12.11.2010

After picking up the remake of Colonization after having loved the original and found the remake to be a disappointment, I was cautious about picking up another remake from the same people, this time of that other beloved original, Pirates! Remakes are a risky business as everyone knows. You can modernise and improve an old classic, or you can get it completely wrong and ruin it.Pirates somewhat defies genre classification. The main screen consists of a detailed map of the Caribbean in your chosen period, which your sail around in a period ship under your control. You can initiate sea combat with other vessels, and you can sail into ports where you can engage in more mini-games,such as sword-fighting games to defeat rival captains or complex dancing challenges to win the heart of a governor's daughter. The mini-games are a test of reflexes and hand-eye coordination (although they do affect the overall game and any progress you make in them is saved), whilst the overall game requires a strategic perspective to keep your crew happy, organise travel and supplies, and approach sea combats and city assaults with forethought and planning. Meanwhile, there is also an element of first person rpg, as in most of the game scenarios you play as a specific individual and collect specific missions to do with his personal history.However, you can pick and choose your missions and what kind of pirate your character is going to be - you can be a trader picking up inexpensive goods at one port and sailing round the Caribbean to sell them at a rich fortress for a tidy profit; you can be a militaristic patriot and try to conquer foreign cities for your home nation; you can be a specialised pirate-hunter seeking out the famed captains of the high seas to bring them to justice. Mostly, I found myself playing as a jack-of-all-trades adventurer, going where the missions took me and doing a bit of all of the above in the process. By this method it is possible to curry favour with all four nations in the game.Like the original game, the controls are amazingly easy to pick up, the interface as clear and simple as it can possibly get. You pretty much use the number pad for the entire game, pausing to access map, progress, and save screens as needed. This minimalist approach means the game couldn't be easier to jump into and play for any gamer. The principles of the game are basic, yet it produces a fun game. Obviously the graphics and other media have been updated for the remake. The sea and terrain receives detailed treatment to produce realistic effect on the overall main map - including reflective surfaces on the sea and tiny little dolphins who will swim in the wake of your ship. The game boasts suitably piratey music both for sailing on the main map, undertaking sea and land combat, and when you're in port.In comparison to some other games, the combat is fairly basic, but the inclusion of land battles does address a direct request from fans of the original, and the execution of these battles does require strategic thinking since the terrain does have an impact such as holding the higher ground and sneaking through jungle, and you can make tactical decisions such as executing flank attacks. The sea combats have more possibilities, since there are a whole variety of ships in this game which you can both come up against or play as, and in addition you can outfit your vessel with various upgrades.In the issue of replayability, I've got to say that the remake of Pirates is very good. Whilst its open-ended game play allows you to replay each game differently, at the same time there are short-term goals and objectives to complete, each of which contribute to a final score so that when your pirate gets tired of life on the high seas he can reap his rewards. You can play in several different pirating eras, and choose from a variety of skills, and difficulty levels which you can increase or decrease as you play the game. In addition, the basic premise and the ease of picking the game up, combined with the sheer child-like fun of playing at pirates makes replayability compelling because Pirates is always going to be simple, uncomplicated fun.4 out of 5, because the combat could be better, but overall a thoroughly fun remake.

1.7.2008

Sid Meier is a man who understands what makes a good game. A look at his list of credits will reveal many games that have now been labelled as classics - Civilization, Colonization, Gettysburg, Alpha Centauri, Railroad Tycoon and, of course, Pirates!The joy of Pirates is that it is a really simple gaming concept executed well. There gameplay is unpretentious, the graphics are attractive and the storyline is there for those who want it and can be ignored by those who do not. There are multiple measures for you to assess your success - whether it is the number of family members found, the amount of wealth accumulated or simply enemy pirates or ships defeated or scuttled.The mechanics of the gameplay are well-designed; duels are fast and exciting (though perhaps a little easy),

9.9.2007

I decided to buy this game based on a review on a website, and I am SO glad I did!From the moment you hear the salt-air tinged intro music, to the day you retire to some sunny colony, it's fun all the way.Some games expect you to earn your fun, forcing you to sit through hours of tedium until you get to do something that makes you grin, but Pirates is NOT one of those games; within minutes you're terrorising towns, boarding barque's, digging for buried treasure and dancing with governor's daughters.The only limitations are time and the goals you set yourself. Do you want to be the most notorious pirate? The richest? The discoverer of lost Inca cities? A landowner? The choices are almost endless!Sure,

18.11.2007

This is a really fun game, you live the life of a pirate - swashbuckling, looting, dueling, pillaging and "arr"ing in a non-linear bucket of fun! It combines strategy, character development... a bit from every genre of game and it is so well executed.The main portion of the game is spent sailing at see, battling enemy-nation ships (and pirates arrr!)and is an over-head view controlled by the number pad. The main selling point for me is the way you carve your fame and fortune - battling pirate ships, recruiting a crew... searching for buried treasure.It's not very similar to anything else out there it encourages you to play as you want... I give this game 5 stars and I really mean it (I haven't played anything this good since fallout!).

