The craze for pirates and those pirate ships had been increasing since the Pirates of the Caribbean and related games. Tortuga is just plays another role in increasing this craze, and as Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is already on its way, this would be the best time to have this game. The game ... Read review
Advantages: pirates, great environment, cool ship combat Disadvantages: stupid land combat, not too much options
The craze for pirates and those pirate ships had been increasing since the Pirates of the Caribbean and related games. Tortuga is just plays another role in increasing this craze, and as Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is already on its way, this would be the best time to have this game. The game has an edge over the new Pirates of the Caribbean 3 game. For some unknown reasons, this game hasn't been that famous and never got the attention it deserved. ... ...name of the game itself doesn't say anything about what it is about. But I would say that this game deserved more than the attention it has managed to gain.
REQUIREMENTS
Pentium 4 or compatible 1.7 GHz CPU
512 MB of system RAM
Graphics card with 64 MB RAM
Pixel/Vertex Shader 1.1 support required
(nVidia GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 or higher)
DirectX compatible sound card
DVD-ROM drive more
The craze for pirates and those pirate ships had been increasing since the Pirates of the Caribbean and related games. Tortuga is just plays another role in increasing this craze, and as Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is already on its way, this would be the best time to have this game. The game has an edge over the new Pirates of the Caribbean 3 game. For some unknown reasons, this game hasn't been that famous and never got the attention it deserved. May be this is due to face that the name of the game itself doesn't say anything about what it is about. But I would say that this game deserved more than the attention it has managed to gain.
REQUIREMENTS Pentium 4 or compatible 1.7 GHz CPU 512 MB of system RAM Graphics card with 64 MB RAM Pixel/Vertex Shader 1.1 support required (nVidia GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 or higher) DirectX compatible sound card DVD-ROM drive 4.0 GB free Hard Drive space Microsoft Windows 2000 with SP4 or XP with SP2 DirectX 9.0c (included with the game)
THE TREASURE HUNT The story takes place in the 18th century and Thomas "Hawk" Blythe along with his girlfriend, the voodoo priestess Sangua works under Blackbeard, a selfish and greedy pirate leader. They were on the hunt for Henry Morgan's treasure until Blythe and Sangua are cheated by Blackbeard. Blythe ends up in the palace prison, but manages to escape from there with the help of the Governor's daughter herself. After a narrow escape from the military and pirate ships, he is on a mission to find the treasure of Morgan and his own ship along with Sangua, as well as have his revenge against Blackbeard. But a number of combats on the land as well as in the middle of the sea, awaits him before he can reach his destination.
Most of the action takes place in the sea, as you can control either the ship or your character after getting into the enemy ship. To make this happen, you will have to fire enough cannonballs though. You will play the character Blythe, who will be fighting a large number of pirates on the deck and also in those beautiful islands. He will be also rowing a boat or captaining a ship through the beautiful seas. Even with lots of functions and ket mappings, this game has been kept simple, and a new player can easily master the game. But the game cannot be saved on the land. This may count as a disadvantage, but there is always the autosave to help the cause.
EFFORT OR NO EFFORT There is no option for swimming, even if we can watch the sea very closely. Those who are still suffering from the effect of games like Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia, shouldn't be trying to climb those trees either. This means that there is a need for a ship all the time. But as Tortuga isn't too good for just free roaming around the island with no saves. You can always choose to fight a few more enemies all the time though. This can lead to some bonus, as well as getting a few more items at the cost of losing some more health in the process.
Actually, Tortuga is a game which fails to suit into any genre. It can be widely termed as an Action/Adventure game, but it still isn't the perfect action game to be talked about. Ascaron Entertainment could have made this game better by making the game more interactive. Except for the ship-to-ship combat, everything else looks less than ordinary. The sword fights are not too classy, and it involves simply waving the swords in all directions, and hoping to hit. Blythe seems to be a good enough fighter and doesn't seem to miss many of those hits though.
