Pirates of the Burning Sea (Flying Lab Software)

Infuriatingly slow, to the point where you actually don't want to actively pirate.

Game Review by Zach Morris | 06 Mar 2008
As mummorpughus go (that's Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, verbalised), PotBS is pretty novel. No orcs or spaceships in sight; in fact the game is somewhat disappointingly set in the 'real world', the good old fashioned 17th century in fact. PotBS is probably too real; while having never had to fight in a real sea battle with cannon balls up yer' starboard and whatnot, I am fairly certain battles took some time. What with boats being difficult to manoeuvre and such. Sadly the developers took this too much to heart and the game is infuriatingly slow, to the point where you actually don't want to actively pirate, as, while you may easily win the battle, you must go through the motions. Slow and steady may win the race, but you would definitely rather hang out with the hare, right? Couple this with a variety of land based missions ranging from 'hack continuously at random baddies to get a flag' to 'hack continuously at random baddies to get a map' on the same island you just hacked up to get a flag. It's hard not to feel gypped. This isn't to say it's all bad, with an excellent economy, a wealth of ships, and combat which feels realistic (at sea at least). There is definitely something here for anyone who owns any pirate gear that they like to wear regularly. For the rest of us, a game inspired by a movie, inspired by a Disneyland ride, this ain't. [Zach Morris]
http://www.burningsea.com