13.10.2007

Ok, so I may be a little biased having spent the majority of my younger years playing the original version of Pirates! on my old Amiga, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this updated version has somehow managed to be even better.As the title would suggest, Pirates! puts the player in the role of a privateer sailing the Caribbean in search of his long lost family, an evil villain and, of course, lots of loot and plunder. The quests are really more guidelines than rules, which is what I always loved about this game - you can do exactly what you want whether it's serving your chosen nation in the war, chasing other pirates and criminals, digging up buried treasure or sacking towns and wooing governors'

10.12.2010

If you don't want to spend the cold winter hours sailing the Carribean seas, building a fleet, amassing a fortune, saving relations, winning the affection of fair ladies, defeating your foes while ascending to the dizzy heights of dukedoms, then perhaps Pirates is not for you. The game is well paced and exciting and has that "oh, alright just a little bit longer" element. There are some niggles (hence not 5 stars). Occasionally your ships become entangled on the shore and it is sometimes impossible to sail off. This can be very frustrating if you become too engrossed in the adventure and didn't remember to save the game frequently. Other than that,

8.2.2008

I bought this game based on my enjoyment of ye olde game: Colonization, which I thought was also fantastic stuff.This is the kind of game that keeps you playing even when you know you should be doing other things like eating or going to sleep. The mechanics of the game are such that all it takes is practice and you will be able to bring down any villainous pirate in close combat, or win the heart of any governors daughter in the ball-room.If you like treasure, sword fighting and "honorable pirates" then you'll enjoy this game, and when you've played it once you'll probably want to go back again and do it better!If you use an ATI graphics card set the CCC 3D setting to performance and hope the

23.11.2011

Due to a recent error on my part and seeing as i cannot rerate OBseller the seller of this game then i am prepared to rerate them here for job well done and give them 10/10 for packaging and very good service they are very quick to rectify any problems with any product that they sell with a no questions asked basis and i personally thank them very much.If you are into pirate gaming then this one is a must for an old game it runs on windows7 64bit with no problems what so ever and you dont need it to run in compatibility mode either unlike some older games that was out at the same time as this game.Its fun and you certainly lose track of time when playing this game lol.Maybe the makers of this

24.2.2009

If you want to live the life of a pirate without getting your feet wet, you could do worse. There's hours of fun sailing around, capturing ships, and collecting treasure. I'm not so keen on the dances with the governor's daughter or the sword fighting system in the game though, but they can be kept to a minimum on easy level. Maybe I'm past my best gaming years but the difficulty goes up rather quickly if you select even the 2nd lowest difficulty.It can get a bit repetitive but you can try out different play styles, or concentrate on different goals.

21.3.2008

Having played, and loved, Microprose's Pirates for the Commodore 64 many moons ago I got this Sid Meier version for the PSP as its basically the same. It's a good game on the PSP, it's an even better one on the good old C64 due to the fact that the game came with maps of the caribbean and a manuel that filled you in on the historical background of the period of the game. Hopefully the PC version should include this, if it does get this game. It'll have you cruising around the high seas all day long guranteed!

24.2.2008

If you only ever buy 1 game in your life with 'Pirates' in the title, make sure its this oneI had pirates on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Pirates Gold on the PC by Microprose, but this is by far suprior, Sid has done an awesome job remaking this classic game. Buy it now! You'll be talking like a pirate in no time! Yarrr!!

16.2.2011

I Played this game in Cyprus and got hooked on it, when I returned to the UK it was one of my first purchases. It was as cheap as chips as I had expected to pay 6 times as much. Another added bonus is that you can rename the captured ships after swear words, it makes me smile when the ships I capture are mentioned. What a kid eh!

24.1.2008

A Pirate needs a patch and I needed a patch from manufacturers before being able to play. But it was really worth it .As a pensioner I am having a great time cruising all those places I can`t afford to go to. I love the escape from town sequences and my sword play is improving daily.

24.10.2007

This is a fantastic game. Great mix of strategy and arcade style fighting (and dancing :) ). It really is quite addictive and atmospheric - you can almost smell the salt and gunpowder in your nostrils.Highly recommended!

28.9.2018

Simple and entertaining as you fight,plunder and seduce your way across the Caribbean. What more could an old sea dog wish for?P.S. Very loosely based on my life as a Pirate... you think I'm joking?

Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) - Reviews

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