Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic (
More info?)
On 20 May 2005 03:59:28 GMT, Knight37 <knight37m@email.com> wrote:
>Werewolf <nunya@no-way.net> once tried to test me with:
>
>> I assume you played the original Pirates either on the C-64 or the early
>> IBM's...
>>
>> If so the new one is identical except the graphics have been updated and
>> you can no longer use your ship to bombard forts and storm them - you
>> must fight land battles (which are slow but better than those in the
>> original - but not by much).
Land combat tactics are nicer. The game patch speeds up the flow of
combat (slowed mostly by the animations).
You can bombard forts, but only on the main game map screen. If the
fort is sufficiently reduced and you have enough men, you'll go to a
swordfight with the defending captain rather than land combat.
>> Same quests, same maps, same ships, same governors, a bunch of extra
>> "stuff" to buy or have the govs daughters give you.
>>
>> Same game - really - almost exactly the same game.
>> Same fun as the original.
>
>Actually, no I missed the first one and by the time I'd found out about it
>it was too dated for me to get into. What types of quests do you get? Is
>the game mostly about combat or is it more about trade?
Combat rules. Trade is possible, but not profitable enough to
compete with just taking stuff. Trade is one area where things are
less effective than the original -- but the game never did emphasize
trading. The name is *Pirates!*, after all, not Traders!
The major quests all involve getting pieces of a map (which will
show details but not the general location (closest city) until you get
all of it), then going to that location. How you get the pieces
varies -- you can buy some, or get them from doing other missions.
The minor quests involve either finding a ship with a named
villian/pirate -- you're given clues as to their whereabouts, then
must get there and intercept the ship -- or find people in a city
(generally at the tavern in town).
There are sailing missions, where you must escort a ship to its
destination. Almost always, some enemy (of that nation, not
necessarily of you personally) will attack en route.
Most of the things you do affect your reputation and status. Each
of the four major nations tracks that separately. Hitting ships of
one nation make that one dislike you, enemies of that nation like you
for that, and neutrals don't care.
The game isn't especially deep. Because of that, it is very
accessible -- it is easy to get into playing it, and the core goal of
attacking ships and taking treasure is entertaining. Both ship combat
and sword fighting -- you almost always end up in a duel when you
board, that is how they resolve the boarding combat -- require
tactical skills, with some reflexes but they *aren't* arcade-style
combat.
Everything that made it a good game for the 90s is still there.
They didn't make the mistake of creating an entirely different gaming
experience. The sound and graphics are much better, but the heart of
the game play is unchanged.
If you're looking for a game which gives you plenty of swashbuckling
combat, along with a bit of diplomacy and romance, this will fit the
bill. It is *not* a detailed simulation of pirate economics or even
pirate/privateer strategy, let alone trading strategy (other than buy
low in poor cities and sell high in rich ones, there isn't much to the
trading game).
The game has a pirate movie (animated) look and feel. There isn't
any blood or gore -- this is an "E for everyone" game. Kids can play
this thing easily, as the easiest difficulty level is quite easy.
More skilled gamers need to change difficulty level in order to have a
serious challenge, but the easiest level is essentially a tutorial,
and worth running through a while in order to learn how things work.
--
*-__Jeffery Jones__________| *Starfire* |____________________-*
** Muskego WI Access Channel 14/25 <http://www.execpc.com/~jeffsj/mach7/>
*Starfire Design Studio* <http://www.starfiredesign.com/>
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