Small world, repetable, sometimes boring, bugged. For genre fans.

Over the past 10 years of gaming i have played hunreds of pc games. Over the past 12 months i have played most of the new releases and a lot of WOW but as a mature gamer i am anticipating the release of the new MMO Conan game so i thought potbs would be a good stopgap until it arrives. I am largely disappointed in this game. It lags terribly and to say it is an online game the world feels very underpopulated with other players...and thats on a busy sever. The Trading/crafting is quite complex to begin with but as long as you pick up the draughtsman recipes you can progress quite well and make a profit. But make a profit to do what?The swashbuckling/combat i feel is a joke---requiring very little skill and giving you very little control. The only intresting aspects are the naval ship v ship encounters which do require skill and a lot of input and are quite pretty visually. These do get quite boring after you have done a hundred or so---and you wonder whether it is worth all the hassle to get a bigger ship with bigger guns just to engage in the same tedious battles. I am a good judge of games and agree with most of the game rankings on this site BUT please folks by all means try the game for the first free month but you have been warned it is no WOW killer. The other downside is ..because it is an online game-most game shops wont trade it in as a part ex on your next game..so your stuck with it. Hope you have more fun with it than i did---binned after 2 weeks.… Expand

Should be amazingly fun but too many bugs and abuse/cheating scenarios create too many situations frustrating and inevitable loss. Up the FUN factor and dont penalize all customers for the sins of some is critical to building a community and sustainable MMORPG... Even for genre fans.

I was Flying Lab Software (the game maker) subscribed customer for 7 months and you'd think they'd care about customer loyalty, right? Their customer support has no understanding of such basic things as "customer appreciation" or "customer satisfaction". They don't even have a phone to call in, all communication is done over e-mail. Too bad such a promising game must suffer from incompetent customer support.… Expand

While I enjoyed this game initially with all the different kinds of ships and all the personalization capabilities the game's ugly side reveals itself towards the end. As players will find themselves running a gauntlet of endless grinding, game bugs, unbalanced PvP, as well as economic baggage that seem to be intentionally designed to make it impossible for solo players or players who can't find a good guild to join to obtain decent ships. The most infamous of which is the Lineship Structure Bundle. In addition to all this the developers at Flying Labs Software are less than helpful and tend to ignore player issues. I've also seen some documented cases of FLS devs banning players accounts for simply expressing their opinions about how the game is operated and monitored. If you are a player interested in naval combat set in the age of sail I highly recommend you try either East India Company or Empire: Total War as opposed to this game.… Expand

I have put about 10 hours into "Pirates" so far and must say there is an enormous amount of potential for this game. The visuals are very nice with ship to ship combat looking great and character models all looking very sharp. So it's pretty to look at but how does it play? So far I am impressed with the sheer depth of this title. Whether you want to sail the seas and look for plunder, swordfight with your rivals, or dig deep into the production and trade elements youy'll find something interesting to do. It may not be a WoW killer, but so far it looks like a winner!… Expand

It's a good 40 hours of fun. That's about it unless you really enjoy the pvp as the AI in pve isn't all that great. The missions throw some you into some interesting scenarios but how many different combination of ship to ship combat can you come with? Right not many.

This game is truly addicting. I've played it since beta, and it is now a year and a half later. I've gotten bored with it and tried to quit to play other games, and it always sucks me back in. It can be difficult to get pvp sometimes, but when you get a big 6v6 ship battle, or especially a massive 24v24 pvp port battle to take an enemy town, it's a huge rush. It's got everything. For the pve player, it's got endless missions, a complex player based economy, and over a hundred ports to sail too. For the pvper, it's got Port Conquest, nation v nation RvR with 4 nations, 5 different pvp viable careers, and epic battles with a beautiful ship combat system. I DEFINITELY recommend… Expand

At first this game seemed like "Generic MMO 2.0... Now with Pirates!" After playing it for a few weeks, however, I find that I'm really enjoying it. In fact, the more I play the better it gets. The combat is interesting, the economy is engaging and the grind is barely noticeable. If you decide to try this game out, stick with it through the difficult learning curve and you'll bee well rewarded.… Expand

I think the core of the game is very solid, and it's got a lot of potential which will be realized by dedicated and active development and community relations teams. It learns from both the strengths and weaknesses of games which have come before, and applies its own flavor and feel to it all.

