Buccaneer's Bounty
Buccaneer's Bounty contains TORTUGA: Pirates of the New World, Port Royale 2: Cartles, Construction & Conquest, and Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse. This collection is undoubtedly designed with scurvy dogs in mind and anyone who ever wanted to be a pirate because quite frankly, these games get down to nitty-gritty details.
Gameplay:
Each is essentially the same concept though there are subtle differences between them obviously. What would be the point of a collection if all three inclusions were the same game? The variety of gameplay that you'll experience in this set isn't as diverse as you'd expect. One game offers strategy as its main element, another leans more towards action, while the final piece kind of brings both together.
When I started hacking into the collection the first title that I tried was Port Royale 2. Obviously the game is a sequel to Port Royale, which came out in 2003 and felt like it drew inspiration from the original Pirates! game. The sequel here balances action and strategy quite well and in is a worthy successor to the first game. From building a business to buying property and trading goods, the economic features in this game are a driving point.
Now, I'm not going to lie about the time it takes to get knee deep into these systems and understand what's going on. It took me a damn long time before I was comfortable enough to feel like I was making progress and content with the way I was doing business. In the meantime the action bits such as dueling and ship to ship were a great asset to the mind-numbing finances and jargon. Some other facets become tedious as time goes by and the interface isn't the most user-friendly when you get right down to it.
Port Royale 2 was a solid experience that was a great way to get started in Buccaneer's Bounty. There were some minor flaws and design issues, but they weren't enough to ruin the overall experience. If you played the first Port Royale but never checked out the sequel then there's no reason not to buy into this set because frankly, the game is better than the original in several ways.
Leaning much more towards the strategy aspect of this collection is Patrician III. If you have never played a Patrician game before let me forewarn you that you will spend most of your time staring at your computer and hitting your head on the desk in frustration. Despite the fact that there is some tutorial assistance the sheer amount of stuff you can do and options to wade through is daunting to say the least.
The basic goal in Patrician III is to start from nothing and become something. Granted that's the goal in most games, but this one basically has you rising from rags to riches based upon the deals that you make. You'll work your way around town by wheeling and dealing, helping people out, and doing whatever you can to ensure that your town prospers. Or if you feel like being a dink you can tax people into remission and fill your bank with loot derived from their suffering. However you pursue your dream is up to you, which is really part of the fun.
Unfortunately, for me at least, I found wading through menus and staring at dull graphics put me to sleep more than gave me a reason to keep playing. Granted you get to change your scenery as you progress and there are some ship battles to break up the pace, but those were lackluster at best. It could be that a game as involved as Patrician just isn't for me, but there was just something about the game that bored me to tears.
I dove into TORTUGA last and found it to be the action game of the trio. Granted I use the term "action" loosely because really, the game isn't God of War done with a pirate theme. Compared to Port Royale and Patrician though, it felt like a welcome change when I was ready to kick some pirate booty. Compared to other titles in today's market I found this one to be a little too simplistic in its execution.
Combat never gets all that involved and ship battles feel very much like Port Royale 2's. To make matters worse the story of the game holds your hand and drags you through one chore mission after another. The satisfaction from progression through prestige is there, but the system isn't quite as in depth as you'll find on the other two games in this package. I guess when you get tired of wading through menu after menu and want to relieve stress by killing stuff, that's when you pop this game in.
Overall Buccaneer's Bounty offers three very diverse games that each vary in quality. I'd say that Port Royale 2 is the best with Patrician and Tortuga being tied. While the latter two focus on one thing primarily the former uses both practices to a relatively more successful degree. Pirate fans will definitely want to pick this release up especially considering its three games for under $20.
Graphics:
Considering you're dealing with a collection here the range in graphics is pretty diverse. Each game presents itself with its own style, though after a while the three kind of wash together when you get right down to it. Patrician III features the most simplistic graphics with 2D vistas and limited animation. TORTUGA and Port Royale bring a little more to the table but to be fair it's nothing that will push your graphics card over the edge. Textures are fair enough all around and there is a decent attention to detail but my overall impression of this collection is just above average.
Audio:
For each of these games it rings true that the soundtrack is easily the best feature to be had here. The sweeping score fits this atmosphere perfectly, though sometimes the music can get a little old (as in overused). The sound effects in each game basically come from the same vault and don't really offer a lot in the way of depth. Overall these games sound pretty good, but just like the graphics; not as good as they could have.
Conclusion:
If you're a pirate at heart and are looking for more ways to steal bounty, plunder, and fire cannons then Buccaneer's Bounty is a bargain bin treasure trove. The three games here each offer a different experience so you can rest assured that you're getting a decent variety of gameplay. In order to appreciate the collection though you do need to keep an open mind when it comes to strategy versus action. Otherwise you'll be sadly disappointed. If you're looking for a relatively cheap package that will keep you entertained for a while, then this one may just be your ticket.