When in town you have several locations that you can visit. The local
governor is a source of rewards and promotions, as well as a good person to see
to take on special escort missions. Most governors also have a daughter who may
take an interest in you should your reputation and rank attract her. You may
even find yourself invited to a ball in which you’ll have to impress her by
using the number pad to match her dance steps in a manner reminiscent of the
dance games you find in arcades. Successfully woo her and you have a valuable
source of information in that port.
Each town also has a shipwright who can repair your battle damage, buy your
captured ships, or in some cases provide upgrades to your hull, sails, or
cannons to aid your ship’s performance in battle. You can visit the merchant to
sell your captured goods or to pick up some food or cannon for your next voyage.
Prices vary by port, so there’s an opportunity to buy low and sell high for you
entrepreneurial types. Taverns are a good place to recruit more crew, obtain
treasure maps or special items, and of course hear the latest rumor about the
location of the Spanish Treasure Fleet.
 |
| Oh the things a pirate will do for love... |
Speaking of treasure, it wouldn’t be a pirate game without buried treasure.
At the lower difficulty levels maps are always complete and well-marked and it
is simply a question of going to the right location and picking up your prize.
At higher levels things get a bit trickier as you often have to make do with map
fragments and must search for specific landmarks like an arched rock or a clump
of dead trees to find the buried booty.
The gameplay is pretty straightforward, and can almost feel a little
repetitive after extended periods of play, but there is some strategy to it. You
must pick your battles wisely lest you lose valuable years wasting away in a
Spanish prison. You must also manage your crew by ensuring that they stay happy.
To do this you need to cut down on the long eventless voyages and provide plenty
of plunder. You’ll even have to manage their numbers as too many pirates means
smaller cuts for all and makes for an unhappy and even mutinous crew. Go out to
see with too few pirates and you will find yourself being overwhelmed by your
intended prey. You’ll also need to know when to quit. At some point you are
going to have to divide the plunder and send your crew on its way, hopefully
before they get fed up with waiting and decide to sail away in one of your
ships. Dividing plunder lets you advance to the next difficulty level or
continue at the some one, but in either case months will pass before you are
ready to put out to see again. This is an important consideration as well as you
will age as the game progresses and plunder on the high seas is a young man’s
game. Stay at it too long and you will notice your reflexes slowed and a loss in
accuracy of your ships guns, so it’s best to go out on top to avoid spending
retirement in a prison.
Overall Pirates has that hard to pinpoint addictive quality to it that will
keep you coming back. Hours will disappear as you strive to complete one more
raid or get your next promotion. It’s a magical quality that’s missing in most
games, and one that will keep you coming back to Pirates as other games come and
go.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
95%. Pirates is a completely engrossing ride on the Spanish Main. All
that’s missing is the smell of rum and powder.
System Requirements: Pentium III 1 GHz; 256 MB RAM;
64 MB
Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM; 1.4 GB Hard Drive
Space; Mouse.
« Page 2 of 3
