The Wonder of Plunder- Sid Meier’s Pirates Review

Between sailing the high seas in the 1987 original, the 2004 remake, and the more recent Xbox and PSP iterations, I assumed my days as a privateer had long past. After slavishly devoting workweeks to Sid Meier’s Pirates!, I was certain that every last grain of gratification had been siphoned from the title. However, Meier’s games are like the sea siren’s call, beckoning veterans to discover yet another layer of immersion. Within hours of booting up the Wii version, I was captivated once more, and began discovering a number of small elements which had previously eluded discovery.

Unlike most games which give players a unambiguous trajectory, Pirates! presents players with a myriad of missions in addition to a main goal. Players begin the game by choosing a difficulty level, one of five starting eras, and an allegiance to either England, France, Spain, or the Dutch Republic. Many games offer a selection of variables that have little effect on gameplay; in Pirates!, each variable alters the level of challenge in the game. Express your loyalty for España in the 1660’s, and you’re going to feel the burden of a crumbling empire.

Despite which nation you ally yourself with, the game’s impetus is always the same- indebted to the Marquis de Montalban, the nefarious creditor comes to collect wages. Unable to pay, The Marquis forecloses on your family’s freedom, forcing them into indentured servitude. As the sole member of your clan to escape, morals dictates saving your kinfolk- however, a life of nautical battles, swashbuckling, and even political intrigue also vie for your time. Cleverly, the pursuit of different vocations is pitted against a finite timetable. Pirates! sees players age in the game, their swordfighting and dancing skills deteriorating until they are forced into retirement.

Until those golden years are forced upon gamers, Pirates’ Carribean sandbox is brimming with aquatic avenues begging for exploration. Players may find and hunt down notorious pirates, collect map pieces to unearth lost treasures, ambush forts, or woo (and rescue) young debutantes. The game’s enjoyment derives from being able to recreate the exploits of cinematic or literary pirates. Between the title’s darkened taverns, grandiose ballrooms, or skillful naval skirmishes, the game cleverly integrates every conceivable morsel of picaroon lore. 

Combat offers the ability to splinter enemy vessels from a distance, or seize the ship quickly in order to maximize its resale value. Players may even use different types of ammo-grape shot is useful for eliminating crew without destroying a boat, while chain shot damages sails-leaving ship immobilized. Successful  gamers will want to spend some of their purloined pieces of eight on upgrades; everything from ship speed, turn rate, defensive hulls and an array of cannon augmenting perks are available for purchase on each of the game’s twenty-seven types of vessels.

Whereas many Wii translations suffer from memory constraints and grafted-on Wiimote support, Pirates! offers a very respectable rendition. Beyond some frequent, but quick load times, the title feels like at home on Nintendo’s console. Previous iterations have presented a grid-based, tactical mechanic when cities are attacked. Now, the activity has been altered to a real-time shooting mini-game which works just as well. While control schemes which require controller gesture occasionally feel unresponsive, the title’s swordfights are flawlessly integrated. Visually, Pirates! suffers little on the Wii’s modest resolutions. Small details like dolphins leaping through ocean waters, ominous storms, and  map-like overlays on the ocean surface, add an indisputable charm to the title;  it’s too bad the game’s cinematics are marred by artifacting.

Nintendo owners who have somehow overlooked this magnum opus, now have a chance to rectify that transgression. Sid Meier’s Pirates! is one of those rare games that is both delightfully intuitive and surreptitiously deep. Although the prospect of a PC to Wii translation has the potential for disappointment, 2K China and Virtuous’ efforts are admirable;  the open-world of Pirates! nearly feels like a native Nintendo title.