Pirates! Gold for Windows screenshot
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Review 1:
Pirates! Gold is the excellent remake of 1987's Pirates!, Sid Meier's classic game of swashbuckling on the high seas. Despite the pedigree of the original version, the game suffered the same fate as Railroad Tycoon Deluxe when it was initially released in 1993: the game was very buggy, and plays much slower than the EGA original. Fortunately, Microprose shortly released this Windows 3.1 version of the game, which fixed many bugs that were shipped with original DOS release, and finally made Pirates! Gold a game worthy of its predecessor's fame?although it was too late to drum up gamers' attention again.
Anyone who has played Sid Meier's 1987 classic will be at home with this SVGA remake. The object of the game is to retire with high social standing, having amassed a huge fortune in the process. How do you do that? The way many people tried in the 17th century: become a mighty pirate, sack towns and other ships, and search for buried treasure on faraway islands. To acquire social standing, you also must play the dangerous game of politics with four European superpowers (England, France, Holland, and Spain). Gaining their favor may require a hand of a governor's daughter in marriage, or doing various dirty deeds such as attacking that government's rival countries. Along the way, you will engage in mortal sword duels with other pirates, survive cannon battles in ship-to-ship combat, buy gossip in local bars, and piece together torn pieces of various treasure maps. Four countries, four skill levels, and six historical scenarios set in time periods add a great variety to the game. The random map option ensures virtually unlimited replayability.
With Sid Meier's uncanny knack in striking a perfect play balance between strategy, action, and even adventure elements, excellent watercolor-style SVGA graphics, and virtually bug-free gameplay thanks to Windows 3.1 update, Pirates! Gold for Windows is a must-have for anyone interested in the era. And if you like this game, check out Pirates! 2, an excellent freeware remake of the original classic.
Review 2:
Well, where shall I begin... First of all, this game is about sailing in areas of the Caribbean Sea in the time from 1560 until 1680. This is known as the "golden era" of pirates. The mission is simple: You plunder towns and ships. Of course this will make you an enemy of one or more nations as a result of plundering. You will also need to close alliances with other nations. You start as a simple Captain, but from this humble beginning a good player may become a duke or a baron. And you will also have to find your family, which is lost and scattered, all around the game's world.
Starting as a new captain with one ship and little start-up amount of gold, it is up to you what you do next. The story of how you become a captain varies depending of which nation and skill you choose at beginning. This is just the best thing in the game as there is no story to follow and you are NOT forced to do anything. You can sail wherever you want and attack whomever you want, but be vary that all your hostile actions will be noted and attacking one nation makes it your enemy for sure… But you may gain FAVOURS of another nation that is at war with the one you attacked. Just remember that this other nation can also turn out to be your enemy - it all depends on current politics and diplomacy.
So gathering news whenever possible is important. There could be sign of a city that was attacked by Indians; thereby lowering it's defences and leaving all it's riches up to you if you are fast. Or maybe some pirates have attacked another town, making it pointless to attack the town because it doesn't have much anymore left for you to plunder. And, of course, there are always news of relationship between nations, so that keeps you informed which nation would turn enemy to you if you attack other nation which is allied with it.
Some bad points of this game exist too, although they are few. Attacking a fortified town with a ship is the most difficult thing, because the fort's cannons will hit your ship most of the time, even if you try to evade. So getting off the ship nearby on land and attack the city by foot is a somewhat better idea, though nothing is too easy. Also the game ends too fast, even with the skill of medicine, so you normally do about 4-5 plunder-runs before you are too old to try your luck again. This game is so much fun that it would surely not hurt to be able to play it longer… but the only option you have is to start new game or to command a famous expedition, which is interesting, but an even shorter option of playing.
Marry the duke's daughter, plunder Spanish treasures, spread fear among the cities and set sail with us for the Spanish Main, high adventure and Pirates' Gold!
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Pirates! Gold for Windows screenshot
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Pirates 2, Populous 2, Colonization for Windows, Railroad Tycoon Deluxe, Settlers II Gold Edition, The