| Pirates is one of the best examples of the importance of gameplay over all other elements. You are a pirate, and other than that there are no restrictions. You choose who you attack, what nation you fight for, and what booty you keep. There are sword fights, naval battles, land conflicts, romance, politics, trade concerns, mutiny worries... everything that a real pirate could want. Graphics: 5
Graphically, the game is on par with most releases of the time. There is not a lot of animation, and the fight scenes are simple at best. The worst example is the land battles, which are just plain ugly to look at. Other than that, however, the game is not distractingly bad to look at. Sound: 3
The only thing that really takes away from Pirates is the sound. The music is just bad, and the boat scenes have a static-y sound that might be intended to represent waves, or perhaps angry gulls. Keep in mind that Pirates was ported from the old PC game, and so most of the music is intended to be played on the ""beep""-type speaker that came with the IBM XT. Still, they could have improved the music a little. Gameplay: 10
As far as gameplay goes, this is the best ""sim"" out there, and it is no surprise that it was designed by Sid Mier of SimCity fame. You play a novice pirate with a skill in one of five categories; Navigation, Fencing, Gunnery, Diplomacy, or Medicine. Each has a different game effect, and all are worth trying. You are given command of a ship, and you set out attacking ships and towns to gain money and buy supplies. You can align yourself with one of the four nations and become a privateer, or mercenary pirate, and in return for your services you can be granted titles and land. You can also trade goods (either bought or stolen) to amass personal wealth. In your travels you can also meet diplomats (any their lovely daughters), as well as find maps to buried treasure. The gameplay is, in short, perfect. Overall: 8
I would like to say that this is one of the best games for the NES, but I don't think everyone would agree. For long term gameplay, this is one of the best (not quite at Final Fantasy level, but good), and for face-paced sea battles I can think of none better. Still, the poor sound and mediocre graphics cannot be ignored. This is a great game, but it was made even better by the ""Classic Pirates"" update for PC several years ago. The game was given better sound and considerably better graphics, and even though it isn't on NES I would still recommend it. For NES purists, however, the orignal Pirates! is the way to go. |
