutorial, and I'm sure most of you do too. With Age of Pirates though, you honestly need one because there is way too much information to soak in. Take firing your cannons for instance; spacebar shoots but the manual doesn't tell you about the 5-10 second delay inbetween your shots. Because of that I found my ship in pieces and myself without a life preserver. You see I wasn't looking for a pirate game without a cannon fire delay; I was looking for a fun game with a lot of depth. The problem however, is that this game is way more simulation than I expected, and to be honest the gameplay isn't much fun.

On a bright side though, Age of Pirates does sport some solid graphics that really shines out at sea; literally, the sun on the water looks phenomenal. The character models have a slight cartoony look to them, but it doesn't take away from the experience at all. The graphics really stand out when you have an epic naval battle at night as your opponent's sails start on fire under the moonlight, and when you get caught in some seriously hardcore storms. As for the sound side of things (you like that?), the audio quality is above average. I really enjoyed the music while you're out at sea, although the sound effects elsewhere tend to be a little bland. Nevertheless matey, the look and sound of AOP will really throw you into the true experience of the pirate lifestyle.

Enough with the talk, let's start talking ratings. Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales was created with the notion of combining adventure elements with a simulation and RPG backbone, except this game is really more (a lot more) simulation and management than it is adventure. If you're a casual gamer, this game won't be much fun to you. In fact, casual gamers should probably steer entirely clear of this one and spend their booty on something else. If you're a hardcore gamer that enjoys simulations then this game is right up your alley; by all means go for it. If you are a pirate fanatic and are not deterred by this review, then Age of Pirates needs to be in your PC collection.

Rating:
Presentation - 4.0
Graphics - 8.2
Sound - 7.5
Gameplay - 6.0

Overall - 6.4 (Okay)

Age of Pirates Screenshots



- Discuss this review in the forums!
- Browse all the video game reviews.
- Back to the front page.