Good ship combat with a subpar MMO on top
Skull and Bones Review
I haven't followed the development of Skull and Bones very closely over the years; I would see the pirate game show up at a show with a new trailer or demo, then sink back under the waves with delay after delay. So when Ubisoft opened the game to the public with an open beta recently, I was curious to see what the near-final product looked like. I've been known to enjoy piracy, and after all, Ubisoft has the incredible Assassin's Creed: Black Flag in its back catalog.
The open beta weekend was a surprising experience, as I didn't realize there was an entire MMO-style game on top of the pirate ship combat. MMO stuff isn't great either; from seeing everyone's gamertag above their ship, to poorly implemented mechanics, it feels like the boat part of Skull and Bones is dragging around tons of extra mechanics as baggage.
Skull and Bones opens with the player embroiled in battle against a British navy, commanding a respectable pirate galleon. Unfortunately for the sailors on board, the British take overwhelming force and sink the ship with cannon fire. The player wakes up, having washed ashore, and the problems immediately begin with character creation.
