SCORE
Gameplay: 6
Sound: 5
Graphics: 5
Overall: 5
Pros: A huge array of game features and mechanics to explore.
Cons: Nothing new on offer, as the features actually resemble those in other games of this type.
We’ve lately dedicated some of our time for checking out Pirates: Tides of Fortune, an F2P strategic browser MMO from Plarium Games which allows players to establish their personal pirate haven, putting them in charge of attaining resources, erecting buildings and fighting against computer-controlled enemies as well as assaulting other players’ strongholds.
During a quick registering process via the game’s official webpage, we signed up for an account and were then already able to join the game straightaway be hitting the Play button. A lady pirate welcomed us and presented herself as our guide to instruct us in regards to the variety game features.
Everything began with the task of constructing various different buildings that would allow for a steady production of resources; primarily (and most vitally) was Rum which is needed to maintain your crew contend (which in other MMOs of this genre is achieved with food). In a similar way, we constructed a mine on the available gold vein resources on our island as well as a lumber yard. Once they were completely erected, these buildings guaranteed a solid income of the 3 prime resources required for constructing additional buildings, being able to train units and getting access to further features.
Each building you construct requires resources and a specific period of time before it is completed, at our initial stages, however, it was just a matter of a few seconds in contrast to hours or even days, which cam be taken up by some of constructions in the later course of the game. Spending the premium currency in the form of Rubies, which players earn through completing the tutorial missions as well as increasing their level, allows them the opportunity to instantaneously complete any constructions. During our trial, we obviously benefited from this to the full; if we were actually playing this MMO for real, however, we would undoubtedly have stockpiled our Rubies for more vital undertakings.
The completion of the various quests and tasks we were presented with yielded EXP, Rubies and other bonuses like resources or units and with each completed quest, the next one would pop up in a jiffy to replace the previous, which even continued when the tutorial missions were left behind. Quite early on in the course of the game, we had the impression that one pop-up was popping up after the other, providing us with additional character details in regards to a quest, followed by the directions of how to accomplish the quest, then the rewards for that quest, then another one prompting us to open this panel, click that panel, and so on. In our opinion, the tutorial was perhaps a bit more informative and expansive than necessary, since this kind of game isn’t overly complicated. And although being nice, these quests sometimes were a bit long-winded, prompting us to just skip over them – and we presume most players in our situation would.
Pirates: Tides of Fortune features a fairly extensive (even though somewhat linear) technology tree players will progress through over time simultaneously unlocking a variety of techs that will grant access to new buildings, units and features. One rather interesting aspect of unlocking a technology was that you can still upgrade it to enhance the rewards it grants, meaning that there are much more options for customising your pirate haven than it seems at first sight. However, similarly to plenty of the game’s other features, the tech tree isn’t anything we haven’t already seen in lots of other games in this exact genre.
Combat is rather simple and according to what we experienced consists of selecting with a click one of the viable targets scattered across the ocean overview map, which in addition to all the ships in the vicinity also shows all the available strongholds, including those belonging to NPC AI as well as to other players. When deciding to launch an attack, players can send in their chosen troops; in the early stages of the game, however, your choice will be limited, but you will get an outline of the units’ essential stats to estimate how many of them should be sent into battle. Once the assault is initiated, a specific period of time is required for your units to arrive at their destination, which depends on the actual distance. When being successful in their attack, the units will travel back home bringing with them the haul of the fight.
When it comes to visuals and sounds, the graphics were unfortunately quite dated and we’d have expected more even for a browser-based MMO. The sounds were repetitive, especially the background music; the voice-over pirate mentor guide, however, was well done and we appreciated the pirate accent (although you are able to switch between various languages including non-pirate English).
On the whole, Pirates: Tides of Fortune isn’t bad at all, but unfortunately hasn’t got anything innovative to add to the genre. It incorporates the same features we’ve come to get accustomed to due to the fact that they are used over and over again in this type of game; it’s just another version with a different theme and in a different wrapping. This doesn’t mean the title can be formed, especially for players who haven’t played game of this kind before, but anyone who’s into the genre and searching for something new then they will most likely get the same old experience.
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