There has been a sort of resurgence of the pirate game recently, with indie studios at the helm of said comeback. Games like Winward, Tempest (also very cool!), Sea Dogs and obviously (not an indie but still relevant to the conversation) SM's timeless epic, Pirates!, have kept digital caribbean plundering alive for the past few years. Yet, while these are all brave efforts, apart from ACThere has been a sort of resurgence of the pirate game recently, with indie studios at the helm of said comeback. Games like Winward, Tempest (also very cool!), Sea Dogs and obviously (not an indie but still relevant to the conversation) SM's timeless epic, Pirates!, have kept digital caribbean plundering alive for the past few years. Yet, while these are all brave efforts, apart from AC Black Flag (and that other multiplayer cash grab Ubi's working on), I can't think of any other AAA Pirate-themed game to have come out recently, and it is with that hunger for open sea adventure that I have approached this flawed gem of a game. Topware may not be an independant studio by any stretch of the imagination, but this game's development history and budget surely place it in a category closer to the realities of indie development than those of a juggernaut such as Ubisoft. The comparison is drawn simply because of the veritable similarities in design and style, and the fact that the are both contemporary and target the same audience. In any case though, I honestly think that if given a shot, Vendetta: Curse of Raven's Cry might grow on you, and as it happened with me, you might actually end up loving it.
I found myself desperately wanting to play a Pirate-themed game recently. I have tried pretty much everything that has come out on PC over the past 20 years or so (not many Pirate games in two decades), and due to horrible scores and a despicable reputation, I had decided putting Vendetta off until I really needed my Pirate fix. I bought it fairly soon after launch, but just yesterday, as the gods of gaming answered my calls for digital piratey goodness, Steam notified me that a few days ago a new patch came out for this game, and people were actually enjoying it.
So I Installed it and here I am after a 12 hour gaming binge pillaging throughout the caribbean seas. I was not expecting a Skyrim-like session coming from playing such a globally hated, and I mean despised game. But dare I say it, this thing is excellent. And. Yes. I even like it more than AC Black Flag. I won't waste time explaining why, but lets just say that Black Flag needed to be its own game...away from the AC cash machine that fathered it. Where that one was rich in visuals, it was limited by the legacy of its forefathers and a bunch of stuff was included that really break the pirate experience. Vendetta on the other (poorer) side of the spectrum, has less booty, but a lot more heart, and truly scratches that itch I had for something pirate-flavored.
Open world, dynamic trading, crew hiring and management, ship upgrades and ship upgrading from sloop to galleon, awesome ship combat and boarding, great and immersive music, beautiful graphics and very stable (on high end machine), sea exploration, land exploration (treasure hunting!), cool taverns, immersively populated towns and cities (and world), decent voice acting, a story that so far has me intrigued...everything that is needed for an epic pirate experience you might think, and while all of these features are developed with true indie quality (with all the good and bad that may entail), Vendetta is more about atmosphere and evoking the feeling of being in the tattered boots of a mercenary Pirate captain, rather than in the cloak of a high seas jackie Chan...and then there is the sword combat system. I'll be blunt, if you do not invest in it seriously, and I mean flight sim level seriousness here, trying to figure out the system's complexity (and clunkiness), will lead you to believe, just as thousands of others, that the combat is disastrous. And there is so much of it, most will give up the hunt before the treasure is even revealed. This is probably the main reason behind all the hatred since it is not fluid and spectacular, but iut is not automated either and poses a real challenge. Stick with it. After a while you'll understand it's weird, unintuitive and unforgivable timing patterns and once you're there, you may realize its actually fun(ish), and not nearly as bad as you may initially may have thought. Vendetta must be experienced as the sum of it's parts, and then you might see its' well hidden charm and appeal.
But a few will brave Vendetta's murky waters, and those patient enough to do so, may actually be rewarded with one of the most complete and epic pirate games made in recent memory, that is, if Sid Meier's Pirates! has run it course in your gaming library, or if the AC part of Black Flag sunk that ship for you. If you like pirates, exploration and have the patience, give it a go. It truly is a great pirate game.
Real score: 8.5 (I will give a 10 to affect the average)… Expand
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