Sea Dogs Reviews

20 Hours in: Just like I remember it. Open World on the High Seas and not much in the way of side quests. The ship combat and controls were revolutionary at the time. Easily a top 10 favorite game. 40 Hours in: One of the best open world games ever made. There are lots of times I am left "wanting more" from the game, Remember it came out in 2000 and most of those ideas had not even been considered at the time. 60 Hours in: I had forgotten how short this game was, the lack of side quests shortens the game tremendously. There is lots of replay value because of the 3 alternate endings (totaling 4 endings) and the open world layout. Summary: 40 hours is far more than enough time for obtaining more than wealth enough to do anything you wish in the game and be 3/4 through the story. I would estimate speed runners for the one play through would be 25 hours of playtime. Completing the game in 18 hours is plausible, although very, very, difficult. Spending the time to increase your rank is highly advised. 60 hours included lots of distracted sailing (squirrel!), 50k in gold is the richest of the rich; when you reach 100k, you can do anything you want for as long as you want and be surprised when one of the story ending's kills your plans for more conquest. The story ended on my first playthrough (since purchasing on Steam) well after attaining 200k in gold.

So glad I found this game again after all these years. A classic swashbuckling open-world RPG that still captures the imagination just as much today as it did 20 years ago. The game has its quirks that take some getting used to, but it's well worth the effort. Truly an under-appreciated gem. A few notes about the graphics/playability: -According to the system requirements, the game requires an external graphics card. I'm not sure why this is the case for such an old game, but I think this could be the cause of many of the negative reviews which complained about graphics glitches. -I noticed that if I try to alt+tab the game, it will glitch out and require a restart. After I stopped doing this, the problem went away. Other than that, the game has run smoothly for me with no issues. Glad to be playing this adventure again!

Bad optimization, glitchy graphics, loss of original font. Good only for nostalgy.

Glitchy graphics, multiple bugs, loss of original font. Shame really, I was looking forward to playing this again.

Gameplay: 8/10 Story: 6/10 Graphics: 4/10 Performance: 7/10 Overall: 6/10 (Amended Review as I finally got the game working thanks to this fix: https://steamcommunity.com/app/764670/discussions/0/1760230682461834165/ ) I am a huge fan of Sea Dogs II (aka the Pirates of the Caribbean 2003 Video Game) and it was one of the first games I ever had on the original Xbox. I still have the CD from all those years ago, although it is severely scratched and doesn't work. I went so far as to buy a copy of the PC version on disc (which sells for upwards to $80 now) and you won't find a better Pirate/Age of Sail video game, especially when coupled with the New Horizons Mod. It completely blows similar titles out of the water! So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to find out that Sea Dogs was an entire series, and it was available on Steam! At first, I couldn’t get the game running for this review (although I previously was able to on a marginally older PC). Following the suggestion above, I was able to get Sea Dogs working. So how is it now that I’ve gotten it going? “Rough”, is the best way I can describe Sea Dogs. Despite spawning an epic series that has been topped by none and is still the pinnacle pirate/Age of Sail simulator, the first game in the series is definitely a hard sell. Even for when it was released, the graphics are extremely poor with ships barely being recognizable except by size and muddy textures abound. In addition, performance is a bit of a mess with land and sea sections feeling like what could be best described as “bouncing around” on the screen. Bugs are also plentiful. Unlike later Sea Dogs games, the first game doesn’t have much in the way of a main story. You play as the young Englishman, Nicholas Sharp. Who decides to become a captain after following in his father’s footsteps. You are chartered a ship by the English crown and tasked with carrying cargo to another port, but are intercepted by the Spanish who throw you into slavery in the New World. You and a handful of your fellow slaves mount an escape and steal a Spanish ship. From there you make for the English colony of Highrock and this is where the game really begins. Yes, that entire intro is done through a cutscene. Personally, I thought it would have been better to make this intro cutscene a tutorial, because while Sea Dog’s story is non-existent, the gameplay is really where the game shines. In Sea Dogs, you can pretty much do anything you want. Upon reaching High Rock, you can immediately become a privateer for the English. If that is too action-packed for you, then you can take up the safer option of being a trader. If you’re lacking in a moral compass then you can resort to piracy. You can even end up working for your previous captors, the Spanish as a privateer in one of there fleets! For what little plot there is, you can spend the game looking for your father but the main appeal is the freedom presented to the player. As is typical with not just Sea Dogs, but all the other games in the series, you will need to sail from island to island in the Caribbean archipelago. Visit taverns to hire crew, repair your ship or visit the store to buy and sell supplies or pirate booty. Unlike later Sea Dogs games, much of the first Sea Dogs game is centered almost entirely around ship combat. Don’t buy this game if you aren’t a fan of ship combat. Sword fights can be started by boarding an enemy ship, but the fights are extremely janky and rare as you’ll more than often be sinking your foe. Although boarding is an excellent way to get yourself a new ship! When it comes down to it, Sea Dogs isn’t a bad game, but its sequels have long since improved upon the formula substantially by adding things such as land combat, more quests, more islands, items and ships as well as other features such as fleet management and the ability to attack and plunder towns, all of which are not present in the first Sea Dogs game. If you’re a fan of the series, then it can be interesting to go back to the first game to see where things started. But there is little reason to play the first game outside of nostalgia. Ideally, you'd be better off finding a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean/Sea Dogs II either a disc copy or as abandonware and starting there before moving to the other games in the series as the latest Sea Dogs games pretty much used Pirates of the Caribbean/Sea Dogs II as a base, while the first Sea Dogs was left marooned! Don't forget to try out the New Horizons mod if you decide to go this route. You won't be disappointed!

