Sid Meier's Pirates!

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 266 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 212 out of 266
  2. Mixed: 44 out of 266
  3. Negative: 10 out of 266
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  1. Wetwebwork
    Jan 21, 2005
    5
    Great presentation and amusing gameplay. But you quickly come to wonder why you're playing it as you repeat the same tasks over and over. Pirates lacks the structure and magic to make it anything than an okay game, and while I don't regret buying it, I couldn't recommend anyone buys it.
  2. GolovA
    Sep 19, 2016
    5
    No depth whatsoever, and you begin to see this within the first 2 hours of the gameplay:
    - Only 5 goods to trade
    - You never know if you should switch to a different ship because you don't know if it's going to be better or worse - You don't know how many canons your ship can support - You win all hand-to-hand battles by just pressing buttons (and you ALWAYS win) - Sea Battles are    No depth whatsoever, and you begin to see this within the first 2 hours of the gameplay:
    - Only 5 goods to trade
    - You never know if you should switch to a different ship because you don't know if it's going to be better or worse
    - You don't know how many canons your ship can support
    - You win all hand-to-hand battles by just pressing buttons (and you ALWAYS win)
    - Sea Battles are extremely repetitive (board and kill the captain - don't even need canons) and become unnecessary tedious if the wind is unfavorable
    - Dancing? There is dancing? My Lord!
    - All cities are the same - come visit Tavern, sell ALL 5 goods (can't even buy anything, unless you play as a trader, but why play as a trader in a game called "Pirates"?)
    - For Pete's sake - lack of basic Options in the game (no - you can't bind keys) and the tutorial give away this title as a joke and money grabber.

    This type of game - this genre in general - requires depth. Such games simply cannot exist without depth.

    This title is not worth to be played as a phone app, less so deserve to be called Sid Meier's.    … Expand
  3. MarekM
    Nov 18, 2009
    5
    For first 6-8 hours this game is a real fun! Taking galleons with small sloop is experience easy to like :) But afer this time it gets too repetitive. Still it's not bad - it's just average.
  4. MikePushkin
    Mar 31, 2011
    7
    Game's great, make no mistake, but there are some fatal flaws that make it awful or not lasting long enough. Here I'll try to devide + and - in sections:
    + Innovative gameplay, the difficulty rises slowly at your decision letting you get accustomed to the game.
    + Many minigames within one package, arcade naval warfare, arcade fencing, tactical assault of the cities, treasure hunting. + You    Game's great, make no mistake, but there are some fatal flaws that make it awful or not lasting long enough. Here I'll try to devide + and - in sections:
    + Innovative gameplay, the difficulty rises slowly at your decision letting you get accustomed to the game.
    + Many minigames within one package, arcade naval warfare, arcade fencing, tactical assault of the cities, treasure hunting.
    + You can do many things in SM's Pirates, do quests, rob caravans, follow rumors, collect valuable items, romance royal women, upgrade your ship, board and capture other ships, represent one of 4 nations or meddle in their business and become a notorious pirate, give and receive gifts, share collected gold with your team, etcetera, etcetera...
    - Controls on the tactical map are just awful... Sometimes you hit Page Down instead of 7 and you automatically retreat from a fight.
    - The game is way too repetitive. The good experience will not last very long.
    - It's a sandbox arcade game. A good sandbox game is a game in which you have overwhelming amount of possibilities and everything is happening at random, making up for more fun! Although in Pirates, events are happening at random, randomly generated, they are getting old very fast, due to your limited possibilities e.g. you put your money in a bank, you have some items, but you don't have a character's doll, so at some point (very fast actually) all of the items are applied to your character and this aspect disappears from the game. Moreover, fencing challenging it may be at first, get's overly easy later on due to your equipment. Ship upgrades can only be made in specific cities (What?), so you'll have to sweep the damn Caribbean if you want to find them all. Back to the idea, all of your possibilities uncover VERY VERY fast, after that you don't discover anything new, everything else is just repetition of thing you did one hour ago.
    = Conclusion: A great game it may be, but it's way too lengthly for an Arcade and way too shallow for a Sandbox. While trying to get the best from each, SM's Pirates end up being none and losing it's greatness somewhere along the way.    … Expand
  5. Eddie
    Apr 17, 2005
    7
    I have played the original a lot back in the 90s, and I must say that when I first started playing it I loved it. Now I have the game for a week and I think its way to easy. In the original Pirates! it was realy hard to get a good end ranking, but in this new version it is far too easy. I played it once on the 3rd difficulty setting and made it to Bishop (only Governor is better) already. I have played the original a lot back in the 90s, and I must say that when I first started playing it I loved it. Now I have the game for a week and I think its way to easy. In the original Pirates! it was realy hard to get a good end ranking, but in this new version it is far too easy. I played it once on the 3rd difficulty setting and made it to Bishop (only Governor is better) already. Presentation is nice but it becomes a little repetitve after a while. I am glad I didn't spend 45 dollars on it and got it through ebay for 14 dollars including shipping.… Expand
  6. Aaron
    Mar 17, 2007
    6
    I've only played it for a day, but it's getting pretty frustrating at this point. I loved it at first, but it seems like it punishes you for getting better. For example, the more money you make, the more you lose when you divide it among the crew you spent so much time assembling, right before you send them packing, along with the extra ships you captured. And the difficulty I've only played it for a day, but it's getting pretty frustrating at this point. I loved it at first, but it seems like it punishes you for getting better. For example, the more money you make, the more you lose when you divide it among the crew you spent so much time assembling, right before you send them packing, along with the extra ships you captured. And the difficulty rises far too steeply at the Swashbuckler level. How are you supposed to complete a dance or win a swordfight on that mode? Anyway, it's fun for a few hours. I picked it up for $20, can't complain I guess.… Expand
  7. carlosgtardon
    Jun 10, 2014
    7
    Remake de uno de los juegos más influyentes de una generación entera de americanos que se aprendiendo todos los nombres de las islas del caribe gracia a él. Sigue funcionando bien las mecánicas, que son muy variadas. En super rebajas vale la pena para ver un Meier de primera generación.
  8. J.J.Rush
    Dec 31, 2004
    7
    As a Pirates remake this game succeeds 100% The only problem is nostalgia doesnt make a great game. After seeing the same cutscene/animation for each gaming section for the 100th time you might start to get a bit tired of it all. Limited fun for a while anyway.
  9. RobertL.
    Jan 10, 2005
    5
    Perhaps the appeal of this game to many is that it reminds us of Sid's original "Pirates!" Those of you who haven't played the original may wonder what the big deal is, however, and I don't blame you. It seems over the years other Pirate games have taken Sid's format and improved it, and if you've played many pirate games in the last few years, you'll miss Perhaps the appeal of this game to many is that it reminds us of Sid's original "Pirates!" Those of you who haven't played the original may wonder what the big deal is, however, and I don't blame you. It seems over the years other Pirate games have taken Sid's format and improved it, and if you've played many pirate games in the last few years, you'll miss those improvements badly playing this game. The animations are well done, and the fencing and dancing are colorful, interesting and simple, but they all get old fast. The nostalgia is great, and may be worth the re-visit, but all told there really isn't much to this game. If you're a big fan of the original I suggest buying this game and displaying it on a shelf for the memories. (It'll be worth more un-opened in 30 years, and you wont play it long anyhow.) If you're new, I know it's painful to pass up anything with Sid Meier on the cover, but if you buy it you'll wish you had your money back to buy a cheaper, more substantial game.… Expand
  10. Dale
    Nov 28, 2004
    7
    This could be the best remake of a game to date, the graphics are outstanding and the open ended playability is a big asset to the game also the newly added content is a big uplift to the old shoot, slash, capture. i would love to see this be a multi player game.
  11. gracjanski
    Jun 4, 2019
    7
    There are some good improvements of the classic Pirates game: Now you are much better introduced into the game and you have a much better overview,what to do. You have a map now, you are introduced into the story by a cutscene, you have a menu with many informations. This was a big problem in the old game. But still this is the biggest problem of the game. There are too many informationsThere are some good improvements of the classic Pirates game: Now you are much better introduced into the game and you have a much better overview,what to do. You have a map now, you are introduced into the story by a cutscene, you have a menu with many informations. This was a big problem in the old game. But still this is the biggest problem of the game. There are too many informations hidden: about the special items, the difference between the ships, why beautiful daughters are better then plain and so on. You need an overview about all the gossips you get from the taverns also

