+ Variety of funny mini-games
+ Sense of adventure
+ Interesting economic mechanics
+ Enjoyable and relaxing
+ Satisfying sailing mechanics and ship upgrades
? Potentially addictive
- Awful storyline (you keep chasing the evil Baron Raymondo over and over)
- Sometimes feels like a demo or early alpha version
- Repetitive; gets boring quickly
I bought this game without any question will it be good or not. Firs installment of this game I played was back on Commodore 64 and I tried pretty much every Pirates game that evolved after that.
I think that end result of it couldn't get better. Graphics are just in that sweet spot where game won't look outdated, colorful enough to keep the atmosphere light and yet packed with action to the point where you don't get bored. Everything is fluid and self-explanatory.
Game which will most certainly make you come back to it over and over and over and over... When I retire in 30-40 years that will only mean I will play this game even more often than now. I love it.
I played the hell out of this game during my teens when, as a result of my discovering the Monkey Island series, I had an infatuation with the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean. In short, this game delivers you the ultimate fantasy in being an up-and-coming pirate (though there's no insult swordfighting and a distinctive lack of rubber chickens with a pulley in the middle).
Basically, anything a fanciful Errol Flynn-type would get up to, this game offers. Everything from sailing around and boarding merchant ships, 'legalising' your piracy by playing politics with the various nation-states active in the area, being chased by real-life infamous pirates after you've nicked their buried treasure, sacking trading ports through RTS-style sieges, discovering lost Aztec cities, wooing some governor's daughter... it's all there in fun minigames that, though arguably lacking in depth, are well-designed and consistent.
The adjustable difficulty makes for a nice challenge, as your goal is to retire as a successful pirate with as much booty you can. Playing on higher difficulty nets you a larger portion of all your earnings, but also significantly increase the chances of you being slaughtered by enemy ships or being marooned after your crew decides it's time for mutiny.
All in all: great little game with a lot of replay value and appeal for all ages. Definite recommend.
I have a little ritual I do on GOG.com now and again.
I'll be browsing the store looking for something new to play, when I'll see the phrase "Sid Meier's Pirates" stare back at me.
Every time, despite knowing the end result, I'll click on it.
I'll take in the simplistic EGA-ish graphics in the screenshots and sigh. Not today... not today.
Now, I'm no graphics prude. I can handle EGA sprites and esoteric hotkey control schemes. But the older entry is simply not the Sid Meier's Pirates I've been waiting for.
Thanks, GOG... and it's about damn time.