Even if we are to fight the human enemies most of the time, there are a few ghost ships meant to take the game to a spooky level. The human opponents are quite easy to handle, including those pirates and soldiers, and there may be a few boss-type characters with a big red bar on the top of the screen showing their health. They can certainly take more hits, and also inflict some special damage which the gamers may not like to recieve when the game is not saved. But they are also as dumb as their fellow men.
VISUALLY BETTER The game is highly detailed most of the time, and the landscapes and water may remind us of Far Cry. You will be able to see reefs and sunken ships in the sea, as well as sharks and the fallen crew. The characters are not that impresssive, but they keep the standards. The most scoring factors will be the ship and the elements of nature, like trees, water and seashores. The fire effects and the crew members roaming around the ship means that the graphics is not restricted. The dead people bring up a grave instantly, and we can get a cemetry bonus for having a number of close graves.
Just like Infernal, this game also involves the installation of the AGEIA PhysX Drivers. But the level of graphics won't be as good as that game of the demons and angels. Voice acting is something which almost stays upto the graphics. With some interesting cutscenes, the storyline keeps progressing in a steady and interesting manner. But I have to say that graphics goes down at a few areas. The game also has some twisted camera angles which provides not much fun.
LET THE PIRATES RULE AGAIN Overall, Tortuga can be termed as a decent game which just provides enough entertainment for the money you spend on it. Avoid the ridiculous sword fighting system and also a few confusing missions, and this game can keep you busy for some time. You can choose to spend more time in the sea in your cool ship, and make this game much more interesting. Having more combats at the sea means that you will rate this game higher.
But the people who are looking for a decent pirate game, should choose this one over Pirates of the Caribbean 3 which is nothing more than the old game of Claw coming back, with no camera angles to choose from and the most annoying fights. Pirate adventures could be better, atleast considering how well the movies are being made. These games certainly needs some more creativity, or may be they are too much short of inspiration. Its time those "cool" pirates are given more attention.
Product Information for "Tortuga: Two Treasures (PC)" »
Product details
Publisher
Ascaron
Genre
Action/Adventure
Release Date
16th February 2007
EAN
4014935260930
Operating System
Windows XP
Manufacturer's product description
Thomas "Hawk" Blythe is the captain of the swift pirate frigate "Hawkwind". Both he and his girlfriend, the voodoo priestess Sangua, captain ships under the high command of the notorious pirate leader "Blackbeard". Together, Hawk and Sangua embark on a search for the legendary treasure of Henry Morgan. Morgan was an infamous pirate and Governor of Jamaica approximately fifty years earlier. Many rumours surrounded Morgan and the immeasurable wealth he had amassed during his years of piracy and governing. It is said that, before he died, Morgan secreted away his treasures and ruthlessly eliminated all those who had any knowledge of these riches. Whilst hunting for an almost mythical treasure brings its own difficulties, Hawk's progress is hindered by a merciless twist of fate.Honour, betrayal and love, conspiracy and theft, violence and murderTortuga - Two Treasures tells of Hawk's struggle against a world growing blacker by the day. Betrayal and death are but a small element of Hawk's adventures. Forged treasure maps, voodoo magic, a deadly curse and the seemingly ever-present threat of Blackbeard's wrath all appear focused on stifling Hawk as he plunges into a battle for power, romance, treasure and truth.Battles at sea, close combat or scouting missionsHawk may decide at any time which strategy would be the most advantageous in any given situation. Tactical planning, carefully considered actions and a realistic assessment of ones strengths are indispensable for successful battles at sea.Close combat may consist of an action packed fight against numerous sailors - on the other hand, it could involve sneaking past guards and officers in order to reach the captain for the final showdown. In order to sneak up on someone successfully, Hawk must avoid the opponents' line of sight and then he has to attack swiftly and silently from behind. If the guards detect him, they will alert everyone and attack.Hawk will be able to wield many different weapons such as throwing knives, sabers, axes, pistols or even exploding grenades. Hawk will increase his skills throughout the game. Gradually, Hawk will become a skilled fighter and Blackbeard himself will have a worthy adversary!
