"Sid Meier never fails to impress"

Sid Meier's Pirates! is the remake of a classic pirate strategy game by the same producer. As with Sid Meier's Civilization, Pirates was a game that aged far better than most other strategy games of its day. While Pirates never had quite the cult following that surrounds Civilization, it was equally as daring and interesting as the legendary Civilization series. Whether or not Sid Meier revitalized the game for nostalgia purposes is irrelevant; Sid Meier's Pirates is one of the best games on the market. There's simply so much to like about this game that it's hard to find any one particular feature that makes it so great. Obviously the core of any good game is the gameplay, and what makes Pirates so unique is that it blends action with strategy for a game that's unlike any other game on the market. Last year, Pirates of the Caribbean tried to copy the formula laid out by the original Sid Meier's Pirates, but failed. Why, then, is this one any different? Let's find out...

Graphics

They get the job done. Sid Meier's Pirates won't win any technical awards but it certainly boasts some impressive draw distances and facial expressions. Everything moves in a very lifelike manner, and the swordfights are choreographed to look authentic. The water looks fantastic (as it should) and oftentimes you'll be staring at the beautiful ocean more than your own boat. All that said, it's a good showcase of draw distance.

Sound

Pirate shanties, harpsichord melodies, classical music, Spanish waltzes and flamenco... it's all here. The music in Pirates doesn't last long, however. The tracks themselves will last at the most 20 seconds, and then fade away into nothing, which is really a bummer because the music is top-notch. You might get annoyed after the 50th ballroom dance song you hear, but hey, it's still quality compositions.

Gameplay

It's somewhat like Civilization on the high seas. Stake your claim, steal a ship, declare war (or not, if you don't want to), save your family, etc. All of these are completely optional, and it's up to you to decide how you want to play the game. If you don't particularly care for fighting, you can be a treasure hunter and discover all the "Lost Cities", or if that's a bit juvenile for you there's always the ability to take down every wanted Pirate in the Spanish Main as well as every ship (friend or foe). The game forces absolutely no pressure onto you to do anything. Sure, it's a moral responsibility to save your family members, but if you want to be a grungy old evil Pirate you certainly can do so.

Value

Unlike Civilization, the replayability of Pirates isn't very high. Once you've played through the game one or two times, it feels too repetitive to warrant another play. Whereas Civilization recreates the entire world and all the alliances every game, the Spanish Main in Pirates is ultimately the same ordeal in every game. The English fight the French, the French fight the Dutch, etc... and all the cities tend to be English/French/Dutch/Spanish/Pirate/Indian in every single game.

It's a pity that Sid Meier didn't focus on the randomization of the game, but for what its worth the game certainly meets the first-round expectations.

Overall

It's such a fantastic game that I feel somewhat ashamed to say it's not worth buying. At the most you'll get two solid games in, which will last you about half a week. After that, you may never want to play it again. For such a fun strategy game, it lacks the one most important aspect of a strategy game: replayability.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/03/04