The new game by Ubisoft successfully captures the imagination of the Assassins Creed Pirates series on a new format braving the open seas as an up and coming pirate. This series has never ceased to amaze and has gone a step further by making a fantastic iOS game that’s free to play. The gameplay is fluid on my iPhone 5 and there aren’t any loading sequences that last over a few seconds. The graphics do not disappoint and are elaborately designed to match each scenario you find yourself in. Whether your navigating the open sea under the virtual stars or sailing in to battle against a massive man of war the developers seem to have an answer for each situation.

The game is divided up by level maps that are groups of islands. The map can be quite big so you must attack ships protecting fast travel locations to get around quickly. Otherwise you have two modes of travel, by guiding the ship with your finger on the island map, or actually navigating from the deck of the ship which is much slower but really awesome looking. I was able to level up to 21 in a very short amount of time and reach the Grand Bahamas a very large map with big rewards.

The more treasure and supplies you collect the more crew members and perks you can add or even buy more ships! The game is about being a pirate and you will find plenty of opportunities to do so. There is also a unique fishing and dicey whaling hunting interface in the game. While the main mission is an exclamation point on the map there are many other eye catching side missions to run that will gain you great fortune. As I mentioned earlier, leveling up is easy. I obtained level 21 only playing about 3 hrs total over the course of about 3 weeks. There are many in-app purchases that can speed this along as well, but I’m a pretty cheap gamer.

In battle you switch between two different modes of defense during a turn based exchange. The enemy either begins by blasting its full array of cannons in various directions that you must dodge, or attempts to sink you by throwing barrels that must be finger-slashed without hitting explosive crates next to them in a fruit ninja-esque moment of the game. Battle interface for other vessels varies based on what kind of side mission you're on. I must admit blasting the evil slaving ships into the deep is quite satisfying as the offer no defense. Encountering anomalies while navigating from the deck is a regular as well. You will see many opportunities to grab treasure chests and drowning sailors at sea.