Sail the High Seas in Sid Meier’s Pirates!

Ahoy, mates! Do ye think ye have what it takes to sail the high seas and become a swordfighting swashbuckler? Live the life of a pirate in Sid Meier’s Pirates!.

Pirates! gives gamers so many choices that each game played can be completely different from the next. When beginning your journey, choose one of five levels of difficulty. Once the level is chosen, name your pirate, choose the era you wish to sail, and sign up with a country: Spain, England, France or The Netherlands.

Regardless of the level and country chosen, the object remains the same. Your family was kidnapped by the evil Marquis Montalban. You got away and swore vengeance, promising to reunite your family. You join a crew on a ship, which mutinies and elects you captain. Now you’ve got your ship, your crew and your mission. All you have to do is reunite your family.

But, what would a rowdy band of pirates be without plundering and pillaging settlements, attacking ships, swordfighting, searching for buried treasure and sweeping governors’ daughters off their feet? You have the entire Caribbean to explore. Meet with merchants, shipwrights, tavern dwellers and more to learn your family’s whereabouts.

While on your main quest, you will learn of many mini-quests, such as searching for a lost city, apprehending a wanted criminal, and even defeating other notorious pirates. Gain the trust of countries by attacking enemy ships and doing favors for them, such as protecting a new governor as he is transported from one settlement to another. Learn valuable secrets by courting governors’ daughters. Attack and board enemy ships, but be prepared for a swordfight if they haven’t flown the white flag of surrender before you and your crew board.

One of the most difficult goals you can set for yourself is to sack a settlement. You and your crew will go up against the soldiers of the town you choose to attack. Win and the riches are plentiful. Lose and your crew will be sparse.
To make things a little more challenging, a good captain must ensure that his crew is happy. Be careful, because they can mutiny and steal a ship from your fleet, or just leave you while you are in port. Earn as much money and fame as you can by stealing, searching for buried treasure, plundering a ship, and earning rewards for capturing criminals. Eventually, you’ll be too old to continue, so be sure to get your family back together before you retire.

Pirates! is a fun and challenging game for any age. Unfortunately, the main character is always a man, but that is just historically accurate. It doesn’t matter, though - Girls will have as much fun as guys with this game.