Combatsim.com has reported that the latest patch for Age of Pirates: Caribbean Takes, v1.45, is now available for download from Gamer's Hell as well as Worthplaying. Here's the patch description from Combatism.com:

This v1.5 patch improves performance and stability, overhauls and redesigns game interfaces, item and quest generator have been made more efficient, modders can now edit most of the scripts and create entirely new quests and maps, change interfaces to their liking, and give the game a whole new look. 61.9 MB

A v1.43 patch is available for Akella's Age of Pirates.  Here's the word according to Worthplaying: "This v1.43 patch opens scripts for modding, fixes to interface and FMOD sound system library, items/quest generation updated and more ..."

Where Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales falls down is in providing and engaging storyline to back up the strong gameplay. We all know that RPGs can be incredibly repetitive as you build up your character through battle after tedious battle, but often what keeps you going is an immersive world populated by colorful, believable characters and emotional drama with epic themes. Without these things, an RPG is just a statistical machine with pretty graphics. The flimsy plot and dialogue lack of any real interaction and make for a quickly drab and functional experience of repeating actions without the reward of story. If you played Akella's original release, then there is little here for you aside from the updated visuals. If you didn't, and you absolutely must play everything pirate, then Age of Pirates is worth a look, but you'll need a lot of patience and a tolerance for doing things over and over again.

A fairly upbeat review of Age of Pirates is up at Gameworld Network with a score of 75%:

One of the most apparent parts of Age of Pirates is the time and effort that the developer took to try and capture the true feel and look of the pirate atmosphere. Everything from the mysterious buried treasure storyline to the loading screens is designed to drag you kicking and screaming into a world where powdered wigs and swords rule. Unfortunately it seems as though the developers were only given time to develop the image and feel of the game, as many other features of the game are slightly flawed.

A trio of new Age of of Pirates reviews are up, with two saying Akella's latest pirate title misses the mark, while one disagrees. Let's head to Yahoo! Games, with a score of 2.5/5:

Confusingly, Akella's Age of Pirates traces its history from 2000's Sea Dogs, by way of its follow-up Pirates of the Caribbean, which was Sea Dogs 2 in all but name. In a way, then, Age of Pirates is Sea Dogs 3.Confused yet? None of the series has been very well received, and the same is unfortunately going to be true of this one. Although blending RPG concepts with tall ship combat and building up a Caribbean empire of honest (or not so honest) buccaneers is a great idea, this game misses the boat.

...and then to GamingExcellence (thanks Blue's), with a score of 5.9/10:

Developed by Akella, the creators of the acclaimed pirate simulations Sea Dogs and Pirates of the Caribbean, Age of Pirates is the latest in their long line of pirate-themed games. It runs off of their new STORM engine, and is visually impressive to say the least. Unfortunately, we can only hope that this will be they're last pirate game; although the concept of the game is great, the execution (and probably market for the title) are mediocre at best. This is definitely one of those games players will want to like, but will have to try exceedingly hard to actually appreciate. Also, after this many games about pirates, it’s about time we saw something new and fresh from this development house.

...but IGN quite likes it and awarded 7.9/10:

Before getting into specifics, let's be clear: regardless of the story, regardless of the graphics, regardless of absolutely anything else in this review, Age of Pirates will live and die by how much you like its gameplay. And personally, we found the gameplay of it extremely likable and pleasing.

The "deeper" concept sounds like gaming gold: your individual pirate has a series of stats and skills relating to swordplay, naval tactics, navigation, etc. You'll handpick a crew with their own skills and abilities, assigning each to fulfill individual roles on your ship. Even your fleet can be customized, outfitted with different hulls or cannons, supplied with an assortment of ammo, flying flags of your choice. Naval battles put you right on the deck of your vessel, trying to get the weather gage on your opponent, loading and firing broadsides in a fairly deep naval simulation. But the lofty promise of the game, like so much pirate treasure, remains buried under a poor implementation. All of the above elements are in the game, but jammed into a clunky interface, and spaced out between plodding and sometimes frustrating gameplay. Age of Pirates isn't a total wash -- it's certainly a good-looking game -- but only the most patient of players will be able to overlook the many flaws.

Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales, a sort of unofficial sequel to the recent Pirates of the Caribbean game (itself a renamed sequel to Sea Dogs ), is a Jack Sparrow of all trades. It just can't seem to get the individual elements up to the basic level even generic genre titles can manage, let alone master them.

Part island vacation, part RPG and part empire builder, it seems like the pirate's life could be reasonably fun for a while. Sure, the missions never get more interesting than bare bones escort and trading exercises, but you earn experience with each colorful trip across the sparkling sea, slowly building up stats like Leadership and Trading while adding special abilities like Windcatcher to improve your seafaring. Eventually you'll hire officers to help plunder wayward vessels and piss off entire nations.

Pirates have been a staple in cross-genre games for years. They sailed the digital seas of titles such as Sea Dogs, Sid Meier's Pirates, and the Monkey Island series, to name a few. Yet all too often developers get caught up in recreating the mythos and don't pay enough attention to the actual gameplay; while the worlds and characters are portrayed in a genuine and authentic manner, it didn't always add up to an entertaining experience. At times, Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales strays dangerously close to the same troubled waters but ultimately manages to right the ship with some interesting design elements and tons of swashbuckling action.

You'll play as a ship captain with various role-playing-game-style statistics, skills, and abilities, such as trading, fencing, and navigating, among others. You'll be able to hire a crew of officers (such as steersmen, cannoneers, and others) from various taverns, who can provide bonuses to your skills as long as you keep them on the payroll (running out of money and/or food while on the high seas is a good recipe for a messy mutiny, otherwise). Your own character will gain experience levels, or ranks, which net you more skill points to spend. And over time, you'll also increase your character's fame rating, which lets you access the tougher missions given by the governors of the various Caribbean islands.

With the pending theatrical release of the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, it's no surprise that this year brings an influx of pirate-based games to all of our favorite platforms. From handhelds to consoles to the PC, they're everywhere. It's also no surprise then that Akella, who seem to have the high seas under their control with an extensive library of pirate games, are showing us the latest builds of two games based on this common theme. Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales and Age of Pirates: Captain Blood were both on display at the Playlogic booth this year at E3; we take a look at the former, a mix of the RPG and action/adventure genres that allows players to make their own choices regarding the gameplay and its outcome.