I’ve heard a thousand times that it’s always best to take a step back and look at the work you’ve done before you submit it.
I’ve probably done that one in seven times.
Nonetheless, I do like to peruse game forums that are not cluttered with price checks and null rants. As I’ve said before, I’m not necessarily a talkative or social guy, so I tend to reserve most of my thoughts (which, in hindsight, is probably very bad for my psyche). Much of what does come out is either refined or regurgitated here, much to your delight or disdain.
But I digress; let’s get to the point.
Puzzle Pirates
This MMORPG is very much unlike most games out there. Whether you’re playing Runescape or WoW, Maplestory or Trickster, you can almost always log out within ten minutes of logging in. Hop in, kill a few things, chat with friends, and peace, you’re gone. Features that require longer time expenses, such as raids and party quests, are generally an optional part of the game that can be ignored entirely without massively impacting personal gameplay. Puzzle Pirates reverses that idea; the most core features of the game require at least some time expenditure, usually a half hour least, to obtain any sustenance in the game.
The gameplay is based nearly entirely on (gasp!) puzzles. Some, like the bilging station and treasure hauling, are reminiscent of Bejeweled. Others, such as distilling, seem exceedingly foreign as a puzzling game. Regardless, all vital functions require some knowledge and experience in puzzling. If you have the thought process of Patrick Star, well, I’m surprised you’ve read this far.
Pros
The game breathes of cooperation, and on the off-chance, collusion. Up until you obtain a ship, it is possible to job for other crews like a one night stand in Vegas. However, in order to operate a ship, one has to be in a crew. You can make your own, but unless you have quite porous pockets to waste on this game for your own anti-social means, it would be supremely easier, and cost-effective, to join another and rise to the rank of officer. That’s not to say that you can’t solo pilot a ship, but it would be fairly tricky to, and the payoff is comparably lackluster. Also, PvP is on-the-fly on a standard pillage, just like a KSer flying by your channel. It gives a little excitement and unpredictability into the game (or a monkey wrench into your gelatin, whichever).
If you’re unsatisfied with single, head-to-head firefights with ships and have a more destructive taste for wood and carnage, then have no fear. The flotilla and blockade systems essentially let you and a fleet of your friends take on another group of hardy crew, computer or human. Of course, most people go in with a sturdy war frigate, one and alone and with about fifty other players average, and pretty much let loose on anything that moves; the rewards, bloodlust aside, are typically bountiful.
Then, there is sea monster hunting (hilariously nicknamed SMH), where usually one tough ship is pitted against sea creatures that seemed to have swallowed the nearest vitamin shoppe. While their ramming capacity is formidable, they are mostly susceptible to large cannonball damage, with the exception of the well-defended archelon turtle. Pummeling a number of weak triketoi and it usually nets the crew a nice bounty of money and even items. For a real hauling of these chests, a citadel flanked by a vanguard of other organics can be challenged in a head-on sword fight, equal hands on both decks.
Cursed isles is an unusual polar opposite to sea monster hunting. A small ship is best used in this environment, as the noxious fogs can eat away at a ship’s damage meter pretty easily, so the tinier the required crew, the less micromanagement you require. Instead of engaging in ships iron-to-iron, you must evade enemy crew, picking up a few stragglers on the way if thou wishes, to enter the atoll at the far end of the map. Once there, you engage in alternating waves of sword fights and rumbles, or fist fights, where you can use the time to forage from the island to haul some chests back to the ship. Make the treacherous run back out, and you’ve got a booty your mother would love.
For those less optimistic about such time management or social interactions, there are also laboring puzzles, which come in a bewildering assortment of games. The pay is usually minute compared to the actual pillaging trips, but if you get a job, you can earn a small amount of income even if you’re offline. It can be worth it, especially if you have an order of a ship or some furniture in that same shop you employ.
And for those of you audacious enough to run a shop, take over an island, what have you, and the whole place turns into a ghost town, fret not! Merchant brigands, a special computer ship that harvests and sends commodities to populated islands as a money sink, run automatically. Provided they haven’t been pillaged, that is, but it’s not common for them to be, because they usually pass as human players, as noted by the lack of symbol in their might ring.
Cons
One of the biggest demons in the game is texas hold ’em poker. With the most absurd rates at between 20k and 200k, you can essentially win a fleet of ships or lose it in a heartbeat. This makes the financial scale unfairly balanced to those who can bluff their way around. However, if those of you who are reading this are good at online poker, which has none of the perks and all of the annoyances of real poker (such as getting rivered), then by all means take up a pair and earn some change (and, considering I’m the one actually playing the game, if you’re not, hand me some of that cash. Not like you’re going to spend it on something practical).
Another great folly of this game is game population. Unlike Maplestory or Runescape, who have slaves in the millions, this game has determined gamers in the thousands, even hundreds on bad days. While that means you’re not as likely to get a ship stolen from potential combat, it’s not the most optimal idea for a game that can require hundreds to play a human-vs.-human blockade at peak hours. I blame poor marketing campaign, but it could be other reasons.
One of the most irritating part of this game is that it updates once a month IF YOU’RE LUCKY. For an MMORPG, that’s a horrible rate, considering the content may be entirely aesthetic. Maybe a new color, or a limited edition ship. Runescape churns out some updates a week, and Maplestory gives players new content every month or so. After a month of playing, Puzzle Pirates can get old really fast.
And So…
I do implore you to give this game a shot if you have the free time.
Hearing many of your recent testimonies, I’ve concluded that we’ve all grown up to at least some degree, to the point where gaming is no longer a central and integral part of our lives. Reluctantly, I have to say that that is the same with me. However, it’s never a bad idea to just dabble in a few games every now and then, just to wade in shallow waters for the sake of nostalgia or boredom.