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Fun for the first weekend . . . but not much more

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: February 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Even though I wasn't one of the die-hards who played the original Pirates, I got swept into the magic of this game nonetheless. Indeed, it is highly addictive and entertaining for the first few days of steady playing. Going through the learning curve of acquiring the finer points of fighting, dancing, sailing, etc, is tons of fun. But after beating the game once or twice (which only takes about 6 hours), the novelty wears off.

The developers claim that you can play the game "however you want"--you can be a backstabbing maurader or a "peaceful trader." But most of these alternative lifestyles would leave you bored to tears, shuttling settlers and cargo around. So it really does leave you with one option--raid ships, find your lost family, find buried treasure, get rich, retire.

Even if you hike up the difficulty level the game gets repetative as you get bored of the same 5 activities repeated over and over again (sail, attach a ship, swordfight, attack a settlement, or dance). Even within one quest, you have to find the same set of 2 or 3 "bad guys" over and over again--up to 16 times!--in order to solve a complete quest.

But for that first wonderful weekend of play, this game is awesome!

Strike yer Colors!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: April 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay, I admit it. I am apt to buy anything with the words "Sid Meier's" above the title. Sid has always been the reason I enjoy owning a computer. His games are big, detail-oriented games that never run out of playability. I also like games about pirates. I bought both recent pirates games (this one and "Pirates of the Caribbean").

I got Sid Meier's Pirates yesterday, and it does not disappoint. It seemingly does not matter how much I look forward to owning a Sid game, I always get more than expected. I had read some reviews here, and thought it would be a struggle to keep the game running. I heard rumors of terrible bugs and unexplained behavior. I have another recent game from the same company. That other game is NOT running, these many months after I bought it. Pirates is running and running very well. I have not experienced any problems with it.

This game makes you a pirate, complete with a starter ship and a background story. You get to sail around to different ports, buying and selling merchandise. The manual tells me that you can choose to be peaceful and just buy low and sell high without any combat at all. I'll have to take their word for it. I did what I wanted to do, attacking ships with my cannons and captains with my sword. The game is beautiful eye candy with lots to do. It reminds me of a rich open-ended RPG. I didn't feel like I had to perform certain tasks in order to complete rigid scenarios. I was just out having funny, trying to build a name and wealth for myself. There are sea battles, land battles and impressive swordfights aboard ships. There are all sorts of characters with whom to interact, governors, pirates, barmaids, crew members, beautiful ladies, bartenders, merchants and even monks. There was everything I expected except rum. Oh well, my local AA group should be happy.

I was surprised that steering the ship and fighting the fights is done using the numeric keyboard. My Gamepad controller seemed like a better option. Everything is straightforward. There is almost no learning curve. It is easy to steer ships, fight, meet people and find trouble. Still, I'm hoping I will get to use a real game controller someday with this game.

I am 42 years old, yet I have been playing this game almost every second since I got it, as if I were a kid. Like other Sid Meier games, it's at least as addictive as rum. Some strange things I noticed were that nobody ever dies in the game, despite all the battles. If you lose swordfights, you end up in prison rather than the morgue. There is no blood and no death, which they probably did in order to get the E rating, that means its suitable for everyone.

One aspect of the game I don't truly understand has to do with fancy dance parties. Sometimes in order to get items or information you want, you end up trying to impress a governor's daughter on the dance floor. These sometimes beautiful and always shallow ladies are only impressed by your feet. You have to follow them step for step in proper time with the music. After quite a few dances, I got tired of this aspect. As a pirate, I'd rather kidnap the girl and force her to give me the items and info I want, or hold her hostage and threaten to send her pieces back to her daddy if he doesn't come through with items, info and big bucks. Dancing systems like a very un-pirate-like way to get what I want. Arggggg!

My problem is that I buy Sid Meier games, but I like to create my own games using scenario editors. I spent most of yesterday writing campaigns for Empire Earth before Pirates arrived. Would it have killed them to put a scenario editor into Pirates? I think not, especially since all kinds of neat modifications for the game are already available online.

I am enjoying this game very much. I just can't say enough good things about it. The game looks superb and plays very well. I even loved the manual, which was so entertaining that I read all of it, despite the fact that the game is so easy to play that I didn't need to read anything at all. It is just that well-written. Having said all that, if the expansion pack team is out there reading this review, please let use our gamepads, and please add multiplayer capabilities as well as a scenario editor.

