(This review will primarily be about the story and setting, as it's what I feel most qualified to talk about). I'm willing to suffer through a lot if a game offers a lot of fun storytelling and worldbuilding, and both this game and the first one offers it in spades. Throughout, you get the sense that your character isn't just a generic placeholder, but the story of an actual individual person. So, if you liked the writing in the first one, the second has things up to par as well. This game's story isn't as dire and, dare I say, depressing as the first one's is. I liked both, don't get me wrong, but the tone is distinctly different. (Though at this point, I'm tempted to just let the factions all go hang because of their endless bickering.) Also, no backer NPCs or gravestones, a much prettier landscape, and awesome music help this game feel more immersive than the first. One downside: The accents. You might get annoyed with the fake-Southern and fake-Italian accents pretty quickly, as I did. At least the game does you the courtesy of translating some of the Vailian for you. TL;DR: You get to hunt pirates and unleash witty retorts every step of the way. What more do you want?
