Pirates: All Aboard! is light on content and doesn't carry enough of a personality to be a recommendable package. Other than in its dirt cheap form in the eShop sale, that is.
Pirates: All Aboard! could have been something special. The top-down sailing conceit has worked wonders for other games in the past, but it’s not a set of mechanics that can sail to glory on their own. If you’re looking for something to pass the time in local multiplayer, it’s a fun premise for a while, but there’s very little to keep you carving through its unfinished oceans in the long term.
It lacks content, making it easy to get tired of quickly enough. Its visual and sound limitations, a very short lifespan and lack of overall sense of identity make this a game that has virtually nothing going for itself and give it no reason for anyone to purchase it.
Gameplay: In pirates all aboard, you have 3 game modes to choose from. I guess technically 4 if you include practice mode as an option. Practice mode helps you get use to the game’s main mechanics. You learn how to drive and defend your ship from a birds eye view perspective. There are also some points to collect after you destroy enemy ships. That’s really it for the game’s mechanics, not a whole lot going on here. Well now that I explained the main gist of the game, let's talk about the 3 other modes. The first one is a 4 player multiplayer mode called death match, and already you know what your in for. 2 or more players battle it out to the death in the open sea to see who is the best pirate of them all. There's not that much depth into the game, you just float around ramming your ship into your enemy and spamming cannon shots. It’s only fun for short amounts of time. The game-play gets very repetitive and generic pretty fast. Although the game tries to shake things up with dropping power ups that improve your speed and firepower, it cant stop itself from being repetitive and bland. Secondly, there is Last man standing mode, which is almost identical to death match but it's more of a one death and its over type of deal, no re spawns. Lastly, there is the mode I enjoy the most, which is Endless mode. By choosing this option, your ship is on a fixed route going upwards and you only have the choice to move left or right, as you quickly navigate your way through the dangers of the open sea. There is enemies chasing you or bombs to look out for. All you need to do is make your way through an endless series of obstacles blocking your path while collecting coins and avoiding threats such as sharks and crashing. Unlike the other modes, I feel like I can just plop down in a chair and play this mode for a few minutes then go do something else. It's nice and simple without much skill needed!
Performance: Pirates all aboard is no technical masterpiece whatsoever. And I don't mean that it's full of glitches or bugs, because its not. I know you don't need good graphics at all to have a fun game, but you can at least try a little. The shapes and backgrounds in this game are extremely blocky and jaggety, some of them look barley rendered. The only aspects of the game I felt were at least passable graphics wise, were the ships and water. I know you could make an argument that it may be the art style of the game, but comparing the more detailed ships and water to the backgrounds and rocks, would surely disprove that. The game runs fine in handheld mode and while docked. Like I had said before, there are no issues performance wise, only graphical.
ETC: I don't really have much more to say about this game because its very short and you can get everything done in basically an hour. However I will give this game credit for its pretty good soundtrack. The music sounds very adventurous and pirate like. Even though the ship battles are mediocre at best, the great soundtrack in the background makes the battle more intense and fun. The main theme of this game is very well written. If anyone has ever played Toontown and went to Donald's Dock, it kinda sounds like that with and a more adventurous upgrade.
Overall: Overall, Pirates all aboard is a slightly above mediocre game at best that is rather short in game play. There isn't much offered but you cant really complain for the price of $6. However the lack of content doesn't necessarily mean you can't gain any enjoyment out of it. I did have a little fun in the multiplayer and a did enjoy the endless mode. However I felt this game could have been more of what it currently is. But again, it's a $6 dollar game so you can’t make a huge fuss. I give Pirates All Aboard a 6 Out Of 10.
It is the essence of a casual game. Mostly enjoyable in co-op mode. Has nothing else to offer than that. Very simple graphics, very simple playability, very simple music, very simple everything. But I can say it can be fun when playing couch co-op with your partner/friends/family. It's low price makes it a decent party game.