Pirates

This review is for a super fun little game called Sid Maier's Pirates released by Fireaxis games. Originally, this game was released in 1987 by MicroProse. The remake was released in 2004.
This game is completely addictive, and for good reason. Instead of being a game with only one direction, the game is really a collection of mini-games that are all very fun to play. The story is really fun. Your family members have been pressed into enslavement while you, the hero, vow to rescue them. Ten years later, you're on a ship bound for the Caribbean when the crew mutinies and names you captain. How great is that? As captain, you are now free to do whatever you wish with your ship.
Getting the best ship is half the fun of the game. You can start naval battles against other ships, you can upgrade your ship in certain ports, you can have an entire armada floating behind you carrying all your loot if you wish. There is something completely satisfying about bashing some other pirates ship and claiming it as your own. There are so many different types of ships. The game AI is surprisingly smart when fighting. For example, you'll never see Blackbeard trying to sail against the wind. An enemy will also flee from a battle if they know they can't win.
One of the mini games I really liked was the dancing aspect. To gain favor with a governer's daughter, you have to take her to a ball and dance with her. It's pretty simple, you just follow her hand motions. What makes it difficult is moving in time with the beat. Most people would think this might be pointless, but if she likes you, she'll start giving you gifts which is a great way to get the best items of the game.
Land battles are extremely difficult. It takes real strategy to win. All you really get to decide is where you want to put your troops. You have no control over what types of troops they are, or how they're arranged. Sacking towns games you enormous amounts of money, but it takes a huge crew and a lot of strategy to get there.

For some reason I'm utterly obsessed with achieving what I would call a perfect game - I want to find all my relatives, beat all the famous pirates, have the most gold, the biggest ship, find all the hidden treasures... When I first played this game I somehow managed to do this, but haven't been able to repeat it. The fact that you have a time limit to this game makes this extremely difficult. Eventually the pirate guy can be too old or too injured to carry on and the game ends. This forces you to move pretty quick to get everything.I love this game. It's so much fun to play, and the graphics are great. And a little known fact, on September 19th, otherwise known as "Talk Like A pirate Day", every character in the game speaks in pirate slang. Thanks for watching my review.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Pirates