Pirates: Live the Life!: *** 

 
I keep a PC in my office just for playing games. (It's my job!) Few games amuse me for more than an hour, but I did have a good time with Sid Meier's Pirates. This is a colorized 3D version of the same game I played on a Mac 512K back in, oh, 1987.

The bulk of the game is spent sailing around the Caribbean, looking for wealthy vessels to attack and plunder. You periodically visit ports to sell loot (and captured boats), hire sailors, and repair. It's pretty fun.

I'm going to write an essay about why mini-games suck. There are several in Pirates. In the swordfighting one, you press the appropriate parry key when you see the opposing fighter make his move. In the dancing one (must... seduce... governor's... daughter...) it's the same game, but with dancing cues and music and rhythm. There are a few more, but they all get tedious quickly.

Overall, though, the game amused me for an entire twenty-year career. I got very rich, looted the lost cities of the Inca, married the prettiest girl in the world, and was the most-feared pirate ever. 

Filed Sun - October 9, 2005, 08:53 AM in

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