Customer Reviews

Age of Booty [Online Game Code]

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When I played the demo for Age of Booty, I was hooked. It's real time strategy game with basic gameplay, yet still challenging. Even if you're not big on pirates, if you like strategy, you definitely need to check it out. And given the price, you really don't have anything to lose. Age of Booty is another title I bring up when people say that downloadable games can't compare to full retail games. They couldn't be more wrong. This one's right up there with PixelJunk Shooter and Monsters, Critter Crunch and The Last Guy for me.

Like I said, gameplay's simple. Players take control of a pirate ship on a map, and attack/conquer towns that are neutral or claimed by other pirate teams. Sometimes there's a time limit, sometimes you just need to conquer a certain number of towns in order to win. It's easy to get into, and shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes to get how to play the game. The fun is in re-claiming your territory after another team takes over your town. Yep, even after you claim an area, another team can attack it and make it their own. All in all, Age of Booty can be seen as a kind of tug-of-war game. I played one match a few nights ago where you just had to take over 3 towns, but it lasted 40 minutes. Aside from towns and enemy teams on the map, there are also neutral ships that will leave items like supplies or weapons (bombs, whirlpools, etc.), and small villages that net you more supplies when you destroy them. Supplies are used to upgrade your ship's 3 stats: Speed, Armor and the Cannon. Speed, as you probably figured out, determines how fast you move on the map. Armor is your health, and the Cannons shoot faster as you upgrade them. With just three stats, and limited supplies, there'll be times when you'll pause the game just to try and figure out which stat you should upgrade, wondering if you're making the right choice. Go with speed, and you might not be strong enough to take over a town before an enemy comes by and takes it from you. Go with cannons, and you might not be fast enough to make it to the town before its health recovers or another gang takes over. It's surprising how challenging a simple game like this can get, and I love it.

There's a good online community for Age of Booty, and even with my weird hours of when I go online (usually around 3am), there's a good number of people to play with. There are different gameplay modes, but the objective is almost always the same. If you have a few friends that have the game, you can have some pretty big battles. Age of Booty also has a neat little map editor, and the standard single player mode that should prep you for multiplayer. There were a couple of stages that took me 2-3 hours before I finally beat them.

The graphics are very basic, and this could probably be done on the original PlayStation and look the same, but that's not a bad thing. All you'll be looking at are ships, water and small cities. Most strategy games never need to have great graphics, and Age of Booty continues that tradition. There's not much music either, and most of what you hear will be sea sounds, cannons firing, the pirate host saying something here and there, and then a little ditty when you win or lose a match. If you have some podcasts or new music to be listened to, go ahead and play 'em while you play Age of Booty.

All in all, if you like strategy games even a little, at least check out the demo for Age of Booty. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth. Heck, I bought it when it was on sale, and wouldn't have felt bad paying full price either. And hey, it's got a couple of trophies for any hunters out there. Do you need any other reasons to give it a shot?

This game is a great time passer. Good single player campaigns and a ton of fun on-line so long as your teammates aren't idiots. Glad I bought this game. Well worth the money.