"A truly great game that lives up to its high expectations."

When the original Pirates came out, I did not play it for it was too complex for my three year old self. Now that Pirates is remade, I can't wait to get my hands on it, and I am glad to say that it manages to keep up to the high expectation I have.

Story: 8/10
Well, really there's nothing much in the story. Just that I did not expect it to have a story at all. It all began ten years prior to the start of the game, where your family was having dinner together. Then this evil guy came along and took your family way, to be used as slaves. You however refused to comply and ran away. Ten years later, you began your journey for revenge.

Graphic: 9.5/10
Maybe I am a bit lenient here but I am not really fussy about graphics. The game is colourful and the characters look real. There is only one problem to the graphic that I can find, and that is with the governor's daughter you will meet. I mean some of them are labeled as attractive and yet they look horrible. In fact, some of the ones labeled plain look better than the attractive ones.

Also the cutscenes are repetitive, and some people might begrudge against it. I don't really mind but I would love to see more varieties to them.

Sound: 9/10
Not the best music around but it suits the game and does succeed in creating a feel to it.

Gameplay: 10/10
Gameplay for many people is the most important factor in deciding whether a game is good or not. And this is where Pirates shine out the most, with its many different varieties of play.

Firstly there is the battle. And again this divided into three types. Firstly it is the ship battle, where you maneuver your ship and shoot cannons at the opponents ship. As you damage the opponent's ship more and more, it will lose its crews and it will make it more likely for them to surrender. Eventually, the ship will sink - not a good thing. Secondly, is the duel, and this is initiated when your ship collide with another (it can also be initiated by other events but this should be the most common way). Here, you use your keypad to control your decision, such as jump, high, low or middle cut and so on. Duels tend to be relatively easy, but for some reason it is fun and addictive. The last type of battle is done when you want to loot a city. This battle is similar to a turn based tactic game (think FFT) but of a much simpler design. This is the least fun of all the battle types, but it is a welcome variation.

Then there is the courting of governor's daughter. This involves a long process. One of the most difficult and irritating (for me) is the dancing. This is similar to DDR, where you press certain keypads according to the signs. This is also the first step to getting the girl, as well as an important step in advancing your relationship. I will not go into the details about the other types, cause they are simple: giving gifts, dueling a rival, rescuing your maiden and marriage.

Then there is the stealth game. This is initiated when you are defeated in ship battle and out in prison, or if you want to enter a hostile city. In this type, you basically sneak your way out of the city.

Then there is the political and economical manipulation. Many of the decisions you make can affect the politics between the 4 nations: Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and France. For instance you will be asked to escort ships with peace treaty or declaration of war (they will most likely get destroyed if you do not escort them). Then pirates and Indians will ask you which city is easiest to go after. Then there is the abbot asking you to help bring immigrants to cities, helping the economy. Escorting new governor to a city will also help boost their economies, and affect prices. Then there is your decision on which ship to loot. For instance, both France and the Netherlands are at war with all the other 3 nations. If you choose to loot only English, Spanish and pirates, the French and Dutch will promote you, and this will bring about benefits (such as free ship repair and upgrade at all the country's port)

Overall: 10/10
This is of course a weighted average, with most weighting on gameplay. This game is very interesting and has very high replay values. It seems that once again, Sid Meier has outdone himself.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/04