Age of Booty

Age of Booty

Yarr! If ever t'was a game stumblin' up from the briny deep to make other online experiences walk the plank, this here be that game, matey!

No, but seriously, if this game can accomplish the same feat as Uno and Marble Blast Ultra and establish itself as "one of those Arcade games everyone gets when they buy an XBox," it would be in esteemed company. Or, more likely, Marble Blast and Uno would be in esteemed company. The multiplayer component of the game is seriously that great.

The basic idea is that, as a pirate, you need wood, gold and rum to continue to extend your piratey reach, and to that end you take over towns while other pirates, emanating from their own lairs on the other side of the hexagonal map, are doing the same. The art direction is great, not too cartoony, but still with flourishes (Cadillac fins appear on a fully-upgraded Speedy pirate ship) that remind you this is a game about sailing the high seas. Tilting the right stick up zooms the game in and drops the perspective from overhead to a gorgeous side view that really shows off the art direction. Sounds are sparse, but effective. Cannons boom deeply and resources fill up with a satisfying *ka-ching* or *glug-glug* depending on their type.

The singleplayer experience does have its faults. The friendly AI is worse that useless, and completely undirectable, so it becomes you versus the enemy fleet in most missions, which gets frustrating quickly, but this is a minor quibble, as there are only 21 total stages in the single-player game to complete before you're ready to either hop online with a crowd of scurvy sea-friends and tackle online, which is infintely more interesting as ships will coordinate attacks and defend appropriately (since they're helmed by humans who are working together), or start messing around with the all-but-forgotten in today's games Map Editor.

You heard me right: This game has a map editor, and the ability to take these maps online. That means, literally, infinite replayability as you challenge friends to conquor your own devious inventions. Yo ho ho, indeed.

Graphics: Colorful, creative and elegantly expressive. 4.
Sound: No catchy pirate songs, but clear audible cues for off-screen activity. 2.
Controls: The pathfinding is great, and most activities are automated. Minimalism at its best. 3.
Tilt: Avast, ye dogs! This be the greatest pirate-based game of 2008. 5.
Overall (not an average): 4