1UP writes: "When Halo multiplayer designer Max Hoberman left Bungie in 2006 to start Certain Affinity, few knew what to expect from the new company. It was located in Austin, staffed with a handful of ex-Bungie employees...basically all we knew was it seemed likely they'd make multiplayer games -- a theory proved true as they announced their first two projects: a multiplayer map pack for Halo 2, and porting/matchmaking work on the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead.
Now we have word on the third project, and the company's first original game: Plunder, a grid-based, pirate-themed (watch us squirm as we resist the Pimps at Sea reference) real-time strategy title that eliminates a lot of the complexity seen in most RTSes. As Hoberman describes it, "It's an action-RTS, single-player and multiplayer, and pirate. That's it.""
STP: Plunder is a paid game that plays like a freemium game. The basic joy you get at the beginning goes away fast, as you’re left doing the same thing over and over again with little pay off.
Mike writes, "Shiver me timbers, I have a pirate dilemma! Namely, I'm torn about what I should do. I recently started playing Plunder!, a great puzzle game with a pirate theme, but I quickly realized it's got a scummy side that will pillage your wallet at the first opportunity. Not only that, but a frustrating DRM-like service makes it unplayable at times. "
Pocket Gamer:
Best described as a puzzle version of Bomberman meets pirates, Big Fish Game's first freemium release Plunder! is set up in a grid, which contains one pirate ship per row, and is filled with mines, merchant ships and Royal Navy frigates.
