Pirates of Black Cove Preview

GameZone had the chance to see Nitro Games’ RPG/RTS Pirates of Black Cove. They note it’s a very short (8-10 hours) game and provide a few details.

Gameplay breaks up into two different areas. First, players directly control their pirate as they complete missions on islands and in towns. The game plays like any traditional RTS, with the player directing their pirate to attack enemy units. What separates Pirates of the Black Cove from other limited-unit RTS games is that the player can only have 4 leading units, the one player character and one representative from each pirate faction. Underneath each pirate leader is three other units, which are often specific to that faction, meaning only twelve units can ever be controlled at one time, and that’s only after the player has convinced those pirate factions to join them.

There are also ship missions. Players can upgrade and modify their pirate ships for better speed, defense, damage, and special attacks. Out on the open seas, players have to take out rival ships, and while the early ships are very pitiful against the opposition, players will be zipping around with no problem by game’s end, using interesting abilities as homing cannons or a human catapult to capture other ships and make them yours.