A decent, challenging sailing game!
The beginning is tedious - I found myself referring several times to a walkthrough for the Peter Blood storyline, however after you have passed that you can play in an open-world setting.
The graphics are good, especially during third-person sailing and the cannon fights look fantastic. Nothing better than entering a night setting to see tiny flashes of red off the horizon then moments later cannons thundering through the hull of your ship.
The gameplay is decent. The sword fighting really isn't that bad and on lower difficulty settings can be more casual. However there is no tutorial, so the learning curve is steep, and you'll find yourself referring to the controls in the pause menu quite often. Cannon fights are challenging and several factors need to be taken into consideration, such as the amount of crew you have, wind and supplies such as cannonballs.
Overall, it is a decent game. It certainly borrows from many games and although the graphics aren't exactly perfect and the controls are far from it, it provides a decent experience for people looking for a solid sailing-era game.