masterful, when it works

Im gonna preface this with the drawbacks, the one star Im docking it. I know that the 5th gen iPod Touch isnt exactly the crowning glory of iOS, but all the same I am still entitled to a reasonable expectation of reliability with it.

Pirate Power frequently crashes, which is to say, the screen blacks out on me, and then I get booted back to my Home screen and need to re-open the app. My device has this issue with a couple apps, so in moderation I just kind of accept it. But my usual remedies do nothing to help stabilize Pirate Power.

Its an online game, so I cant switch off my WiFi to limit background refreshes and processes. It doesnt seem to matter if I leave other apps open, or not, while playing Pirate Power. And the charming animations and effects put dozens (if not more) of moving elements all across the screen at once. Waves pulsing, showers of arrows shooting across the screen, explosions and seagulls in the distance and two dramatic special attacks going off at once with their own extra animations and the zoomed-in headshot banners of the characters... Its chaos.

And it looks great and it works well for the game, and of course it still maintains coherency. But its heavy loading, and so the game crashes sporadically, and theres nothing I can do about it. Not even a res setting in the options menu.

Plus, even if it crashes before the battle even loaded, it still expends energy. Ugh.

BUT OTHER THAN TECHNICAL ISSUES, which I like to hope are not a major factor for most other devices....

Pirate Power is a fun, captivating adventure. The battles have just enough strategy not to get dull too quickly, without overwhelming the player with micro-managing anything. You can build your island, or establish shops at the market, and you can gather resources to sell or use in upgrading your ship...

But the story moves at a steady clip, and after the intro it never tries to railroad you or force you into explicitly focusing on any single aspect. In fact, the game is arranged that a casual mix gives the best balance, and the quickest advancement.

As you progress, you can approach old areas and former battles with a higher difficulty on them, which can keep grinding for resources from getting too dull, and helps it not force you to gather those objects immediately.

Its great and fun and cute and I like it.

I just wish I could play the darn thing without losing energy and resources and getting booted off it in the middle of a fight. Cause its really getting on my nerves by now......

Twelve Yb TnuoC about Pirate Power