Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC)

Ahoy there shipmates and splice the main brace, we set off for treasure and adventure on the high seas at sunrise, once I have.. ahem.. installed and configured this here piece of eight... Sorry to get carried away but the welcome return of Sid Meier's Pirates to the PC has really got me caught up both in nostalgia for previous Pirate editions and the vogue for pirate themed books and movies. Those of you who remember the original Pirates in vibrant EGA graphics on the PC and Amiga will feel right at home as Mr Meier has made the wise decision to tweak gameplay but not to fix anything that is not broken. You take to the high seas with a world of ...  Read the complete review

Note: I'm aware this is a long review, but there’s so much to this game it’s the only way to do it justice. To help you out, I’ve split the review into the following sections: The Game, Morale, Locations, Swordfighting, Attacking Towns, Treasure Maps, Escort Missions, Family, Dancing Subgame, Graphics, Music, Controls, Gameplay, Lastability and Conclusion. The Game The basic idea could not be simpler: you have a ship and want to make your fame and fortune. If you really want to, you can do this the honest way, buying goods cheaply in one port, and selling it for a high another. But hey, where’s the fun in that? The game’s called Pirates for goodness sake! ...  Read the complete review

Pirates! by Sid Meiers was one of the defining computer games of the 8 / 16-bit era and is still one of my favourite games of all time. As the years went by, other pirate sims came and went - but none could match the deceptively simple yet completely compelling open-ended gameplay of the original MPS Labs game. Pirates Gold failed to really capture the spirit of the first game, Cutthroats was a good attempt but ultimately failed to be much fun, Sea Dogs had real potential but was buggy as hell. The throne for best pirate game was left vacant, no heir was found to Pirates!. Until a new game came along. And that game was: ...  Read the complete review

There are not enough pirate games out there. The mystery and lure of the pirate's life has an allure that I find absolutely enthralling. To sail endless seas, the thrills of battle, the euphoric rush of gains or soul crushing crunch for a failure which entails your death. Either immediate or by hanging later. Sid Meier's tries to capture all of these energies in their title Sid Meier's Pirates. Taking the story from the eyes of a rich young youth who has his parents murdered by an infamous pirate, you vow revenge and command your own pirate fleet to seek him out and destroy him. Starting off with a tiny vessel that can barely hold off angry dolphin ...  Read the complete review

Ever since I first saw The Princess Bride I was fascinated with all things swashbuckling. Pirates! is a really fun game, and very slightly addictive. The story is as a young boy, an Evil Pirate called Marquis Montalban kidnaps your family, and the your wealth. You escape and swear to avenge your family. 10 years later you choose passage to the Carribean on either French, Dutch, Spanish or English Galleons. You then trade, pillage and plunder your way to to infamy. Its very playable with a couple of different mini - games. You have to dance with Govenors daughters in attempt woo them, get important information out ...  Read the complete review