Software:Age of Booty

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Age of Booty
Developer(s)Certain Affinity
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Max Hoberman[1]
Designer(s)David Bowman[2]
Programmer(s)Paul Isaac, Peter Carter[2]
Platform(s)
ReleaseXbox 360 (XBLA)
October 15, 2008[3]
PlayStation 3 (PSN)
  • NA: October 16, 2008
  • EU: November 27, 2008[4]
Microsoft Windows
March 9, 2009
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Age of Booty is a real-time strategy video game developed by Certain Affinity and published by Capcom for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows. Set in the swashbuckling era, the game puts the players in the control of a pirate ship with the goal of looting and capturing towns for a pirate faction, while defeating the enemy ships on the way.

Gameplay

Gameplay largely revolves around the maneuvering of a boat around a sea. The sea is made up of hexagons called Hexes. The player controls the boat by selecting a hex for a destination. If the ship becomes adjacent to a hex containing an enemy ship, merchant ship, town, or settlement, it will automatically attack it with cannon fire. Cannon damage depends on the number of upgrades, but if more than one enemy is adjacent, the ship will split its fire, firing at a different one each time. The objective is to capture a specific number of towns, which is given in mission briefing: the upper right corner of the screen displays the number cities owned, the ones owned by enemies, and the target number. The Pirate Lair can never be conquered by enemies, but the mission will end in failure if the enemies conquer the target number of towns before the player.

To capture a town the player must be adjacent to it and bombard it until it has no health left; the town will continue to fire on the ship until the health is depleted. A town upgrade applies on both town health and cannon power. When health is depleted a "capture" bar shows, and when full the town will be conquered. If an enemy ship nears the town, the "capture" will be paused until one of the ship sinks or flees. Towns automatically heal adjacent ships of the same party, so a defending party has an advantage.

Typical gameplay screenshot.

Players control a 3D avatar of a pirate ship with colored sails depending on which team they are on. Ships have three attributes that can be upgraded: speed, armor, and cannon—each of which can be upgraded up to three times. Speed determines how fast the player's ship sails, armor measures the amount of damage the ship can take before it is destroyed, and cannon measures the damage the ship can cause. The Cannon attribute is displayed over the ship as small circles under the life gauge. Upgrading attack strength also decreases speed.

In the game, players use different resources to upgrade their towns and ships. There are three different resource types: gold, wood, and rum. 4 gold and 2 wood will upgrade a town, and 4 rum and 2 wood upgrade ships. Players can acquire resources by picking up boxes floating in the water, destroying enemy ships, plundering villages, using one of the four curses or capturing towns and using them to produce resources. Each town/village displays the resources it will produce with icons floating over its avatar. The player ship can only be upgraded in the Pirate Lair, but a town can be upgraded regardless of ship position.

In the waters, merchant ships are frequently spawned, who attack any nearby ship, regardless of flag. While they do not have strong firepower nor hard hull, they release a curse crate when sunk. The player can only have one curse at a time, so if the crate is salvaged, it will give either a curse from 4 different types or a random resource. The four curses type are:

  • Bomb: Heavily damages anything within a hex, must be placed on an empty water hex
  • Whirlpool: Warps a ship to a random part of the map.
  • Ghost Ship: Makes the player ship invisible until cannons are next fired
  • Pilfer Monkey: Steals up to two resources of one type (Gold, Rum, or Wood) from an enemy depending on availability

There are 7 different challenges for solo play, each featuring 3 differing maps of easy, medium and hard difficulty levels for a total of 21 single player missions. Multiplayer has a four-player game (Dueling Duos), six player game (Triple Trouble) and an eight-player game (Four By Four), which is all divided into two teams. There is also Battle Royale pitting 4 teams of two players against each other. Players can use voice chat to talk with their team. Capcom has also added 6 additional maps for free to download on PSN. The XBLA version includes Avatar support.

Development

Designer Max Hoberman admitted that inspiration for the game, came from Bungie's long-running April Fools' Day gag Pimps at Sea.[5] An open beta went live on September 19, 2008 (International Talk Like a Pirate Day).[6]

On December 4, 2008, three additional map packs were released at no cost.[7]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PCPS3Xbox 360
1Up.comN/AN/AB[8]
EurogamerN/AN/A7/10[9]
GameProN/AN/A3.75/5[10]
GameSpotN/AN/A7/10[11]
Giant BombN/AN/AStarStarStarStar[12]
IGN5.5/10[13]7.5/10[14]7.8/10[15]
OPM (UK)N/A6/10[16]N/A
OXM (UK)N/AN/A8/10[18]
OXM (US)N/AN/A8/10[17]
TeamXboxN/AN/A8/10[19]
Aggregate score
Metacritic70/100[20]74/100[21]76/100[22]

The Xbox 360 version of Age of Booty received "generally favorable reviews", while the PC and PlayStation 3 versions received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[20][21][22] Eurogamer said the game's single-player mode was "frustrating and poorly balanced", but added, "take it online and you've got something that's almost worth the 800-Point asking price."[9] IT Reviews agreed, stating "It's cheaply priced and great fun to play online as the matches are quick and enjoyable, although the offline campaign is rather marred by the erratic computer AI."[23]

The game was nominated for two Xbox Live Arcade 2008 awards: "Best Original Game" and "Best Competitive Multiplayer Game".[24]

