Take to the high seas in mobile MMO Raft Pirates

If you're like me, you wouldn't immediately associate the concept of a massively multiplayer online game with combat on the high seas, but that's what Big Blue Bubble and 6waves had in mind when they partnered to develop and release Raft Pirates on iOS. Raft Pirates will see players take to once peaceful waters as they work to gather treasures, resources, and weapons before their enemies can gather them first.

Starting with a small raft, players will be able to gather up to 33 different weapons, search for items to upgrade their rafts, fight bosses in five different in-game zones, and even battle players while they're actively playing the game and while they're away. That's right, Raft Pirates looks to be a challenging experience, as you'll need to be constantly prepared for anything, and must leave your crew in a safe state before leaving the game, or else risk getting attacked while you're away.

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-178813%

Raft Pirates will contain multiple currencies, allowing players to purchase items like Diamonds or Gold in order to upgrade their items faster than they would be able to "for free." The more upgrades players collect, the more dice they'll earn. Each battle's momentum can shift on a dime, as the higher the roll of the dice, the more damage you'll deal to your opponent and vice versa.

Raft Pirates will be free to play, and will be released on iPhone and iPad on February 21. The game will be released soon for Android, and cross-platform play will hopefully accompany that Android release. We'll have a complete review of Raft Pirates when the game launches later this month, so stay tuned!

Are you excited to try Raft Pirates on iOS? What do you think of the concept of a pirate-based MMO? Sound off in the comments!