Pirates! is incredible. This game is so much fun that I can't talk about it here anymore, I need to go play it. Great game.

I was seriously thinking of asking for this game for Christmas but I know little about it. Can you give me ideas on why it is incredible? Thanks.

Just perfect play. Simple yet awesome.

You start with a ship and a country you choose, Dutch, English, French, or Spanish. The nations are at war or peace with one another at various times. It takes place in the Caribbean and those four countries have various ports around the land. There are also Jesuit ports, Indian ports, and Pirate ports. Each port has a trader, where you can trade various goods getting good low prices in one port and selling high in another. Also in port is a tavern where you can hire more men, buy items that aid you in certain ways, and hear rumours. You can consult with a shipwright to sell vessels you have captured, repair your ship, and upgrade it. Lastly in town is the Governer who can offer you missions, upgrade your rank, and whose daughter you can attend a ball with.

On the seas are ships of varying sizes and undergoing various missions. Fighting on the seas is awesome, sending broadsides into opposing vessels and boarding where the enemy will either surrender or you will duel their captain while your soldiers fight the enemy sailors. Dueling is tough, but not hard to get a handle on. Dancing with the governers daughter is much tougher i find.

In addition to this there are land battles where you try to conquer the ports for your nation of choice, treasure maps where you have to search and find something based on landmarks, personal quests, top pirates, bounties on your head.

It's just a fun, fun game.

Agreed! I had this for the Sega Genesis..and it was the only game I ever bought that I sold for a profit 2 years later back to the same video game store.

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">I am considering this game, it has great reviews but I am unsure if I want another strategy game right now as Rome:Total War takes up my strategy time. But this game looks really tempting.</font>

Pirates! is one of the all-time gaming classics in my book. It's fun and highly addictive. I used to play that game alot on my Commodore 64 about 16 years ago. Though the game has been improved in many aspects since then the core game mechanics are still the same. It's grand!

Is it anything like Pirates of the Caribbean ? The battles at sea i mean ?

That's the beauty of it. It is not a strategy game, though it has some elements.. it's an adventure game.

Johnny, never played that game, but the battles in Pirates! are incredibly fun.

I saw this one out there on the shelves and added it to my wish list. I had the Commodore 64 version as well, and absolutely loved that game (the only annoying part was how quickly your crew got unhappy). One of the thing I liked was that the sailing was somewhat accurate, along with the maps, etc. of the ports in that time. Do they still have the "find your family members" quests?

Find your family members quest is still in along with the top ten pirates buried treasures and some lost city quests to. You still have to divide the plunder with your crew, but there are items you can find from the mysterious stranger to keep them happy longer.