E3 2011: Raven's Cry First Look

During E3 2011, we stopped by TopWare and learned a little bit about its upcoming game, Raven's Cry. Being developed by the Octane group within Nitro Games, Raven's Cry is a 17th-century Caribbean pirate adventure.

Don't let the words "pirate" and "Caribbean" fool you into thinking that Raven's Cry resembles a certain popular movie franchise. The characters and environments, presented from an isometric perspective, looked grim and realistic.

You play as Christopher Raven, a man whose family was butchered by pirates. Those same murderers also took his left hand, leaving him with a hook. As Raven, now himself a pirate bent on revenge, you will engage in hack-and-slash combat, ship navigation, and ship battles as your adventures take you across the Caribbean. We weren't able to get any hands-on time with the game, but we learned that it will offer co-op play and that throughout the story you can make decisions that affect how your character develops. For instance, earning significant notoriety for your actions may enable you to strike fear into the hearts of people you encounter. Don't expect the moral choices to give you the opportunity to be a beacon of virtue, though. Raven is a pirate, and your decisions will typically be between two shades of gray, rather than between saintly goodness and diabolical evil.

After seeing it in action a bit, we're looking forward to getting some hands-on time with Raven's Cry and setting sail on the tumultuous seas of the 17th-century Caribbean. A violent and serious pirate adventure may make for a refreshing alternative to the more whimsical pirate stories that we tend to see in games and films. Raven's Cry is currently scheduled for retail release on the PS3, 360, and PC in June of 2012. We'll bring you more information on the game as it becomes available.