Pirates: Tides of Fortune

Pirates: Tides of Fortune is an MMORTS game played in the browser in which you become a pirate�albeit a resource- rather than blood-hungry one�and build a city of your own, hire cutthroats to do your bidding, upgrade technologies, build ships and trade with others.

Pirates: Tides of Fortune has a stunning presentation. The graphics look great and sport vibrant colors supplemented by a convenient interface. There are multiple voices in different languages, all speaking in the tilting �pirate accent�. While the gameplay is fairly typical of RTS games (and it�s as well polished as the production elements), just like the goal of the game is (acquiring resources and building stuff), the game is just too slow unless you choose to pay up. So, for example, just to get through the tutorial you have to spend at least a few days. Battles cannot be controlled directly.

Pirates: Tides of Fortune is, it cannot be stressed enough, a professionally made game that impresses with its looks and the way developers paid much attention to detail. The game does, however, have flaws in terms of speed and, yes, the way it handles its premium currency.