Crimson: Steam Pirates Review

Normally keeping to only reviewing games that are available to play on my ipod, I decided to branch out a little after having played Crimson: Steam Pirates on my friends iPad.  This was due to the the games importance, as it is the first game to be developed by Bungie, the company behind the Halo series on the Xbox and PC.

As it is their first financed project into the iOS market, I felt it necessary to review their venture.   


In this swashbuckling adventure you play as a pirate sailing the rough steampunky seas.  The game mixes various turn-based elements, making it feel like a board game mixed with something like Rebirth of Fortune.   The game has you taking control of the protagonist Thomas Blood, a renowned pirate, who has a flair for the ladies as well as a chest full of treasure.

In the game take charge of his ships and direct them in a turn-based manner by dragging your finger to form paths.  In combat you can do all the things that you would want to do as a pirate, including broadsiding and boarding vessels.  When a vessel is boarded the gameplay changes.  Once a ship is boarded, you then take charge of your ships crew in a different turn based combat mode.  There are over twenty unique units in this mode each with their own forms of combat and varied statistics.  This mode could be a separate game in its own right as I found it the most enjoyable part. 


You can tell that this has been made by a main stream developer as it knocks the hell out of most ipod game competition.  Graphically it well designed and nice to look at. It has a unique style and is as individual as Halo is to the first person shooter genre.

To fully experience the game, players must invest $1.99, but this small investment is well worth the expense.  With the introduction of more ships, aircraft, submaries and generally more of everything, you would be foolish not to buy the upgrade.


If you like turn based games, then this is a must for anyone with an iPad.


A well designed and deep turn based strategy game by the developers of the Halo series 5/5