Sid Meier's Pirates! (by 2K Games)

[Drexiel]

Originally Posted by bunglez

I read complaints that the entire land party / invasion aspect was removed for the ipad version. Which amounts to about 1/2 of the fun. I presume this is the same for the iphone version, but .... /bought anyway. I always loved this game.

imma have to install pirates on my ipad and check that out...

[bunglez]

Originally Posted by Ayjona

This is a shame, and a durned loss. I wouldn't say "1/2 of the fun", though. More like 1/5 Let's make some noise about it, though, and perhaps 2K will add it eventually. (They did add custom scenarios to the iPhone version of Civ Rev, for example, after much requesting.)

1/5 of the game content maybe, but 1/2 the fun for me. That's subjective.

[Ayjona]

Originally Posted by bunglez

That's subjective.

Evidently and obviously. As are ALL sentiments. Which is why I posted mine, as an alternative perspective to yours

(I figured you'd all understand that what I posted was not an attempt at objective truth, since a basis of semantic communication, and one of the building blocks of language, is the principle that, with the exception of established scientific fact (which can still be disputed when filtered through a different belief system) and inherent logic ("i.e., "the peak of the mountain is the highest point", logic conclusions that follow necessarily from the established meaning of the words, a form of absolute truth that can only be refuted if we reject our shared communicative premise, either by not accepting language as a means to deliver information, or by disputing the actual meaning of the words) all statements are subjective. Always.

Curiously, you expressed yourself in a similarly absolute manner. "Which amounts to about 1/2 of the fun." I take this as a confirmation that you share the unspoken agreement that all expressions of taste are subjective, and there is no need to preface them with "in my opinion". Which leaves me wondering why you felt the need to point out the subjectiveness of your statement in the first place... )

Anyways, let's get back to the ONLY thing I wrote that really matters Let's make some noise about the lack of invasion mechanics, and perhaps 2K will add them eventually. (They did add custom scenarios to the iPhone version of Civ Rev, for example, after much requesting.)

[grenadedodger]

So is this pretty similar gameplay wise to Crimson Steam Pirates?

[backtothis]

Holy crap, where did this come from? Bought.

[Ayjona]

Originally Posted by grenadedodger

So is this pretty similar gameplay wise to Crimson Steam Pirates?

Not very much at all. It is an open world pirate simulation, albeit a light-hearted and cartoony one. You sail about the Caribean, fight at sea (real-time ship combat, unlike Crimson Steam Pirates. Light-weight but fun simulation, much like the rest of the game), board and capture ships (quite a few different ship models with different characteristics), sell off loot, improve your flagship and your fleet (upgrades, crew, even specialists), even trade if you wish to, court governor's daughters, dance at balls, fence on decks and city walls (simplistic but fun and cinematic fencing engine), look for buried treasure and artifacts, battle famous pirates, even capture colonies for your country, and take part of a rather classic tale of vengeance and rescue as you hunt a nemesis and seek to free a family lost.

In the PC/Mac version there was also turn-based invasion of cities, but it seems to have been removed from the iOS port, for no reason I can see. Here's to the hope we can get in back in there

[grenadedodger]

Originally Posted by Ayjona

Not very much at all. It is an open world pirate simulation, albeit a light-hearted and cartoony one. You sail about the Caribean, fight at sea (real-time ship combat, unlike Crimson Steam Pirates. Light-weight but fun simulation, much like the rest of the game), board and capture ships (quite a few different ship models with different characteristics), sell off loot, improve your flagship and your fleet (upgrades, crew, even specialists), even trade if you wish to, court governor's daughters, dance at balls, fence on decks and city walls (simplistic but fun and cinematic fencing engine), look for buried treasure and artifacts, battle famous pirates, even capture colonies for your country, and take part of a rather classic tale of vengeance and rescue as you hunt a nemesis and seek to free a family lost.

In the PC/Mac version there was also turn-based invasion of cities, but it seems to have been removed from the iOS port, for no reason I can see. Here's to the hope we can get in back in there

Sold.

[Drexiel]

Originally Posted by grenadedodger

So is this pretty similar gameplay wise to Crimson Steam Pirates?

not in the least bit... CSP is line drawing turn based strategy...



