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Released In: 1991 Attack towns, commandeer ships, meet beautiful women, and steal everywhere that's not nailed down in this classic strategy game. As a pirate captain, there's no limit to what you might accomplish in the Caribbean. Syd Lexia: As far as Sid Meier games go, I liked Pirates better than Railroad Tycoon and Alpha Centauri, but nowhere near as much as Civilization. But since Civilization wasn't available on the NES, I had to settle for Pirates until I finally got a PC. Pirates is a pretty solid game, what with the pillaging and all. At the very least, it's the best NES port of a Sid Meier game, beating out the monotonous Silent Service by a large margin. Valdronius: What can I say? Sid Meier is a freaking genius. He makes great video games, and Pirates! is no exception. You take on the role of a privateer in the Gulf of Mexico and either make friend or foe of the English, French, Dutch, and Spanish. You can either hunt pirates, or become a pirate and raid wealthy cities, hoping to capture the Spanish Silver Train. You can also hunt for buried treasure, and locate your lost family members through maps you obtain from various seedy characters. On top of that, you can build reputation and try to win the hand of a governor’s daughter. All the while you have to keep your crew happy by finding booty, or they’ll mutiny and leave you marooned on a deserted island. It may be a bit slow at first, but once you familiarize yourself with the cartography of the Gulf, the treasure will flow in by the shipload. The game is very complex and diverse, and it remains one of my favorites to this day. |
