More fearless consumer research here:

Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates: Free Trial

  • Duration: 10 'non-consecutive days' (i.e. having a day off won't cut into your ten.)
  • Client: Retail (Web driven Java Thingey - Size: tiny, even on dialup)
  • Credit Card Required: No
  • (Mac and Linux versions available - bonus points!)

To be honest, this all started as a bit of a joke review really, but soon suprised me by being a well-rounded, complete and functioning MMO, albeit a simple one. The basic preimise is that you are a pirate, and to get on in the world, you take on various jobs, all of which are presented in the form of small, throwaway Tetris-like puzzles. The game has an economy, trade skills, exploration, a significant social aspect, and even PvP of a fashion - everything you'd expect from a more 'serious' contender like WoW or EQ2.

Three Good Things:

  • Simple:

    The graphical style is very similar to early incarnations of Ultima Online, and while that might not be to everyone's taste, it does mean that then entire client, engine and all, comes in the form of a windowed application with barely more demanding system requirements than Solitaire. The world itself is a brightly coloured and uncomplicated place, and the characters resemble Lego people. The UI is extremely intuitive, and continues the overall theme of simplicity and fun. Statistics are virtually non-existent in the way a more hardened MMOer would understand them, and most of the travel is instantaneous and menu driven, although you can actually walk about the place too. The general impression is of a game you don't really have to put a lot of effort into, and certainly don't need a spoiler site to get the most out of. Novel.

  • Compelling:

    The puzzles themselves are well thought out, and mostly fall into the 'easy to learn, difficult to master' category, and exhibit a slightly frightening addictive capacity, in the same way some gamers can sit and play Minesweeper or Solitaire for hours at a time. Various types of puzzle exist, from the solo block manipulation of the trade skill puzzles (for which you get paid in game money for doing), through the various deck hand ship-based efforts, to several ingenious head-to-head games that make up the sword-fghting and drinking contests (Consentual riskless PvP). I found that I liked some puzzles more than others, and in particular became quite adept at the ship-building one, so there is likely something there for everyone. Scores and experience at each type of puzzle are measured for a server-wide leaderboard in each discipline, so the more competitive player can aim for fame in that way.

  • Friendly:

    I'm not sure if it's the fact that everyone in game is a perpetually smiling Lego pirate, going 'Arrr!' a lot, or whether the game simply atracts a...different sort of gamer, but I found the people helpful, polite and friendy in pretty much all cases. Personally, I suspect this may be because Puzzle Pirates must apeal to the more 'Normal' people with a PC, rather than the frothing obsessive monosylabic min-maxing grinder one normally finds in MMOs, and as such, these people haven't learnt how 'properly' to behave online yet. Indeed, in one case, a little too friendly; I made a girl pirate, mostly because Lou Reed is always telling me that I should take a walk on the wild side, and despite her being as sexually defined as a Lego person, I still managed to end up being propositioned for some 'hot lesbian action' within about ten minutes of starting. I politely declined, expalining that somewhere there was a bilge pump with my name on it. I then had to spend the following ten minutes patiently explaining what a euphemism was, and that this wasn't one. However, I suspect that 'she' was just odd. Mostly, the people were great.

Three Bad Things:

  • Kids:

    Clearly, a game like Puzzle Pirates apeals to younger gamers, and you can put whatever you like in a EULA to cover yourself legally, but children under 13 are pretty much going to play this game unsupervised. While the game seems a safe enough environment for kids, (regarding people with a bad name beginning with 'P' that I don't want Google sending people here about), the lower level of average maturity in game does have some knock-on effects, namely the sea voyages. The sea voyages are a collaborative effort, with each member of the crew working at a different Tetris puzzle to ensure the ship runs at top efficiency. After a few tours of duty aboard the Good Ship Ritalin, I began to understand some of the frustrations echoed on the Puzzle Pirate boards, namely that younger players can get bored easily, and not pull their weight. This can be annoying, and at times I felt that my half-arsed Carpentry (The puzzle I liked the least) was the only thing keeping the ship afloat. Still, at the end of the day, if not actually a kid's game, per se, it does seem grumpy to object to kids playing it.

  • Shallow:

    Puzzle Pirates serves it's purpose admirably, in that it's a bit of light fun, that doesn't require much of a commitment in time, effort, neglected spouse, or nervous breakdowns. However, being used to MMOs of more depth and complexity, I question whether any MMO gamer could make do with just this game alone. While it does have some surprisingly advanced gameplay elements, such as comodities trading, island blockading, and govenor politics, at the end of the day, it is basically one step up from the MSN Gaming Zone; a graphical chat lobby with Tetris games attached. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it's no EVE Online or World of Warcraft. Also, if you're not that obessed with Tetris, you're likely to get bored of it very quickly.

  • Pricey:

    Like any other online game, Puzzle Pirates does have to pay for itself. Subscription fees for the game are $9.95 a month - comparable with more advanced online games, and frankly, knowing how much more you could get for the same money, I seriously question if it's worth that much. In a world where you can play Guild Wars for free, and all of SOE's stable for $21.99 (5 major titles and numerous minor ones), charging $10 for Puzzle Pirates does seem a bit cheeky. However, they have an interesting 'Virtual Economy as Sociology Lab' alternative payment setup; the 'Dubloons Servers'. It's a bit complicated, but ammounts to a sort of pay-as-you-go system, which if played right might not cost you anything at all. Details Here. And of course, failing that, since the free trial didn't ask for a credit card OR email address, there doesn't seem to be any reason why you can't just keep signing up for that over and over.

On the whole, I liked it; it was novel, fresh, bright and strangely absorbing. I even think, contrary to the normal way MMOs work, playing this one may have actually improved my mind somewhat! I'd definitely recommend a go at the trial, although doubt any veteran MMOer would need more than the ten days. More one for the Mums and Kids really. I will however be keeping this one going, partly because I'm curious to see how this Dubloons system works, partly bacause you can play it in the foreground while travelling long distances in EVE Online, and partly because I'm insanely addicted to the Shipwrightery puzzle!

Final Verdict: Good clean enjoyable fun. Works as an 'as well MMO', rather than 'only MMO'.

In the grand scheme of Operation Cheapseats, I suppose technically I've failed twice now; Shadowbane ended up making me sign up for a paid MMO, when I was meant to be using the free trials alone, and now Puzzle Pirates has made me keep one of the trialists, when I'm supposed to be ditching them and moving on each fortnight. Not freeloading very well so far, but I'm quite enjoying this tour of Other MMOs I'd otherwise never even look at, so may as well continue. Next is Project Entropia. Technically, this won't be a Free Trial as such, since they don't charge for the basic client and account. Instead they charge for equipment once in game, so the terms change slightly. Is it possible to play Entropia without paying through the nose? Can I even make a profit in two weeks? Is the game itself any good, beneath the RMT smokescreen? I have my suspicions, but stay tuned anyway...

Yarrr!