Pirates of Black Cove

 PC
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 33
  3. Negative: 9 out of 33

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  1. cheapsheep
    Aug 4, 2011
    2
    SLOW!>>> It takes far too long to do a whole lot of nothing. I was hoping for a sid meier's pirates meets magicka. There is very little RPG elements involved and the combat is boring.
  2. LaKriz
    Aug 31, 2011
    3
    Everything in this game seems like a very poor attempt to copy Sid Meyer's Pirates, but it fails in every respect. Ship Battles are dull, due to the fact that the game ignores all the physics (like wind and tides) which would make them interesting. Land missions are stupidly easy and boring. Not worth the money. You should play the demo before you shell out your money on this title.
  3. CaptainSpanky
    Aug 7, 2011
    2
    The quick review would be to say that it is boring and buggy, poorly though out and executed. I am glad that I only paid £7.50 for it, but even that was a waste of cash. Ship combat is dull and laggy, land combat is so poorly executed it is laughable - there are games from the 1990's with better top down combat and AI than this thing.. The game is also very poorly balanced, and has aThe quick review would be to say that it is boring and buggy, poorly though out and executed. I am glad that I only paid £7.50 for it, but even that was a waste of cash. Ship combat is dull and laggy, land combat is so poorly executed it is laughable - there are games from the 1990's with better top down combat and AI than this thing.. The game is also very poorly balanced, and has a poor soundtrack.

    To give more detail, the game is very basic and very dull.. Alot of people were, like me, expecting a cross between Sid Miers Pirates! and a strategy RPG with more character dev and ship customisation, what we got was something that failed to do either concept at all.

    You have none of the ship/crew management that is found in Sid Miers Pirates, the game play itself is basically boring mission after boring mission, most of which are land based "A to B" missions that involve walking a linear path with incredibly poor combat, and absolutely shocking path finding for the land units, which often get stuck behind obstacles.

    All your units lump together into an almost indistinguishable mass on land, and there is no attack move button for your units, so they will basically run along getting hit. if you don't click on each enemy individually. If they are standing still they will attack a unit right next to them, but that is about the extent of it, no room for any tactics or strategy. As said above there are games from the early 1990's that have a more sophisticated setup than this piece of junk. On top of this you are always forced to run all the way back to the beach at the end of every mission, which is basically a waste of your life.. it can take several minutes on some of the larger islands and is utterly pointless.

    The Naval combat is very very dull, repetitive close range canon spam abut sums it up. Unlike almost any other "Age of Sail" or Pirate based game, you do not have options for canon shot type, so no grape shot to whittle down the crew or chain shot to smash the masts and sails, just repetitive spamming of the fire button. The games poor balance is most visible when it comes to the ships, your starting ship is a floating tube, as to be expected, but it is easily possible to gain very early access to the larger ships, which basically own every thing.. combined with the ability to repair your ships even during combat, you would have to be an idiot to lose you ship, making the combat both boring and too easy.