i played this game years ago and enjoyed many hours doing it and completed the story a few times.the steam version is unfortunatly unplayable the game freezes your computer when the load screen comes up.and even when you manage to get past the initial freezing problems following the storyline from highrock govenor 2nd mission escorting ship to tendales when you enter tavern to collect your payment your stuck as every time i tried to exit game froze on trying to load outside.its a major plot point in story and cant be avoided.i am most dissapointed that steam has allowed another old favourite onto thier platform without making sure it worked. a nine pound and change ripoff.

[h1]“...whatever you do, don’t look back!” “Why not?” “Because I just did! Run faster!”[/h1] ~Sir Terry Pratchett / Nation. Ah, [b]Sea Dogs[/b]... My old enemy. We meet again... No, seriously, I tried to like this game since [b]2000[/b], when it was released for the first time. Back in [b]2000[/b] it was kind of a big deal, since it was one of the early attempts to make fully [b]3D[/b] version of good ol' [b]Sid Meier's Pirates![/b], the game that was ported to many system and loved by millions of people around the world. [b]Sea Dogs[/b] offered us the experience pretty close to what [b]Pirates![/b] used to offer. Maybe a bit less ambitious and more story-oriented, but still pretty cool. And, of course, what used to make the game especially cool, it came with pretty awesome [b]3D[/b] graphics. Having detailed models of different ships in proper [b]3D[/b] in the middle of animated sea, looking at all those awesome sea battles, traveling through cities by foot... it felt awesome. That's probably why, even though it was developed by a Russian team. the game didn't have any problems with finding the publishers. European version was published by [b]Ubisoft[/b] (who'll later make their own sea-oriented games), while the US one was published by [b]Bethesda[/b]. Unfortunately, there was a huge problem with [b]Sea Dogs[/b]. The problem was... it was a broken mess. Yeah, [b]Bethesda[/b], the broken mess... The irony is strong with this one. Long before [b]Fallout 76[/b] there was [b]Sea Dogs[/b]. And boy, oh boy, did it suck... In Russia, the game quickly got the cult status. But that's just how things work there. Both Russian and German gamers just [i]love[/i] suffering through half-broken stuff as long as they believe that the initial idea of the game worth their time. That's how it works in those countries. You need to be an adept of a certain Zen to enjoy this kind of stuff. Me? Nope. Never. The biggest problem with [b]Sea Dogs[/b] as a game was lack of the proper journal. I mean, I'm OK with the old school. I remember the times when we used to draw maps and take notes by hand. The problem is – even though [b]Sea Dogs[/b] offers you the four different sides to join, most of the time it doesn't really bother to tell you where to go and what to do. You just walk around, talking with people on streets in hope to trigger some possibilities. Now imagine when the most important [b]NPC[/b] in the game... just isn't there. Just because. I mean, why not? Screw you, player! You've just wasted hours of your life looking for somebody who isn't even there! Served you right! And guess what? This exact problem wasn't even in the initial release. It was added in the latest patch, which is included in [b]Steam[/b] version by default. Because [i]that's[/i] how we roll in Russia! We [i]break[/i] our games in updates instead of fixing 'em! [i]That[/i] sounds like a nice thing to do, right? Of course, it was just a simple example. [b]Akella[/b] (Russian publisher who brought the game to [b]Steam[/b]) didn't even bother to make the game playable in the latest re-release. As the result, it comes with all the original problems and more. And boy, oh boy, there's a lot. From technical issues (the launch issues, freezes, crashes, even broken saves, it's all there) to game-breaking bugs on every corner. By purchasing this version you get the whole set. Why? Because [b]Akella[/b] hates you, that's why. Technically, [b]Sea Dogs[/b] isn't the longest game out there. Sure, making money and building up reputation will probably take a lot of time, but story itself isn't that long and every “campaign” comes with only a few major quests. The problem is – every single one of them comes with tons of bugs, most of which can easily break your entire playthrough. Heck, even the final goals are bugged! Because again, [b]Akella[/b] hates you. Should I tell you that learning about the fact that your playthrough was bugged after wasting hours on grinding and re-writing all the saves isn't the most enjoyable experience in this world? But that's just how [b]Sea Dogs[/b] work. *Sigh* I know I sound like a hater. And I think I may be one. But the funniest thing is... I always wanted to love this game. As a [i]huge[/i] fan of [b]Sid Meier's Pirates![/b] since forever, I always wanted to enjoy this game. Unfortunately, this game never really wanted me to enjoy it. It never really gave me a chance. Every time I tried to enjoy it, it punched me to the face. Wasting hours of my life you to get into yet another game-breaking bug sure wasn't fun back in the days. But I really, [i]really[/i] hoped that when [b]Akella[/b] will bring the game to [b]Steam[/b] in [b]2018[/b], they'll also fix at least the most infamous bugs. At least in the main quests. But nope. The pain is real like never before. Everything that can be wrong with this game [i]is[/i] wrong with this version. So, can I recommend it for those, who still didn't play the game? Heck, no! Shiver me freakin' timbers, mateys, this game is a rotten pile of me monkey's poop! For those, who wasted hours on [b]Sea Dogs[/b] back in [b]2000[/b] and still remember every single step and every single “trap” (speak with [i]this[/i] [b]NPC[/b] before speaking with [i]that[/i] one, because doing it in the wrong order will break the game) it may worth buying on sale for nostalgia purposes. For everybody else? Trust me, you don't want [i]this[/i] kind of pain in your life. Even for free. If somebody will ever offer it to you as a gift? [i]Run for your life![/i]