Sid Meier's Pirates is truly a winner. Spectacular in every way. You will enjoy it. You will have fun with it, both now and for years to come. Anyone who doesn't find something to love here probably likes spreadsheets better than PC games.

A Great Classic Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game uses a good mix of the historical and the mythical to bring to life a time and place where Pirates abound. The progress of the game is entirely up to you. You can sail anywhere in the Caribbean fighting, saving, looting, or romancing whomever you wish, and it never seems to get old.

The sound really puts you at the helm, with creaking masts, fluttering sails, waves crashing, storms thundering, cannons pounding, piles of treasure clinking, and roars of laughter at the tavern. I happen to like the musical dancing scenes, as I am a fan of classical music.

The graphics are not special; after all, the game is mostly at sea and so you are looking at a few ships in a great expanse of water; but for what it is it does well. The only thing I wish for is more diversity in cut scenes and such; after a while they are a tad repetitive, although it does not take away from the quality of the game.

This reminds me of how games used to be: a theme that captures the imagination, simple to play, hard to put down, an expansive world to explore, and unlimited playing options.

PIrates is an outstanding remake of original !!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

For the past almost 20 years my all time favorite video game was the 1987 version of Pirates! Sid Meier was a genius to me. All that he ever created was just no comparison to original Pirates! Today I installed the game and 12 hours later, after playing this game all day long, I have to say the new version of the game is just about perfect. If you loved the old game then, you will love this game now. It's great. I was dubious about it, because of the lame Pirates Gold remake that came out years ago. This version is sublime! Go for it, especially with the reduced price now.

Very addictive, and really fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I gave my cousins Pirates! for Christmas, but, their computer needing repairs, they allowed me to borrow it. I loved it so much, I almost wouldn't give it back. I had to buy my own game to settle the long fights we had over it. It was THAT good.

The graphics are great, and so were the missions --- rescuing imprisoned relatives, taking my revenge on the bad guys, looking for buried treasure, etc. Keeping the crew happy was also challenging, not to mention dancing with governors' daughters (It's possible to dance really well once you listen to the music and stay alert.).

But the animation and movies were repetetive. Fighting on ships had only three or four different animations, which you could predict as you played more often. Everyone looks the same (except for different coloring), and every port has the same stuff.

But this is still really fun. I use a kitchen timer in front of my computer for Pirates! because I can't tell how much time passes when I'm playing!

Trader, Pirate, Pirate Hunter, you can be anything in this game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Avast me hearties, and welcome to my review of Sid Meier's Pirates!

When you first start a game in Pirates! you are shown a little movie showing you and your family having a feast or something, then the some guy comes in, and captures your parents. You, however, escape and run away. Then, ten years later, you get on a ship [Dutch, English, French, or Spanish] and set sail to do battle with that guy I mentioned earlier. But thankfully, you don't have to follow the story line, you can just forget all about your family and strike terror on the Caribbean as a bloodthirsty pirate, or you can forget your family and become a trader, or you can follow the story line. To those who decide to follow the story, it takes a very, very, very long time to do it. Personally I've never rescued my entire family. The best I could do was one or two. Basically the way you find a missing family member is you go to a bartender in the tavern, he'll probably tell you where this man named Baron Raymendo [I'm not sure how to spell it] who has a piece of a map leading to your family member, but to find him, you have to sail for who knows how long. In fact, you just might end up chasing the Baron for months, and when you finally do find the family member, you discover that they have been living in this extremely tiny cabin for over a decade.[I know, it's just weird right?] And then you repeat the cycle again, and again, and again. And another thing, your "pirate" doesn't look like a pirate at all! No eye patch, no parrot, no hat, no hook, not even a long, black beard for crying out loud! You can't even kidnap the governor's daughter! But don't get me wrong, this is a very good game. Now I'll tell you about the good parts.

