Retro Review: Sid Meier's Pirates!

Going through my library of games, I found this gem from a while back. 2005, and then even further for the original PC game. Popping it into my XBoX 360, I found that little had changed. This game is the definition of casual gaming, and fun. Running through the crafty mini-games, which show themselves over and over again, is plain fun. You never feel bored, or lost, as it's a "Do-it-yourself" type of game, with loads to do.

Opening the case and popping it in, I downloaded the 360 patch, started up the game, and began crafting my character. The initial character creation options are slightly limited compared to say, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but they do nicely for this game. Starting off as a sailor for the English fleets, I found myself wondering the Caribbean for a bit, just before diving into the game. The ports offer the majority of mini-games, including chances for romance, fencing practice, and the option to buy whatever the shady character in the corner has for sale. Although conversation options are limited, their fun, and ship customization is much the same, fun but limited. I soon found myself out fighting the Spanish armada with my fully pimped out ship, raiding them where-ever they was, and stealing new ships, plus keeping a cargo ship right behind me to carry extra booty in! Hunting down famous pirates was also a blast! Leaving me to only complain about the few spots where the game would hiccup, mainly due to the horrible emulation technology of the 360.

The in-game combat is divided into two parts. Ship to ship battles, and land combat.
Ship to ship battles are always fun, just long enough that you feel like you can get a strategy going, but not tediously long. Whereas land battles are more akin to mini-chess, taking considerably more time. Land battles can become tedious, as you have no real control over which of the types of units you have, but considering there are two ways to win them, and the outcome is much more booty and loot than you'll get off any given ship, it's considerably worth the risk and slight tedium.

The only thing to really bad part of the game-play is the constant needs of your crew, but it's a minor annoyance for such a pleasure of gaming, and one that even the game helps you to overcome with multiple options. Other than that, the game is perfect for 10 minutes or 20 hours!

Bottom Line: 8/10 Good fun, leaving you wanting to replay again and again.