    Long and short of it is, do not buy this game. If you want a pirate game then go for Sid Miers Pirates if you have not played it, or Akella's Age of Pirates titles are pretty good if you install the mod's.    … Expand
  4. Jimbob2k666
    Aug 5, 2011
    5
    Such wasted potential, and coming out from a Publisher like Paradox it's no surprise the final product was released at a cut-down price of £15. The graphics may look nice, but they are nothing so spectacular as to warrant regular screen lag every 10-15 seconds on a machine good enough to run games like Dirt3 in max resolution in dx11 at a constant 60fps. Not only is thereSuch wasted potential, and coming out from a Publisher like Paradox it's no surprise the final product was released at a cut-down price of £15. The graphics may look nice, but they are nothing so spectacular as to warrant regular screen lag every 10-15 seconds on a machine good enough to run games like Dirt3 in max resolution in dx11 at a constant 60fps. Not only is there graphical lag, but there is also mouse lag when you try to use the button to fire your cannons it takes a second or two for it to either fire, or not fire at all - something that has no lag when there is no enemies anywhere near you. Graphical problems aside, the biggest gripe is the amount of time that it takes to complete missions. Endless waves (har har) of nothingness as you complete your tasks, it is just way too slow. Verdict? Wait until it's around a fiver, and even then, only play if you are waiting in line for a frontal labotomy.… Expand
  5. SamiARR
    Aug 7, 2011
    10
    Oh what a beautiful pirate game in the spirit of Sid Meier's Pirates! The story is well written and funny, and the game is full of hilarious pirate jokes. You sail the Caribbean seas with a mission to unite all the pirates (pirates, buccaneers and corsairs) and defeat the evil Black Covians. You can setup your ship with various special weapons, such as human cannonball, which shoots aOh what a beautiful pirate game in the spirit of Sid Meier's Pirates! The story is well written and funny, and the game is full of hilarious pirate jokes. You sail the Caribbean seas with a mission to unite all the pirates (pirates, buccaneers and corsairs) and defeat the evil Black Covians. You can setup your ship with various special weapons, such as human cannonball, which shoots a willing sailor to another ship in order to capture it. Another big part of the game is light-RTS style land combat, where you try to accomplish several different missions on some 50 or so different land levels.

    On the release day the game was a bit buggy but these are now fixed with patches that I recommend everyone to install. After patching I had no trouble to complete the game. It took some 15 hours to complete so the amount of content was good. I will try again with a rifleman so I can try some different approaches to land combats..

    GRAPHICS
    The world looks stunning, especially the water. Towns are also well made. Game's unique style can be seen everywhere from loading screens to buildings in towns. Generally the game is a bit heavy on the PC but graphics can be toned down from the options so you should be good to go even with a bit older machine. SOUND
    Voice acting varies a bit from ok to great, but it's generally good. Music reminds me of Pirates and really helps to set the mood.    … Expand
  6. nighter-3d
    Aug 6, 2011
    7
    if your looking for a game where you take control of a ship and want to destroy ships you will probably enjoy this game. ive played this game till the end and it was quite fun. it had some nice features, it has some humor (although it diminished a bit as you progressed), the rts element was also nicely done.
    overall it kinda reminded me of Sid Meier's pirates and its been to long since    if your looking for a game where you take control of a ship and want to destroy ships you will probably enjoy this game. ive played this game till the end and it was quite fun. it had some nice features, it has some humor (although it diminished a bit as you progressed), the rts element was also nicely done.
    overall it kinda reminded me of Sid Meier's pirates and its been to long since then that ive felt that way.