When you engage in a naval battle you have two choices. Either you can simply blast the enemy ship to pieces with your cannonballs.[See you in Davy Jones's locker!] Or, you can board them and engage in a sword fight with the enemy captain.[Taste my steel!]
If you decide to blast them then you can use a variety of different cannonballs, here they are.
You can use the basic, normal, every-day cannonball. Perfect for destroying the enemy hull.
You can use the grape shot cannonball. Ideal for killing enemy crew.
And finally, last but not least, the chain shot cannonball. With this beauty you can destroy the enemy sails, thus rendering them totally helpless, [Ahh, what a life] and then you can finish them off at your leisure.[That part is always so fun]

When you board an enemy ship, you'll be shown a screen that gives you three types of swords to use. You can use the cutlass.[Strong defense]
You can use the long sword.[Moderate defense and attack]
Or you can use the rapier.[Weak in defense but strong in attack]

Then you have a duel with the enemy captain.[This is my favorite] You are shown a screen that shows you and the enemy captain standing on a the deck of a ship.[At least it usually does, the platforms vary] when you are sword fighting you will see several buttons, here they are.
For attack you have chop, slash, and thrust.
For defense you have duck, jump, and parry.
I'll give you an example, chop is a slash at the opponent's head. This is countered by duck, slash is an attack at the legs, therefore jump counters it. And parry counters thrust, although parry can work against anything, if you use parry to, say, a chop, you will be driven back but not as much as if the chop had hit you. A sword fight is won when one captain is driven a certain number of spaces.

But besides that, there's many other things you can do in Pirates! You can get promotions from a Gov. You can send pirates and natives to attack European colonies, etc. The point is, if you like pirate games and you can ignore the lack of "pirate'y-ness" then Sid Meier's Pirates! is for you!

A Pirates Life for Me!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Back in the day (before even my childhood) there was a great game created by Sid Meyers, the genius who crafted Civilization. It was called Pirates!, and combined ship to ship combat, swordplay, and resource management in a brilliant masterpiece much beloved. But times changed and people moved on and only the hard-core remembered...

In a bold move much to be encouraged (remake classic PC games! Where's my Wing Commander 1 and Tomb Raider 1 and Tie Fighter Collector's Edition with improved graphics?!), the classic game Pirates has been remade with 3D graphics, new game play modes, new music, and re-balanced gameplay.

Fans of great adventure flicks will look back fondly on The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood, stories where the rogue scoundrel is the romantic hero, robbing the rich and feeding the poor, in the end winning the fair damsel, the tower of loot, and the governorship all in one. It's great stuff, and other than this game, the only time I can recall that wonderful storyline being used in a game is the awesome PC classic air-combat game Crimson Skies (heck, the only movie I can think of that really is a throw-back to those classics is Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). All I can say is it's about time!

Like every Sid Meyer's game I've ever played, the beauty and elegance in the gameplay springs from the fact that the gameplay is at once incredibly simple and mind-bogglingly complex. To put it another way, you can do whatever you want, attain victory however you want, BECOME whatever you want.

Take the over world map for instance. Like the recent epic Rome: Total War, you have a giant map of all the key locations of the time, each one with it's own economy and set of rulers with a certain way of doing things. What this translates to is that certain places are worth pillaging, certain places are worth courting favor with, and certain places are going to be very dangerous to hang around in for too long. And just like Rome: Total War, you will have to spend a lot of time moving your unit (only one unit or groups of units in this case) from location to location in order to accomplish certain missions. Remember those senate missions in Rome: Total War? You get something similar here with transporting immigrants, peace treaties and new governors. And what is that like? Well, it's a lot like the gameplay of such ambitious games as Freelancer and Escape Velocity (the former being horrendously boring and the latter being the greatest shareware game ever made). You get a wonderful feeling of freedom and immersion in the world of the game, find great joy in just negotiating with everyone.

The world is a crucial element of all of Sid Meyer's games, because the interface is what connects everything, and it has to feel natural. This one does, but even so, it's the gameplay that will keep you playing. Oh, and what gameplay there is! First of all you control pretty much all of the real-time gameplay with the keyboard number pad. It may sound awkward to those who grew up on joysticks and game pads, but just wait till you try it! Controlling the ships is a breeze, you'll slice right through the sword fights and the dance game will have your fingers doing the waltzing. At first a little annoying to learn to control, once you get the hang of using the keypad for everything (actually you can use it to navigate menus too, and thus never have to lift your hand from the thing for hours at a time (how many games can claim that?)) you'll learn to love it.

These mini-games of dancing with girls, battling ships, and sword fighting opponents are incredibly old-school. They make one think back to the good old days of the Apple II and the Amiga, when you played everything with the keyboard and had the time of your life doing it (it's just so much fun!). It may not be the cup of tea of modern kids who think all games are first-person blood-sports, but for someone who grew up on the NES and an 11 MHz Macintosh, it sure feels good to return to gameplay like this.

