Just as we (as uneducated historians) expect the frontier ports of the New World to have been, the collections of scurvy dogs, tea trading corporate armies and lost souls are all present, and mostly controlled by other players who’ve chosen a distinctly different path to your own. Depending on how you do choose to play, a variety (enough that I certainly haven’t had the chance to sample them all to any level of fruition) become available; and not all through the tedious MMORPG trend of wild-boar-thrashing-experience-growth, either.

The land based run, hack ‘n’ slash antics are, at the time of our preview, still a little shaky and unrefined, but it must be said that the strength of Burning Sea wasn’t in swordplay but interaction and instanced events. Trading plays a significant role in a character’s growth, and a sly wheeler-dealer can quickly find themselves setting up shop, ship building or even coming to own an entire port which, bearing in mind the excessive inland revenue taxes levied on visiting player’s trades and transactions, can mean a huge cash income.

Because of this, pirates (especially teams of other wily players) will regularly besiege ports in an attempt to capture them; an event that makes Burning Sea shine like Cortez’ plundered booty. Even if you’re just visiting a port on other business, or milling around doing the odd mission for pocket money, a siege pulls all inhabitants into the dynamic action. An instanced port pillage took place early on (ravaged by NPC pirates, we was) and a sudden wealth of missions and survival requirements made for fascinating, exciting gameplay – the kind that makes you want to get back online as soon as possible in the hope that it happens again (and with the wicked notion forming in the back of your mind about the day you attack your first port with a fleet of scallywags and buccaneers under your own flag!).

The action also takes to sea, where the ships swim a balletic dance of cannon and sail as they attempt to fend off an attacking boarding party, pull along side or get the advantage of the wind and tide to make dire speed in escape. This aspect, along with the superb potential of trading and inherent danger of remaining on land are the impressive variations that lift Pirates of the Burning Sea from standard MMORPG fare, while miraculously retaining all the elements expected of an online multiplayer. On top of it all, a solo game is equally achievable and thoroughly enjoyable, with a progressive, personal background story keeping gamer’s interest three full sheets to the wind.

Naturally, there are many factors deciding the performance of an MMORPG – not least of all the servers, net connection and host PC. Burning Sea asked quite a lot of our mid-range rig, and during the exciting moments the frame rate suffered quite badly. A well spec’ed gaming PC with a high speed connection would no doubt make light work of the atmospheric, detailed graphics, but this is clearly a next generation engine that makes no apology for placing demands upon the host. Not that this is a particular criticism, but it feels somehow sinful to rob Burning Sea of its majesty for want of a laboured system, so a minimal reboot before play doesn’t hurt older machines. MMORPG lovers - it might be time for that upgrade yo’ve been promising yourself.

This is without doubt the longest preview I’ve ever written, but in many ways that simply represents the amount of gameplay depth found in Pirates of the Burning Sea. It’s also a little light on the critique, but GDN has become quite enamoured by the helpful and obliging attitude of Flying Lab Software and Sony Online Entertainment – both have been uncharacteristically forthcoming for games companies during this preview phase. Hopefully, this kind of genuine enthusiasm will remain once the game officially launches (currently slated for January 22nd) to provide players with a valuable support network and a long, prosperous life at sea.

Flying Labs has imbued its MMORPG with a living passion that’s evident from the moment the game begins, and while it might be built on standard massive multiplayer foundations, it looks set to be a glistening tower in the increasingly dull online gaming world. The only thing that’s missing is a free bottle of rum with every game.

Watch this space for more news as it arrives, and if you want our advice, dig up your buried treasure and get a pre-order in – the sea is calling you home.