By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist
Dogs of the Seas: Pirates at War is a browser-based MMO that puts you in the helm of your own pirate ship. You begin as an unknown pirate trying his luck in the brutal seas. You own a portion of land which you call home and through there you start of your swashbuckling adventures.
FTW Pirates with their own Island?
Yep you read it right, you start off in Dogs of the Seas with a Bay that belongs to you. It’s through this bay that you would get majority of the resources you would use in your stay in Dogs of the Seas. Among the 14 resource buildings you can get you are only allowed to build ten with the exception of your starting buildings which are the farm, dock and main building.
Each resource building in your Bay provides a certain amount of resource for that structure. Unlike most browser-based MMOs where the resources you receive are time locked, in Dogs of the Seas, you have to click on the production button found in the building and would have to click on produce. Also, the other thing that’s different in the resources of Dogs of the Seas is that resources would need to use food because you would have to feed the people working on the resource.
The Agent Speaks
Aside from the resource structures you have in your bay, another form of income earning in Dogs of the Seas is through the Agent who is found in your main building. The agent serves as the quest-giving NPCs of Dogs of the Seas which rewards you handsomely for every successful run.
There are three kinds of missions your agent gives you. These are the Missions and smugglerun, Smuggler’s hunt and Treasure hunt. Each type of mission has a specific goal which you would need to accomplish and that you would need to return to your agent for it to be considered as finished.
Ships galore!
What would a pirate game be if it has no ships? Dogs of the Seas has one of the most interesting ship system included. As you set out from your bay you start of in your travels. You get to control and steer your ship as you go through the seas.
You use the keyboard to navigate and shoot your cannons while clicking your mouse serves to choose your enemy. You would see how your ship is sailing in real-time and as you go you would meet other ships along the way, this is where the game starts to be nitty-gritty.
As you begin you have the basic weapons any old school ship has. You use the space button to attack. You have to make sure that the enemies ships are on the side of your ship to make sure you would hit. Aside from that the game also allows you to allocate skill points on certain stats your pirate has. This is not just a skills game but also a stats game as well.
Full Overview
Dogs of the seas is one of those games tries its best to put you in the seat of one or the world’s most decorated outlaws, a pirate. However, I do think that the game does in fact fail in that regard especially if you are one of those kinds of players who like their pirate games as authentic as possible.
Being an outlaw and all, pirates are not expected to have much property more so a bay of their own, or at least at the beginning of their pirating. So it would be a surprise for them so see their pirate owning something as big as a bay.
Thankfully this little details isn’t really that much important because the gameplay does in fact engage you to keep on playing after signing up. The game’s sign up process is unbelievably fast it’s as if with just a snap of your fingers your instantly whisked away to your land and starting off as a pirate ins search of adventure.
You can easily understand what you need to do because the game is image friendly and most of the things you see are in simple terms that anyone would understand. However it is still advisable that you should read the tutorials to at least know what you should be doing. However it is not really that problematic if you decide to become an adventurer and try out the game on your pace.
The game gives enough leeway for newbies to take time and understand how things work. Plus add the fact that the global chat is easily accessible you can immediately ask anyone who’s online for any help, just as long as you are lucky enough to have helpful people online.
In any pirate themed game it is already understood that ships come into the whole mix. In Dogs of the Sea you have power over how your ship sails. The controls are pretty basic and understandable that is why battling in the game is fun and a breeze. Sometimes though lag happens which makes affects how the game goes.
Battling with other players is fun and challenging at the same time. Unlike most it’s either the stats of actual skills that matter in having successful ship battles in Dogs of the Seas it’s a mix of both. Your characters skills and your skill as a captain goes hand in hand if you ever want to win in this game. The game has quite a selection when it comes to your ship’s ammunition thus providing you more than just cannonballs as a means to take down your enemies. This gives the game a more tactical feel that further makes you want to play the game more.
Another thing about the game is that it also provides an alternative for you because of the missions the agents give you. This added goal of accomplishing something is not just rewarding but also an encouragement to play the game more.
With these things already sat out, the game has problems too. One of the most obvious is the game’s imagery. There are times when the game’s graphics doesn’t synchronize well with the game that you see dark patches as you set out. Furthermore, with the game’s display pack included the game unknowingly logs you off whenever it tries to load. The game’s visuals is the game’s Achilles heel if you look at it holistically.
Dogs of the Seas may not be the most authentic Pirate game out there but it sure has made a decent version of this timeless game theme concept. If you want some instant pirate fun this game is a must try.
Pros:
– You get to see your ship in action
– The game has a tutorial that eases your first time experience to the game
– The game is interactive friendly and that you would find it easy to find friends, alliances or people who can help you out if your in a pinch.
Cons:
– Due to the images, the game takes longer to load
– There’s a tendency that some images won’t show up and you would need to disable the image pack to play normally
– You’d have to tweak the interface because it looks cluttered.
