Early Access: ‘Man ‘O War’ Introduces Magic, Beards, and Birds!
Within the last year it seems every single specialty Warhammer game has been licensed to become some sort of videogame. Space Hulk has been and will continue to be spun into various strategy and action titles, Blood Bowl received a sequel last year, and Man ‘O War: Corsair was just patched this morning. Among the patch notes are the inclusion of the Skaven and Dwarves, flying units, and magic. All of which are critical to the setting, and so it’s good they made it in.
MoW: Corsair is an adaptation to the titular specialty tabletop wargame that of course dealt with naval engagements between the early Warhammer fantasy races, and like the other specialty titles was cut rather quickly. Players built their fleet around singular ships (Powerful Man of War class ships or other singles) and Ships of the Line deployed in three’s. Among your fleet was a magician and of course your leader.
Right now in build .4 the game can be thought of as a Warhammer themed pirate game, with a lot of inspiration coming from Assassins Creed: Black Flag. You sail from port to port, must keep the ever shifting winds in mind, must now keep in mind the ever flowing winds of magic as well, and organize broadside and boarding attacks against enemies. You are also able to switch between characters like the Sharpshooter and now the Wizard; right now there is no automation but the developers have assured users that they are considering some degree of automation.
New Skaven and Dwarven ships have been itnroduced to the game world. The Skaven Ratmen relies on superior numbers and dark plague magics to overwhelm their foes. The ironclad Dwarf fleet packs rows of high caliber assault cannons and arms it’s crews with powerful firearms. Both pose new and exciting threats to aspiring captains.
A major thing about MoW is that it was written before some of the major races were introduced like the Ogre Kingdoms and the Lizardmen, and I couldn’t quite coax an answer out of the devs as to whether these factions will be in Corsair. The result of the sources age is that the game itself looks and plays like a ten year old game, and with most people being obsessed with graphics over game-play than this might not float for everybody. For instance, unless you are standing directly in-front of the megalodon (Big Damn Shark) then it looks like a gigantic shiny bathtub toy gnawing on your ship. Ork ships similarly look like they are built out of Lincoln Logs; this is partly due to their tabletop appearance, but it feels like more could of been done to make the ships and sharks more appealing.
If you ever found yourself thinking “I really like pirate games, but I want a game where I can really attack anything I want” then you will find a safe port in Corsair; it almost immediately reminds you that the rule of law is absent and if they can’t catch you, they can’t hang you. This is a title that is worth keeping an eye on.
