PHEW. Ok, so sail forward to today; Akella is no more and BlackMark, the studio behind Sea Dogs: To Each His Own, has a new game out called Caribbean Legend: Sandbox, which is “based on Sea Dogs” and “inspired by Sid Meier’s Pirates!” It looks like the most faithful unofficial follow-up fans could possibly hope for, even sporting graphics that, while beautiful, look like they came straight from 2013.
Caribbean Legend: Sandbox is the free version of another game, just called Caribbean Legend, launching Thursday. According to BlackMark, Sandbox is the same game but it’s missing a bunch of stuff, chiefly, “a story mode with unique events, pirate and officer careers, colony building, romance, and hundreds of hours of adventure.”
What it does include is a big old 1654 AD Caribbean open world filled with bustling towns and ancient architecture, as well as hundreds of quests including freight jobs, bounty hunting, trading contracts, and more, each with multiple outcomes depending on your actions. There’s also naval and land combat, from small confrontations with thugs in jungles to full-scale sieges where you’re at the command of an armada of warships. Ultimately, BlackMark says you can expect about 10-20 hours of gameplay from the “freeplay” mode, while the full game should keep you busy for “almost 200 hours.”
Anyway, Sandbox’s ‘Very Positive’ Steam reviews suggest the long wait for a follow-up, not to mention the laborious effort that went into my retelling of the series’ complex history, was worth it. Although many reviewers note a steep learning curve and some clunky controls, it sounds like it’s everything fans have been waiting for – warts and all.
Ahoy, matey! Check out our Skull and Bones review-in-progress to see what we think of Ubisoft’s new pirate game.
Source: gamesradar.com
