Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey
Score: 54% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Atari Developer: Akella Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ RPG/ Free-Roaming
Graphics & Sound: You are Captain Abraham Gray, a schizophrenic, alcoholic captain out to make a little gold on the back of the Civil War. Okay, so the good Captain actually has multiple personality syndrome and even though the game takes place during the Civil War, you don't actually see it... but those are the least of Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey's problems. Visually, Swashbucklers isn't the best looking game, though the game's style grew on me the longer I played. Though the game tends towards more "realistic" visuals, they are more inline with the realism found in the GTA series. Characters have a very distinct feel that, even though they don't exactly fit with the game's time period, still feel like they probably could. The game's most impressive feat are the massive maps, especially the expansive, open-sea sailing areas. Although the visuals have some merit, sound isn't very good. Dialogue is spoken, though all you hear is warbling and noise. Instead, you have to read everything, including Captain Gray's conversations with himself. I don't mind reading text, though I found myself wondering why the developers bothered with the noise since it doesn't contribute anything to the experience in the long run. Surprisingly, music is not only the best element of the game's presentation, but probably the best aspect of the entire game. There aren't a lot of songs on the soundtrack, but all are really good and add a great amount of atmosphere to the game.
Gameplay: Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey is a mix of open-world gameplay with an action RPG twist. Gameplay takes place both on shore and off. You can enter port towns and pursue missions guided by your inner voice or take to the seas and embark on a career in piracy. The underlying gameplay is a bit like Sid Meier's Pirates! without the same level of polish. Where Swashbucklers fails is its execution. There's a lot to do in the game, though nothing ever feels like it comes together that well. You can take missions around town, attack other ships, customize your ship, level-up Gray and even bet on and fight in boxing matches. However, the modes don't merge together in any meaningful way. All the game really does is take one situation and replicate it until it fills up a few hours of play time. Granted, this isn't a big departure from what other games do, but there's little variation between situations that aren't much fun in the first place. When you come across a ship, you'll receive a message letting you know how difficult it would be to overtake the vessel. Even if the ship is difficult to catch, you can attack it with your ship's cannons or other weapons that you can purchase over the course of the game. If you are able to get close enough to a ship, you can board it and take on the crew in hand-to-hand combat. Eventually you can fight your way to the ship's captain and take him on in a duel. After taking over the ship, you can seize it as your own, sell it or destroy it. Of the two main modes of play, sailing is probably the more enjoyable. The on-foot stuff is really buggy and hardly works, so it wouldn't take much to top it. However, there's also a novelty to the experience that just makes it different from other games. It probably would have been to Swashbuckler's benefit if more attention had been paid to developing these moments.
Difficulty: For all its technical problems, the game is actually well-balanced and fair. Enemies aren't too difficult and your character is always growing; so if something is hard you'll eventually be strong enough to defeat it. Duels are a bit on the easy side, but it is still possible to lose them. The same goes for naval combat. If you're having a rough time attacking ships, you can return to port, grab some money and upgrade your ship. The difficulty indicator also saves you from unnecessary combat. If you're feeling bold and attack anyway and lose, you are given the option to restart the battle and try different tactics or reload from a previous spot. As far as risk vs. reward goes, Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey is pretty fair. However the poor mechanical execution makes the game feel harder than it actually is.
Game Mechanics: Like much of the game, Swashbucklers: Blue vs. Grey's control scheme goes in too many directions. While on-foot, the game controls like nearly every other action game on the market. Battle is very simple and little more than button-mashing with your melee weapon and using your ranged weapon to pick off enemies from a distance. Combat becomes more interesting while in duels since you get the use of both high and low attacks. There's also a cool fatigue system that requires you to be choosy about your attacks. Although the system is busted, it still adds a fun gameplay element. Similar to ship combat, Swashbucklers would have been a much better game if the dueling system had been incorporated into the general combat system a little more rather than being something separate. Steering your ship is a little difficult the first time you try since you have to steer using the wind, but it is fun once you get used to it. It is especially fun when you are locked in combat with other ships. One of my favorite sayings in regards to game development is, "Follow the Fun". Although Swashbucklers isn't a good game, there are some fun moments. The problem with Swashbucklers is that these moments aren't given more prominence and instead buried under a broken mish-mash of mechanics and ideas. Even at $20, Swashbucklers is something to avoid unless you're dying for a pirate-themed game.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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