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| Sid Meier's Pirates! | 
 enlarge | From: 2K Games
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $11.05
You Save: $8.94 (45%)
New (11) Used (8) from $8.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 1902
Platform: Windows Xp
ESRB: Everyone
Media: CD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0.1 x 0.1
MPN: 710425218392
Model: 710425218392
UPC: 710425218392
EAN: 0710425218392
ASIN: B000AOIES6
Release Date: July 25, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 I own the game, but haven't played it for over a year. March 18, 2008
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was initially enthused by the elements of this game, and the fact that it's a Caribbean Pirates scenario. Several factors have positive merit, the sea battles being one, the other the ability to roam everywhere on the map. Navigation is fairly easy, and the printed map very useful. But one major facet of the game bugs me to no end, the dancing. Ugh! Why, oh why, is your character forced to dance with every single governor's daughter in order to gain additional items? Not only does it subtract from the gameplay, but it's deliberately prissy and a huge waste of time. I tried several games not even bothering with daughters, simply walking away from them. That felt great.
Then I went out, and as my pirate aged, attempted to sink and capture as much Spanish shipping as possible before I grew too old, ignoring the main objective of searching for missing relatives. Attacking the abundance of Spanish ships was fun and thoroughly satifying, unlike the awful dance scenarios. I wish there were an option to delete those sequences. That's why I haven't played in over a year. I can't get those sugar-coated dance scenarios out of my head. Good Gawd, Sid, what were you thinking?
Good game for family February 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this game to play with my kids. I admit that the repeat graphics and perdictability of the game tend to make it less exciting then other games I have played. But I contiue to play the game long after my kids have grown tired of playing. No gore or over the top violence. Not crazy about the overly busty bar wenches, for the kids. But beyond that I most enjoy raising an army of pirates and attacking the cities. FUN!
Pirates Dissapointing February 15, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I purchased Pirates after reading a few reviews and expected it to be an entertaining game. While the concept of the game is solid I found it to be very disappointing as a whole.
First of all, there is little possible customization within the game, as you can only choose from a set of ships and buy generic upgrades.
The character interaction is frustrating and quite boring as the voices can only say "blah" and "meh".
The controls are very hard without a number pad and I could not find any way to change them. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME IF YOU SO NOT HAVE A NUMPAD. Dueling is nearly impossible on my laptop without a numpad.
I like the civilization series, but was disappointed byt Pirates. I would recommend saving your money to buy CIV 4 if you don't have it, and don't waste it on Pirates.
 Pirates review February 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not the typical smash and blast 'em game. Pirates requires some planning, coniving and deception... in other words, much like life. If only more of the women in real life were as lovely as the women in Pirates.
One of the best games I've played in a long time January 22, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've only had this game for two weeks and I was a little worried that some of the bad reviewers would be right and that the game would get boring. That didn't happen with me.
This game is a lot of fun and a bit addictive, in ways alot of other games are not.
The premise of the game is simple. You play as a young man who's family was ruined by a Spanish nobleman but you escape. You take to sea under either the British, French, Dutch or Spanish but quickly mutiny against your cruel Captain. At this point, the game is completely up to you.
Unlike many games, where there is a progression you must follow in order to move the game along, you are not bound to any storyline. You can accept a letter of marque from any or all of the powers in the Caribbean and wage war on their behalf; attacking the shipping, capturing ships, raiding cities or you can simply attack any ships that happen to be in your area
You can devote your time to reuniting your long-lost family and avenging those responsible. You can go after the other pirates and attempt to locate their lost treasure. You can explore for lost cities of the Incas and Aztecs.
you can do anything you like; stay loyal to one or more nations and target only their enemies or play the game of shifting alliances, serving one power and then another. Court the daughters of the governors, fight enemies, track down criminals, recruit men to serve on your ships, build up a fleet....anything you want to do, you can.
One of the most unique aspects of the game is the aging. I cannot think of any other game real-time or not that includes this. Basically, you will have between 20-30 years to do your best (or worst) and then age catches up to you. You're not long as quick with the sword as you were and soon you find yourself unable to take down the Captain of the Guards in the city or to best the Captain of an enemy vessel. You'll notice when this happens and you must just find yourself in prison if you're not careful. This of course is when you divide up the plunder for the last time and go into retirement. Here you will get to see how well you did and what becomes of you.
Another aspect is the wind. While some reviewers found this frustrating, I found it fun. Instead of just mindlessly attacking ships from any direction, you have to set yourself up to be upwind from your prey and sometimes, this isn't possible and you'll be forced to give up the chase. It may get annoying when you need to travel from west to east on the big map, say from the Gulf of Mexico to the Bahamas but that's life.
There are a few criticisms...
You possibly could go your whole game experience without ever engaging in combat with other ships. Only you can initiate combat, even if you are near enemy ships much more powerful than your own. You may get a cannonball from them on the big map which will do some minor damage but that's it. Maybe on the harder difficulties this isn't true, but it would have been nice if your enemies could engage you and force you to fight or run for your life.
When it comes time to divide the plunder (something you must do every now and then as your pirate crew will go restless), several months go by and then you can resume your adventure. However, you only have your flagship, even if you had several other ships when you went into port. Any supplies you had are also gone. This is somewhat annoying as you might capture a couple of good ships but you know you'll have to get rid of them at some point. It would have been nice if they had allowed you keep what you wanted.
Another is the lack of diversity in the characters and cutscenes. Every tavern looks the same except for the barmaiden. Ditto for the daughters though some are a bit more...well endowed than others. The governors are all the same for each power. And the fights are the same over and over...oh you may start on the forecastle at one time and the main deck on another but aside from that, there is no real difference.
Aside from that, the game isn't lacking much. There are so many aspects of the game to explore that you'll end up playing it several times. Ultimately, the goal of the game is to retire successfully; marry an attractive daughter, amass a fortune in gold and land, be famous for defeating the other pirates, etc.
So if you're looking for a fun game, one that allows you alot of freedom of movement and one that you'll play more than once, this is it.
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