Pirates of the Burning Sea
The developer Flying Lab has revealed that POTBS will (finally!) launch on January 22, 2008. The demo we played was set up to show off some of the supernatural/magical content, which had been kept secret until now. It seems the goal is to make it available in the Pirates of the Burning Sea Halloween beta. But don’t expect WoW-style spellcasting and fireballs and such. Since the game is somewhat historically accurate, the offers a far better and more logical fit by implementing voodoo, zombies, ghost ships and other elements derived from the legends and folklore of the period. Think Pirates of the Caribbean movie instead of Dungeons and Dragons.

In keeping with the overall nature of the play, it appears that much of these things will be accessed via quests. As a result, if you don’t find it especially to your liking, you’ll likely be able to avoid most if not all of it. From the small amount that was shown, however, it could well add some diversity and fun to supplement the naval battles and land-based adventures.

It’s been a long wait for Pirates of the Burning Sea, but I think that if it’s as good as it looks, it will prove to be worth the wait. From what we’ve seen so far, POTBS is developing nicely, and for those seeking a different type of online world, the non-typical game play might be just what the captain ordered: something a bit more than just its swashbuckling age of sail theme.