Stickman has tried to offer up a different kind of gaming with Buccaneer, but they have met some of the same old problems when it comes to pirate games: variety. There is, after all, a limit to what can actually be achieved at sea, even more so when you base a game in an age of historic warfare. But there has at least been an attempt to try and ensure the missions don’t become variations on a theme. Instead, there are the usual suspects of looting and destruction to be achieved, with the rescuing of overboard pirates added for good measure. While there is still a feeling of ‘been there, done that’ about the missions, as you delve deeper into the game you experience that unexplainable nagging desire to explore further and push on. No easy feat, and one which Stickman has pulled off admirably.

As bold decisions go, the choice of controls for Buccaneer ranks pretty highly but, unfortunately, also sits somewhat uncomfortably. Rather than having to factor in wind direction and tides, the developers have opted to try and bring speeded up, arcade style action to the oceanic table. Buccaneer uses a traditional left, right and accelerate system of control; a simple system, but one which unfortunately makes the player feel like they’re more in control of a car than a ship. While the arcade controls help to speed up the action and allow for more of a pick-up-and play experience, for a game that prides itself on concentrating on the ships, it seems odd that one of the most integral and recognisable parts of them – their method of movement – is absent. And with Stickman’s focus on a more realistic seaborne life of pirates rather than the fantasy image drawn up by the movies, it seems a little strange to see the controls not reflecting their otherwise pragmatic vision of pirate life.

In keeping with the general arcade theme, controlling the ship’s cannons is also simplistic; a right click fires the starboard set and a left click fires port. The battles – perhaps as to be expected – are one of the game’s plus points, with the on-screen action perfectly capturing the essence of oceanic warfare as players fight it out on the ocean waves. Naval skirmishes feel like a battle of wits and firepower rather than falling into the trap of feeling like a pre-determined result; another pit that many other developers often find themselves falling into.

So does Buccaneer sink or swim? Well, it’s fair to say that the game just about keeps its head above water. The positives are there for all to see and the negatives can be overcome – the controls are workable if not ideal. If Buccaneer can wash Stickman up on a prosperous shoreline somewhere, there’s a good building block for this independent developer to fire a broadside at some of the bigger software houses.

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