Overall: Excellent capture of the fun gameplay in the classic game.
Everything fun about the classic was preserved, new features just make it more interesting & enjoyable.
If you liked the classic (I had the C=64 version, played the Amiga version, had the Sega version and the PC 'Pirates! Gold' for the 486) this is truly the best.
This game is fun for a few hours or several days in a row as you try to collect extra skill-enhancing gear or fleet build-ups.
It is one of my all-time favorites. Excellent job! Gameplay: The controls are quite easy to understand.
Swordplay, sailing, and land tactics are pretty easy to grasp, but can take a while to really build proficiency. You will find that in the case of sea battles, size doesn't always equate to victory...
The game is not a fast-paced action shoot-em-up... you need some tactics, patience (your ship(s) are often at the mercy of the weather/geography) and thought.
The wooing of the governer's daughter by dancing at the ball is a bit tedious after a few times, but as you get better at it you can reap the rewards with info and presents... and eventually a wife (which also has rewards in the game)
One note to those not familiar with any of the Pirates! instances... keep your crew fresh - divvy up the plunder every year or so... Graphics: The graphics are fun - not photorealistic, but offer enough eye candy to enjoy the effects and game. The ability to change the look of your ships is welcomed, and the cast of characters is enough to break up some of the monotonous tasks like always checking in with the governor and taverns at each port...
The mini-scene fills in the sword fights are fun and add interest to the mechanics of winning/losing the fight... miss the opponent and it may be due to stepping in a bucket on the deck or your opponent pulls a pirate/ninja back flip dodge like in the old Erol Flynn campy pirate movies.
There are a lot of details in the game though - dolphins playing in your wake as you sail, the crew jumping overboard and ships suffering splash effects during broadsides battles, etc.
The visuals aren't as rich as something like Pirates of the Carribean, but they're fun and not too busy. Sound: The sounds are decent - I enjoy the atmospheric and ambient sounds to set the mood. If period chamber and tavern music get on your nerves, turn the music way down, though.
The character voices/sounds are like something out of the sims, but they seem to have accents based on the appropriate nationality. Odd, but it makes sense somehow...
The sounds during combat are great though - you hear all sorts of sounds during swordfights and sea combat is filled with the barking of commands and surrounding combat sounds. Suggestions: What a fun game! Great job capturing the spirit of the original.
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