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Play as a pirate out for revenge against the evil nobleman
who wronged your family, create fear on the high seas as you
and your crew attack different nations, or go in search of
buried treasure. The beauty of this open-ended strategy game
is that it lets you live the glorious life of a swashbuckler
your own way. You can pursue the career of a privateer, a
treasure hunter, an explorer, or a trader. More often than
not, you'll dabble in all those fields at the same time...
Sid
Meier's Pirates! is
one of those games that you can pick up and play for five
minutes, or hours at a time, depending on your mood. There
is so much to do here that it's certainly a game you'll keep
coming back to.
It's
odd really, because this game is so repetitive that you'd
think it would become very tiresome very quickly, but it doesn't.
Even the mini-games (like the old school ballroom dancing
game where you have to press the same directional button as
shown on screen to dance correctly) are good fun - even though
you've played much better versions a million times before
on other games.
You
start off choosing your main skill. This will help you throughout
the game in either hand to hand combat, reloading your ship's
cannons quicker, or other various skills. Don't worry though
if you choose the wrong profession for your needs, as you
can easily persuade other experts to join your crew as you
progress.
You
start off with one ship and can attack any other vessel on
the high seas from numerous different European nations. But
beware, attack too many vessels from one nation and you won't
be welcome in their ports.
As
you sail around the seas, you can travel from port to port
trading with the local merchants, finding information out
at the local hostelry, finding favour with the head of each
port and upgrading your ship at the local dockyard. You can
also trade with the local religious settlements and tribes
people that are dotted around the map - as well as giving
them advice on which ports will welcome immigrants, or are
ready for attack. And then there are the pirate outposts you
can visit.
There
is a back story too, if you wish to follow it. You have been
wronged and your family slaughtered. If you can pick up enough
clues on your travels from the people you meet, you can plan
your revenge by killing those responsible.
The
graphics are nicely detailed and the music, although a little
twee in places, does the trick.
However
you decide to play, one thing is certain, Pirates!
is a barrel full of fun and well worth spending your pieces
of eight on.
Nick
Smithson
Buy
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compare prices online so you get the cheapest
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£24.98
(Amazon.co.uk)
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£24.99
(Play.com) |
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£24.99
(HMV.co.uk) |
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£29.99
(Game.co.uk) |
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£29.99
(WHSmith.co.uk) |
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£24.89
(Sendit.com) |
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£0.00
(Thehut.com) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
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