Sid Meier’s Pirates!
The swashbuckling return of one of videogames’ most endearing titles.
Tags: Sid Meier's Pirates! Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 24th, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sid Meier's Pirates! (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Other | No | ||
NOTE: This is a long review. If you want, just go ahead and skip to the bottom to check out the final verdict, I won’t be offended. It would be nice if you did read the whole thing though.
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I played Sid Meier’s Pirates! A long time ago on the Commodore 64. It was horribly addicting, and after having my computer stolen (along with the game), well, I was horribly upset. I however did console myself later in obtaining (for a ridiculous price) a copy of the game for the Sega Genesis. When the news came that a remake was in the works, not only was I filled with glee, but dread as visions of many a remake in the film and videogame world that have gone horribly wrong filled my head.
After popping the game into my drive and playing for about 20 minutes, all trepidation had been lifted, and I was transported back to the days when I would rush home during lunch and after work to play. That feeling has come back, but not without a price.
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Sid Meier has a long history in the videogame community as a “designer” of strategy games. Think of him like a director is to a film. And quite often he’s the scriptwriter as well. That’s why he gets his name included in the title of his games (such as Civilization and Civil War).
Pirates! puts players in the boots of a swashbuckling hero (or villain) directly molded out of the types of movies that were popular during the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Errol Flynn is perhaps the best example with Captain Blood. The game starts out with the player’s family being abducted and years later the player’s character comes of age and sets out to see to find his family (and fortune).
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The set up is pretty basic. There are 4 nations within the Caribbean (Spain, France, England and Holland) each vying for trade supremacy. Players can navigate the waters and as soon as the first ship is launched, everything is fair game. It is possible to stay aligned with the country of origin and wage war against ships from nations that are not allied with yours, or you can just fire upon every single ship that the wind blows your way.
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Direct warfare isn’t the only way to play however. It is possible to become a respected trader, and use your ships cannons for self defense only, firing only when a ship attacks. If taking the honorable route (which does have its own rewards) then traveling from port to port occupied by your home nation will reap many benefits, such as increased rank within the Navy and ship repairs cost less. It is possible to also do nothing but go after various pirates and their buried treasure.
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It is completely up to the player how to play the game, this is where the fun really lies. It really is as simple as the computer being the paper, the game being a pen, and the instruction manual telling the player to draw a picture of a dog. How that dog looks is up to the person drawing, and how Pirates! Ultimately turns out from a gameplay and story standpoint is entirely up to the player. While the initial desire to head out to sea is fueled by revenge and a desire to find the lost family members, it is (along with virtually everything else in the game) optional.
After setting sail, players will find the waters brimming with life – ships of all sorts are traversing the Spanish Main. Attack and plunder? Become an honorable tradesman? Try living the life of a pirate hunter? For argument’s sake, let’s take the path of a rogue, albeit an honorable one.
England (the country of origin in this case) is a war with the Dutch and French at the time of initial sailing, but have a trade alliance with the Spanish. Upon heading out to sea, doing battle with, and sinking (after plundering of course) a French ship will win rewards upon returning to any English port. The trick here is to keep tabs on the political situation as over the years political alliances shift and change.
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Certain ports of call will have a higher price for items, both bought and sold. These include guns, spices, sugar, and more. One interesting omission is tobacco. This was done to ensure the game garnered an “E” rating. Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to be a gun runner, and to sink ships full of people in cold blood….
With prices varying in the different ports, certain items are worth more in the cargo hold. Keeping track of which port will pay a pretty penny for which item may seem un-pirately, but will pay off in great dividends when it is time to divide the plunder.
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The ship to ship battles will be seen my many as the bulk of the gameplay, and while they do take up a good portion of time (along with sailing the high seas) they are integral to the game, but not overly so. Gauging the wind and positioning yourself against the opposing ship will greatly aid in ensuring a swift battle (whichever way the victory cutlass may fall) with a greater distance allowing for more cannon fire before boarding a ship. Different types of shot will damage a vessel differently, so upgrading will be necessary.
One of the changes in this remake of the classic game is the battles against the various ports. No longer can one use their ship to do battle against a city’s defenses, it is now entirely land based. This is a change that I personally wish had not happened. Having the option to go on land to do battle is fine, but to take away a pirate’s ship in order to lower a city’s defenses is… well… somebody needs to be shown the plank. Maybe not tossed overboard, but at least shown it.
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Land based battle is bit unwieldy and slows down the game. It is perhaps the weakest area, relying a bit too much on strategy, which in itself is fine, but the pacing is horrendous when compared with the rest of the game. While the rewards are great, with several thousand gold to be plundered (depending on how large the city) as well as occasionally being able to install a new governor, the town battles are there only if the player wants to partake of them.
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Another option that is available is the dancing, and courting of, the governor’s daughter. This is a form of Dance Dance Revolution that really doesn’t seem to have much place here. It can be a source of endless frustration for those gamers that aren’t used to “twitch” style of gaming, especially when compared with the rest of the game. It does have its own rewards, and is worth delving into, but like nearly everything else in the game, it is entirely optional.
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Having gone on far too long as it is, I won’t bother talking about how the different swords can affect the duels (which are quite short, and relatively easy when the pattern is discovered), nor will I go into activities in the tavern (which include recruiting crew, talking gossip about the goings on in the Caribbean and discovering portions of treasure maps). Nor will I go on about the notoriety gained by performing deeds such as discovering buried treasure, discovering lost family members or following allegiances to your native country. I don’t have the space to go into the various difficulty levels, or the different eras available, or amassing an entire fleet of ships. I shan’t go on about how keeping the crew happy by having enough plunder will prevent them from performing a mutiny. I fear that your attention has already wandered, and you aren’t even going to see this sentence mentioning the new gameplay element of sneaking into a hostile town.
Notice that I haven’t even talked about the graphics, audio, or other technical aspects of the game? Not because they aren’t worth mentioning, but because I have already gone on too long with other sections. Suffice to say that the game runs pretty smooth and is a pretty solid performer.
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There is just too much to do within the game to properly convey concisely in a review. Ultimately it boils down whether or not a player wants to live the life of the open seas (without the threat of scurvy). The replay value here is immense. With different strategies to apply, as well as different eras (which include their own navigational challenges) this is a title that would be a bargain at twice the price for the amount of gaming available.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Multiple strategies to employ + Recreates the feeling of the original (for those of us that played the original, this is highly important) + High replay value + Depth of gameplay puts others to shame + It's about pirates |
9.4 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Land based battle slows down the pace of the game too much - Ballroom dancing is too "twitchy" and feels a little out of place - No ship to shore battles |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Part adventure game, part strategy, part action, part role-playing, Sid Meier's Pirates defies categories and breaks boundaries. A must own for the game player that can see beyond the first person shooter. Bottom line, this game is an absolute joy to play. | |
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Tags: Sid Meier's Pirates!
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 24th, 2004 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
