Preview of Tortuga: Two Treasures from IGNTortuga -- Two Treasures
CDV and Ascaron look to serve up a dose of pirate chicanery.
by Dan Adams
December 5, 2006 - Pirates hold a mysteriously warm place in the heart of modern pop culture. They've been romanticized so much that the fact that they were largely mercilessly violent thieves who lived pathetically short lives thanks to unhealthy helpings of disease. But even with that knowledge, it's hard to turn down the chance to play a new pirate title. Ascaron and CDV delivered a new build of Tortuga -- Two Treasures recently and we've given it a look. The game combines naval combat Pirates! style and on-land and fast-action ship deck combat. The idea is certainly good but there's still work to be done.
Okay.
The story follows young captain Thomas "Hawk" Blythe who sails a ship under famous pirate Blackbeard. Blythe is put through the ringer when Blackbeard betrays and steals his ship, kills his voodoo lady friend, and leaves him for dead. The story is told via cutscenes using game assets and some special animations between missions.
Okay.
The campaign is set-up in specific missions so those hoping to galavant around the Caribbean might be a bit disappointed. Instead of sandboxes and endless battles with Spanish, English, and Dutch traders and military vessels, Ascaron can set-up encounters to promote the story and provide more focused gameplay.
Sounds like there won't be many side quests, eh?
Bummer there's no sandbox mode or anything for this one.
So far, the most enjoyable bits of the game have come in the naval contests. As with many other pirate games in the past, the ship can speed up, slow down, maneuver to port and starboard in various radii depending on the ship speed, employ a variety of shot types, and maneuver to come close enough the blow enemy ships out of the water. After destroying a ship, cargo and replacement crew can be picked up from the wreckage. Among the cargo items are boxes of special ammunition like grape shot or chain shot, repair items for sails, hull, and cannon, and special items that allow for special attacks.
The realism of intense winds and playing against nature's forces have been downplayed in favor of a fast-action style of naval combat. Maneuvering is still important to get a broadside shot and picking the correct style of ammunition can yield different results. The most interesting battles are between several ships at once where direction, speed, and ammunition usage can make a big difference. These types of battles become more frequent as the game promotes some of the pirate mentality by asking players to target trading vessels and their escorts.
Scattered around the water between all of the small Caribbean islands are chests filled with items. These can be gathered by simply running them over with the ship. Any defeated vessels will drop all sorts of loot as well granting a nice bonus for any kills on the open water. Ships will also drop any surviving crew into the water. These poor souls can also be picked up to fill out your own crew which might suffer some losses at sea. If they aren't picked up in a timely fashion, the waterlogged survivors will get gobbled up by one of the many sharks inhabiting the dangerous waters of the area.
Cool.
The engine used for the naval battles is pretty decent. It's not going to blow anyone away, and will be more friendly to audiences with mid-range computers, but definitely gets the job done. Water is pretty and ships look good sailing around the environment. Weapons effects are also decent at this point.
Eventually, players will have to leave their naval vessel behind and scoot onshore for some land-based missions. So far about half of the game has taken place on land or on the deck of a ship fighting. The combat system here sticks to fast action that's easy to pick up and get into. It translates into a lot of mouse clicking right off the bat. Players will learn more combo moves from time to time that can make combat more interesting, but don't expect to see a complex fighting system by the time the game is released.
Okay.
If Ascaron can tighten up some of the animation and provide a little more agility for players, the system could be entertaining. One of the stranger bits of combat on land is that dead enemies will leave behind tombstones. If there are enough tombstones in one area, a bonus will be rewarded for small, medium, and large sized graveyards.
That's...odd.
[quite]Special items are also available for these fights and can be found in chests around the environment. These include one shot pistols, Molotov cocktails, healing potions, and more. Most enemies are pretty easy to defeat but occasional boss characters will beg the use of some special items for a little pick me up in the middle of battle. Both sea and land missions will also hold some treasure (every killed enemy leaves a little gold behind) that can be used to purchase some new items in between missions. Items vary in cost from some expensive ammunition to relatively cheap repair parts for ships.
There's still some work to be done on Tortuga but you can expect to see the game come out in March of 2007. Look for more info on IGNPC as the game approaches release.[/quote]