Sid Meier's Pirates is real time, and has some type of item management(Smuggling, buying and selling)

They're both very different... pls CSP is Steampunk Fantasy while SMP is closer to real life since the map is in the Caribbeans and it uses Real Life locations and history

[Ayjona]

Some early impressions: this is probably one of the most polished and clever iOS ports so far.

The controls: spot on and dead center and other synonyms for just great.

Sailing (in particular when aiming in ship to ship battles) will take some time getting used to, but the implementation is probably the best possible. A d-pad could have worked, but this is more immersive, and blocks less of the screen.

Fencing actually feels better than it ever has on a keyboard. Using simple flicks and swipes makes it all feel much more natural, considerably more intuitive (evident in that blocking and countering is actually easier on the touchscreen than on the computer), and immerses me more in the battles. How often do we get to say that, eh, that an aspect of a port actually plays better on iOS?

I cannot know yet, but my guess is that dancing and other mini-game elements will play almost as good, just as good, or even better, thanks to the nature of the touch screen combined with the activities you take part of in Pirates.

UI: very pretty, and conveniently laid out. Every interface element from the computer game is in here, not very different from the desktop version, but somehow, it still makes sense and comes off as convenient. I suppose the screen might be a tad cluttered, if yer looking for some less cheerful sentiments

Graphics: Aye, t'is a looker. This game has always been colorful and very pretty (without ever being graphically heavy or cutting edge), but with Retina, on a smaller screen, it looks better than ever. While probably not endowed with the most technically advanced graphics on the platform, it just might be one of the best-looking games still, thanks to the art style, colors and overall appearance.

The rest: The game features both achievements and leaderboards, and while I normally don't care much for the former, and only a little for the latter, unless they are tied in to the game in an innovative fashion or used for competitive effect, I can see that they might bring additional value to future playthroughs. The achievements are not many, 10-20, but well-designed, and several of them actually reflect real skill (As opposed to the completely alien idea of having eventual achievements (stuff that just require grinding, such as "reach level 10"), or incremental achievements (defeat X enemies). I've never understood what joy there is in achieving something that everyone will if they just play long enough.)

The loading times might be considered a bit long. I think. Not quite sure At the most, you'll wait a few seconds when you enter some particular screens or locations (such as taverns or governor mansions).

The game has many different save slots, a very thorough help system plus a simple tutorial for the iOS specifics, and all the game costumization from the desktop version (different time periods, character skills, difficulty levels, nations, etc).

The original: A classic for all platforms it has romped on through. I played the black-and-white original twenty years ago, and this very souped up and enhanced version is still entertaining. For a quick overview of what the game is all about, see this post on this very page, but in short, it is a light-hearted and light-weight open world pirate simulation, with many different activities, an overarching metaplot for those who wish to follow a narrative, splendid production values, and a very quirky and unique feel.

For those still waiting for the plunge from the plank: I could well have seen this priced at 9.99 and still being worth the price. I'd have expected 5.99-7.99. For 3 dollars, I think Pirates represents one of the best values on the entire platform. The game spans over several different genres, and the combination of very a soft RPG (a pleasant but very shallow sense of character progression, but reasonably extensive sense of "material" progression, with lots of ships, equipment, artifacts, cities to capture, etc), light action, casual tactics, and an accessible, player-friendly open world simulation probably also means that there are few open-minded gamers this could not appeal to.

So dive in. The waters are warm, the scenery is pretty, and there is probably a mini-game to evade the sharks. And someone has marked the beach on that island in the distance with a big, red, friendly X...

[Mookmonster]

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is the best version of dancing in any of the sid meier pirate games. Its effectively a rhythm tapping game, and the premise is very clear from the start. In previous versions (im talking pc, i dont know how the xbox one worked out), dancing was frankly confusing and not very intuitive at all. IOS port really nailed it.

As regards to everything else.....I have been waiting for this game ever since it appeared on ipad, and I was wondering wtf was taking so long. Game is perfect, open ended, yet with a real storyline, endless possiblities......only problem is im having bad luck stealing a sloop of war....dohhhhhh.

I dont miss the land invasions too much...I more about the fencing and ship battles.

I really hated the looking for treasure on the land, but i just got my first map piesce, so i guess thats in this.

I am very satisfied this finally arrived, ipod 3g, and runs like a charm.