But the economy and combat systems are pretty deep, lots of subtleties to get the hang of. Playing for free is also totally viable, and if you find a way to make enough gold you can turn it into game points through the auction house (which you would otherwise have to buy).
I thoroughly enjoy this game, pretty good community on Antigua from what I've seen. Most fun if you have a friend to play with, like most games.
A final note, the missions are actually for the most part really well done. There are a lot of simple ones, but many more that add at least a bit of a different element to them. The dialogue is all well written, which helps keep things believable and engaging.
All in all, if you enjoy the ship combat (the sword stuff is meh), and will have fun getting the hang of it, an awesome game for free.