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Lost weekend

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 30
Date: December 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just lost two days on this game, I love it that much!

I was a big fan of Civilization III, so I was curious to see what Sid would come up with this time. He didn't disappoint.

You are a young lad and your family gets kidnapped by pirates, so you sign on with either a spanish, british, french or dutch crew --- and much like that Gilligan's Island song; the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. After being beaten and abused by a horrible captain, the crew mutinies and puts you in charge.

You sail into the caribbean looking for lost family, battle enemy ships and fortune (hidden pirate treasure).

You can flirt with the governor's daughters and woo them with jewels, but you have to learn how to dance properly first (I'm hopeless at that).

Sea battles are neat because you can either pummel your enemy with a barrage of cannon fire (with various types of cannon fodder from grape shot, to chain to cannon balls), and watch your enemy sink. Or you can sail close to the enemy ship, board it, and fight the captain of that ship, winning what's stored on the ship as a price if you defeat the captain. But be careful, get too old and your moves are slower and you could wind up defeated and in jail on a local island. However, if you have enough money, you can bribe a guard and escape. If you don't, after a period of time you can try to sneak out of town to escape.

That's just the elemental part of this game. You can go up against notorious pirates by chasing them down and defeating them -- usually with a great sum of gold stored on their ships as a reward.

You can buy helpful additions for your boat at various towns -- each town seems to have its own specialty in boat upgrades -- or visit the tavern and talk to the mysterious man in the back, who often has something to sell you.

Each time you defeat an enemy ship of whatever team you signed up with, you are awarded rank and often land parcels on that island. But you can also be awarded rank and parcels of land with other countries -- it's up to you and how you sail and conquer.

What's really amusing is that when you defeat a particularly fierce enemy and you sail away, you can hear your fellow pirates sing merrily an old pirate dirge.

Watch your crew though, if you don't divide up the amassed treasure in a timely manner, they'll mutiny. And every time you divide up the treasure, you get a paltry sum, and are left with one boat -- even if you managed to gather five or six in your conquests.

If you woo one governor's daughter enough times (by dancing and giving her gifts, rescuing her from pirates, etc...) you can marry.

I've just started playing the game, and that's what I've discovered so far ... I'm eager to get back to it, even now.

BUY THIS GAME! And then say goodbye to your loved ones for a couple of days while you become consumed by it.

Why You'll Lose Your Job, Your Wife And Your Life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 20
Date: December 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Sid Meier's Pirates is the most addictive game I've ever installed on my hard drive. It has truly taken me into a back alley and gone through my pockets, which is rather appropriate for a pirate game! More on why it's so poor for one's personal productivity in a moment....

One thing to understand upfront. This is a remake of the classic Pirates from yesteryear. The game is a kid-friendly, romanticized version of what it was like to live life as a pirate in the 17th Century Caribbean. You plunder ships, ransack towns, trade goods, duel with swords, dance with maidens, steal buried treasure, rescue your long-lost family and more. You do this while maintaining a ship (or fleet of ships) and crew. It's a genre crossing roleplaying-adventure-action-strategy game.

All of the previously mentioned activities are actually mini-games within Pirates. The games are over pretty quickly which means there is always something else fun to do. And that's where time enters a black hole. I've constantly found myself saying, "Oh, I'll just do one more thing." One or two hours later I'm still at it. So much for getting anything else done around the house. Waking up in the morning to go to work is difficult after doing "one more thing" over and over again until the wee hours of the morning!

Eventually, your pirate character ages to the point of becoming ineffective. (Skills diminish starting at the age of 30.) At this point, you retire him and the game calculates what life in retirement will be like based on your character's fame and accomplishments during his pirating years. Then, it's time to start over with a new character. Gameplay with one character can last anywhere from 5 to 15 hours.

Granted, the game can be repetitive, but it never stops being fun. Plus, it's very easy to learn. (Don't let the 150 page manual spook you.) Even the interface is remarkably simple. Underneath the easy learning curve is a great deal of depth which allows for a completely open-ended experience. You control how you want your character to live out his pirate career. Your actions have consequences--particularly at the higher skill levels. Some gamers may find that Pirates is too easy on the default mode, but everytime you end a cruise and divide the plunder (to keep your crew happy), you have the option of going up a difficulty level when you start your next cruise. Sword duels will be more difficult, you'll have to factor wind much more into ship-to-ship attacks, etc. However, your share of the plunder after each cruise grows in relation to your skill level.

Sid Meier's Pirates is one of the better games to come out in 2004--a superb year for PC gaming. I can strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to have fun playing a lighthearted computer game. Since it gives the pirate life a glamorous, reasonably non-threatening spin, parents can feel confident buying this for their kids (while enjoying it themselves!) Sid Meier's Pirates is rated "E"--for everyone, and that's pretty much who will enjoy it!

So many games within a game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Sid Meier has come up with another in a long list of absorbing games that take over your life and leave you imagining yourself plotting your fortunes on the high seas. Dancing is fun and quite straight forward once you learn to read the hand movements. Swordplay can be tricky, trying to read your opponent and counter appropriately. And sailing around capturing ships and plotting profitable trade routes is action adventure fun. Along with that are a whole bunch of quests to attempt. Overall, I love this game as it truly has a an easy inital learning curve but with whole depths that require time to master the different features.

