REVIEW: King of Seas - Xbox One

Review by Jon Donnis

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a preview copy of King of Seas for PC last year, and I enjoyed what little I did get to play, so fast forward to now, and we have the full console release, so I was interested to see how the game had progressed, and if it fit well on consoles.

Let's remind ourselves of the story. In King of Seas, you find yourself in a time of pirates, sea battles, treasure, Islands and even sea monsters.

Your father has been killed, and you have decided to avenge that death by fighting your way from the bottom of the pirating world, trying to reach the very top and becoming The King of the Pirates! (I have not changed my opinion on this one point, The King of the Pirates is an infinitely better name for this game than King of Seas, which not only seems to be grammatically incorrect, but does little to explain what the game actually is.)

Once you get into the actual game you will find yourself with a basic ship, to start your adventure you will complete tasks, that might be to accompany another ship and to keep it safe, or perhaps to just got out and attack other ships and steal their resources. Of course, there are things that will get in your way, whether that is much bigger and more powerful ships, changing weather conditions, or a sea monster trying to sink you. 

As you progress you will find new places to trade, upgrade your ship, you might even stop by a seemingly empty island and find yourself some treasure. Basically, there is plenty to do whether you want to follow the missions strictly, or just sail about attacking people and looking for treasure. 

There are different ships to own, different weapons and upgrades, as well as skills to help you along the way.

The graphics are simple but detailed, the sounds are perfectly fine, and control of the ship is intuitive.

The Good

The game plays well on Xbox, no complaint there, you will soon get used to the controls, the graphics are detailed, the sound effects are decent. 

The Bad

Going from playing this game on a PC screen to a large TV one major issue I have noticed is that the writing on the screen, in menus etc, is rather small. In general people play consoles games while sat on a sofa, they are not 5 inches from the TV like you are when you play PC games, unfortunately this is a common problem when porting a game from PC to console, the game developers never consider the different way gamers will play games on different formats. 

Overall

This is a fun game, I enjoyed the PC preview I played a while back, and I am enjoying the Xbox release too. There is enough depth to the game that will keep you coming back. As I mentioned earlier, my only real complaint is the small writing, I really do hate getting up and moving closer to the TV to read something, I am not getting any younger.

Also worth noting that the Xbox release allows you to download a free trial before you decide whether to buy it or not, so you have nothing to lose. Get it now!

I score King of Seas on Xbox One a solid 7/10

Review By Jon Donnis

Out Now - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/king-of-seas/9pm0r43hpss7

 

Preview - Action RPG King of Seas

Preview by Jon Donnis

I got my hands on a super rare preview code for Action RPG King of Seas, and although it only gave me a limited amount of play time, I do think there was enough there to really give a good impression of the game, which is due for release early next year.

Let's start with the premise of the game. In King of Seas, you find yourself in a time of pirates, sea battles, treasure, Islands and even sea monsters.

Your father has been killed, and you have decided to avenge that death by fighting your way from the bottom of the pirating world, trying to reach the very top and becoming The King of the Pirates! (A Much better name for the game than King of Seas which is dumb)

Once you get into the actual game you will find yourself with a basic ship, to start your adventure you will complete tasks, that might be to accompany another ship and to keep it safe, or perhaps to just got out and attack other ships and steal their resources. Of course, there are things that will get in your way, whether that is much bigger and more powerful ships, changing weather conditions, or a sea monster trying to sink you. 

As you progress you will find new places to trade, upgrade your ship, you might even stop by a seemingly empty island and find yourself some treasure. Basically, there is plenty to do whether you want to follow the missions strictly, or just sail about attacking people and looking for treasure. 

There are different ships to own, different weapons and upgrades, as well as skills to help you along the way.

The graphics are simple but detailed, the sounds are perfectly fine, and control of the ship is intuitive.

The Good

Easy to play, fun to play, a lot of potential and depth could mean that this could be a great game.

The Bad

I am not sure I was able to play the game long enough to really go into depth about "the bad", at the moment the only thing that frustrated me was trying to remember which cannons I was firing and from which side of the ship when in a fight with an enemy. But the more you play, the less this would be a problem.

Overall

From the limited play time I had, I can simply say "so far, so good".
I like the game, I replayed it a few times to try to see as much, and do as much as I could.

I won't score the game since I only played the preview, but I would say it might be one to keep a close eye on in the future.

Preview By Jon Donnis

Wishlist the game at https://store.steampowered.com/app/1209410/King_of_Seas/

King of Seas - Gameplay Trailer

What sets  King of Seas apart from other games in the genre is that each time you start a new campaign, the game engine will generate a whole new game world for you to explore. Each playthrough is a new and exciting adventure when you set off from shore. The dynamic world will also react to your every action, constantly adapting and throwing new challenges your way. Naval routes will change with each conquered settlement, the difficulty will adapt as you progress through your quests, and changes in weather will play a big part in your navigation and combat strategy. 

Your Pirate ship is more than just a vehicle, it's a home. You will be able to acquire and own five different classes of ship: the sloop, brig, flute, frigate and galleon, each offering plenty of customisation options to ‘deck’ out your vessel. With over 900 items available to collect and use, you can truly create a battle-ready vessel to be proud.

Naval battles are at the core of the King of Seas gameplay and learning how to navigate your way through the combat will be key to your success. The movement and handling of your ships will change according to wind direction, the ship class and the talent points acquired through levelling the gear equipped. In addition to the core battle mechanics, there are exciting unique abilities you can discover on your adventure that really mix up the action, such as flamethrowers, ethereal navigation or voodoo rituals!

Each battle won will raise the bounty on your head and you can even face off against some of the most feared pirates in history. The difficulty level adds a multiplier to the bounty you achieve in the game - so see how far you can take it in hardcore mode!

MAIN FEATURES

*Story: A series of quests guide you on your journey and uncover the intriguing characters of the King of Seas world who will lead you to the next path of your epic adventure.
*Procedural Generation: Dive into a lush, procedurally generated world that constantly refreshes the exploration mechanics within each new game.
*Dynamic World: The world reacts to your every action, naval routes change and with each conquered settlement the difficulty adapts to constantly give you a more challenging time.
*Map: A thick fog will ensure travelling towards objectives is not plain sailing, after all wouldn't you want to lose the joy of exploration !?
*Navigation system: Atmospheric effects influence gameplay. Sail during a storm at your own risk, escape the enemies and always remember to carefully watch the wind direction to stay in control during battles. The strategy starts here.
*Ship customization: Five types of highly customizable ships through an equipment and skill system, just as in any true role-playing game!
*Combat system: Not only cannon shots and nautical strategy but also speed and spectacle, thanks to a set of more than 20 skills to choose from and three branches of talents to suit any playstyle.

King of Seas will be available this holiday season for Windows PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.