Pirates!

"The ORIGINAL Pirate Game"

Way back in 1987, A game called Sid Meier's Pirates! was made. 16 years, 4 presidents, and a few copycats later, Pirates! still endures. Why?

Story-

There is no story, per se. You are a pirate. You sail around and do pirate things. The game consists of your career as a pirate. You start as a lowly Sea Dog with a weak ship, and must work your way up. Will the story of your character's career end with him sitting in a Spanish jail for the rest of his life? Being Mutinied? Will he retire a wealthy nobleman? It depends on your performance. The story is yours to make or break. A story like this depends, of course, on your...

Gameplay-

You boot up the game (which has an annoyingly long loading time considering the measly graphics, but nothing too bad,) and are ready to begin your pirating career. You first select a time period and nationality. All have strengths and weaknesses, though I prefer British in the 1660's. You are then given a snippet about your life up to this point, and are ready to begin your career as a pirate! However, first you must answer some insanely stupid question about the Spanish Treasure Fleet, the answer to which is in the manual. So, you either 1) have the manual, 2)get the manual, or 3) guess. Eventually, you will head to sea and a life as a pirate. You essentially can do whatever you want as far as pirating goes. Capture ships & loot them, Capture towns & loot them, trade with merchants, etc. You, being a pirate, wish to amass personal wealth. You do this by privateering, as well as stealing and trading. Get a letter of Marque, attack a nations enemies, and you may get titles, land grants, etc. You may even marry a rich governor's daughter. You start out a dashing young man, but will soon deteriorate due to age and wounds. Eventually, you will either meet an unfortunate fate, or retire. If you retire, factors such as your money, land, tiles, reputation, health, and wife determine your happiness, as well as whether you live as a common criminal or a wealthy aristocrat. The number of options is limitless, and makes for an incredibly fun game. You do a lot of fighting, and because you can't fight what you can't see, you need...

Graphics-

Well, they're... very ugly. The game is from 1987. You have such robust graphics options as black&white, blue&white, and blue & red & brown & black & white. Nothing much here. What goes hand in hand with sight?

Sound-

Not so impressive here, either. Your cannons unleash a mighty broadside and you get... a bleep. Your thrust your rapier through your opponents heart and triumphantly defeat the evil Spaniard you get... a bleep. I generally mute my computer while sailing, it's that bad. A game might have playability, but does it have...

Replayability-

Incredible. This game lasts for a very, very long time. It lasts however long you want to play it, which will be a long time. Of course, the ultimate decider is the...

Fun Factor-

To be honest, Pirates! wouldn't seem so spectacular on the surface. It is horribly unrealistic, as massive battles between the forces of truth, justice, and the (insert hapless European nation here)way against yours come down to a one on one duel between you and the enemy commander. Always. It can be 95 vs. 1, and the 1 wins when he strikes down the enemy commander. This is hard, as numerical superiority and morale determine the difficulty of fights, but not quite impossible. Not to mention the fact that the sword battles in Pirates! have all the heroic scope and intensity of an afternoon at the DMV. Despite this, and many other irks, it all comes together beautifully. Pirates! has that special something which is hard to describe, yet is definitely present, and makes Pirates! one of the all time greats.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/20/03, Updated 07/20/03