Glitchy and impossible to play. What a shame. It was such a good game...

Fascinating game. It was great years ago, and I finished it again with great pleasure nowadays. And that's not a call of nostalgia. There are many old games which didn't age well, but I can't say such a thing about this one. Yes, it's graphics will not impress you these days and some gameplay mechanics are rather old. But the game brings an enthralling non linear story, great music and atmosphere as well as interesting albeit little clunky gameplay. The game is 20 years old, but it has unique walkthrough for 4 different nations and unique dialogs for all characters, not just secondary ones, but even unimportant ones. For example, there is no copy-cat tavern keepers or store owners with standard phrases. Each one has his own character, story or even quest. And a word about quests. There is no copy-paste quests as well. Each one is unique and there is a lot of them. Believe or not, but it is the only game where I still remember the names of most of the characters after so many years. Another important note. The game is hard. And like most of old games it doesn't babysit you. What does it mean? - no markers, no arrows, no quest trackers, no tutorials, no tips, no highlighted characters and popping names above their heads - nothing. You launch the game, watch small intro, start in an english island and that's it. What should you do, whereto should you go, how to play at all - this is up to you to discover. In fact, years ago it wasn't a problem and such gameplay even was considered as rewarding, but for those people, who nowadays needs dozen of markers to choose proper door among three ahead, this game may cause cultural shock. IMPORTANT NOTE: you may notice numerous negative reviews here. Most of them are from people who either didn't even have a chance to launch the game or had serious technical problems. I suppose that devs should more clearly describe system requirements for Steam version of the game. They added note about graphic cards, but maybe version of OS also matters, and newer versions may also cause troubles. Because [u]I played Steam version on Windows 7 with GeForce card and encountered no bugs, crashes or freezes.[/u] Only few small and harmless graphical glitches like in old version years ago.

This game was very enjoyable for me when I was smaller, but unfortunately all it does is glitch everywhere. The screen becomes a mess of flickering storefronts and white daggers of light that shoot across the screen, which basically gives you epilepsy. Basic example of what to expect: https://www.gog.com/upload/forum/2015/04/d0c69ecb45e3fae361fc90c45f73d6bec0f8e17f.jpg The game is good. But it's unplayable. Don't bother buying it as there isn't a fix for these glitches. You're better off getting it on disc.