I recently started playing SOT. My observations are that there is the potential for a great game here, but right now we're playing an expensive Beta. Islands are void of life. Seas are too. Where are the dolphins riding next to my ship? Where are the mermaids (more on that in a bit) After a year you guys still only have 3 quests. How about a quests that involve multiple parties. Quests that have you escort other ships or attack certain ships. Temple quests. Mermaid quests where you have to find pockets of air and follow mermaids back to their lair.
Let's talk gameplay. Rare is the company that invented the console FPS. Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, you're pros, but the game controls in this game leave a lot to be desired. Guns don't kill at point blank sword attacks are cubersome and movement is slow and awkward. I understand that this isn't a fast pace fps, but fighting other pirates is frustrating at best and let's talk about those other pirates. I get trolling. I have no problem losing my ship or treasure to a better player. I get it and it can be fun. I don't mind players that sneak on my ship and hide. However I hate when I'm killed and then spawn camped so I can't do anything. You gave my ship a jail cell... LET ME USE IT. I don't want to lock up my crew! I want to lock up the guy sleeping by my map table that I caught, but since I can't do that I'll shoot him while he's laying down point blank with the blunderbuss. Oh that didn't kill him. Now he's up. I'm dead because he hit me with a sword. So is my teammate and now he's just spawn camping us and all we can do is wait till we can sink the ship or respawn. Let's fix that if I find you I should be able to lock you up. You want out of the cell you have to boot out. That's what my crew members have to do if I don't vote them out. Better yet. They get tarred and feathered and shot into a cannon. It's humiliating. They can't fight back but they really haven't lost anything but time.
I know I sound like I'm ranting, but that's only because I believe in this game. There are great moments in SOT. Epic unscripted events that I have gotten to share with my xbox and pc gamer friends and those moments are some of the best in any gaming experience, but they're few and far between the mindless quests, trolls, and mediocre gameplay.