    But the biggest problem is the atmosphere: it is so childish now. The "language" is like in Sims, the art design aweful. Many gameplay mechanics are minigames and basically quick time events. This is a huge step behind the classic game. So the game mechanics are too simple, but on the other side this game is confusing, because you dont have siffucient overview, what to do. .

    The gameplay has even more mistakes: after 5 hours the game begins to be a grind and repetitive. For example you need to find and fight several times against the main villains. The sword duels and dancing minigames start to be annoying and dumb.
    After some time the crew wants to divide the fortune and you lose almost everything: your ships,goods and the crew. You have only one ship left. This is stupid and not immersive. Why do you loose all the goods and ships?

    I get back into the game only with a guide on internet. Now this game has more fun: Now I know how to handle the division of the fortune, that it doesnt hurt so much. Now I know which ships to attack and which to make as a flagship.
    The biggest strength of the game is the setting. There are almost no good pirates games out there and this game shows, how fun it can be.    … Expand
  12. dr-kenobi
    Sep 7, 2022
    7
    Дуже фановий екшн дитинства, особливо поруч з Корсарами. Звісно ж не придатне для гри в 2022му, але на релізі була непоганою грою.

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PC Game of 2004
25
#25 Most Discussed PC Game of 2004
13
#13 Most Shared PC Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 50
  3. Negative: 0 out of 50
  1. Yahoo!
    80
    Won't appeal to everyone, but if you're nostalgic for the original or like unstructured and open-ended games, this booty is well worth seeking. Yarrr!
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  2. Thunderbolt
    80
    There's really only one word to describe Sid Meier's Pirates! and that's 'charming'. The excellent presentation, clever gameplay design and exquisite pacing mark it out as a unique and well thought out game. It's full of confidence and style, eager to impress and even if it won't keep you playing for months on end, is bound to provide an enjoyable experience while it lasts.
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  3. CPUGamer
    88
    Its huge open-endedness does an excellent job of establishing the proper atmosphere while the balance of combat and economy produces a quality strategy title. It does, however, have its problems. Open-ended gameplay can lead to a lack of focus, and this game is very light on tutorial, how-to material which creates a somewhat larger than average learning curve; preventing me from recommending Pirate's to all gamers as a whole.
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