31. Naval Action

Take to the high seas in this enormous open world based on 18th century maps with historic harbors and towns.  Positions are not stuck out like in most modern games, forcing the player to navigate the seas with a compass, the sun and other landmarks.  Have the freedom to build your ship as you see fit in order to sink your enemies.  Set up a trading route to make your life more profitable.  Conquer the ports of the Caribbean, but be wary of other captains out for their own glory.

Construct from different hull models, sail plans, and guns.  Ships are based on accurate speed and turning performances.  Upgrade your vessel from the small cutters to the large, 100 gun galleons to allow yourself to experience very role of the Age of Sail.  The game follows realistic sailing mechanics.  Winds affect the speed and mobility of the ship.  Cannons and ballistics perform just as they did over three hundred years ago.  One shot of a cannonball can hit the stern, damage the rudder, then hit a crewman with ricochets.  Listing and wind affects the cannon fire and requires a change of tactics.  And just like with real ships, the damage will last.

The game is currently in early access and development is driven by the community.  Many strange, and sometimes wonderful bugs have been reported and the developers have squashed them one-by-one.

Take on the sea with as much firepower as possible.

32. Windward

While the game can be played singular, but the best experience comes from playing with friends.  Generate and proceed to an open world, and create your own faction to set sail.  Sail to find resources to help upgrade your ship.  New towns will ask for your help the further you get from where you left port.  Pirates will attempt to attack you.  Combat allows you to unlock new talents and abilities to your character.

Help towns grow, as they offer more quests and more resources to better your items.  Sometimes a town will offer to upgrade the ship itself.  Explore swiftly on the sea as a Schooner or blow enemies away as a heavy Galleon.  Farther into the ocean blue, the game will become increasingly more difficult, but the rewards will be grander.  On the seas it’s about reputation.  With a reputation as a fierce captain, even pirates will fear you, avoiding you at all costs.

Sail into port and then blow it all away

33. Kenshi

In this world it is beat or be eaten.  Customize all your characters and build a squad that will fight for you.  The characters grow through combat, becoming stronger through experience.  Once you have your team, explore the wide 870 square kilometer landscape.  In this game, every character is on equal ground when it comes to strength.  Players have the same amount of hit points as their enemy, unless they gain the strength to rise above.  When not out in the field it is time to build your base, a fortress that you can keep yourself safe.

Purchase upgrades to the base to fortify it against enemies.  If you are not careful, you may end up being captured by cannibals to have for their next meal.  Or be sold off into slavery as the game takes a real approach to a lawless land.  In that world, it is up to you to become what you want.  Choose the life of a trader and live humbly, or act as a warlord and bring the lands under your thumb.  Anything is possible with the game.

Currently, Kenshi is in early access and is still in development.

Be careful of your decisions, they might land you in hot water.

34. Sid Meier’s Pirates

A Spanish nobleman enslaves a family when they are unable to pay their debt.  The main character, a boy, manages to evade capture.  Ten years later, now a young man, the main character enters a bar and is given a list of options that will define him.

Sail on the open seas across the Caribbean Islands.  Navigate your way through different areas from towns to pirate havens.  The wind controls the speeds and navigation.  Just like on the real oceans, clouds passing overhead indicate barometric depressions, which have storms at their center.  Powerful winds pose a threat to any ship.  Reefs and shoals also pose a danger if too close to the islands.  Player ships can suffer hull damage or run aground.

Through the game, plunder ships for food and other supplies, which can be sold at different prices in different towns, and can shift in value over time.  Areas will pay more if it is in demand, like isolated settlements.  Using the funds at port, players can then repair and upgrade their ship.  Depending on their reputation in the towns, repairs can be cheaper, and eventually they will be free.

Naval battles are common.  Players have the options of switching their flagship, and control a fleet to engage the enemy.  Wind again plays into account of how to position your guns for firing.  The trick is to outmaneuver your ship while engaging the enemy.  Players can board the ship to avoid damaging an enemy vessel and make it their own.  Specialist crew on the enemy ship will join the players once defeated.  Some of the captured forces may be inclined to join your ranks as well.  Aside from naval battles there is also a sword fighting mini-game where players fence off against an opponent leader in one-on-one combat.

Take a little history lesson with nine historical pirates.  Each bears his own flag, and are considered some of the most dangerous in the game.  Once a player defeats one, his plunder and ship are acquired.  Such famous buccaneers include Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Black Bart Roberts.

Engage in epic sea battles

35. Assassin’s Creed II

During the Renaissance, Ezio’s family is ensnared in a political plot, resulting in the hanging of his father and brother.  Following his father’s final words, he finds the Assassin tools and flees the city with his mother and sister to the countryside.  Ezio then embarks on a mission, hoping to discover the people behind the conspiracy.

Silent.  Deadly.  Take on the mantle in this open world environment as you freely roam across the fifteenth-century Italian cities like Venice, Florence, and Vatican City.  Hook up the Animus system and gain abilities like Eagle Vision, which can identify a specific person or location from far away.  Interact with NPCs by throwing money on the ground to distract some people while you carry a corpse.  A day and night cycle has been added, give a better sense of time, as well as certain missions and events can only be accessed during them.

The combat system has been revved up, now with the ability to disarm foes using counterattacks while unarmed.  Steal weapons, and follow up with an attack that can kill an enemy instantly.  While Generic swords and muskets are available for purchase from vendors.  Besides the tools of the trade, armor can be purchased as the game progresses.  Of course the game is all about stealth.  Use different methods on missions like parkour to the rooftops, stay hidden through the bushes, or blend in with the crowds.

Like the other games, historical figures are present in the game, including the great renaissance painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci.  One mission even includes a ride on a working design of his flying machine.

Face off against the Templars with swords and your skills