Game play aside though, there is an amazing amount of depth that should go into your decisions of whether to engage in these simple mini-games (again that genius of simple yet complex). You don't want to take on a 40 gun Treasure ship and crew of 128 with a 2 cannon ship with a crew of less than 40! Likewise, it's not the greatest idea to engage in sword fights with big shot captains when you don't have any fencing upgrades... And of course your ship will be faster with a bigger crew and fight better, but it will also consume more food and when you divvy up the loot (what, you thought you could hold onto all of it yourself forever you silly goose?) there will be less left over for you.

That's what makes this a great game. True, there is great music (kind of like the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland), great graphics (look at the pretty water!) and a very well-balanced style of play. Heck, there's even a storyline for those who want it (REVENGE!). But ultimately it's all up to you? Want to raid towns (no time to describe that!)? Want to hunt for treasure or locate lost cities (likewise)? Want to just rove around dancing with every girl you find and blasting the heck out of ships loaded with Spanish gold? It's all up to you. Easy to play, impossible to master, and with more depth than the ocean. You'll find yourself playing into retirement, (What's the matter me hartey? Want to live forever?) trying to get a higher score and the dream life.

This is a great game. Another Sid Meyers masterpiece. But then, you probably knew that before I said a word, especially if you played this game for more than five minutes. God speed young adventurer, and keep the wind at your back and your eyes on the treasure!

I have been literally "wowed".

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off, after reading all those reviews of people's games not working, I don't know what the problem is. My computer is a 192mb ram, 1ghz processor, and it runs fine. Everything on my computer is literally out-dated yet it runs smoothly.

I won't go into details, but here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
-Extremely fun to play
-Lots of unique items to get
-Lots of quests, fights, and other things to do
-It's graphically nice. Not the best, but it is very good.
-Swordfighting is very fun... when you win all the time.
-Ship fighting is entertaining enough
-Very addicting
-Gameplay is awesome
-Can be run with a computer that's lower than the system requirements
-Your character ages with the game. His face gets more wrinkled and such. Adds realism, but could do without it.

Cons:
-Very little replay value.
-Swordfights are too easy. You can basically win every single fight you encounter
-When ship fighting, controlling your ship is very slow
-If fighting a ship carrying a govenor, it'll run away making the fight extremely boring
-Having to chase the same pirate to rescue your family is kinda stupid
-Walking on land is very boring because your men move too slow.
-Time advances too fast

Overall, get this game if you're looking for a good time. Just make sure all your drivers are up to date as well as your DirectX.

Repetitive but fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Pirates! does a lot of things right and a few thing wrong. The game is great fun, just like the older version, but the game can get very old very fast. The multitude of generic pirates and smugglers of the old game are gone. But in their place are only a handful of generic ones for the new version. Seriously, you'll find yourself chasing down the same 3 or 4 pirates to complete the main quest at least half a dozen times each. The fact is, the game almost screams at you to ignore the main quest and just go around collecting gold and bumping off famous pirates of legend, who are fun to battle, but have no real impact on the story.

In fact, there really is no story. There are a handful of family members that you need to rescue, and some lost cities to find. However, once you've saved your family and discovered all the lost cities for your third time, you'll start wishing there was more to the game than there is. I'm a game that loves nonlinear games that allow me to do whatever I want, but at least in this instance, I wish there was more for me to do. The game looks great and it's hard to go wrong with a game that lets you battle pirates on the high seas and look for buried treasure, but unfortunately, that's pretty much all there is to do in Pirates!. And it gets old fast.

I'd recommend a rental for the Xbox. There's great fun to be had with this game, as long as you don't expect too much of it and only need to invest about two or three days completing the main quest. Because once you've done that, that's it, folks.

Not as good as it could have been.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I played this game, and the original. And quite honestly I can say that it is a very good remake. There in lies the problem. It is a remake of a ground breaking game. Well guess what? Other companies have not been sleeping.

Any of the Port Royale games leave this game far behind as far as gameplay. And Pirate Hunter which was made in 2003 is pretty much the same game, and cheaper by now.

All in all I would look at the other titles mentioned before I would drop the coin for this game.

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