IF YOUR HAVING PROBLEMS RUNNING THE GAME READ THIS!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 12
Date: January 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

WHEN I FIRST GOT MY COPY OF PIRATES, I COULDN'T RUN THE DAMN THING. IT JUST KEPT SHUTTING DOWN ON ME. I WAS TOLD BY TECH HELP TO TURN THE WORLD DETAIL, ALL THE WAY UP AND NOW THE GAME RUNS SMOOTHLY. THIS IS BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST GAMES I'VE PLAYED IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. BUY IT NOW.

about time someone did it right

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: May 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ya just got to love a game that is as good as the first one. yeah some of the problems with the first on are still there part of that is the realism. Well worth the money. It is one game that I actually like to go back and play over and over.

Awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: March 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I played the original Pirates way back in the day and hoped this one would live up to the old one. It has! Pirates is absolutely fun. The game mixes new graphics and keeps the simplistic fun of the old game. Really fun. You can trade, plunder towns, find buried treasure and lost cities. The game is not linear at all, you can do what you want when you want. Very fun offline game.

Very Fun Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 19
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I loved the original game.

Here are my thoughts:

- This feels like the original. Has more options.
- This game is uncomplicated, so easy to play or learn.
- "Dancing" isn't so bad, has rewards, and can be skipped.
- Sword fighting feels like the original. On harder levels
the 3 attacks and 3 defenses become more important.
(you basically strike and push, or get struck and pushed
until you or the enemy captain hits a wall, water, fire)
- This game is VERY fun to play.

It isn't a FPS, nor strategy or RPG, so what makes it fun?
- Rank awards, fame setting and lifetime achievements
- Daughters giving gifts and info
- Looking for treasure
- Taking over other ships, great fun fighting sea battles
- Sailing wherever you want, whenever you want.

Lovers of the original will get what they think they'll be getting. New comers will enjoy it. The replay will earn the price of this game. Sid Rock!!

Best open-ended strategy/sim ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 56
Date: July 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This may be a little premature, since this game won't be released until Nov. 14th, 2004. All speculation aside, I can't begin to calculate the number of hours I spent playing 'Pirates!' on the NES and its sequel, 'Pirates! Gold,' on the Sega Genesis. It was simply one of the most engrossing games I have ever played, and upon hearing of a new Pirates! for 2004, I think I actually started salivating. This is great news for all fans of this seminal game. If you've never played either title, rectify this terrible oversight in your gaming experience immediately. I think you'll be joining me and thousands of rabid fans in counting down the days until Nov. 14th! What made this game great was its open-ended gameplay. Go anywhere, anytime in "real-time" accompanied by great "Bounding Main" music (which I hope they incorporate in this newest incarnation). Your charcter ages, and that's about as linear as it got. Get rich/(in)famous/powerful before you get old and die. Kind of like real life. A Pirate's life, anyway! ARRRRHHH, MATEY!!! Welcome aboard!

Saves me from breaking out my old Commodore 64

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 37
Date: June 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This was, unquestionably, my favorite Commodore 64 game. In my early teens I played it repeatedly. In retrospect it may have been a little repetitive. Sail here, sail there, sword fight, etc. etc. Still, I'm looking forward to reliving the experience. Plus, anything that Sid Meier actually had a hand in is going to be a great game.

Same Great Game play as the Original with lots of minor improvements

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Fans of the original will readily recognize the game play of the newest Pirates. Relatively little has changed in terms of game play but there are many new features and upgrades. The most obvious difference is of course the graphics, which far surpass the twenty year old graphics of the original. The new version also has some new options. Now, you can upgrade your ship with such things as cotton sails and bronze cannons. There are a total of nine upgrades. In addition, you can capture specialized crewman such as cooks and gunners from other ships there are eight crew specialists in the game. These make you a better fencer, sailor or even help you win a lady's heart. Perhaps the best part of the new game is the special items you can collect. There are 34 unique items you can collect for a price.
Like the original you search for lost members of your family. You also get the opportunity to hunt down the evil Marquis to his secret hideout and avenge your family honor. Also you can still find buried treasure but now they belong to one of the nine greatest pirates. Hunting down the great pirates such as Blackbeard is another part of your task. Winning the favor of a governor's daughter has become more complex. You must now dance at the ball and do a number of other tasks to win the fair ladies hand. At first, dancing is fun but when you get invited to every ball it becomes rather tedious. When you attack cities you no longer sail in and then fight the guards. Instead you must engage in a land battle with the exception of a few cities that don't have a fort. In addition to cities there are now settlements, Indians, pirate havens, and Jesuit missionaries with which you can trade and go on missions. You receive pirate points or fame points like the original but here there is a very clear breakdown, which you can check at any time to see your progress. Overall, the game is extremely fun and addicting especially to those who played the original and like the original it offers endless playability, as no two games are the same.

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