Pirates Upgraded for the Next Generation
The game presents the same ease as the original with which the new gamer can begin their ascent to notoriety. As a beginner you start out with a small ship and sail around capturing other ships (probably smaller as well) while visiting ports and collecting information and selling booty. True to pirate custom, if you go too long without dividing the plunder you may have mutiny on your hands--which results in a classic sword-swinging duel which can be easy but gets increasingly difficult. The difficulty changes as you gain experience and can choose to become an apprentice and so on and so forth. These advancements in rank may be taken on when you divide plunder, but each advancement increases the overall difficulty of simple and already difficult tasks (of which there are few initially). Perhaps you enjoy sailing with ease and conquering whatever you come across and don't want it to be more difficult. Well, the incentive is that the higher difficulty you choose the more plunder you get when its time to divide it up.
The best of the game play probably lies in the visual beauty of sailing around and randomly attacking ships (or not randomly if chasing someone as part of the storyline). These battles in which you sail around each other firing cannons and often boarding for the classic duel drive the game. The storyline, which places you as a pirate with a mission to unite his family which is torn apart by an evil count, may lay forgotten in the pursuit of more treasure. Little side missions for various governors earn bestowal of rank and land with the various nations trading in the Caribbean and contribute to your overall success at the game's end (when you finally retire or are forced to retire).
The bad of the game as submitted by some is its lack of multi-player. I take that as a compliment. If a game's only downside is no multi-player I'd say the game's doing well. More pointedly, the downside of the game is procuring a wife, which is not necessary but somehow the pursuit of a pretty wife works its way into the gamers' desire. The awkward bit is that you must dance with the girl, and the dance controls depend on you pushing arrow keys in the appropriate direction in time with the music. Not hard you say? If you don't know the pattern of dance steps you may have to depend on small, hard to see hand motions your dance partner gives you to know what move is coming next. In faster dances this becomes quite frustrating until you have an idea of how the dance goes.
That being said, the game is overall quite excellent offering possibilities to upgrade ships, have multiple ship fleets, collect special items to assist you, landing and searching for buried treasure from bits of treasure maps bought from tavern-going disreputable characters, and even a family story to drive your goals if you are so inclined. It is simple to play, but hard to master at higher levels of play--and incredibly addicting. Perhaps we are all pirates at heart.
There is no excuse to not buy this game if you are at all interested at this point in time because you can find pretty good deals on it. Pick up a copy today.