Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but you have to love the Genre.
Review: Overall, not too bad but this game could have used some more proofing. First off, for those who seek realism in the art and science of tallship handling or for those who demand historical accuracy...dont expect too much. Like many of us who hoped this game would finally master the realism and fascination that the pirate game genre should have by now been able to be techniaclly achieved, I was somewhat disappointed. This game, while initialy challenging when moving up in levels and hiring good officers, soon becomes an exercise in gain through protracted attrition. Capture ships-sell them off, capture ships-sell them off, for hours and then days. The enemy AI isnt very sharp and the game rewards conquest with skill points too slowly.The biggest frustraton was the storyline. No one would be able, given the slow progression of abilities, to effectively follow the plot. By the time you attain the level one status and amass sufficient funds to operate for extended periods without the need to plunder, it becomes impossible to track down all the characters needed to solve the main mystery of the plot. They seem to vanish or repeat themselves and you are left with little else to do but the less and less challenging process of plunder and errand running. And forget it if you plan on playing the game as (can you belive it) a "pirate", you can only really get around as a privateer. On the plus side, the graphics were generally good and crew building process was pretty accurate. In the end, however, after a lot of monotonous work, you are left feeling that there wasnt much you could really do in the game and that your adventure was disjointed by miscued timing. I wouldnt buy this game again if I had the chance but if you really love these naval history games then keep a weather eye out for it in the "last chance before the land-fill" bargain bins.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: Sea dogs is a very underestimated game in my opinion...
To start with on the box it says 'An Epic Adventure At Sea' and it really is, you get drawn into a very atmospheric sea warfare game where your reputation means everything and your ability to choose the right crew from strange and piratey characters makes all the difference ' there's even a blind gunner if you want one, dire, but dirt cheap! There are loads of towns and ports you can sail to at anytime you want providing you have a ship capable of defending herself over the hazardous seas looming with pirates.
Every ship out of the 20 there are can be customised and fitted out with you own crew and selected cannons. You can then once purchased stroll around the deck at your discretion, a must when in combat is standing on the deck and ordering your gunners to fire.
You will find however after a few fights that half of your crew have been killed and that your rigging has more holes in it then your ship has port and cannon holes. And so in the even of a beating up, you can either tell your men to fix it themselves providing you have a carpenter on board or take her to a ship yard to be repaired.
The music is fab, with a really atmospheric tune in the background whilst in any of the 30 odd ports. You'll slowly get better ships and sell yours on. Mine is a class 3 48 cannon beast. Easy for picking off merchant ships (I play as a pirate). And that brings about another feature. You can play as the English, French, Spanish or pirate teams. It's not as simple as an option mind you, no, you have to show the team you choose that your on their side, I unfortunately blew one of them up by mistake and so I'm now a pirate, and I'm lovin' it.
There is also the feature of realistic day times and really cool weather, and the battles on a stormy sea really make you think you'll fall overboard when you hit the crest of the very well designed waves.
You of course can't just go up to any port you like. Each team holds it's own, and you can go to yours and ask for jobs to carry out and then you get paid if you accomplish it. But if you can't be bothered, just blow em out of the sea, or on the other hand, bored the ship and steal the loot!
Yes that's right, you can also on top of all this plundering, you can grapple a ship and then sword fight your way to victory. You fight as the captain and your hits count for crewmembers dieing, so if you're outnumbered 5 to 1, don't expect to live very long.
If you have a true battleship which I haven't yet afforded then you can attack forts and take them over for the country you support, the loot is good, because in a mission of the Spanish, we invaded a French port and even though my team were all wiped out, my final order to fire the remnants of my guns won the battle and I got a fortune which bought me a new ship.
All in all, if you're looking for a game that is totally non-linear and you can do just about anything within the limits of you crew and ship, you'll love it and It's well worth the [money] you'll have to pay.
Good game.
Rating:
Summary: sea was really fun
Review: sea dogs is great, the graphics are amazing and it is the best pirate game i've played so far. their are a few quarks about it but a patch will be coming soon. it is diffenetly worth your hard earned (cash) i love it
Rating: 
Summary: Patience a must
Review: Sit down, get comfortable and turn on your thinking cap. this game will take you to the limits of your creativity. I strongly suggest a notebook just for information of your travels and missions in action. This game is very difficult and I am pretty sure that it is a "smart game" because it seems to catch on to my strategies and correct itself to increase the challenge!!
You must be patient and try many strategies to overcome the challenges. Overall this game is fun and good for hundreds of hours of fun!!
Rating:
Summary: Yarrr, these dogs know their sea adventures!
Review: The graphics are great. The sound is pretty good (though I wish all the conversation were recorded instead of in text). The battles are complex and challenging without being stupid-hard. The storylines you can follow are meaningful and have a nice depth. My only real beef with it is that I wish they'd used a real map of the Caribbean.
Rating:
Summary: This game is excellent!
