1. BlackWidow

   9

   Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales is set in the 17th Century Caribbean, and is in my honest opinion, the BEST offline pirate themed game on the market. The only reason I did not give a score of 10 is because the main quest of the game is flawed. The goal is to take over all the colonies of the Caribbean, however, no matter how well you develop your colony (Castle level is the highest), other nations just seem to come in and take it over like it has no defense whatsoever. In other words, your colonies cannot defend themselves on their own, which is bad, very bad. You spend thousands of dollars for nothing. So, since the game is open-ended, I'd suggest ignoring the main quest, just play as you wish and don't take over colonies, because you'll just lose them. It's near impossible to keep running around from colony to colony trying to defend them. It's just too hard. No offense to the designers at Playlogic, but they could have had a perfect 10 game, but they ruined the main quest. Also, as many have stated, the game is very buggy, but fortunately, with a mod called, "Supermod," most of those bugs have been fixed. The game may still crash on occasion, but if you save often, it won't be a problem. So, despite the main quest being a total wash, the rest of the game is incredible. The open sea scenery is jaw dropping, and sailing through storms is so realistic, it's both scary and fun. You have your choice of two characters upon game start, Blaze Sharp or his step-sister Beatrice Sharp. Then, you have a second choice of which Caribbean Power to affiliate yourself with, England, France, Holland, Spain, or my favorite, the Pirates. You can receive missions from people on the streets, in the taverns, at the store, or from the governors. The pirate governor or "Pirate King" who is located on the Island of Isla Mona will only give you missions when you acquire a high enough reputation with the pirates. A high fame I believe also helps. Also, the missions are always available. They never end. So, if you get tired of sinking ships on the sea, trading, smuggling contraband with the pirates, or harassing the colony ports, there will always be a quest from someone you can grab. The game also keeps track of how many ships you defeat, be it through cannon fire, grappling, or surrendering. There is some replay value, because you can do something different each time, and from what I can tell, the trade goods which colonies import/export are also randomized upon game start, which is very nice. I won't go into detail, but as your character levels up, there are many skills and abilities to learn. If you've ever played "Pirates of the Caribbean," the system is very similar. All in all, it's a fantastic and underrated game which everyone should give a try, again, despite its flaws and bugs. Cheers!… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
2. BradG.

   8

   The short review is based upon the fact that after about 10 hours I haven't experienced a single bug or crash. This game is Sid Meyer�39;s Pirates! with 50% more depth. The hand-to-hand isn't quite as fun as the Pirates minigame but the ship to ship combat is incredible. It's like reliving the set piece battles from Master and Commander each time you head into battle. Clive D is right though, the main plot seems to be broken. Thankfully the free-form gameplay is fun enough on its own.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
3. ChristinaH.

   5

   It is so frustrating that they have not recreated Sid Meyers Pirates! Every pirate game that has come out since was only better in that it had great graphics, other then that the games have been dumbed down. What happened to convoys? Marriage to the govs daughter, etc? And though the original was pixelated and you had to change out the huge floppy disks, the game was great and addictive. This one has so many bugs, crashes constantly, and is almost unplayable. Shame on you play logic for not beta testing and leaving out some of the best parts of the original pirate game! PS: For those Sid Meyer's Pirate addicts out there, it is now public domain and you can down load it simply by searching for it on Google for a free download! even plays in windows instead of DOS!… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
4. RobertT.

   0

   It is advertised as being online. Maybe it was 3 years ago. I see posts in Forums where it has not been working online internet service by Playlogic or atari since 2006. So where are the games I ask?… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.

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