    however the game also has its down points. the idea of pillaging a colony (rts style) for gold was to unrewarding and time consuming in comparison of just destroying and looting other ships. once you can capture ships you rarely would find yourself buying a ship, the traveling side can be a bit boring for the impatient and i got sick of the Pirate jokes after 20 jokes(mostly about the aaarrgghhh sound) and there are 1001 of them!! luckily you can turn the jokes off. however these downsides are nothing compared to the many technical problems this game has. broken Missions,Save corruptions,Random crashing, Pathfinder problems (units getting stuck behind objects) are plaguing the game at the moment. Overall it can be enjoyable but due to the technical problems and the overall simpleness i would advise to wait till most problems have been corrected and perhaps till the game is a little bit cheaper.    … Expand
  7. JSNB
    Oct 6, 2011
    5
    It was rather slow, but some things were able to keep my interest, like being able to take over other ships in search for a better one. What really bothered me though was they didn't take their own game seriously enough. I don't mind comedy in a game but the things they did was pointless and stupid. When I started my game and my guys name was "Walker De Plank" and the commander of theIt was rather slow, but some things were able to keep my interest, like being able to take over other ships in search for a better one. What really bothered me though was they didn't take their own game seriously enough. I don't mind comedy in a game but the things they did was pointless and stupid. When I started my game and my guys name was "Walker De Plank" and the commander of the other ship had a voice of someone that sounded like he escaped a french mental institution, I almost lost all hope for the game right then and there only 30 seconds in. That voice was just so damn irritating. You have to take your own game seriously if you want me to.… Expand
  8. Heavymetal4life
    Oct 6, 2011
    7
    Really enjoyed this game, The commentary an voice overs were a bit lacking in Greatness, Is nothing like Syd's Pirates game, But it was fun had some nice twists, Good controls for moving the ship an firing, can go on land an battle with your pirates for stuff within the towns, decent level up structure. All in all I give this game 7/10 cause was fun, good game. Cant expect it to be aReally enjoyed this game, The commentary an voice overs were a bit lacking in Greatness, Is nothing like Syd's Pirates game, But it was fun had some nice twists, Good controls for moving the ship an firing, can go on land an battle with your pirates for stuff within the towns, decent level up structure. All in all I give this game 7/10 cause was fun, good game. Cant expect it to be a total pirate Sim, was only $20.00 which I thought was a decent price for a brand new release an I have not come across to big of bug/error issues.… Expand
  9. chevmech
    May 5, 2012
    8
    I originally gave this game a lower score because of the amount of RESOURCES it takes to actually run it. My system was well within specs, but until I upgraded my video, the game was pretty much unplayable. Since then, I have finally had the chance to play the game. FUN! Along the same lines as Sid's game with more of an RTS style ground combat element. Fans of Pirates should enjoyI originally gave this game a lower score because of the amount of RESOURCES it takes to actually run it. My system was well within specs, but until I upgraded my video, the game was pretty much unplayable. Since then, I have finally had the chance to play the game. FUN! Along the same lines as Sid's game with more of an RTS style ground combat element. Fans of Pirates should enjoy this game- it is the closest to it than anything else out there. This game has its own charm and humor to separate it from just being a Pirates! clone. There is room for improvement in some areas, but for the price I feel I made a solid purchase.… Expand
  10. Klewer
    Dec 26, 2013
    5
    A game that has a few enjoyable moments and features however the slow pace of the the game makes it a struggle to get through after a pretty short amount of time.
  11. NightGeisha
    Jan 5, 2019
    6
    Pirates of Black Cove is a interesting RTS. Set in a pirate environment where 3 factions fight for the conquer the Caribbean.

    Graphically it is good, by the standards of 2011. The game has a palette of bright and lively colors. The game is interesting, fun and easy to play. I also emphasize the voice acting that is not very common in titles of the genre, it is not perfect, but it is    Pirates of Black Cove is a interesting RTS. Set in a pirate environment where 3 factions fight for the conquer the Caribbean.

    Graphically it is good, by the standards of 2011. The game has a palette of bright and lively colors.
    The game is interesting, fun and easy to play. I also emphasize the voice acting that is not very common in titles of the genre, it is not perfect, but it is better than nothing.

    I recommend it and hope you enjoy it. Ahoy sailors!    … Expand
  12. artem_r
    Aug 20, 2023
    4
    Bad game and time waster.
    Combat is boring (sea and land battles), too many time you need to wait until your character do something on the map.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
56

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 21
  3. Negative: 5 out of 21
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 10, 2011
    57
    Thumbs up for Pirates of Black Cove being a pirate themed strategy game, thumbs down for oversimplified gameplay, boring missions and way too slow tempo. [Oct 2011]
  2. PC Gamer UK
    Oct 8, 2011
    65
    It's certainly never short of ideas, but inept execution sends Pirates of Black Cove toppling off the gangplank. [Nov 2011, p.134]
  3. Game Over Online
    Oct 3, 2011
    62
    Overall, Pirates of Black Cove is a difficult game to recommend. It looks nice enough, and the voice acting is better -- and more prevalent -- than you might expect from a budget title, but everything else is second rate.
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