References

  1. ↑ Kane, Alex (November 16, 2017). "Max Hoberman's 10-year path from Halo to Last Expedition". Vox Media. https://www.polygon.com/features/2017/11/16/16651772/max-hoberman-10-year-path-halo-3-last-expedition. Retrieved May 17, 2019. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Diamonon, John (October 10, 2008). "Arrr! Age of Booty to Plunder PSN Soon". Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/10/10/arrr-age-of-booty-plunders-psn-this-month. Retrieved May 17, 2019. 
  3. ↑ GamesIndustry International (October 15, 2008). "Age of Booty: Available on Xbox LIVE Arcade today". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/age-of-booty-available-on-xbox-live-arcade-today. Retrieved May 17, 2019. 
  4. ↑ Allison, Daryl (October 16, 2008). "Age of Booty: PSN - Bad News / Good News". Capcom. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081018155142/http://www.capcom-unity.com/d.a.r.y.l./blog/2008/10/16/age_of_booty_psn__bad_news__good_news. Retrieved October 17, 2008. 
  5. ↑ Faylor, Chris (March 4, 2008). "Certain Affinity Making Pimps at Sea, Sorta". https://www.shacknews.com/article/51613/certain-affinity-making-pimps-at. Retrieved July 29, 2019. 
  6. ↑ Allison, Daryl (September 16, 2008). "Ready for some Age of Booty Beta?". Capcom. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080919123424/http://www.capcom-unity.com/d.a.r.y.l./blog/2008/09/16/ready_for_some_age_of_booty_beta. Retrieved September 16, 2008. 
  7. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (December 4, 2008). "PlayStation Store Update: Santa Outfits!". Gizmodo Media Group. https://kotaku.com/playstation-store-update-santa-outfits-5102179. Retrieved May 17, 2019. 
  8. ↑ Neigher, Eric (October 16, 2008). "Age of Booty Review (XBOX 360)". Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160603070700/http://www.1up.com/reviews/age-of-booty. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Whitehead, Dan (October 3, 2008). "XBLA: Age of Booty and War World". Gamer Network. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140928174843/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xbla-age-of-booty-and-war-world-review. Retrieved July 29, 2019. 
  10. ↑ Guss, Ian (October 21, 2008). "Review: Age of Booty". GamePro Arcade (IDG Entertainment). Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090107053616/http://www.gameproarcade.com/article/104131/review-age-of-booty/. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  11. ↑ Calvert, Justin (October 17, 2008). "Age of Booty Review (X360)". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/age-of-booty-review/1900-6199606/. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  12. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (October 17, 2008). "Age of Booty Review (XBGS)". CBS Interactive. https://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/age-of-booty-review/1900-67/. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  13. ↑ Geddes, Ryan (March 17, 2009). "Age of Booty Review (PC)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/03/17/age-of-booty-review-2. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  14. ↑ Geddes, Ryan (November 18, 2008). "Age of Booty Review (PS3)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/11/18/age-of-booty-review. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  15. ↑ Geddes, Ryan (October 15, 2008). "Age of Booty Review (X360)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/15/age-of-booty-review-3. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  16. ↑ "Age of Booty". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK (Future plc): 103. February 2009. 
  17. ↑ McCaffrey, Ryan (October 2008). "Age of Booty". Official Xbox Magazine (Future US): 84. Archived from the original on October 17, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081017060808/http://www.oxmonline.com/article/reviews/xbox-live-arcade/a-f/age-booty. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  18. ↑ "Review: Age of Booty". Official Xbox Magazine UK (Future plc): 101. November 2008. 
  19. ↑ Nardozzi, Dale (October 22, 2008). "Age of Booty Review (Xbox 360)". IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120701185511/http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1602/Age-of-Booty/p1/. Retrieved July 30, 2019. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Age of Booty for PC Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/age-of-booty/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved July 29, 2019. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Age of Booty for PlayStation 3 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/age-of-booty/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-3. Retrieved April 28, 2016. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Age of Booty for Xbox 360 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/age-of-booty/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-360. Retrieved April 28, 2016. 
  23. ↑ "Capcom - Age of Booty review". February 11, 2009. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090414100930/http://www.itreviews.co.uk/games/g536.htm. 
  24. ↑ Fahey, Mike (February 27, 2009). "Vote In The 2008 Xbox Live Arcade Awards". Gizmodo Media Group. https://kotaku.com/vote-in-the-2008-xbox-live-arcade-awards-5161442. Retrieved July 29, 2019. 
  • Short description: Video game database
MobyGames
Logo since March 2014
Screenshot
Frontpage as of April 2012
Type of site
Gaming
Available inEnglish
OwnerAtari SA
Websitemobygames.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedJanuary 30, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-01-30)
Current statusOnline

MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] The site is supported by banner ads and a small number of people paying to become patrons.[2] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It is currently owned by Atari SA.

Content

The database began with games for IBM PC compatibles. After two years, consoles such as the PlayStation, were added. Older console systems were added later. Support for arcade video games was added in January 2014 and mainframe computer games in June 2017.[3]

Edits and submissions go through a leisurely verification process by volunteer "approvers". The approval process can range from immediate (minutes) to gradual (days or months).[4] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copyediting.[5]

Registered users can rate and review any video game. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own subforum.

History

Logo used until March 11, 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999 by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, then joined by David Berk 18 months later, three friends since high school.[6] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[7] This was announced to the community post factum and a few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.

On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San-Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[8] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel.[9]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[10] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[11][12]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ "MobyGames Stats". https://www.mobygames.com/moby_stats. 
  2. ↑ "MobyGames Patrons". http://www.mobygames.com/info/patrons. 
  3. ↑ "New(ish!) on MobyGames – the Mainframe platform.". Blue Flame Labs. 18 June 2017. http://www.mobygames.com/forums/dga,2/dgb,3/dgm,237200/. 
  4. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  5. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32856/Report_MobyGames_Acquired_By_GameFly_Media.php. 
  8. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  9. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207882/Game_dev_database_MobyGames_getting_some_TLC_under_new_owner.php. 
  10. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  11. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site’s Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  12. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 




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