Review: The key to playing this game, and having alot of fun, is to increase your boarding skill, and hire a first mate as soon as possible. Sail from HighRock to the NE tip of Grand Avilia, board light merchants, defeat the captain, then assign your first mate to the conquered ship. Sail back to HighRock, with the additional ship; then, sell the goods on it, and the ship itself. Do this a few times, and you'll have plenty of money to hire a boatswain, carpenter, gunner, etc., (thereby increasing all your skills quickly) and you will have a really nice time playing the game.
Rating:
Summary: cons and PROS
Review: There are some downsides to this game: A bit buggy, fencing interface is ridiculously simplistic, sailing model is pretty unrealistic (square-rigged ships DON'T actually sail into the wind) and some general UI frustrations. HOWEVER If you've ever wanted to get a feel for what it was like to chase a fat merchantman on the run through gale force winds with rain pouring down, lightning flashing on the horizon and ocean swells tall enough to eclipse your view of the opponent not more than 50 feet away, there is no better game. Or to hear the call from the masthead of your merchant galleon, "Sail two points off the starboard beam," while running a load of rum and linen from one friendly port to the next through the calm, cloudless skies of the Caribbean-like archipelago. A quick upward glance to check your sails causes you to think, "If this proves to be a Spaniard, I shall have trouble out-running her in these light 'aires." Anticipation mounts as you pull out your 'glass and focus on the vessel in question. Lastly, seeing the smoke erupt from the balustrades of the English fort you've been ordered to take is breathtaking - until the round shot begins raining down upon your sleek corvette. Through the hail of splinters you exclaim, "Fire at the top of the roll ya landlubbers!" (And you've got to! Although the sailing model is sub-par, the firing physics are quite advanced.) Visually stunning graphics bring the period to life while an incredibly rich and free form storyline brings it action. Sailing under a French, Spanish or English letter of marque grants access to three plots that can be completed in any amount of time you wish. Alternatively, a life of piracy might be more to your liking. Hoisting your Jolly Roger for The Brotherhood leads to an additional, rich story. Finally, and perhaps most appealing, is the RPG component of the game and the dynamic economy of the islands. The RPG component allows you to improve your characters stats in multiple skills as you gain experience in your exploits (scripted or otherwise.) Each captain can augment their skills by hiring a crew of officers that bring, along with salary requirements, their own strengths and weaknesses. Add to this a wide selection of vessels to command and the ability to build a small squadron of vessels and no two captains will look, nor fight, alike. The dynamic economy actually lends itself well to what has been affectionately named "The 5th Campaign" in which one purchases a suitable merchantman and a skeleton crew then sets off to make it rich in legitimate trade while shunning and, if yer smart, avoidin' rapscallions such as myself. Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester fans take note: for a truly realistic age-of-sail simulation, you'll have to wait for a hybrid of "Age of Sail II" and "Man 'O War". But if the romanticism of the period is your bag - "Sea Dogs" is da 'knippel'!
Rating: 
Summary: Worst pirate game ever.
Review: This game is the absolute worst Pirate game ever. It completely lacks the fun factor of Sid Meiers Pirates!, or the polish of any many of the top quality games. This is headed for the bargin bin soon. It has typical Bethesda Softworks graphics bugs and other game crashing bugs. Ship control is horrid. Game play is non-existent. The interface is a cludge. The sound is good and the graphics are "ok". Brilliant in spots, and simply ugly in others. There are quite a few graphics bugs. Even with patch 1.06 (released 04/2001). No matter how well you pound an enemy ship, they will never strike. You must board (almost impossible). And then defeat the enemy captain in a duel. This duel is limited to a couple of crude keyboard strokes. And in the first 12+ I tried, I lost all 12+. Oh what fun. So I had the joy of reloading the start postion a dozen times and experimenting with several different There is absolutely no game balance. There is no way to scale down the difficulty level. In about 75% of the opening games, I was attacked by 3 spanish ships (you always start with the Spanish as your enemy). No matter how much of their sails you shoot out with chain shot, they remain always faster and more maneuverable then you. Your ship has 3 cannons facing rearward for when you flee. I used those liberally for hours (real time) and was in the end caught and killed. (repeatedly). This is a Simply STUPID way to begin the game. If you simply must own all sailing or pirate games get it. I tried to give it to a buddy I went to college with, and after trying it he gave back. Even free, it was over priced.
Rating:
Summary: Great Concept - Very Poor Execution
Review: This game looks like a lot of fun - but it will fade very quickly. You get killed thousands of times. The merchant system is infantile. You will be boarded and killed over and over. Don't waste your time or money. Try something else.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet!
Review: This game rocks. It's graphics are excellent, the story is fun and engaging, and the combat is exciting without being totally simplistic. I'm sure it's full of historical inaccuracies and lacks the perfect ship sailing model but if I wanted a history lesson I would watch the History Channel, right? The playability is pretty good. I think I could play this game for quite a while before I would even consider it repetative. The only complaint I have manuvering my character while in towns. The controls seem a little sluggish, but aside from that, I have yet to run into any other bugs. Awesome game, buy it, or you'll be sorry you missed out on it!
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