This game is addicting. Whether you wish to play the market, decimate enemy ships, or duel enemy captains, you'll find enjoyment in the game's mechanics. It delivers a unique experience every time. It doesn't matter if you have 15 minutes or 5 hours to play, you can log in and get something done. The game play is excellent, but the UI could use some work- it's large and cumbersome. Overall, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who may be interested in buying it in the future.… Expand

One of the most original games I've played in quite a long time. The development team is very involved with the community, and is quick to respond to any issues you may find. Whether you prefer PvP, Economy, or just a fun storyline, PotBS has it all. I see a very bright future for this game.

I played this game both retail and beta and I have to say it can be fun at times but the game is much too repetative to be something a general audience would find vewry rewarding. For fans of this genre this game is a dream come true, truely if you're a pirate at heart you will never find a better game theres little doubt of that. But the sword combat is very bad and feels tacked on and underdeveloped. But the ship combat and nation PVP is very cool and engrossing if you find the right server. Population is apparently an issue already. I wish the game the best though because it does fill the niche quite well, just don't know if there's enough of a fan base to keep a mmporpg afloat.… Expand

Lacks the proverbial "carrot on a stick" people have come to expect from MMO's.. if you are the type that likes to hunt for the EPIC LOOTZ this is not the game for you. PVE is average at best, and the player driven economy is deep, if held back by low server populations. I have been playing this game for almost 3 years now, and pvp still gives me a rush like nothing else i have found in gaming. If you have the patience for a learning curve, are a risk taking adrenaline junky and like the idea of naval combat in the age of sail you have GOT to try this game. A niche game, to be sure, but the pvp combat is unrivaled..… Expand

A really interesting mix of Eve Online's strategic overtones and Sid Meier's Pirates! - but in both cases simplified and made more MMO friendly. Not too friendly! There's enough realism and short-handed realism that you can get immersed in tall ship battles or a rich and complex economic game (crafting is utterly simple, this is no SWG, but figuring out why to craft and how to profit from it, or whether to forgo crafting and specialize in "freetrading" between ports is the key here). As far as atmospherics go, you know where you are from the minute you step out of the tutorial. Colonial ports, scummy pirate dens - and a rather elaborate visual character designer (think CoH/CoV) helps you fit right in or stand right out as you please. I haven't had firsthand experience with the strategic game yet as it's just going live today but I'm having fun with the PvE missions, the roleplaying and the ship battles. Can't wait to see the economy and the PvP game fired up too. This is definitely aimed at an older crowd with functioning attention spans.… Expand

Great potential, but needs some bug and feature fixes. Had fun in beta, but frustrated by limitations when playing alts.

I'm at level 35, French Navy. So far I love the game. The ship combat is a blast. The ships are more and more powerful as I level. The graphics are fantastically beautiful. The missions are well written and engagine - particularly the career story arch missions. When I play this game, I feel like I"m on vacation in the sunny Caribbean with beautiful skies and sun on my face. Love it.

A really fantastic game which has improved by a vast amount since its release. I've been playing for months and it really is great, if somewhat confusing when you start out.

Good game but the players make the economy in the game,need more players on the servers and this game is great

Different than your standard MMO, but a lot of fun. RvR pvp is great. 100% player driven economy. Great potential for the future.

I have been playing this game for two years and am hooked. As one of the biggest and most experienced PvPers in the game, I can tell you tyhat this is the best MMO i have ever played, with a fantastic PvP Risk vs Reward system. Only downside is a fairly low population. Help fix that problem! Trev Macer, Blackbeard british