Sea of Thieves preview
Rare has put the wind in the sails of what they believe could be their best game yet.
It’s impossible to discuss the history of video games without mentioning Rare. During the mid to late 90’s Rare released one fantastic game after another. If you are a FPS fan then you have Goldeneye and Perfect Dark to thank for the way they’re made today. If you enjoy open world adventuring then you owe a lot to the likes of Banjo Kazooie. And if you enjoy swearing, boozing and
general misbehaviour then you probably have Conker’s Bad Fur Day to thank (because I guarantee your teachers and parents won’t be thanking it anytime soon.) Rare’s legacy speaks for itself, so for the developers to state that Sea of Thieves is their most ambitious game ever – expectations are pretty high.
Information on this multiplayer/adventure/swashbuckling epic is currently pretty scarce (even if you have a map with a huge X on it). But the information we do have is very exciting!
The premise of the game is that you create your own pirate (points off if it looks like Orlando Bloom) whom you take to the high seas with in search of plunder, and to build your reputation as without a doubt the best pirate anyone’s ever seen. Obviously this won’t be straight forward: there’s countless other pirates who all have the same goals as you – and you’re in their way. Not to mention there’s sharks, giant squids and even what seems to be undead skeletons of pirates. But you’ll have your crew of misfits with you as you traverse this open world.
However one of the more intriguing parts of the trailer is seeing a crew member being made to walk the plank…matey. We aren’t given any information on why this is occurring, or even how it’s decided who walks the plank. With a ship full of dastardly pirates (who may be controlled by dastardly online gamers) how is it decided who walks the plank? Surely the final
decision will be down to the captain, but how is it decided who the captain is? If you’re a lowly ranked newbie pirate who hasn’t earned their sea-legs do you get to choose what crew to be a part of? Will there be notorious crews in the game who have condemned many an experienced sailor to Davy Jones’ Locker?
The questions are endless, but so is the excitement for this game!
There are two previous games which it seems Sea of Thieves has taken influence from. Firstly Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. Black Flag introduced most gamers to the world of pirates in gaming. Edward Kenway’s voyage for treasure will be fondly remembered by most for its sea battles. Taking on the British Empire with your Jackdaw was truly iconic; sadly the closest many of us will come to sailing the Seven Seas as a feared pirate. Sea of Thieves’ trailer indicates that combat will play a huge part in this game too. Excitingly the trailer presents the action from various different angles – perhaps indicating that everyone on your ship will have their own view of the battle. Maybe everyone will play their own part too? This could really add to the sense of excitement created from these battles!
The second game that Sea of Thieves seems to have taken influence from? Zelda: Wind Waker. The most under-estimated game within the Zelda series introduced one of the most exciting open worlds to explore.
Sailing to distant islands with no idea what to expect made exploring really special. But mostly, Sea of Thieves has also forsaken cutting-edge graphics in preference for a more cartoony style. The cel-shaded style of Wind Waker really helped with the atmosphere it created. Hopefully this decision from Rare will have the same impact.
In terms of the atmosphere this game creates? Try listening to the music with the video off (seriously, try it now). If that isn’t enough to make you want to don an eyepatch and buy a parrot then you must be land-lover! Expectations are incredibly high for this Xbox One exclusive – and with the past record of Rare games, this really could be something special.
What are your expectations for Sea of Thieves? Are you excited for this game? Is this enough to counter the PS4 exclusives? Comment below and have your say!