Support NeoGAF

[Meier]

It seems to me that this type of gameplay is just better suited for 2D. The sailing is frustrating above all else -- at least in Zelda you had shortcuts later in the game to move around the map quickly. The escort quests are hoisted on you and take entirely too long due to some bizarre sailing AI. Likewise, the sea battles are fairly repetitive since it almost makes no sense to do anything but try and fight one on one to gaurantee you get all the goods and whatnot. Yet, even with all of the upgrades by buying special items which are meant to increase your dueling ability, there seems to be no discernible difference in the actual outcomes. Morale drops much too fast as well in my opinion -- having to constantly give up all your goods on top of ships and men is beyond frustrating.

The wooing of governor's daughters is ridiculously hard due to the fact the whole dancing system is totally jacked up. I guess it might be slightly easier if I wasnt on a laptop and playing with a keypad but even still, I can't imagine it would ever be "easy."

I'm enjoying it and all, but I've only got two named pirates left to kill and only have 2 map pieces for my family -- I can't imagine wanting to get the other 14 after I've killed off the main enemies. Overall, I think it's a solid game but it's definitely a disappointment -- in fact, it's not even that much better than Port Royale 2 which saddens me. Bring on Alpha Centauri 2 please, Sid (even if Brian Reynolds was the director of that)!

Edited for clarity.

 

[Jotaro]

Why did not you tried this game sooner considering your nick?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"The wooing of governor's daughters is absolutely ridiculously hard due to the fact the whole dancing system is totally jacked up. I guess it might be slightly easier if I was on a laptop and playing with a number pad but even still, I can't imagine it would ever be "easy.""

Uh, they telegraph where you need to move one beat in advance. It's not hard at all.

Also, are you playing on the higher difficulties?

 

[Meier]

Why did not you tried this game sooner considering your nick?

He is in fact my namesake (well the namesake for my EQ character back in 99, which has been my online handle ever since) but this was just a case of too many games in November and then World of Warcraft dominating my time from December on as far as the PC was concerned. Havent played WoW in 2 weeks now so I had some time to start on it finally.

Tre: I am up to Swashbuckler now (the last level). The game was clearly not designed for laptop players though because the dancing requires split-second button pushes which arent possible with the mouse. Combat is made possible by clicking the d-pad in the lower right, but there is nothing done for dancing to make it easier as well.

 

[bishoptl]

You're using the mouse? You can control the entire game just using the numeric keypad. That's what I do and it's easy. As far as the dancing goes....use the keypad! Using a mouse to play Pirates is like shooting hoops with a medicine ball - it'll work, but something's lost in the translation.

 

[Drinky Crow]

He playing on a laptop which traditionally doesn't have a numeric keypad.

 

[explodet]

He's on a laptop - and unless it's a very big laptop, he doesn't have a keypad.
Beaten! Oh well.

I'll just use this to say I thoroughly enjoyed the game, but have since retired it as I've got other games to play and the repetition wore a bit thin.

It was a blast while it lasted, though.

 

[bishoptl]

I guess it might be slightly easier if I was on a laptop

Am I missing something here? It sounds like he's NOT playing on a laptop, which is why I said what I said.

 

[element]

Pirates! has a great first 8 hours. But then it sucks for the rest of time after that.

 

[Ristamar]

Is the remake all that different? The original is timeless.

Meier, you might want to try SeaDogs. It's essentially a remake of Pirates, but with a smaller map, a few added features (many of which happened to make it into the new Pirates, IIRC), and a linear plot. Walking around the towns is slightly annoying, but it's a solid title.

 

[Tain]

It changes directions on higher difficulty levels.

I've been liking the remake so far, myself, though I'm not too far into it.

 

[Ghost]

It gets old after 20 hours or so, especially when you move to the higher difficulties, i think i said before, the game makes you feel you are getting worse rather than the opponents getting better.

It's actually much more enjoyable at the lower difficulties, but even that doesnt last as long as it should.


Its a great update of a classic but they were far too true to the original in leaving all the frustrating parts (like sailing into the wind) intact and not adding enough new things to really make you feel like your playing a new game.

 

[bjork]

2004 goty.

Sid himself said in interviews that you can play through the entire game in a night, so I don't see why people are ragging on the length. It is the original (minus the boat v fort bits), with a couple of new things added, and it doesn't rock the boat (no pun intended).

I loved the first one, and I didn't like Pirates! Gold, but this one is stellar imo. Can't wait for the Xtank version.

 

[Meier]

Am I missing something here? It sounds like he's NOT playing on a laptop, which is why I said what I said.

I meant to say if I wasn't on a laptop (I am playing with a laptop to clarify).

 

[masud]

Pirates! Is great for a couple of days until you realize is just a collection of mini games.