But sailing is not simply just a means of travel to different locations in the game; it is a game in itself. There is so much to do and see and plenty of collectibles. The most action in this part of the game is the ship battles. There are merchant ships sailing all over the place just begging to be plundered. And guess what? You can! Any ship sailing can be attacked. From the small merchants sailing between the islands, to the larger vessels headed back to Europe, and even a few military ships, anything is up for grabs. I even saw Captain Ahab towing Moby Dick to shore. (and before you ask, yes, I sunk his ship)
The controls are so easy and the tutorial is integrated into the game so that you can just jump right in. Movement is made with the WASD keys and cannons are fired to the port and starboard with Q and E. They also allow you to move using the mouse for direction and left click to fire on either side. Later on in the game you unlock special weapons that can be fired with spacebar. These weapons include a mortar, human catapult to try to capture a ship, grappling hook, homing rockets, and more.
As mentioned earlier, there are also tons of collectibles at sea. Scattered along the coast of all these islands are several ship wrecks that contain blueprints. These blueprints can be used to upgrade your ship’s weapons systems when you make port. You can also find 1001 messages in a bottle. Each bottle contains a cheesy pirate joke that usually has something to do with replacing the letter “R” with “ARRRRRR”. (example: Which Star Wars character is really a Pirate?...... ARRRRRRRR 2-D2). Even though the jokes are cheesy, I can’t help but to turn my ship every time I see one so that I can collect them all. Yes, even while I am in a heated cannon fight. Beyond this, there are plants and other items that you can collect to take to the mad alchemist to make potions and spells.
Pirates of Black Cove, Two if By Land
The land gameplay has a unique feel to it. The best comparison I can make is that it is sort of a mash up of Tales of Monkey Island and Torchlight. There are several ports where you can land, but the main focus is on the 3 pirate ports. Here you can buy upgrades to your ship, make potions at the alchemist, build taverns where you can hire ship hands, and you can accept missions at the mansion.
At the ship yard, all of those ship wrecks you found come in handy. Each one contains a blueprint that you can use to buy and upgrade weapons. You can also change the paint scheme of your ship, even buy and sell ships. And any ship you buy or capture will be available at all 3 of the pirate ports.
