Pirates of the Burning Sea Preview

It is not mandated that you play the game with a patch over one eye …

Or a parrot sitting on your shoulder …

Or, when the spouse or kids call to you, you begin the answer with ‘yarrrr!’ …

And you really don’t need to know the difference between sabot and a saber – at least when you start the game. But you will learn. 

Pirates of the Burning Sea is a pending massively multiplayer online title from Flying Labs and published by Sony Online Entertainment. PofBS is a title that has been around for a while, but it has changed quite a bit in the recent year – which is not quite but close to the time that SOE hopped onboard.

The game itself is a mixture of instanced sea battles, as well as some land-based adventures. You will not only find yourself managing wind directions and circumnavigating enemies while firing shots to shred sails and splinter masts, but you can board and sword fight with captains of other ships, capture cargo, upgrade your ships and your fleet as well. The fun doesn’t stop there. There will also be land-based missions that will have you scurrying into the maw of a fort, taking on enemy officers and gathering more crew members to your side.

But lest you think that PotBS is all about sea battles or sword duels, you are limiting yourself to the scope of what Flying Labs has created. You see, the economic system of the world is in the hands of the players. Players create the materials that populate the world, from bandages up to ships and riggings. It is, without a doubt, one of the deepest systems ever inserted into an MMO and the amusing thing is (if it can be termed ‘amusing’) is that the prices are so competitive (no sense of price gouging) and the system runs so well, that players may not realize that initially. … well, at least not in the beta.

Now in order to fuel this economy, as well as handicap players from dominating, each player gets 10 plots of land and use deeds to determine just what the land will do. You can mine, for example and then process the yield into viable materials for crafting. You can also build, or plant, buildings to sell your wares.

Yes, you drop into a port, then run around and gather quests. Then you see the harbor master and get into your ship. You have the option, usually, of hitting the open seas, or going straight to the instanced zone of your missions.

The game does have the usual assortment of nationalities – French, Spanish, and British – but the only time that this truly comes into play is during player-versus-player. You can enter a zone and pirates are fair game to all but you cannot attack someone of your nationality. Makes sense and that is one of the things that truly makes Pirates of the Burning Sea a treat – it all makes sense. The game is obviously based on the colonization/pirating era in the Caribbean but it is by no means restricted by it. Liberties, where needed, have been taken, but everything in Pirates seems to weave together very nicely to make for a very enjoyable experience.

The game does have guilds, otherwise known as societies, and you will have the standard bit of running missions, gaining experience and then level up skills in a variety of disciplines – from ship command-based to personal fighting skills.

The beta did have a few issues with lag in some of the more popular port towns, but it was minor and should be cleared up by the time the title launches.

When it comes to the graphics, corners have been cut in regards to character models, but the ship models are very well done and the sea battles (don’t expect quick kills, these can be protracted affairs) are visually delightful. The sound was also solid.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is a title that has been in development for a while, but it is immediately obvious that what Flying Labs has crafted is a game that not only parlays a current interest in things pirate, but also is a deep MMO gaming experience.  

The game has an early release on Jan. 7 for those who pre-ordered while the retail version will launch later in the month.