Sea Dogs

Akella Multimedia's Sea Dogs has experienced some difficulties in getting to where it is today. The game was originally entitled Corsairs, but the company was forced to change the game's name when copyright disputes arose with French developer Microids SA over its game of the same title. Akella changed the name to Sea Dogs and has since stuck with it.

Sea Dogs will be a pirate-themed role-playing game. Instead of commanding a party of adventurers, you'll take command of a crew of pirates who will explore the high seas as freelancers, or in service to a particular country. Should you decide to serve a certain country, you'll be able to drop your affiliation with that country immediately - but you shouldn't expect them to be too happy about it. In the meantime, you can search for battles on the high seas or on dry land, seek out hidden treasure, capture enemy installations, and more.

Sea Dogs will allow players great freedom in terms of the way they play the game. According to lead designer Dmitry Arkhipov, "[Akella] wanted to let players experience the game any way they wanted. If you want to follow a more structured storyline, you can do that. But you can also sail off on your own and do whatever you want any time you want."

The game will feature a high-resolution 3D graphics engine that provides advanced water effects, highly detailed scenery, and weather effects - such as wind and sea turbulence - that will definitely and immediately influence your ships and their sails.

Could Sea Dogs be the true successor to Sid Meier's classic strategy game Pirates? You'll be able to see for yourself this fall, when Sea Dogs is scheduled for release.